A graffiti-strewn block of buildings that’s plagued the Glenwood Houses for some time has been given new life thanks to a new initiative sponsored by the Kings County District Attorney’s office.
The graffiti clean-up %u2013 the first of many, promises Kings County D.A. Charles Hynes — was held near the corner of Ralph Avenue and Glenwood Road on the morning of June 10.
Hynes, Deputy Inspector Frank Cangiarella, the commanding officer of the 63rd Precinct, Community Board 18 District Manager Dorothy Turano and Chair Saul Needle were on hand to watch the kickoff of the graffiti program, where participants in the D.A.’s Alternative Programs Unit put a new coat of paint on a city building smeared with graffiti.
The participants were Brooklyn residents charged with non-violent crimes who were accepted in the Alternative Programs Unit.
Hynes said that as part of the unit, participants complete their sentences of community service by cleaning up the streets of Brooklyn by painting over graffiti, removing trash from the streets, flyers from poles or pruning trees.
Participants in Wednesday’s clean-up were charged with a great undertaking: painting over graffiti found in the Glenwood Houses, as well as in an adjoining commercial area.
They were assisted by members of Millennium Development, who provided the cleaning equipment.
“Cleanup projects like these allow men and women charged with crimes to give back to the community by improving the quality of life for residents in those neighborhoods,” Hynes said.
The Glenwood Houses clean-up was the first of eight clean-ups scheduled in the borough through July.
Participants of the Alternative Programs Unit are also scheduled to remove flyers from street lamps and poles along 86th Street in Bensonhurst on June 23 as well as perform a massive clean-up of Seaview Avenue and East 108th Street in Canarsie on July 18. Other clean-ups are scheduled to be held in Sunset Park, Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant, organizers said.
