As groups of volunteers painted over graffiti along the almost 9.5-mile stretch of Federal Boulevard on Saturday morning, neighbors expressed their gratitude in thank-yous while others offered cold drinks.
Denver’s Department of Public Works and Neighborhood Inspection Services, Kwal Paint and 9News partnered for the Brush Off Challenge in an effort to cut down on graffiti vandalism on public and private properties.
Saturday marked the first Brush Off volunteer day, with a turnout of about 400 volunteers, including about 100 fraternity members, city staffers, community volunteers, Kwal Paint employees and Colorado Lowrider Alliance members, said city spokeswoman Ann Williams.
From January through June this year over 130 workdays, city crews removed almost 22,000 square feet of graffiti per day, Williams said.
In small groups, volunteers used paint and supplies donated by Kwal to cover up graffiti on public areas or private properties from the south end of Federal Boulevard to the north.
“We wanted to do something significant, Federal is a main thoroughfare and is a magnet for graffiti,” Williams said. “It’s a signal to the community that we are going to work together.”
Covered-up graffiti can be spotted by the large white square patches of paint on parking-lot walls or sides of restaurants along the street.
Grafitti cleanup and coverup is a constant chore for the city and some property owners.
A group of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity members from all over the country who were here for a national convention cleaned up graffiti painted the night before. One neighbor dropped off a water and small bottles of rum for one fraternity group.
Cleaning up graffiti takes money.
Denver spends about $2.5 million each year, and the Regional Transportation District spends about $1 million to clean up graffiti, according to Denver’s Metro Area Graffiti Taskforce, an organization made up of law enforcement and community members focused on stopping the growth of graffiti vandalism.
The task force keeps an index of Denver-area graffiti and gang crews on its website. For example, DOA stands for Disciples of Aerosol and BCR stands for Boulder County Raised.
The city will remove graffiti for free as long as the property owner has signed an authorization form, which can be requested by calling 311 or visiting .
Do-it-yourself grafitti cleanup is also sponsored by the city, which provides paint and cleaning supplies for free.
This volunteer day is part of the larger Brush Off Challenge, which encourages community members to “adopt” an area to keep graffiti-free in their neighborhoods that may get tagged frequently, Williams said.
The next Brush Off volunteer day is Aug. 21 from 7 a.m. to noon.
Sarah Horn: 303-954-1638 or shorn@denverpost.com
