PLATFORM : Blight on Our City

Graffiti is such a blight on our city. It just stirs up so much emotion in people. We (the neighborhood association that formed Robopainters) realized that the city can’t do everything. We are the government . . . we take responsibility for our own property . . . and pride in where we live.

Operation Clean Sweep, a city agency, provides paint and equipment for free to community groups. They were willing to let us keep it in our homes, so we have Robopaint storage centers in (resident’s) garages. When the graffiti comes, they paint it out. Or somebody can call them and come down and check out the equipment.

(To get volunteers and donations,) we pass out flyers and knock on doors. We get doughnuts from Winchell’s hamburgers and soft drinks from Burger King.

Now it’s kind of evolved to where sometimes on a Sunday morning, early, a few of us will go out and paint out graffiti. We also have large, organized paint-outs. We get (property owners’) permission. . . . Most of them can’t believe there’s no cost.