Petaluma group gets rid of graffiti

Petalumans Eradicating Graffiti has been keeping the city clean since 1998.|

They are like guerrilla warriors against graffiti.

The five members of Petalumans Eradicating Graffiti work independently and know little about each other except perhaps a first name, and the group maintains a certain level of stealth and anonymity to deflect unwanted attention from taggers in its work to clean up the city – an effort that’s spanned nearly two decades.

But things were different when the group was launched in 1998.

The founder, who now chooses to remain anonymous, gave several interviews about the group’s work. Shortly after, he began receiving threats, according to Petaluma resident and group member Bruce Cohn.

However, Cohn, 66, is happy to talk about his work with the group, which mans a graffiti hot line, and hits the streets to help keep the city graffiti free. A real estate appraiser, he finds time four days a week to scout his “territory,” which includes parts of downtown and out Capri Creek to the Santa Rosa Junior College Petaluma campus, as well as locations along Lakeville Street. Other volunteers cover locations including downtown Petaluma alleys.

On a recent day, Cohn provided a guided tour of one of the places on his beat-the bridge at the start of the Lynch Creek trail. He carries the tools of his trade in a backpack in his truck: rags, strippers and scrapers. There are also buckets of specially matched paint.

Cohn explained that graffiti removal is a craft.

“We don’t just take paint and paint over stuff,” Cohn said. “We have to make it like it was originally. We have different paint colors for different areas. I have a bucket of paint for the DMV, another color for the sound wall over off Maria. This wood fence here”-he gestures toward a fence near the Apple Box cafe-“we have a color for that.”

But those are the easy fixes.

Concrete and brick surfaces have to be stripped of the offending paint. This is accomplished with Misty Vandalism Mark Remover and a supply of abrasive sponges, strippers and plenty of elbow grease. A power washer is sometimes used. Ladders and a certain amount of Spider-man agility come into play for hard-to-reach areas.

Shields have not stopped taggers from gaining access to the utility pipe that runs parallel to the bridge. This is where agility comes in handy.

But the graffiti will soon be back.

“It’s a cat and mouse game,” Cohn said.

Already a participant in the twice-yearly Petaluma River cleanups, Cohn learned about the group four years ago.

“I got interested in getting rid of this stuff, so I asked if I could help out, and ever since then I’ve kind of been on call,” he said.

Another member, Bob Myers, 84, has been part of the group for most of its lifespan. A retired highway patrol officer and volunteer policeman who was born and raised in Petaluma, Myers knows the city well, and often cleans up graffiti in American Alley and Telephone Alley.

“We also pull down posters and take off stickers,” Myers said.

Funds from the city budget go to a liaison person from the group, who purchases the purple cans of Misty and other supplies. The recycling center provides the paint and the group gets discounts on tints at local paint stores. However, Cohn and the other volunteers often pay for brushes and scrapers out of pocket.

The police department has been involved with the group since the beginning, when the founder offered to take on the task of cleaning up graffiti. The department offered him training about how to be safe while cleaning up the tags, and showed him how to tell if the graffiti is gang related.

When calls about graffiti come into the police department, an officer is sent to look at the graffiti and determine if its gang related, according to Petaluma Police Lt. Danny Fish. Then the call is routed to the graffiti hot line, and the volunteers take over.

People may also call the hot line directly, and Fish said that the group members also know to contact the police if they encounter gang-related graffiti.

“We use that information for our gang enforcement and gang eradication efforts,” Fish said.

He said the group is providing “a great service to the community.”

“It’s a collaborative approach; it’s worked here for many years, very, very well. We’re very supportive of that group, and I think they provide one of the most important services in this community, because that graffiti stuff is a quality of life issue,” he said.

Graffiti is illegal, under both California and Petaluma law. If the damages exceed $400 to repair, it’s punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 plus the cost of damages, and/or imprisonment of up to one year, according to California law. To report graffiti, call the hot line at 776-3606.

(Contact Bonnie Allen at argus@arguscourier.com)

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