Comments on Graffiti-covered warehouses by RI Ave. Metro buffed - Greater Greater Washington

Comment by kk

Fri, 25 May 2012 13:23:03 EDT

@ Geoffrey Hatchard

In truth perception should not matter what matters is the function and nothing else. That the problem with society looks over function.

Comment by Geoffrey Hatchard

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:19:25 EDT

It's not just the graffiti removal, it's the removal of the "ghetto palms" (ailanthus trees). That's a clear sign that the building owners are thinking about how their buildings are perceived. The graffiti will come back, but if they work to keep the weeds down - that's honest change.

Comment by treyd

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:38:01 EDT

So, the buildings went from decorated (ie, representing urban life) to Soviet architecture. This will make it easier to gentrify and stop the urban decay. Of course, urban decay usually means corruption and lack of services/employment for the poor and often kicking the poor out, but I do understand, that if you believe poor people are ranked lower than property,this would be a positive sign. Cheers to the white power groups who think this is an awesome development.

Comment by MDE

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:25:43 EDT

Thanks, Tina. It's amazing how one small hyphen can save a lot of people's brains a lot of effort.

Comment by Tina

Fri, 11 May 2012 14:47:47 EDT

[I think most people (if not all) know, w/a doubt, understand what John is saying.

Maybe I'm in the minority but I agree with @MDE. I reread the title a couple of times and then deduced a meaning. I read it exactly like MDE describes; as two sentences.]

Comment by Julius Zsako

Fri, 11 May 2012 14:25:37 EDT

The author made an interesting connection between the removal of graffiti when neighborhood revitalization is happening. Graffiti is a sign of decline wherever it appears. When researching DEFACING AMERICA - The Rise of Graffiti Vandalism, I learned that the common existence of graffiti in a neighborhood devalues property by 15%. See more at http://www.DefacingAmerica.com. Graffiti vandalism hurts communities.

Comment by shaw_guy

Fri, 11 May 2012 14:05:25 EDT

Agreed that graffiti is a classic sign of urban decay. I've actually got to give a lot of credit to the new DC 311 smartphone app for helping the graffiti problem in Shaw - I've reported a couple dozen tags, and they have all been dealt with quickly and completely (and by quickly, sometimes it's been as little as the next day). Give it a try - when you can take a pic of the problem, stuff gets dealt with quickly.

Comment by selxic

Thu, 10 May 2012 21:22:40 EDT

My third quarter FY12 spray paint budget didn't account for this.

Comment by LeFabe

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:20:16 EDT

There's a bunch of really cool graffiti under 395 at the corner of Virginia ave SE and 2nd Street SE, just South of Garfield Park. Also, what used to be some sort of ad hoc skate park has recently turned into a pretty legit looking skate park. I'm not a huge fan of graffiti. I like artistic-looking stuff, but HATE HATE HATE tags and personally find the big blow-up balloon words to be pretty unoriginal.

Comment by Jeff

Thu, 10 May 2012 17:35:25 EDT

I dont' feel that is an improvement. I didn't ride the red line often, but I also looked forward to seeing the art when I did. Now there's just boring brick and concrete. The graffiti added a needed splash of color. It will be back though.

Comment by MrTinDC

Thu, 10 May 2012 16:59:27 EDT

Good riddance! It looked disgusting, a classic calling card of urban decay. Artistic, sanctioned murals, works on canvas, temporary community art installations (call box art, pandas, whatever) are fine, but really glad to see this stuff removed.

Comment by HogWash

Thu, 10 May 2012 16:44:33 EDT

It's kinda a pet peeve, but it also makes it really hard to understand sentences easily.

I think most people (if not all) know, w/a doubt, understand what John is saying.

Comment by rdhd

Thu, 10 May 2012 16:26:45 EDT

I just took a picture yesterday of graf on a MARC train at Union Station. Broadway style? I'm no expert; but it looked cool. It ain't dead yet.

Comment by BO

Thu, 10 May 2012 16:22:20 EDT

Further proof.... OBAMA HATES BORF

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Obama_hates_Borf.jpg

At least we still have the yellow robots on the crosswalks in downtown

https://www.google.com/search?q=yellow+robot+graffiti

Comment by MDE

Thu, 10 May 2012 16:21:33 EDT

A huge bugbear of mine is when compound adjectives are mistakenly not hyphenated. It's especially important in headlines where which words are subjects and which are verbs are often not clear.

Here's the rule: If an adjective modifies another adjective, you hyphenate the two.

In this case, "graffiti covered" should be a hyphenate. Otherwise the headline reads like a pair of sentences: "Graffiti (subject) covered (verb) warehoused by RI Ave. (new sentence) Metro buffed." So, Metro was buffed by/when graffiti covered a warehouse near RI Ave?

It's kinda a pet peeve, but it also makes it really hard to understand sentences easily.

Sorry to pick on grammar, but it matters!

http://www.kentlaw.edu/academics/lrw/grinker/LwtaCompound_Adjectives.htm

Comment by NE John

Thu, 10 May 2012 16:17:14 EDT

Great! That looked terrible.

Comment by Brooklander

Thu, 10 May 2012 15:51:50 EDT

These buildings are still an eyesore but it's definitely an improvement. More importantly, any indications that they'll ever be sold?