In 2023, Koreatown in Los Angeles reported approximately 9,000 instances of graffiti, according to a new report.
Earlier this month, Oceanwide Plaza, a 27-story residential complex in downtown LA, was covered in graffiti.
Taggers, who broke into the building while construction was suspended, painted the graffiti. In the weeks following the incident, graffiti in downtown LA spiked by 200 percent, and vandalism increased by more than 500 percent, according to the DTLA Alliance, a coalition of downtown building owners.
This illustrates the extent of LA’s graffiti problem.
‘Crosstown’, a statistical analysis magazine, reported that the annual number of graffiti reports in LA ranged from 300,000 to 350,000 for seven years from 2016 to 2023.
The media cited statistics from MyLA311, an LA citizen service.
According to the same statistics, there were 326,861 graffiti reports citywide in Los Angeles in 2023.
Koreatown was among the neighborhoods most affected by graffiti.
Last year, it experienced 8,869 graffiti reports, approximately 24 reports per day, making it the eighth most affected neighborhood in LA.
The neighborhoods most affected by graffiti were Boyle Heights (27,692) and Downtown (23,375), separated by the LA River.
Other neighborhoods with high frequencies of graffiti reports include Westlake (19,401), Historic South-Central (15,359), East Hollywood (11,300), Sylmar (9,843), and North Hollywood (9,169), all in proximity to Koreatown.
Graffiti can be reported by dialing 311 or using the MyLA311 website or app. The reported totals include both individual and preliminary reports by City staff.
The City’s Office of Community Beautification aims to remove graffiti within 72 hours of a report. Graffiti from spray paint or markers is usually removed within a day.
The department contracts with organizations in various city parts and utilizes individuals needing community service hours to remove graffiti, the department stated.
Meanwhile, the recent vandalism at Oceanwide Plaza prompted the L.A. City Council to approve a motion to allocate $3.8 million for graffiti removal from the apartments and to install fencing.
