graffiti in Pastita

[colleen]

We bought a home on Arquitectos in 2002. Quite a few years later, after it was no longer Privada, we got some graffiti. It wasn't too bad and I figured that if we tried to take it off, they'd love the fact that it bothered us, and double down. So it stayed for at least 5 yrs. Then the jovenes had a great time on Xmas eve. The neighbor who is the 1st house on the left side after the bridge got 2 sides of the house covered, as far as they could reach, plus stone and the metal door to the parking. CFE had just redone a tin roof shack and it is covered w/ crap. They even climbed up to cover cement over a new water system. Then they got as far as our house and climbed up to put a little bit, signatures only, on a stone buttress on our house. That was as far as they went. Nobody else got it. They are very good at translating 'chinga la policia' and drawing stylized penises. I think our property was the last of their nite of artfullness. It appeared that they started at the baseball stadium which has it's stone walls covered, then the newly painted houses near it, Gorky, the school, and that is all I can see. The cop told me that they had done more on the other side of the street on their way past CFE and on up to us.

If San Miguel can stop graffiti, what the heck is the problem here? Pastita looks like a slum. If someone drove me up here to look at a house to buy, after seeing photos on line, I wouldn't care what was on the inside of the house, I wouldn't get out of the car to look. Who wants to live with this shit?

Also, does anyone know what might remove this graffiti from stones? I've refinished alot of furniture in my life, including a few pieces this last month. But I think it would just mess up even more than it is right now. Aren't these graffiti-s with letters in them, or the ones with the same symbols repeated all over town, the signature of the guy who's doing it? Does anyone in the city care about this? I'd think that the young people know exactly who is doing what.

Any ideas?

[kasugie]

In terms of removing the graffiti from stone, high pressure steam cleaners and wire brushes is effective, but painfully slow and back-breaking work. Adam Behr of SindoMex S.A. in D.F. does import the "World's Best Graffiti Removal System" from the U.S. Given the import restrictions on chemicals, this is impossible to do on your own. As of 15 months ago, hi contact info was:

Adam J. Behr, Managing Director
SindoMex S.A. de C.V.
Nabor Carrillo No. 5
Col. Olivar de los Padres
Del. Álvaro Obregon
México, DF 01780
+55 1520-0606 x160 ó x 190
adambehr@quitatodo.com

Once you've removed the graffiti, it's best to apply the anti-graffiti solvent sold at Comex to more easily remove it again, if and when the jovenes return. SindoMex may have better stuff than Comex, but in terms of preventive maintenance, Comex does work.

[pianoheat]

We have video surveillance for break ins and we have no graffiti. It's not all that expensive. get a few cameras put a sign that says 24 hr video. A picture of a camera helps for the thugs that can't read. they are young and scare easy. There is a guy in town who does excellent installs and speaks English let me know if you want the #

[Barbara]

Hi Colleen,
I agree with pianoheat about the cameras. We are waiting to hear from the city to see if we will be included in the 2015 budget to help us put cameras in our callejones, from Calle Pastita up to the Panoramica. The city might help us financially, as a previous administration did with the cameras on the Calzada de Guadalupe, but you need to get organized, write letters, and be persistent to get help from the city. If we don't get the funding for the whole callejon, those of us who are interested will buy our own.
I also live in Pastita. I started a neighborhood group a year ago, and since then, we now have about 60 neighbors who are part of the "Vecino Vigilante" program (displaying the posters on their homes and part of the phone directory to get attention from the police quickly). This is in addition to the V.V. group which Pedro started on Pastita Street, near the Doal paint store. Last summer, the city offered a free one-day workshop for kids, which was successful. Muggings and robberies on this callejon have definitely gone down; in fact none have been reported to us since the program started. There is still some graffiti, but not as much as before. In addition, we now have 4 "panic buttons" installed in the area. I think Pedro has 2 or 3 in his neighborhood.
The V.V. posters and panic buttons are free, and I suggest that you, and anybody else who is interested, contact the city to see if you can start a neighborhood group in your neighborhood. Graffiti can turn into a sign that people don't care about their neighborhood and lead to worse problems, and a show of neighborhood solidarity can stop it. Here are the contact names and phone numbers:
Lic. Karla Mendez, Seguridad Ciudadano, Area de Prevencion, tel 102-4354 (programa de Vecino Vigilante)
Sra. Soledad Martinez, Oficina de Lic. Macias, 732-2717 (Boton de Enlace Ciudadano)
Good luck, and don't give up!
Barbara

[Barbara]

P.S. I forgot to mention that we also have more police presence from the city. Although it's not 24 hours a day, at least they are sometimes walking up and down the callejones. They sign-in at 3 different tienditas. I check the book every month, and when they miss several days in a row, I call the police jefe and then they start coming again.

[colleen]

Thanks, everyone. Our cop is around quite a bit, but nobody anywhere at night. Cameras sound like a good idea. I had no idea there was any kind of thing to put on to make graffiti easier to get off. Thanks for that info.

[jesm]

One may discount this as BS but we were advised to have some form of the Virgin on your wall and that will deter the "artists". Just after construction was finished we were hit badly and brightly. We then prominently hung our wooden Virgin, and three years later no problems. Who knows?

[Barbara]

I've heard that too, and I'm glad the Virgin is doing her job for you! One of our neighbors had a small, plastic, statute of the Virgin in a small niche on the corner of his house. It hasn't happened recently, but the statue, along with the plastic flowers, have been stolen several times. I think he has it secured more permanently now.
The front of my house has a very rough stucco finish and was painted (accidentally) a very dark blue when the city came around years ago offering to paint houses in my callejon for a small fee. Maybe the dark color and uneven surface have saved me from graffiti. Or it could be my dog who has good instincts and barks very loudly when people get close to my house.
Good luck! Cameras, the Virgin, dark rough surfaces, solidarity with your neighborhood, police patrols; I think every little bit helps.