John Provetto goes around North East Bronx in his graffiti mobile to scope out and clean up locations that have been tagged, or spray-painted.

“That includes mailboxes, storefronts, drop-down gates, on i-95 to the Bruckner interchange, the Hutchinson River Parkway to the Whitestone Bridge. Anywhere. Everywhere in the neighborhood,” said Provetto.

Provetto started removing or covering up the graffiti on his days off from his job as chief security officer for the MTA. After 41 years with the authority, he retired in 2013. For the most part, he pays for the supplies out of his own pocket, then finds the spray-painted names, unsightly stickers and unauthorized advertisement signs. He gets rid of them. 

What You Need To Know

  • Graffiti-free 45th Precinct Bronx is an initiative started by a former MTA chief security officer

  • John Provetto started cleaning up and covering up graffiti before retiring from the MTA and continues to do it

  • Provetto pays for paint and cleaning supplies on his own. He goes out at least once a week for several hours

“One of the funny things is, people don’t notice it. And the people don’t notice it because it’s not there,” Provetto said.

Sometimes Provetto, who started the Graffiti-Free 45th Precinct Initiative, volunteers for several hours a day, multiple times a week. It can be a lot of work, but he says it’s his duty.

“Graffiti is the first sign of a neighborhood’s decay. After the graffiti comes the litter. After the litter comes the crime, prostitution,” Provetto said. “If you take care of the little things, the big things don’t happen.”

Often, people in the community share tips on where to find the graffiti. The graffiti buster estimates that thanks to his efforts, the neighborhoods of Throggsneck, Pelham Bay, Country Club and City Island are at about 90% graffiti-free.

“There’s a big difference between art and tagging, 95% of the graffiti that I’ve removed is tags. It’s not art. It’s just somebody put their name up for whatever reason, notoriety or whatever,” Provetto said.

While the murals are safe, he has had a no-nonsense attitude when it comes to graffiti. He’s encouraging others to follow his lead.

“Take pride in your neighborhood, take pride in your borough, and take pride in your city,” he added.