Lower Manhattan: A Graffiti-Free Zone, Thanks to the Alliance 

It’s our 30th anniversary, and we’re self-celebrating. Over the next few months, we’ll be rolling out 30 stories about 30 of our biggest accomplishments, including everything from our daily public safety and sanitation work, to our small business outreach, to how we helped the neighborhood navigate challenges and even tragedies. You’ll be able to find these stories on our website, as well as in our weekly newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. 

Ever wondered why downtown’s buildings stay looking so shiny? In addition to cleaning up unsightly trash, as part of our core mission of keeping Lower Manhattan clean and safe, the Downtown Alliance Sanitation crews regularly deploy power washers, scrapers, wire brushes and elbow grease to remove graffiti, stickers and illegal advertisements around Lower Manhattan. In 2024 alone, our Sanitation team members successfully removed over 2,600 instances of graffiti and stickers across the district. And our team works fast — if you report graffiti to us, or if we spot it around the neighborhood, we’ll usually remove it within a few days.

We are always on the lookout for graffiti or other vandalism, and welcome alerts from building owners and local merchants. Once alerted, we’ll head to the spot promptly for removal. To report graffiti or other vandalism, e-mail ContactUs@DowntownNY.com, or simply tell one of our many public safety officers or sanitation crew members on the streets.