On the sunny third Saturday in February the "East 86th Street Volunteer Clean Team" took to the street 10 strong. There was a winter storm the night before, but fortunately the snow was wet and had melted in time for our second meeting. The newly formed group of regular citizens, just like you and me, took our tools of pickers, brooms, lobby pans and rolling garbage cans, provided by the East 86th Street Association, along East 86th Street covering Park Avenue to Second Avenue. We cleaned streets, gutters, sidewalks and bus stops of various debris ranging from hundreds of cigarette butts to odder items like children's playing cards, a kitchen cabinet, and a pair of well worn toilet seats. Sure, it was dirty work, but we had our rubber gloves and the warm wishes and thank yous of passersby. 

Our second meeting was a great success and our numbers swelled from three to ten in just a week. The streets were remarkably cleaner, if even for just a few days. We plan to continue our efforts weekly or bi-weekly going forward. Not only does this effort bring awareness to our sanitation plight, it also acts to engage local citizens and businesses to do their part. Care seems to be contagious!

If you would like to join us on a 2 hour Saturday outing, just go to "contact us" on our website and send us an email. You can also check our Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts under the handle "East86th". As we swing into Spring, we will also be tending to our tree pits and expanding our cleaning operations beyond 86th Street.