By Michelle Collins
It’s a common sight around the downtown core, but when Centretown resident Janet Mrenica discovered graffiti on the side of her own home last week, the vandalism became more than just an eyesore.
Mrenica has owned the semi-detached home in the heart of the golden triangle near Elgin Street for nine years.
The doors of her home are painted dark green, and the walls are made of red brick. Now, two spray-painted graffiti tags in blue and red cover the west facing wall of her home.
“She was mad and disappointed,” says her son Jean-Sebastien Mrenica-Robillard. He says he thinks the graffiti is an isolated incident and nothing more than “punk” behaviour.
Mrenica filed a report with the police and sent an e-mail to Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes expressing concern that this may be part of a growing trend.
“This is going to be a different matter if it becomes widespread,” says Holmes.
She has now been alerted to two such incidences in Centretown.
Holmes says police have not been able to contain the problem of constant graffiti on commercial property in the area.
“It’s a matter of everyone keeping an eye open,” she says. “It’s very expensive and very destructive.”
Ottawa Police Const. Walter Duhme says it’s important that this type of graffiti be photographed, immediately reported to police, and cleaned up as soon as possible.
“They want their tags to be seen,” he says.
“If they keep putting it where it gets washed off quickly, they’re going to see it’s a waste of time.”
Duhme said Mrenica will have to cover the cost of cleaning the graffiti off of her home, which, depending on the chemicals used, starts at over $100.
The issue was raised at the recent monthly Centretown Citizens Community Association meeting.
“It was raised as being a growing issue,” says Albert Galpin, chair of the neighbourhood safety and security committee. Galpin says he hopes to work with the police over the next few weeks to address the graffiti problem in Centretown. “The CCCA is concerned about what may be a growing issue,” he says. “It isn’t something you can just stop.”
From the reading I’ve done, it’s something the community has to be involved in as a whole.”
Until more can be done, Mrenica will try to find out who spray painted the side of her home.
Mrenica-Robillard says he thinks it may be kids from the neighbourhood. “They’re always partying and there’s always people outside into late night,” he says.
Louis Facchini, co-president of the Centretown Citizens Community Association, says they’ve been trying to “beef up security.”
Facchini, who lives near Mrenica, says it’s common that people relieve themselves on the side of his home after leaving the nearby bars and pubs on Elgin Street.
“I can just imagine what having graffiti on the side of your home would feel like,” Facchini says.