Wednesday, April 25, 2007

New Digs



I feel like a Syracuse Chief getting tapped to move up to the big leagues. Syracuse.com has invited me to start blogging under their website, and today I graciously accepted. Hopefully this will allow greater exposure to the litter issue in the Syracuse area, and get more attention paid to it by the DPW crews, the city and local governments.

Here is the new link: http://blog.syracuse.com/cleanup/

Thanks to Sean Kirst for proposing the idea, Josh for the invite.

Photo from Syracuse.com baseball blog.

Monday, April 23, 2007

NYCO's on board / more West side sitings

Maybe she'll hook us up with a sweet map to go along the sightings. (Truthfully I prefer "litter ninja's")

Other sightings today include almost all angles surrounding the 690 and 695 interchange. What the heck, did a garbage truck fall apart on the on-ramps? No matter which direction I took, I couldn't believe the amount of trash.

Get some clean up crews out there soon!

I am busting out my camera and will get some pics up this week.

Where's the litter?

Comment here to shine light on dirty streets, embankments and other public areas. Anonymous comments accepted.


(pic from a clean up event this earth day.)

Sean's Solutions to Cleaning Up Syracuse Streets

Well, Sean Kirst was asked what he'd do to clean up the litter in the Syracuse area if he were in charge, here's what he proposed:
  • In the first five minutes, I would appoint a new and meaningful beautification committee, with representatives from Onondaga County, Syracuse and the region. I would fill it with such citizens as Syracuse Realtor Joe Nastri and Kevin Sullivan, a downtown banker, citizens who detest garbage and trash along our roads.
  • They would have their own Web site for reporting trouble spots, a Web site open to citizens across Central New York. The Interstate 81 exit ramp from Cicero is a mess? Or McDonald Road in Onondaga, near the Town Hall? Or the shoulder of Burnet Avenue, near Interstate 690, in Syracuse? The Internet would be the place to "out" eyesores.
  • ...routine interstate cleanups at highly visible spots, maybe by walking up embankments from city streets, as we at The Post-Standard do when we clean up near our parking lots.
  • ask the DOT to require a litter pickup as a part of any construction that shuts down interstate traffic, a golden opportunity to get rid of garbage.
  • Rochester promotes many civic events with colorful banners draped across bridges. Why couldn't we promote the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park by spreading eye-catching banners across those awful South Geddes Street railroad bridges?
  • Building on that theme, why not turn the last Friday in April into an annual "Clean Our City Day" in downtown Syracuse? Why not block off most downtown streets for a couple of hours on that day, and ask every business to send employees to bag litter, while nearby restaurants create a party atmosphere by offering outdoor lunch specials for participants?
  • A critical component: [increased law enforcement of litter laws]
  • I would also bring comprehensive programs to the schools in which charismatic speakers would teach children about ownership and caretaking in their communities.
  • I would push hard for approval of the "bigger bottle bill," and I would ask any politician who opposed it to join me for a few hours of cleaning smashed and filthy water bottles from our roadsides.
  • Finally, I would make sure that attractive "welcome" signs, surrounded by plenty of flowers, were erected at major Central New York gateways.
Well, I've given Sean at least one of his wishes. I'll open up a thread to comment on trouble spots. Do your part and post a comment, and I'll forward on to Sean and the appropriate people at City Hall and the county.