MONTICELLO – The proliferation of graffiti in Sullivan County “threatens to undermine the economic opportunities” that lie ahead with the development of the Adelaar resort which will include the Montreign casino, County Legislator Alan Sorensen said Monday.
The Republican lawmaker said graffiti contributes to lost revenues with reduced retail sales and declines in property values but also “generates the perception of blight and heightens the fear of gang activity.”
Sorensen said the fight against graffiti must be addressed on many levels.
“It’s going to take a concerted effort of county and local governments, local law enforcement, property owners, working together to resolve this problem,” he said. “I don’t think we can put the burden on one municipality or one property owner. It is going to take a community-wide effort to address it, to come up with an aggressive program of quickly removing graffiti and basically over time, deterring the graffiti from the onset.”
Sorensen said based on his discussions with police, some of the graffiti
along Route 17 is gang related and gangs use that graffiti to mark turf
or convey threats of violence.
