Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara is set to announce a new graffiti clean-up project for this summer. The partnership is a new initiative designed to combat graffiti in the 111th Assembly District and expand opportunities for youth to give back and be a part of their own community.

For this initiative, Santabarbara has partnered with YouthBuild and the Social Enterprise and Training (SEAT) Center in downtown Schenectady. The SEAT Center provides training programs for young adults, especially in underrepresented populations. YouthBuild Schenectady, one of 276 YouthBuild programs around the country, helps young people gain valuable skills while they complete their high school education.

“Removing graffiti quickly is one of the most effective ways to stop vandalism, but removing it can be time consuming and costly,” said Assemblyman Santabarbara. ““We want to help remove graffiti from public property, but we also want to do all we can to assist private property owners,” Assemblyman Santabarbara said. “With this new initiative we can now partner with residents to keep our community vibrant and sustainable.”

The program is simple, “You report it, we’ll clean it up!” Residents can participate in the program by visiting Assemblyman Santabarbara’s website at nyassembly.gov/Santabarbara. Once there, residents will find a new graffiti-reporting feature where descriptions, locations and photos can be uploaded.

Through the program Assemblyman Santabarbara’s office will work with local municipalities, organizations and property owners to mobilize a YouthBuild team to remove the graffiti. The initiative will cover both the City of Schenectady and Amsterdam, and all surrounding municipalities in the 111th Assembly District, which includes areas of Albany, Montgomery and Schenectady Counties.

“The SEAT Center is excited to partner with Assemblyman Santabarbara on this new initiative,” said Jennifer Lawrence, Executive Director of the SEAT Center. “Our YouthBuild AmeriCorps members are from both Schenectady and Amsterdam and this is a great community service project for them to give back to the communities they live in.”