New York City graffiti cleanup efforts by NYPD

NEW YORK - Graffiti has become a growing problem across the five boroughs since the city went into lockdown last year.  The NYPD is expanding its community policing program to help fight graffiti across New York City.

On Saturday, April 10, police officers, community leaders, and volunteers will spend the day painting over graffiti in neighborhoods all over the city.

"It's been a tough year, not just in New York City but across this whole country," Commissioner Dermot Shea said. "This is about moving forward, it's about the recovery, it's about coming out together and cleaning up."

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The clean-up was announced on Manhattan's Lower East Side, an area that is covered in graffiti.

Chief Jeffrey Maddrey says, "We're going to clean up a lot of this graffiti that is just all over the neighborhood and making it look bad."

Police hope that cleaning up along with community members will have the added benefit of improving relationships between police and residents.

If you want to report graffiti in your neighborhood, you can send an email to graffiti@nypd.org, and you can also let the police know if vandals have come back to the same spot after it was painted over.

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Police had had thousands of complaints about graffiti during the pandemic when city streets were less crowded. They also saw more complaints after a summer of violent and destructive protests.

They hope this initiative will not only make New York City's streets look better, but make New Yorkers feel better as well.