Graffiti program serves La Verne

by Oscar de León
Staff Writer

At 6 a.m. on a recent Monday – several hours before most University of La Verne students have awoken – Rudy Gama of the city’s department of public works is getting ready to make sure this pristine city stays that way.

Gama, 28, who has worked for the city of La Verne since he was 17, is a first responder for the city’s very successful graffiti abatement program.

“This is my first and only job,” Gama said.

Gama begins his day by checking messages on the graffiti hotline from residents who have called in to report such vandalism on city property. He then goes out – armed with cleaning supplies and paint – to clean the reported sites.

Most of the calls come in over the weekend, he said, making Mondays his busiest.

This particular Monday he’s greeted with 25 such messages.

City officials credit the 11-year-old graffiti abatement program, for more than just keeping the city beautiful.

They said removing graffiti helps reduce other more serious crimes.

When on the job Monday, Gama found the letters ABLC written on a wall at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Emerald Avenue.

He grabbed his bucket of paint and, after a quick assessment that the entire wall needed repainting, he got to work.

He didn’t know what the letters meant, he said, but it only takes him about two minutes to get rid of them.

Next he went to a residence at Emerald Avenue and Lemonwood Street. This time, the graffiti was on the sidewalk. Gama aimed a high-pressure water hose at the letters “NWBK.”

This failed to do the job so he got out his big gun – a sand-blaster. It fired a stream of hot water and sand that took the paint right off the cement in a matter of seconds.

Gama said that most of the graffiti is found on the corner of First Avenue and B Street.

“That area is considered the barrio,” he said.

He added that there is a gang in this area – or the closest thing to one. There are no real gangs in La Verne, apparently.

“I was born in La Puente and there you could see the real gangs.” he said.

According to Jeannette Vagnozzi, administrative superintendent for the La Verne public works department, it would be less expensive to create a graffiti abatement program than pay private companies to clean the graffiti around the community.

The city has also found that having an in-house program allows for quicker responses to residents’ calls.

Vagnozzi said that a faster response creates fewer incentives for tagging crews to do it again.

A recent city report found that the amount of graffiti in La Verne has dropped dramatically, she said.

Meanwhile, Gama said he enjoys going out on calls, not only because he is helping to keep rid the city of ugly tags and unwanted markings, but also because he gets to work outdoors.

“I love my job,” Gama said.