Baltimore City announced this week that it will restart graffiti removal services for private properties, both residential and commercial, reversing a previous announcement that it would not remove graffiti from privately owned buildings. The change will take effect on July 5.
In a statement dated June 3 and posted on Baltimore City’s official website, the public works department said that Mayor Brandon Scott “has made this initiative a priority as part of his strategy to clean up the city.”
The department “is energized about another opportunity to not only improve the environment for our residents but also support Mayor Scott’s vision of a better Baltimore for all,” acting director Jason W Mitchell said in a statement.
The announcement ends some confusion about graffiti removal by the public works department, a longtime service that was eliminated from the fiscal 2021 budget by former Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young as a cost-saving measure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the amount of graffiti around the city has increased significantly.
In March, City Council members Eric Costello and Robert Stokes told Mount Vernon residents that Scott, who took office in December, had agreed to restart the graffiti removal program in May. On May 7, the public works department confirmed that it would restart graffiti removal service, but only for city-owned properties and assets.
Costello and Stokes said in May that they had appealed to the mayor to expand the service to include privately-owned properties, as it did before Young canceled it. This week’s announcement was a sign that Scott agreed to their request.
In its announcement, the public works department warned that “there will be a delayed restart as DPW continues to work through the backlog of public assets requiring removal services and develops a plan to sustain the program going forward.”
As of last month, the service request number for graffiti removal had been reactivated in the 311 phone system that citizens can use to report non-emergency problems. Beginning on July 5 – coinciding with the start of the new fiscal year – 311 operators will begin adding requests for graffiti removal on private property to the list of service requests, according to the DPW announcement.
“Please be patient as DPW continues to work through the large backlog of requests, as citywide services had previously been suspended since July 2020 and new requests have been submitted since service was restarted for public property last month,” the announcement stated. “DPW is working with the Law Department to address concerns around liability.”
Costello posted a message about the change on his Facebook page.
“Thank you @MayorBMScott and @BaltimoreDPW for committing to fully restore graffiti removal service from BOTH public AND private property,” he wrote. “Your leadership here and partnership with the City Council is truly appreciated! Service will be fully restored on July 5.”
In addition to the DPW efforts, the Midtown Community Benefits District is creating a list of graffiti on private properties in the communities it covers, for use in possible prosecution of offenders. Reports will be shared with the city police department and the state’s attorney’s office. The Midtown Community Benefits District does not remove graffiti.
