Anti-Graffiti Drive Seeking to Give Sylmar a Clean Face

With paint and brushes in hand, about 50 Sylmar residents began a campaign over the weekend to erase graffiti from their close-knit community, where they say vandalism is increasing.

Starting early Saturday morning, 13 teams of volunteers packed paint cans, rollers and plastic drop cloths into the trunks of their cars and scattered into the community to paint walls and the exteriors of businesses scarred by graffiti.

By the end of the day, the volunteers, who call themselves the Sylmar Graffiti Busters, had used about 40 gallons of paint in an area covering about half of Sylmar.

Next week, the group will begin using its new sandblaster to remove graffiti from such unpainted surfaces as tree trunks and concrete walls, as well as continue the painting. They hope to eradicate graffiti in most of Sylmar--especially on Foothill Boulevard--by April 9, the day of the community’s annual parade.

Volunteers will paint and sandblast every weekend and during the week when possible. On Saturday, the group had help from Los Angeles City Councilman Ernani Bernardi, who pitched in for about half an hour to paint the exterior of the unoccupied Silver Mine Country Arcade on Foothill Boulevard.

No One-Shot Deal

“This is not just going to be a one-shot deal. We’re here to stay,” said Graffiti Buster Harry Sauberman, 39, a high school teacher and longtime Sylmar resident. “Citizens need to take a stand and not just depend on the police. Our stance is that this is our community, and we’re going to protect it.”

Hannah Dyke, Graffiti Busters president, said that by responding quickly to reports of graffiti and by continuing their removal efforts over the next year, members of the group believe they can discourage gang members--the primary source of graffiti--from spraying their names on park benches, trees, stop signs and just about any other surface available.

“Graffiti represents advertising for these organizations, these gangs. . . . They are marking off their territory. And I figure that if a business is unable to advertise, that business will fold,” Dyke said.

She said the graffiti removal service is free for homeowners and businesses. The group has set up a 24-hour hot line (818-362-8702) to take information on the location of graffiti, the type of surface it is painted on and the color of the paint necessary to match the existing surface.

Members of the group said they hope to set an example so that others will take advantage of the available anti-graffiti supplies.

“Hopefully, by sharing my time, it will send a message to other people to get involved,” said Frank Velez, 29. “I’m coming back. This is where I grew up, and I basically want to keep the area as clean as possible.”

The group began planning the anti-graffiti campaign in early February.

Talked to Property Owners

Dyke said organizers divided the community into 18 sections and assigned a volunteer to mark on maps the hundreds of incidences of graffiti. Later, volunteers used reverse directories to contact property owners and obtain permission to paint over the graffiti.

The group has asked Van Nuys Municipal Judge Kenneth Lee Chotiner to steer adults sentenced to community service to Graffiti Busters. Chotiner, who said he has ordered between 40 and 300 hours of graffiti removal in sentencing about 50 adults over the last six months, said he is enthusiastic about the Sylmar Graffiti Busters.

“Can you imagine what it would be like if every community in the city and the county did this? We would have this problem licked,” Chotiner said. “I’d like to see other communities do the same thing. We can guarantee an endless supply of, shall we say, volunteers.”

The group is receiving free paint and the loan of other supplies through Project HEAVY--a Los Angeles city-funded agency that has removed graffiti for the last 14 years--and other citywide programs. The Sylmar Chamber of Commerce also is supporting the anti-graffiti effort.

The nonprofit organization is attempting to raise $10,000 by selling raffle tickets and through donations to cover the cost of its sandblaster, and for other administrative expenses.