The Glebe BIA says spray paint on the windows and walls of about two dozen businesses will be cleaned up, after business owners arrived to work Friday morning to find their storefronts vandalized.
The tagged messages appear to be those of loss and mourning, with hearts and messages saying “love,” “miss you,” and “RIP Foren” sprayed in yellow.
Graffiti painted on more than 20 businesses in the Glebe. @ctvottawa pic.twitter.com/m5lumM2LYv
— Megan Shaw (@meganshawCTV) March 9, 2018
Dana Thibeault, with the Glebe BIA, tells CTV News she hopes the painters will find a more constructive outlet for their message.
“Think about the business owners and the people behind these businesses,” she says. “It’s not a great way to start the day to come out and find your business vandalized and it doesn’t add anything to the neighbourhood. There’s better ways to express yourself and I think they should consider that.”
The Glebe BIA estimates between $20,000 and $30,000 is spent every year to deal with graffiti.
The messages will be removed and the vandalism will be reported to police.
With files from CTV Ottawa's Megan Shaw
Megan Shaw / CTV Ottawa
Megan Shaw / CTV Ottawa