Cities Report Surge in Graffiti
NEW YORK TIMES, Tuesday, July 19, 2011
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Fresh blotches of graffiti decorate the backs of street signs here near the ocean. Tags have popped up on guardrails along the dirt trails near Griffith Park across town. There are, almost daily, fresh splashes on walls in the San Fernando Valley, on downtown Los Angeles buildings and on billboards along the highways.
And Los Angeles does not appear to be alone in grappling with a recent upsurge in graffiti, which is turning up in some unlikely places. A bumper crop of scrawls is blossoming in many modest-size communities across the country — in places like Florence, Ala.; Bernalillo County, N.M.; Taylors, S.C.; and in larger cities like Nashville and Portland, Ore. — even as major cities like Chicago, Denver, New York and Seattle say vigilant antigraffiti campaigns have spared them thus far.
“It’s popped up all of a sudden in the last six months,” said Tim Sandrell, the owner of Safari Adventures in Hair in Florence. “I’ve been downtown for 10 years, and I’m really disappointed that we are seeing this kind of activity. We have a beautiful city and an historic city, and it’s really upsetting to me seeing this going on.” [Read more →]
Tags: Brooklyn Action Corps

The BAC is launching our foot patrol. Our first night will start Thursday July 21st at 7:30. Just gather in front of Dan Howell’s house at 4018 SE 10th Avenue. We’ll have reflective vests, flashlights, and a graffiti removal kit. Call the help line at (503) 241-4540 to get involved, or just show up Thursday night. We’ll be doing this at least once a week all summer, so we need you to get involved!
Tags: Brooklyn Action Corps

Check out the latest edition of BrookNews
Tags: Brooklyn Action Corps · Newsletter

The Karate Kid starring Jaden Smith is our Movie in the Park this summer!
The River City Band will rock the park before the show!
FREE POPCORN!
Where-Brooklyn Park at SE Milwaukie and Haig Street
When-July 9th at 6:30 PM with the River City Band!
Tags: Brooklyn Action Corps

Dear Neighbors,
Our June BAC Board Meeting is on Wednesday, June 8th at 6:30 PM this month at the Loaves and Fishes Center at SE Milwaukie Boulevard and SE Center Street. If you’re interested in making an impact on neighborhood issues, or want to volunteer with our pedestrian bridge mural or our Brooklyn Historic Block Party in August or the Ice Cream Social in September, we’d like to encourage you to attend this meeting.
We recently had a couple of board members move out of the neighborhood, so we have several open positions on the board of directors. To be eligible to join the board, you have to attend two out of the last 4 board meetings. We meet the second Wednesday of every month.
This month, we’re discussing the Ninth Avenue Pedestrian Bridge Mural Project (our Mural Designer will be present!). Plus we’ll get a visit from Dave Mazza, who is making a documentary about Frank Springer, a retired Portland Policeman and one of the most colorful characters in the neighborhood. Finally, Sara Church, a PhD candidate at University of British Columbia, will be be there to recruit research participants in the Tabor to the River study that she is doing, and there will be an opportunity to join the committee for our new community gardens.
See you at the board meeting!
Tags: Brooklyn Action Corps

Brooklyn Neighborhood Cleanup-Saturday June 4, 2011– 10AM-3PM
LOCATION: SE 16th & Center
ACCEPTABLE WASTE:
Yard Debris: We will be accepting a limited amount of yard debris so get there early!
Mixed Solid Waste: We will be accepting non-recyclables. Each vehicle will be quoted a price beforehand.
Curbside recyclables CANNOT be accepted, as well as motors, large appliances, hazardous waste, and e-waste such as monitors, computers, etc.
We reserve the right to refuse any load.
PLEASE, NO CONTRACTOR LOADS.
See you there!
Tags: Brooklyn Action Corps

Brooklyn’s very own farmers market Know Thy Food is celebrating their first anniversary with a huge celebration and fundraiser from 2-6 PM Sunday, June 5 at The Warehouse, 3434 SE Milwaukie Avenue. Live music by The Alphabeticians, Van Oodles, Professor Banjo, and others to delight. Samples of farm fresh foods and goods will be available, along with a balloon sculptor, silent auction, a “meet the farmers” event, and much more. Suggested donation $5 per person, $20/family. All funds raised will help improve Know Thy Food and ensure local farm direct and bulk foods are available to as many families as possible. Bring a Friend and get a free cup of coffee at the Warehouse Cafe!
Tags: Brooklyn Action Corps

Dear Neighbors,
Several volunteers have expressed interest in our Foot Patrol program, which we’re re-launching this spring. We’ve got a coordinating committee, we just need a few more volunteers to join the patrol. The commitment is only a few hours a month. Here’s how it works: you email us to let us know you’re interested, and once we have a few more volunteers, we’ll do a brief training and set up a schedule. Then, on a weekly or biweekly basis, a group of 4-5 of us walk the neighborhood wearing orange vests, and carrying flashlights and a graffiti cleanup kit. If we see an easily removable graffito, we clean it up, otherwise, we take down the location to address it in the future. It’s a great way to get some exercise, meet your neighbors, and discourage graffiti and vandalism.
To get involved, Email Don Stephens.
Tags: Brooklyn Action Corps

The SE Uplift Sustainability Program is hosting a series of free trainings to help homeowners learn about inexpensive do-it-yourself ways to increase the energy efficiency of their homes. Professional trainers will cover topics such as behavior modification and light weatherization, bypass sealing, basic insulation, ventilation corrections and discussing when to call a contractor. There will also be a field session in a home where participants will get guided hands-on experience applying weatherization methods. [Read more →]
Tags: Brooklyn Action Corps

What if 60 eighth grade students wrote, staged, designed, costumed and performed an original script?
What if it was good!?
Documentary film-maker, Jason Turner, followed Winterhaven School’s 8th grade students during the production of their original Rock Opera. What he captured is the creative spirit of children who, when given no limits, amaze even themselves. [Read more →]
Tags: Brooklyn Action Corps