A neighborhood clean-up will take place this Saturday, July 28 from apx 9:00AM-12:00PM for Police District #3 (Lombard to Tasker, Front to Broad).

Although this clean-up is sponsored by the Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee, it is the neighbors who come out and make these clean-ups a success. With advance notice, PMBC can provide brooms, bags, and gloves. They will also provide trash pick-up around mid-day. The neighbors provide the muscle behind the clean-up.

A couple notes:
- All debris should be bagged and placed at either end of the block to facilitate collection.
- No bulk or household trash will be collected during the Saturday Clean-up Program.
- Do not sweep trash or dirt into inlets.
- Streets should not be blocked off with parked cars during cleaning.

For more information, contact the representative for our neighborhood, Buddy Martin, at 215-685-3993 or go to: http://www.phila.gov/streets/pmbc.html

good idea, but i havent seen any signs or flyers? maybe they are buried in my unread mail somewhere.

do people usually actually participate in these? in most neighborhoods? by the projects?

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SITUATION: MOISTURIZED
thor must be failing -

Not all blocks have block captains to organize these so they happen sporadically. Also, it is up to the block captains of a given block to get the word out however they see fit. Some do flyers, some just use word-of-mouth.

Having said that, the BVTW does include an announcement in their email newsletter about goings on in the neighborhood. (Since today seems to be the day that I post email links, you can sign up for the newsletter here: http://www.bvtw.org/)

The other thing is that not all blocks need clean-ups. Many neighbors responsibly clean up in front of their houses on a regular basis. Ironically, the areas that need help are often in front of apartment buildings or commercial properties where there is no one to take a vested interest in cleaning the sidewalk.

Often it is hard to get the responsible neighbors to clean-up in front of these problem areas. But my response is--you have to by the corner of 7th and Christian (just picking one perennial favorit out) to get to your house, and the trash is going to blow down the street in front of your house--so why not take 15 minutes and sweep it up?

I have observed, that after the neighbors do a couple of these, the areas seem to stay cleaner. Maybe the clean-ups remove trash that would have stayed around for months? Maybe neighbors see that it doesn't take much time to sweep up and thy get more vigilant about their sidewalk cleaning? Maybe others see people trying to keep their neighborhood cleaner and show greater respect? Who knows--it just seems to work.

so....not sure if you picked the 7th and Christian address aimed specifically at me, but what you say is true.

Of course, this perennially problem stretch of sidewalk belongs to the condos there and i cant understand how they get away with all the garbage that floats down from their corner. Dont the tenants pay some kind of fee specifically to address interior/exterior cleaning? Has anyone tried to get them to take some kind of action so that those of us who do pick up the trash in front of their houses don't have to pick up after others (and, well-to-do others at that).

and in continued venting (not aimed at you, of course), your observation that this is worst in front of apartments/commercial buildings seems true, but i cant understand how it could be true. If anything, these places have more vested interest as they need to attract customers and tenants. One would think that they would be vigilant and picking up twice a day.

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thor must be failing -

Apparently, I am unitentionally psychic.

My issue is the apartments on the soutwest corner. And then of course, John's water ice/Cardullo's Home Heating Oil (most interesting combination of a family business I have ever seen). Cardullo's leaves commercial trash out always, so there always seems to be trash around. John's cups and spoons can be found all over the neighborhood.

And then there are the knuckleheads on the corner of 7th and Catherine who hide their trash in the bushes from time to time. So that whole block is always a mess.

There's a law already on the books which states that the landowner is responsible for keepin their adjacent sidewalk clean of any debris/litter. Call SWEEP to get on the condo association's case.

__________________
Peter Cetera:
Sometimes I just forget
Say things I might regret
It breaks my heart to see you crying

thanks, Alesis, never heard of sweep before, googled it and found:
http://www.phila.gov/STREETS/sweep.html

215-685-4275
SWEEP is a City-run program created to educate Philadelphia citizens about their responsibilities under the Sanitation Code. SWEEP enforces the law against violators through intensified street patrols by uniformed litter enforcement officers, computerized tracking of code violation notices, and speedy adjudication of violations. Through education and enforcement, SWEEP supports and enhances individual and community efforts to maintain a clean City......

now, if you dont mind me going a bit off topic, I see that clearing snow/ice is under their watch as well. Has anyone noticed that the sidewalk in front of the parking lot on christian (north side, between 7th and 8th I think) doesnt get shoveled in the winter? I always wondered who to call (and as a municipal lot it has Streets name on the sign). I guess calling SWEEP will be a starting point, but I was curious if anyone had ever tried to get anything done about that in the past....?

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thor must be failing -

I am going to call SWEEP the next time the sidewalks in front of Palumbo Playground or Cianfrani Park aren't cleared after a snowstorm--which is everytime.

§ 10-704 is the code for excessive litter on sidewalks
Litter on Sidewalks.
(1) Persons owning or occupying private premises shall make reasonable efforts to keep the sidewalk in front of such premises free of litter.

I am always humored how city land is never shovelled properly. Since Dicicco has a rather firm grip on that parking lot(as in, he can mysteriously allow people to park in there and seems to hold the golden keys to the spaces), I'd contact him or his legislative assistant Brian Abernathy.

__________________
Peter Cetera:
Sometimes I just forget
Say things I might regret
It breaks my heart to see you crying

Shameless bump, but hey, it's for a good cause?