Graffiti reports increase in Gainesville as nonprofit works to clean vandalism

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - Officers with the Gainesville Police Department say they’re receiving an increasing amount of reports of graffiti in the area.

Workers with the nonprofit, Keep Alachua County Beautiful are working to clean some of these marks around the city.

“We see graffiti as being visual pollution, in that kind of sense, not your conventional kind of littering, but it does have an impact,” said Carlos Gonzalez, executive director of Keep Alachua County Beautiful.

Gonzalez moved to Gainesville back in 2019 and was very impressed by the city’s natural beauty and cleanliness.

“When I first came here that was something that I noticed that was quite welcoming, it was nice, it was taken care of and as an outsider, I wanted to maintain that I wanted to keep it nice for other people,” Gonzalez said.

He joined the nonprofit to help preserve the area’s appearance. He said an area that’s well maintained is more welcoming for everybody.

“It affects people’s mental well-being, physical well-being, and so we want to make sure we make this place as welcoming as it was for people when they first came here,” Gonzalez said.

Keep Alachua County Beautiful has worked to keep the community clean for more than 30 years. Gonzalez assumed the role of executive director in 2024.

“Graffiti alone, we’ve probably cleaned up over 3,000 square feet alone that’s done with volunteers,” Gonzalez said.

Keep Alachua County Beautiful also has litter pickup programs, maintains community gardens and promote an adopt-a-road program.

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