April 27, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Putting a spotlight on vandals

by Sue Dremann

Swastikas carved into park picnic tables and gravel thrown into the Greenmeadow Community Center's swimming pool are the last straw in a string of vandalism that has plagued the neighborhood-owned center.

A few local youths, ranging in age from 12 to 15 years of age, are believed to be causing the damage. Girls as well as boys have been spotted on the center's roof.

After four years of struggling with persistent destruction, the Greenmeadow Community Association will vandal-proof the center with motion-activated lights, cameras and community activism to put a stop to the crime -- and catch the perpetrators.

It's a balancing act between enforcing the law and catching and punishing neighborhood kids, some of whom could even be the children of Greenmeadow association members.

"Don't be surprised if they turn out to be your own kids," Palo Alto Police Lt. Dennis Tealer warned residents and board members at the association's quarterly meeting last Wednesday evening.

Tealer was invited to discuss ways to catch the vandals, who have done thousands of dollars in damage at a neighborhood facility residents have always considered safe.

Incidents of defecation, pot smoking and profanity-laced graffiti directed at a member of the community are among the recent nuisances with which the association has contended.

"It's endless. There has been spray paint, permanent markers, carvings, smoke bombs, and fires in garbage cans. In the last four months, we've spent over $600 in supplies, which doesn't take into account sanding (the swastikas and graffiti off the redwood picnic tables.) Every week we have to sand the picnic tables. It's a huge drain on us," Paula Provoznik, executive director of Greenmeadow Community Association, said.

Picnic tables in the park, still fragrant with a new coat of varnish, bore the scars of recently carved swastikas, fresh burrs curling from the gouged wood.

"Police think it's an easy symbol to carve, rather than a hate crime, but it's still no more comforting to anyone," Provoznik said.

But some neighbors aren't so quick to speculate on the motive. Greenmeadow has always been a safe, family-oriented place, but incidents such as the swastika-carving make people question their safety, said Jack Hamilton, the neighborhood historian.

When tables are refinished only to be damaged again, Hamilton wonders about the mindset of such individuals who repeat such hateful acts. Catching and interviewing the perpetrators may provide insight into their thinking. Only then can the underlying problems contributing to the vandalism hopefully be addressed, he said.

The swastika incidents began two years ago, when 4-foot-wide symbols were spray painted on some of the round plastic patio tables set out in the park. Police believe the smaller carved symbols may be the work of copy-cats, Provoznik said.

The damage is costly. Labor costs for gravel removal from the pool and recent re-sanding of the picnic tables, were $3,000, Provoznik added.

That money comes out of association members' pockets. The preschool, meeting place, attractive park and pool are privately owned by the Greenmeadow Community Association, which is made up of dues-paying neighborhood members and associate members from surrounding communities.

Built by developer Joseph Eichler as a gathering place for residents of the Greenmeadow subdivision he built in 1954. The association purchased the park, pool and facilities from Eichler in 1955.

Since the property is privately owned, the organization is drafting a letter giving the police permission to enter the property to detain any suspicious persons until a member of the Greenmeadow Association arrives, Provoznik said.

During Wednesday night's meeting, when Tealer discussed strategies for combating vandalism, members considered how to deal with the delicate issue of detaining neighborhood youth. Some were cautious about "escalating with police," but others pointed out if they don't escalate, the problems themselves might escalate. But the primary objective of all present was the identification of the perpetrators.

If they are caught, members will have to decide what to do with them, and could have the perpetrators arrested.

In the case of youths, the officers might issue a juvenile-contact report instead, Tealer said. There would be a record on file identifying the youth, and parents would be contacted by the police.

Community-association members leaned toward notifying parents and extracting restitution for damages done ,which could be formidable.

The recent gravel-in-the-pool incident covered the pool bottom and patio with hundreds of sharp pieces of gravel, which had to be hand-removed by divers. It took hours of painstaking work, according to Provoznik. Two children have cut their feet on the gravel, she added..

As a deterrent, the community association also plans to do some old-fashioned flat-footing. Members are compiling a sign-up sheet for a neighborhood walk program that will patrol the park in the late evening hours, when the perpetrators are suspected to be committing their crimes.

E-mail Staff Writer Sue Dremann at sdremann@paweekly.com.

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