Park Avenue Neighborhood wins 2009 Safe Streets Superstars Award

Here is the message we received from Darren Pen, of Safe Streets...

I am pleased to share with you the great news that one of our team called Park Avenue Neighborhood has been selected as a winner for the 2009 Safe Streets Superstars Awards. Congratulations Park Avenue Neighborhood group!

The Superstars are people in our community who give an extra measure of their time and talent to their neighborhoods in order to make Tacoma-Pierce County a better place to live. The 2009 Safe Streets Superstar honorees will be recognized at the Superstars breakfast, an annual fundraising event, on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Each year Safe Streets Campaign recognizes and honors outstanding individuals and groups who willingly give their time and energy to make our community a safer, healthier place to live.

There will be your chance to nominate the superstars in your community for 2010 Superstars, please consider the individuals or group you know who have made a difference. Then take the time to nominate them for the Safe Streets Superstar Award. Help us acknowledge those who give so freely of their time. Just complete a nomination form, which can also be printed from our website at www.safest.org. I will let you know when the 2010 Nomination Form is coming out. You are welcome to submit more than one nomination (separate form required). Completed forms can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to us.

Park Avenue Neighborhood residents & neighbors - as seen on King 5 News

Park Avenue Neighborhood residents and our neighboring watch groups were recently featured on King 5 News. The story is about our gang graffiti cover-up project on Saturday, August 8th.

You can see the story by clicking on the link below.


http://www.king5.com/video/index.html?nvid=387483&she=1

Article in The News Tribune about Park Avenue Neighborhood

Our neighborhood was recently featured in The News Tribune (again). The link to the article is listed below.

Tacoma's Park Avenue neighborhood battles gang graffiti.

Residents in the Park Avenue neighborhood in Tacoma’s South End are in a battle. The enemy: gang graffiti. http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/crime/story/842245.html?story_link=email_msg

August 18, 2009 - Meeting Announcement

Our August meeting will be Tuesday, August 18th, 2009. We are meeting at our usual time, 6:30-8:00pm. We are meeting at our usual place, Bethany United Methodist Church, 5634 S Park Avenue.

This month we will be focusing on the recent attacks of gang graffiti in our neighborhood and crime prevention.

As always, please remember to bring donations of canned food, toiletries (e.g. toothpaste, deodorant), cleaning supplies, and/or paper goods (e.g. napkins, paper towels, toilet paper) for Bounty Food Bank. And, cash for Park Avenue Neighborhood's operating fund.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Beware of Kids with Backpacks

Yes, graffiti season is here so it is always a good idea to keep your eyes on kids (boys AND girls) with backpacks (even the skinny backpacks), especially those walking down alleys. It only takes them a few seconds to pull out a can of spray paint, spray graffiti, and put the can back in their backpack. If you see anyone who looks suspicious, do not hesitate but call the police immediately. Make sure you give a detailed description, report where their location and the direction they were headed. The more calls Tacoma Police Department receives, the more chance we'll have of catching those spraying the graffiti. If you have any questions, please contact Park Avenue Neighborhood, (parkavenueneighborhood@gmail.com) or Darren Pen of Safe Streets at 272-6824.

Graffiti on Garbage Cans - What do you do?

GARBAGE CAN - GRAFFITI TO DO LIST

1. Report to Tacoma Police Department. Call non-emergency: 798-4721. They may not allow you to report your neighbor's can.

2. Take a photograph of graffiti for Tacoma Police and Safe Streets.

3. Call Tacoma Solid Waste at 591-5543 ASAP (same day is best). Tell them your can and/or your neighbors cans (yes, they let you report neighbor's cans) are covered with gang graffiti. Ask them to replace the garbage can(s) immediately.

4. Send photograph to local neighborhood watch group, such as Park Avenue Neighborhood (parkavenueneighborhood@gmail.com) / Safe Streets. These are forwarded to Tacoma Police’s Gang Unit.

Gang Graffiti in Park Avenue Neighborhood - August 4th, 2009

Our neighborhood was hit with an excessive rash of gang graffiti on the evening after our National Night Out celebration. Over 70 properties were sprayed with gang graffiti overnight. The affected properties included garages, fences, cars, trucks, RV's, trailers and even garbage cans. This comes less than 2 weeks after 2 rival gangs sprayed nearly 30 properties in a 24 hour period. Stay tuned for our neighborhood's response and plan of action.

PAN Patrol Needs YOU

Park Avenue Neighborhood Patrol, a.k.a. PAN Patrol, needs your help. If the excessive graffiti from Tuesday night doesn't convince you, our neighborhood patrol needs more patrollers. Neighborhood Patrollers are trained and certified by Tacoma Police Department and Safe Streets to help you become a safe and effective patroller. Once you've completed the training, you can participate in our neighborhood patrols. We are looking for day and night patrollers. If you are interested, contact parkavenueneighborhood@gmail.com or contact Safe Streets at (253) 272-6824.