NYCEDC – Real Estate – Asset Management – Quality of Life Programs

Asset Management

QUALITY OF LIFE PROGRAMS

Graffiti-Free NYC Program in Action: The Grand Concourse, Bronx


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GRAFFITI-FREE NYC PROGRAM OVERVIEW

NYCEDC initiated the Graffiti-Free New York City (GFNYC) Program in 1999. It is the first and only fulltime, street-by-street graffiti removal service in the City. The program began in Brooklyn, and its success prompted its expansion to the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island and Manhattan.

The goals of GFNYC program are to:

Provide no-cost graffiti removal for affected public and private properties
Monitor and continually retouch areas where graffiti recurs
Create challenging and skill-enhancing jobs for low-to-moderate income residents
Improve overall street aesthetics and create goodwill throughout local business communities

Graffiti Free Brochure (644 KB)

HIGH-TECH TOOLS

GFNYC employs unique, state-of-the-art equipment that paints ten times the area of traditional methods at one-tenth of the cost. Our graffiti fighting tools include new mobile painting equipment that provides more flexibly to easily reach areas marred by graffiti.

PROGRAM IMPACT

Our fleet is capable of cleaning 1.5 million square feet of surface area per vehicle each year. Since the program’s inception, more than 150 million square feet of surface area have been cleaned throughout the five boroughs.

Read this City Hall press release, Citywide Graffiti Cleanup Initiative to learn more about Mayor Bloomberg’s commitment to a city-wide graffiti cleanup initiative.

COMMON QUESTIONS

GRAFFITI REMOVAL FLEET

The GFNYC Program has recently expanded its fleet from 13 to 23 graffiti cleaning vehicles. The smaller, more neighborhood-friendly new vehicles can clean up to 20,000 square feet of surface area per day. They are equipped to both paint and pressure-wash structures covered with graffiti.

HOW DOES GRAFFITI-FREE NYC WORK?

Appointed Industrial Business Zone or NYCEDC representatives use our Graffiti-Free NYC Workorder Form to make a request for their building to be cleaned.
Upon submission of that form, requestors will be taken to a confirmation page that will include a confirmation code and a link to download a PDF authorization form.
Requestors will fill out and sign the authorization form, noting the confirmation code in the appropriate place on the form.
Requestors will return the signed authorization form to NYCEDC either by fax at 212-312-3919 or by mail at NYCEDC, Asset Management/Graffiti-Free, 110 William Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10038. Users may also scan their completed form and send a printable PDF copy to GraffitiFreeNYC@nycedc.com .

Once the authorization form is received and approved, the GFNYC program staff will contact the requestor schedule an appointment to paint over or pressure-wash structures covered with graffiti based upon information on the requestors authorization form.

When a property has been cleared of graffiti, GFNYC moves to the next targeted neighborhood. Our vehicles return routinely to previously cleaned areas to retouch surfaces that have again been marred by graffiti. In areas where the graffiti keeps resurfacing, GFNYC persistently covers the scrawl until the offenders realize the futility of their efforts. Requestors can also use the Graffiti-Free work order form to request removal of recurring graffiti.

Note: Currently, our only form is only equipped to handle requests from NYCEDC and IBZ representatives. If you would like information about graffiti removal for your New York City property and you are not located within an IBZ area , please call 311 from any borough of New York City. Outside of New York City call (212) NEW-YORK (212-639-9675).

HOW DOES GRAFFITI-FREE NYC DETERMINE SCHEDULE & ROUTES?

GFNYC program develops work schedules and routes based on two considerations:

Providing daily maintenance cleaning services to the City’s Industrial Business Zones and Corporate Parks
Addressing graffiti removal requests from residential and commercial property owners/occupants

Due to the volume of graffiti removal requests, we do not respond immediately to each individual request. Instead, we build new requests into existing graffiti removal routes.

WHO PAYS FOR THE PROGRAM?

Funding for GFNYC is provided by NYCEDC, the Office of the Mayor and Federal Grants programs.

WHAT IF I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT GRAFFITI-FREE NYC?

You can email us at GraffitiFreeNYC@nycedc.com or call (212) 312-3943. Please include Graffiti-Free NYC in the subject line.