UPDATE: Saturday, May 30 – 3:45pm: Our blogger Dave Gilbert has just reported that the graffiti on Abbott and Saratoga has been completely removed. Today, he also spoke to a manager at Nick’s At the Pier who told him he would remove that very visible graffiti at Abbott and Santa Monica today.
OCEAN BEACH, CA. Racist graffiti written on an apartment wall at the southwest corner of Abbott Street and Saratoga Avenue has been allowed to remain up for over a week now. Blog reporters first noticed the writing on Wednesday, May 20th, and again on Monday the 25th; and it is still up as observed today.
In drastic contrast, the racist graffiti – which is on private property – although very much in the public view – is still up despite the recent uproar over corporate graffiti on Newport Avenue’s public sidewalks by Nutrisoda.
The current graffiti – written in black marker – states: “fuck the n**** cops”.
In the NutriSoda situation, the OB Mainstreet Association stepped forward and demanded that NutriSoda cease and decease. But here, there is no one stepping forward to erase this blight, not the property owner, not the residents, not the Apartment Association, not the OBMA, not passersby, not neighbors, nobody. Nobody has stepped forward in the enlightened neighborhood of Ocean Beach to deal with this.
There was a report of more racist words at the corner of Abbott and Santa Monica as well. Plus, there is a statement with racist overtones on the pedestrian part of the bridge over the San Diego River coming into OB. It says: “Nobama in OB”.
Hey Frank,
Their office was closed but I left a message with the people that manage that building on the corner of Abbott & Saratoga to let them know about the problem.
Dave – did you happen to get their name?
Dave, Please post the name and number you called. As for the “Nobama in OB” graffiti, while it’s stupid and I’d very much like to see it gone, I see it as political, not racist.
I’d rather not post that info guys. However, I did call them again this morning and they said that they got my message, that nobody else had mentioned it, and that they’d take care of it.
Dave – thanks. You’re a gentleman and a scholar. Not to mention the conscience of the community. And thanks Gary for being supportive. Graffiti like this is worst than ordinary graffiti because it tells people we don’t care enough to take it down. Which is pretty insulting, to all of us.
Thanks Joe, just tryin’ to keep it real.
As of 1:00 pm today the graffiti on the corner of Abbott & Saratoga had been covered over with primer but the graffiti on the corner of Santa Monica and Abbott is still in plain view.
If anyone knows any of those business owners in that little complex with the “Nick’s by the Pier” sign, maybe they could mention it to them.
Update: The apartment is now covered up with paint and I talked with the manager at Nick’s and he said he’d take care of the problem.