Had a very long, very off-the-record chat with don't-call-him-Graffiti-Czar John Barr late last week, during which he dropped the hint that this week, the city would roll out some new tech aimed at power-washing the hell out of the city. But the Oak Cliff attorney, who's been reaching out to gallery owners and graffiti artists citywide since his appointment two weeks ago, didn't want to ruin the surprise. He asked we wait till the city sends Official Word, which, moments ago, arrived in the in-box. Which means we now have somewhere to be at 10 Wednesday morning, when the city rolls out The SodaBlaster, which, sadly, does not dispense Dublin Dr Pepper. To the release!
City Councilmember Delia Jasso and the City of Dallas Graffiti Abatement Program will use a blaster to remove graffiti near Dealey Plaza in Downtown Dallas. The blaster is part of a bold, new effort to rid the city of the image-damaging vandalism that plagues many neighborhoods. The goal, in part, is to reduce the amount of graffiti in preparation for the thousands of visitors expected in Dallas for Super Bowl XLV.
A demonstration of new graffiti removal equipment will be presented and methods to identify taggers will also be discussed. The Dallas Police Department will work closely with the District Attorney's office to prosecute those who deface private and public property by graffiti tagging.
Councilmember Jasso will invite civic and business organizations to pick a date in January during "Community Cleanup Month in Dallas" for a cleanup in their areas affected by graffiti. Organizations are invited to register at www.dallasgraffitiwipeout.com to participate and receive special recognition.
