Gang tagging and vandalism continue to be a problem in the Huntington/Jefferson Manor Area. On Thursday, July 21, the wall at Huntington Avenue and Biscayne Drive was painted with graffiti and there were over 40 more instances of gang tagging and vandalism. Many cars on Glendale Terrace were also painted.
An email sent out to residents by Mack Rhodes, president, Huntington Community Association, reads, “I am grateful to the Mount Vernon District Commander and his officers for assigning foot patrols for this weekend for Huntington and Jefferson Manor for the evening hours. The Commander has also been in contact with the Police Department’s Gang Unit for their assistance this weekend.
“Please remember that it is critical that you photograph the graffiti before it is removed. The Commander has expressed his appreciation to residents who have already starting to clean-up. He has also asked that if you had an incident happen to your property please make a police report. This is important.
“The Commander has assured me that they are doing their best to solve this and restore normalcy. The community’s Neighborhood Watch will also be stepping up its observations.”
“I want to point out that I was pleased to see that the community immediately reported the incidents, photographed the graffiti, and began the
clean up process,” said Capt. Mike Kline, commander, Mount Vernon District Station.
ONE HUNTINGTON RESIDENT said that when she got to work the following day, she found that someone had painted "H-TOWN" on the back of her van. She lives on Glendale Terrace and when she called her husband, he found that he also had been spray painted with same word. Later that day, one of the police officers called her to report that her daughter's car was also sprayed.
She sent an email to Rhodes informing him of the incidents, and wrote, “He [the officer] also said that there were many people on our street also making reports and when he went down the street, many were trying to rub it off their vehicles. This kind of damage really brings down our neighborhood and makes it a much less desirable to live. I am in a contract to purchase the home I live in.
“I have rented this home for almost nine years and we have several attempted break-ins, my husband's truck had a window smashed out and now this. I am sure you will probably get many e-mails about this today. I just wanted to make you aware of this problem. I have called police a few times about teenagers partying and I have been happy with their response. We all need to report everything we see and more people in the neighborhood need to look at what's going on and let authorities know.”