Forest Hills Volunteer Group Takes On Neighborhood Graffiti

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — A newly-formed volunteer group in Forest Hills and Rego Park is leading the charge to remove graffiti across the neighborhood.

Led by longtime community advocates Michael Conigliaro and Michael Perlman, the Forest Hills & Rego Park Graffiti Cleanup Initiative is meant to fill the void left by the suspension earlier this year of a citywide graffiti-removal program.

City officials halted the $3 million Graffiti-Free NYC program as a cost-cutting measure near the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the Queens Post reported.

The group, which already boasts 25 volunteers, will host its first cleanup in coming weeks and will announce details on Facebook.

Supplies are being provided through donations by local residents and business owners, including Reef Restaurant & Bar and the NYPD's 112th Precinct, whose officers plan to join in on the cleanups, Perlman said.

"So far, we have been taking walks around the neighborhood and photographing problems that need to be addressed," Perlman said. "It reminds me of the 'What’s Wrong?' feature of a children’s Highlights magazine."

Interviewed by Perlman for a Forest Hills Times column, Conigliaro, a lifelong Rego Park resident, called the spate of graffiti "a complete disappointment."

"I want to work with other members of my community to beautify it," he said.