KHOU-11’s Chau Nguyen reports on Houston’s worsening graffiti problem:
Lack of funds and manpower are contributing to Houston’s growing graffiti problem.
Even in Midtown, the heart of the Vietnamese business district, graffiti doesn’t discriminate.
KHOU-TV
Houston’s graffiti is an eyesore many wish would go away.
Tao Vu, a restaurant employee, has seen the writing on the wall grow over the last several months, but he said it’s currently as bad as he’s seen.
“It is not art,” Vu said. “I don’t like it.”
Midtown isn’t the only problem area.
City Councilman Mark Goldberg believes more graffiti is present because the its cleanup is low on the city’s priority list.
“I think we need more manpower there, we need more dollars and we need to organize,” Goldberg said.
Houston Mayor Bill White also had something to say about graffiti.
“We gotta continue to be vigilant, and I’m gonna review the situation with the chief,” Mayor White said.
In past years, funds were allocated for graffiti abatement, but that budget has been cut.
Graffiti is growing worse in the city, and it just looks terrible. Unfortunately, graffiti abatement has not been a priority for Mayor White. He can talk about vigilance and task forces and reviews, but the fact is, Tasers, SAFEclear, Parking Authorities, and creating new revenue streams (from downtown parking to renegade downtown jaywalkers to red light cameras to loading zone permits) have been higher priorities for Mayor White than tackling (or even acknowledging) a worsening graffiti problem (or dealing with HPD’s manpower shortage effectively, for that matter).
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