A.S. Kinsman

For anyone who’s traveled in the Greater Portland lately, they’ve

noticed graffiti defacing and defiling, it seems, almost everything that

resides within the zip code.Squiggly, balloon-like, colored, impossible to decipher and understand

letters or markings litter the city. And it seems to be getting worse.

Problems with graffiti in Portland and South Portland, and the resulting

crackdowns, have waxed and waned over the years. This winter, the problem

appears magnified. Signs, mailboxes, bridges, buildings, walls and other

property in downtown Portland have been hit, and someone spray-painted

“Bro” on each panel of the 3,550-foot-long sound wall along Interstate 295 in

South Portland. The same tag has appeared in several spots in Portland.

The graffiti has marred the face of Portland to the point where people

are not only complaining, but taking matters into their own hands. An

anonymous person offered a $5,000 reward to bring in tips to identify people

who deface public property. According to South Portland police Lt. Frank

Clark, no arrests have been made as of yet, though there have been several

tips and leads.

“I’ve seen an explosion during the winter months, a time when it can’t

be cleaned off, almost like they know it can’t be cleaned off so they’re

tagging more,” said Doug Fuss, owner of Bull Feeney’s in the old port.

The reason for no clean-ups in winter? Chemicals that are used to

remove the graffiti typically don’t work in cold weather, and the fact that

Maine is currently enduring its coldest winter in over a decade means that

taggers are fully aware that their “art” cannot be taken down for at least

another two months until the weather warms up.

“Their best wish is for it to remain there for an extended period. That’s

why the best way to defeat it is to remove it as quickly as possible.” said

Trish McAllister, Portland’s neighborhood prosecutor, who oversees graffiti

cleanup and pushes for restitution when those responsible are caught by

police.Nearly everyone agrees that graffiti does not give Portland a good

image.

“Graffiti creates the perception of a place being unsafe,” Fuss said. “I

like to equate it to running an establishment like mine. If you don’t clear

glasses and keep the place orderly, things will get out of control. I think the

same thing is true of cities. Cities have to stay tidy.”

This is certainly proved case-in-point in cities with high rates of

violence, crime, and depravity. The city of Detroit has more spaces covered

with graffiti than it does without. They remain the nation’s highest in terms

of murders and crime.

Some do not think of graffiti as criminal, and consider the sides of

buildings and public property part of the public domain – but they know

enough not to do it in broad daylight. Though some might try to defend graffiti as “art,” it is quickly overruled by the fact that it is property damage

above all else. They do not have permission to “tag” or “paint” anything

without the owner of the property first consenting.

Decorative murals, like those on the back side of the Asylum nightclub

at Free and Center streets, have the owners’ blessing. But the vast majority

of the scribbles and doodles on walls, doors, signs and bridge abutments are

vandalism, costing the government and business owners thousands of

dollars each year.

Graffiti remains the most common form of vandalism each year. Most

offenders are in their teens or early twenties. Despite speculations, Trish

McAllister remains firm on the notion that it is not gang-related. “They’re part

of a culture … with a hierarchy that starts with those who think it’s art, and it

goes down to a beginner tagger.”

“A lot of these guys have their own unique emblem or logo that they

want to be known by. That’s why they tag,” said Lieutenant Clark.

McAllister estimates there are 10 to 15 habitual taggers in Portland and

another group that does it less frequently.

“It’s amazing what some people call ‘art’,” Kevin Ruel, an electrician,

voiced on his Facebook page.

Some people do not blame locals. Rather, they blame the influx of

newcomers, from places all around the country and the globe.

Doug Copson tweeted, “Keep importing all the booger boys from Mass

and NY, a couple more years and they put down the spray cans and pick up

guns.”

Portland has another two months to go before the weather warms up

and cleaning efforts can begin. Until then, Mainers will have to continue to

deal with hundreds of feet of “Bro” along I-295’s sound wall and other

defilements left on public property to be looked at, grimaced at, and then

spurned away without a praising thought.