HARTFORD, CT — The city has imposed a daily fine on the owner of a vacant 15-story building covered in graffiti that is highly visible from Intestate 84, according to media reports.
Eyewitness News 3 reports the owner of the building, located at 25 Sigourney Street, is being fined $1,200 a day because the graffiti has not been covered. Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said he hopes the city council will pass a blight ordinance that would increase the fine to $3,000 a day.
WTNH News 8 reports the abandoned building is located near the capitol building and was once a Xerox headquarters. Arulumpalam said the city has previously reached out to the owner and tried to work with them to redevelop the property, however it is still vacant.
According to Eyewitness News 3, it is currently unclear who is behind the graffiti or how they got all the way up the building. Hartford police hope to keep trespassers away by increasing patrols in the area.