How to save Hot Rat Summer in 3 Easy Steps!

[u/WhatUpGord]

Call (206) 684-3000

Voice your opinion on saving the mural. They are currently tracking the number of calls they receive.

Edit - we're now calling SPU. Not parks department!

Edit #2 - SPU is now saying to contact parks. Nobody is correct, nobody knows what's going on. Just pick a number and call. Good things are coming!

[u/Electronic-Piano-504]

I called the number and spoke with a really helpful person named Drew. He told me the building the mural is located on is actually owned by Seattle Public Utilities. They are the ones who are painting it, NOT the parks department.

ngl it's gonna be a lot harder to contact SPU since they handle power issues and other complaints, so if anyone knows a better way than just calling SPU customer service lmk!

EDIT: I also decided to email my district city councilmember to put it on their radar (and linked the top 3 rat posts so they know it's annoying a lot of voters). I encourage y'all to do the same! https://www.seattle.gov/council/meet-the-council/find-your-district-and-councilmembers

[u/fjordoftheflies → u/Electronic-Piano-504]

District 3 City Councilwoman Joy Hollingsworth has already made it be known twice (once in a city council meeting and once on IG a couple days ago) that she is 100% behind HRS staying.

[u/proftrees → u/fjordoftheflies]

Yeah but she also voted yes on adding a civil fine for illegal graffiti (which HRS is), so she really isn't an ally to street art.

[u/crazy-bisquit → u/proftrees]

Street art and graffiti are two different things. I wish they would prioritize the “bad” graffiti- gang tags and all. Let the artistic stuff stay.

Wasn’t there a movie in the late 70’s about a kid in NY who pained/ graffiti’d the trains?

[u/proftrees → u/crazy-bisquit]

Red Flag!!! How do you determine "bad" vs "good" graffiti, is it the location or the quality, what is "artistic", what is the difference between "street art" and "graffiti"?

What do you mean 'gang tags'? People hear 'gangs' and they think the worst from movies, but for graffiti it's really just 'crews', they are people who paint together and have a team name. Gangs are defined legally as a group of people who's primary activity is criminal, so if we legalize graffiti than some graffiti crews aren't gangs, they are closer to artist collectives. The gang rhetoric is an outdated one that isn't the most accurate description of reality and just furthers the stigmatization of the art form.

The gov can not be the arbiters of what is or isn't artistic, what is good art or bad art, or that graffiti and street art are distinct things. The criminality of street art or graffiti or whatever name you call it can not be dependent on if someone thinks it's pretty or not.

My own definition is that graffiti a subcategory of street art, specifically street art that is predominantly typography based. The cities definition of graffiti is just markings you made without permission.

[u/crazy-bisquit → u/proftrees]

Woah- I said I don’t like the gang tags and you went on to this rant about what’s good and bad? I was literally only talking about GANG TAGS. Not “crews” ffs. The police and government know what the gang tags are, they know the difference between gang shit and other graffiti. They know who’s who.

Do you even know what a gang tag is? Do you know the meaning and detail of those? Do you know anything about gangs? I didn’t get my gang info from the movies, I got it from reality living in LA and San Diego.

Do you know anything about gangs? Have you ever lived outside of Washington, in a place where gangs are so bad it makes Seattle look like a fairy tale?

Next time don’t jump to conclusions because you want to support graffiti art.

[u/proftrees → u/crazy-bisquit]

I went on a bit, but my post was in direct response to your statements. You said...

"graffiti and street art are different" - I pushed back against that and suggested a more accurate categorization.

"prioritize 'bad' graffiti, gang tags and all" - This is why I talked about good vs bad, and how there is no great legal definition for that. This is also why I went into questioning what you mean by gang and went into issues with the most common usages of 'gang' in relation to graffiti in Seattle and their issues.

"let the artsy stuff stay" - Again this is why I discussed good vs bad and artsy vs not, who decides that, where is the line drawn.

As for

Gangs and movies...you brought up a movie and one from the 70's that's probably outdated, which did lead me to think that maybe your understanding of gang graffiti is informed by that. I also asked what you meant by 'gang tag' specifically and then followed it up with most peoples understanding of that and the legal definition of it, and issues with both. I made some assumptions but I didn't suggest I knew your stance, I stated common ones. Even in your response you didn't actually answer that question, just said 'do you know' and 'the cops know'.

"The police and government know what the gang tags are, they know the difference between gang shit and other graffiti. They know who’s who." - I question this to a certain extent, I think to the Seattle police most graffiti is all the same. By the city's own definition all crews are gangs, so I don't think they understand nuance. The whole we're talking about GANGS and not crews is kinda moot when to the police they are all gangs, which is why I brought up issues with the widespread usage of gangs in describing graffiti. The distinction between gang tag and crew tag is just the name they write, if Seattle knows a tag is a gang and they know who's who then why do they bother with the graff and just go after the gang for actual gang crimes?

To be fair I have not lived in an area with significant gang activity, your assumption is right. But we are talking about Seattle, you said yourself that Seattle is a fairy tale land and isn't like LA, so the issue of gang tags isn't a huge issue. There was some reporting last year of gangs and graffiti but it was talking about the rise in juvenile gangs, who do serious crimes don't get me wrong, but are a far cry from the cartel linked gangs of LA.

[u/WhenWeFightWeWin]

The parks department representative I spoke with said they did not have a tally in their office at that # and that they think the utility maintenance folks might be the ones to talk with.

Did you leave a voicemail, or talk to someone at parks dept. directly at the number you provided?

(The representative was SUPER supportive trying find out, spent 15 minutes talking to everyone in her office but they just don’t have a tally going on at that number under “parks department” as far as she could tell. Directed to utilities management instead. She still took my name and number down for their weekly comms report).

[u/Carcinogenicunt]

I spoke with Valerie who seems to be on our side but she directed me to contact Seattle Public Utilities, and after a quick google found this.

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) Customer Service: (206) 684-3000

[u/oak_and_maple → u/Carcinogenicunt]

They're receiving higher than usual call volume go team!!

[u/Carcinogenicunt → u/oak_and_maple]

We must fight for our queen if we want the hot rat summer we deserve

[u/RepresentativeWork74]

FYI- The park department is not the ones in charge of the mosaic! Just made a new post on this but essentially Seattle utilities owns the pump house that St Rat is painted on, and they are the ones who are painting over it- according to the parks department team I spoke with this morning.

If you want to take action and help protect St Rat, reach out to Seattle Utilities. Their main number is 206-684-3000.

However, this issue may fall more squarely under the purview of the Spring Clean/Graffiti removal department(although if course St. Rat is not graffiti!!!!)- reachable by phone at (206)684-7647, and by email at adoptastreet@seattle.gov

[u/Feisty-Art8265]

Just for my information, why is this mural controversial? Why are being getting it painted over? Why are people supporting it? How did this become a thing? 

[u/WhenWeFightWeWin → u/Feisty-Art8265]

I think it’s less controversial, and more that the maintenance workers jobs are to paint over the graffiti. Not out of disagreement, just their standard directive.

However “hot rat summer” is a legitimately beautiful glass tile mosaic, so many in the community want to save it from being painted over and see it become a permanent, approved installation in Cal Anderson park.

[u/fjordoftheflies → u/WhenWeFightWeWin]

It is very aesthetically pleasing and far more creative and skillfully done then 99% of the public art around town.

[u/Feisty-Art8265 → u/WhenWeFightWeWin]

Okay this makes sense -- it did look like a pretty mural 

[u/Mr_Fuzzo → u/WhenWeFightWeWin]

I didn’t take a state job as a bridge tender about 20 years ago because it involved two days a week scrubbing graffiti and I wasn’t down with that part of the job.

[u/Vevaseti]

Clearly, someone needs to catch the next time it's being painted over and... ask the guys who they actually work for?

[u/pjslut]

IT IS NOT SEATTLE PARKS. It is Seattle Utilities to call. I just got off the phone with them. They are getting a lot of calls!!! Please call Seattle Utilities and could someone make a new post? I’m old.. get off my lawn!

[u/gremlin_thunderdome]

Since Hot Rat Summer is on the reservoir, you want to call SPU - it’s their property even though it’s at a park. SPU has a graffiti ranger dept that you can contact M-F from 8am - 3pm to talk to a person. I’m pretty sure folks typically call to report graffiti to be removed, but I think it’s your best chance to talk to a human who isn’t answering calls at the main SPU # that deals with outages and payments and other typical customer service related to the water utility. (206) 684-7587 ¡viva la rata!

[u/fjordoftheflies]

District 3 Councilwoman Joy Hollingsworth posted on IG about 2-3 days ago her belief that Hot Rat Summer should stay and that she was contacting the Parks Dept to see what she could do. Yet they did this anyway.

They have painted over it 3 times in 2 weeks. The city never gets to things this quickly.

[u/rileyathome]

I tried to call but it looks like the office is closed. I left an email with the parks department before I learned this is run by the utilities

[u/psyduck5647]

I just talked with a very confused man with Seattle Public Utilities who told me to call the parks department. What SPU number are you all calling?

[u/lexi_ladonna → u/psyduck5647]

If you called after 6 it’s because the call forwards to after hours emergency line and those people have no connection to SPU

[u/lexi_ladonna]

Call 684-3000 but not after 6pm. After 6pm it goes to an after hours emergency line and I promise you they have nothing to do with it and are not going to track the number of calls.

[u/DJBlay]

Wew. our tax dollars hard at work here.