Detroit crackdown on graffiti continues with cleanup

DETROIT - All this year Detroit has been trying to crackdown on illegal graffiti and tagging.

Crews have been power washing problem areas on Detroit's east side Wednesday.

City crews are combating blight, and on Wednesday were taking down illegal tags on Trombly and Russell. About 40 graffiti tags along the overpass were washed away.

The city says roughly 700 properties have been cleaned in the last seven months including nearly 3,000 tags on electrical boxes and utility poles painted over. The city also is asking business owners with graffiti on their buildings to remove them within 14 days.

"We're running about a 40-percent compliance rate," said Brad Dick, Detroit city director of general services. "After that, we go into the ticket process."

The city says more than 16,000 tags have been removed since May. After the tags are coated for a day or two,  you can see how quickly the paint is removed.

Dick said that when the tags come back, the cleanup crews.

"We are there the very next day and we take it down," Dick said.

Corktown business owner Ahmed Hasan says -- his warehouse on Michigan Avenue has been tagged several times this year, costing him about $300  to clean and cover up the spray paint -- each time... but, he also says:

"Lately, it's been better,"  he said. "The city is on it."

While all can agree gang graffiti is a constant battle, those with the city's graffiti removal program say they aren't going away.