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WHEREAS, in response to hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to city neighborhoods caused by graffiti vandals over the past decade, Pittsburgh City Council recently held a post agenda to formulate solutions to this serious problem; and
WHEREAS, graffiti, when unabated, has a significant effect upon the psyche of a community, fostering fear of and often the reality of escalating crime; loss of visual continuity and curb appeal; reduced pedestrian traffic; negative perceptions by out of town visitors and the inevitable loss of property values and decline in essential tax revenues, and
WHEREAS, a strategic tactic in managing graffiti is to remove or paint over graffiti as soon as it appears-- and in doing so discourage vandals from seeking peer recognition and defacing other property; and
WHEREAS, graffiti criminals often target postal mail boxes, and this vandalism has a negative impact on the quality of life in that community; and
WHEREAS, The United States Postal Service has a program in other major cities in which local residents receive supplies to keep postal mailboxes within their community free of graffiti.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Council of the City of Pittsburgh calls on the United States Postal Service to offer the Adopt-A-Mailbox program for the Pittsburgh District; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution shall be transmitted to all members of the Pennsylvania delegation of the United States Congress, the Post Master General and the Post Master of Pittsburgh.