Graffiti has been a problem in Hamilton Beach for decades, creating eyesores all around the neighborhood.
And the bridge that connects Hamilton Beach to Old Howard Beach over Hawtree Creek, known to residents as the “blue bridge,” is one of the most notorious spots for defacement.
But some residents, who are fed up with the look it gives the neighborhood, took clean-up matters into their own hands.
“One day, while hanging on my boat with some friends, we all started talking [about] how the bridge made the neighborhood look degrading,” said Laura Weiser, a resident of Hamilton Beach for 12 years. “So, I decided to do something about it.”
And she did.
In the beginning of October, Weiser, along with her friend and fellow resident of Hamilton Beach, Traci Scotto, bought some green paint, and started painting over the graffiti on the concrete footing of the bridge.
Within three hours, the pair fully painted the northern portion of the footing on the Hamilton Beach side but soon after ran into some trouble.
As Weiser was starting to paint the southern portion, on her second day of painting, she slipped, fell and tore tendons and ligaments in her left wrist. Because of this injury, she could not finish painting the side and has left it a quarter of the way done.
She is now hoping that some residents will follow her good deed and help finish painting the concrete as she will not be able to do so for another six weeks.
“I would love to have finished painting the bridge,” Weiser said. “I still have plenty of paint and new rollers and brushes. Now, I just need someone to continue on what I have started.”
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