Seven men described as “high-profile” graffiti taggers were indicted Tuesday on 52 felony counts in connection with thousands of dollars worth of property damage to buildings throughout San Francisco.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said six of seven suspects are in custody and one is outstanding following a lengthy investigation involving his office, the National Park Service and a number of community business organizations.

The men were identified as: Avery Sizelove, Carlos Cruz, Jorge Coya, Connor Chavela, Omar Clerkin, Tristan Gladstein and Tyler Ross.

“A very small group of taggers is responsible for 90 percent of all the tagging that is done in the city,” Gascón said during a news conference in the Portsmouth Square Clubhouse in Chinatown. “These individuals were responsible for tagging buildings around Chinatown, North Beach and other parts around the city.”

Gascón said graffiti removal costs the city roughly $20 million a year. He said it can cost small business owners roughly $3,400 to remove one tag.

Karin Flood, executive director of the Union Square Business Improvement District, said district officials remove about three to five tags a day.

“The graffiti we see in Union Square, it really may just be from a little sticker on a light pole to a large profanity across our storefronts,” Flood said. “It takes us away from running our businesses, it impacts the visitor experience, it makes people feel less safe.”

In 2012, she said the district launched a security camera network where district officials would share surveillance footage of tagging incidents with the district attorney’s office and the San Francisco Police Department.

The network resulted in a number of arrests through the years, she said.

Sgt. Martin Ferreira, who oversees the San Francisco Police Department’s Graffiti Unit, said the vast majority of graffiti found throughout the city is done by taggers merely seeking fame and recognition, and rarely done with gang affiliation.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor