Graffiti abatement
techniques and practices have evolved in the years that Program Specialist
Javier Covarrubias has been on the City’s graffiti removal team. Covarrubias helped lead the shift from an outdated “cover up” strategy to what he calls “surface restoration”, a
specialized but highly efficient “removal” technique.
Watch this short video to see Javier in action.
Painting over
graffiti, even graffiti on sidewalks, was not uncommon 20 years ago. This he attributes to a lack of available technology
at the time. Today the Graffiti Response
Team tackles this blight in a vehicle custom-designed with Glendale
Javier is proud of having played an important
role in the vehicle redesign but the improvements to the way graffiti is
handled today are not limited to the truck he drives. Restoring surfaces to the condition they were
in before they were tagged takes more than slapping on a new coat of
paint. Thanks to the ever evolving
technology available to Javier, he is able to remove graffiti from glass, brick walls, stone surfaces and other
sensitive surfaces without damaging them.
Glendale Municipal Code requires that graffiti be removed from
private property within ten calendar days. Property owners can choose to take advantage
of the City's Terminate All Glendale Graffiti (T.A.G.G.) Program, which offers fee-based graffiti removal services to private property owners.
The nature of graffiti has also evolved
throughout the years as the mediums used today have become more sophisticated and as the draw of graffiti has lured youth of all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds to engage in tagging. Covarrubias now
removes tiles, wheat pasting, sharpie, acrylic paint, stickers as well as the
traditional spray painted tags throughout the entire
city.
As both technology and tagging behaviors change
throughout the years, Javier, maintains a
steadfast commitment to terminating all Glendale
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