Kandi Howe, left, looks over the shoulder of Nuri Rubio on Friday as she photographs graffiti on a building with her iPhone on Miner Avenue in downtown Stockton.MICHAEL McCOLLUM/The Record
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STOCKTON - The city's ongoing war on graffiti is about to get 21st-century reinforcements.
A new no-cost iPhone application designed specifically to clean up Stockton was demonstrated downtown Friday afternoon.
"We've had a tremendous response," said Paul Amador, president of Stockton-based California Application Research Group, and the new app's creator. "It's free to download and takes about 30 seconds. We want to see Stockton thrive. We can use social media to solve real-world problems. And bring everybody together."
Want to join the effort to help clean up Stockton?
• Go to www.calarg.org [1] and click on the "Clean Up Stockton" button or call (916) 949-9932.
• The city of Stockton encourages residents to be part of the fight against blight. City Hall's graffiti hot line: (209) 937-8040.
Here's how the application known as "Clean Up Stockton" works:
» After the app is installed, users are encouraged to identify and take pictures of graffiti, broken glass or litter around town.
» The images and information post to a digital map.
» The database records each report and eventually it will record the elapsed time between each post and its resolution.
» A coalition of nonprofit organizations and other groups will work together to clean up the graffiti and vandalism once each report is posted.
"This is a grass-roots effort in Stockton," Amador said. "People can view the reports, use their GPS and then clean it up. It's a visual thing."
He has partners.
Jerron Jordan, director of The First 50, a youth mentoring program, and Leandro Vicuña, the new CEO of the Downtown Stockton Alliance, have enthusiastically embraced the high-tech approach to an old Stockton problem.
At Friday's unveiling, Amador demonstrated the simple steps behind installing and using the app. A group of First 50 teenagers, community volunteers and University of the Pacific students then started walking across a section of central Stockton as part of a beta test.
Stockton Planning Commissioner Christina Fugazi led the first group of eight out the front door of Cafe Coop at 235 N. San Joaquin St. "Off to Stockton cleanup, we go," she said.
They headed east on Miner Avenue and quickly found examples of graffiti. Fugazi demonstrated how to use the app. She had followers ranging in age from 6 to 61. They stopped three times in the first block of their graffiti walk.
About 50 people showed up for the unveiling. Ahead of time, Amador had identified three purposes:
» Civic pride: The three young men hope the app will help "restore our city and make sure ... blight is taken care of quickly."
» Civic engagement: Creating a sophisticated tracking and measuring device, Amador wants "participating nonprofits to be able to track and log exactly how much vandalism and graffiti" is discovered and removed.
» Civic accountability: He said, "Once a group responds ... the before/after pictures will be stored in the public databases ... this affords unparalleled transparency."
Since 2007, Stockton has had a stringent graffiti ordinance that includes penalties and a requirement that property owners assist with abatement and removal.
The new app is privately developed and not part of the understaffed Stockton Police Department's continuing efforts.
Two Franklin High School seniors were part of Friday's launch. Nuri Rubio, 18, and Maria Ramirez, 17, had already downloaded the new software, and they were eager to get started.
"We want to help restore our city and make it a better place for generations to come," Nuri said. "I want Stockton to be viewed as a beautiful place. I want to help."
Initially, the app is applicable only to downtown. Amador said other neighborhoods would be added in the future.
Even though they live on the east side of the city, Nuri and Maria agreed that they will continue to participate in the program's initial stage.
Their future planning already includes trips to the City Centre Stadium 16 + IMAX theater combined with hunting expeditions for graffiti and trash.
"What would be the point of the app if you didn't use it?" Maria said. "We can't expect others to do it."
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