Senator Golden Supports Legislation to Require Graffiti Removal as Part of Community Service Sentence Imposed for Graffiti Offenses

Albany- State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C-I, 22nd District), a member of the New York State Senate Codes Committee, today voted in support of legislation (S. 1880-A) that would require any community service sentence imposed for an offense involving graffiti to include graffiti removal as a portion of the required service.

Senator Golden stated, "This legislation is another step in our continued war against graffiti in communities throughout Brooklyn. This bill will directly address the problem of graffiti that plagues our streets and ruins our quality of life. We all find graffiti to be an eyesore and now, if this bill is to become law in New York State, we will require convicted graffiti vandals to clean and erase the damage they and other offenders have caused."

Senator Golden continued, "Those who are writing graffiti on our walls, our gates and elsewhere in our community, must understand that they are destroying the character and integrity of our neighborhood with graffiti. It is my hope that by involving offenders in the removal of the graffiti, we will create a strong sense of community pride and prevent them from doing it again."

Senator Golden recently announced funding for a program known as City Solve to combat the presence of graffiti in his district. The City Solve Program will survey the community remove graffiti from store fronts, gates, and brick walls. The program both cleans and follows up on each location where graffiti was removed for maintenance. Residents are encouraged to contact Senator Golden’s office to report locations where graffiti exists.