Wachs Urges More Funds for Graffiti Fight

Saying the Los Angeles City Council has yet to “bite the bullet” in the battle against graffiti, Councilman Joel Wachs on Thursday called on his colleagues to allocate more funds to clean up the unsightly scrawls painted on walls, curbs and street signs.

“Our city looks like a pigsty at times. It’s got to change--it’s got to stop,” Wachs said. “You can’t tell me that with a city budget as big as ours there aren’t resources available. I think the council has done small things . . . but they haven’t been willing to bite the bullet. They haven’t been willing to make graffiti removal a high priority.”

Wachs spoke Thursday morning at an anti-graffiti conference sponsored by Valley Organized in Community Efforts, a San Fernando Valley grass-roots organization that has put a premium on eradicating graffiti in Los Angeles. Wachs, a strident advocate of anti-graffiti measures, said graffiti removal should be a regular city service in the same way that trash pickup is handled.

“Keeping something clean is not insurmountable, but you can’t do it just one Saturday evening every four months,” he said after the meeting at Temple Beth Hillel in North Hollywood. “It has to be regular.”

The labor could come from court referrals for community service programs, or from hiring day laborers who congregate throughout Los Angeles, Wachs said.

VOICE graffiti chairwoman Diane Wildhaber echoed Wachs’ call and urged the council to develop a sweeping program for cleaning up graffiti promptly and efficiently.

“The city needs a comprehensive, coordinated program that removes graffiti in a systematic way,” she said. Flanked by a dozen elected officials, police and community activists, she said, “If the city of San Fernando can do it, the city of Los Angeles can and must do it.”

Marsha Novak, co-chairwoman of VOICE, said her organization would implement a multi-pronged approach to curb graffiti.

She said VOICE, which draws its support from Valley churches and synagogues, would implement an education program with students and their parents and continue to work with the City Council to generate funds to fight graffiti.