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Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Community Cleanup nets close to 20 tons of trash
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
A hoard of volunteers picked City
of Newburgh streets clean over the
weekend. The eighth annual Newburgh
Community Cleanup, organized by Safe
Harbors of the Hudson, took place under
clear, blue skies on Saturday.
Supplied with gloves, trash pickers and
garbage bags, hundreds of volunteers
combed the streets that morning. “I
got the last garbage picker,” said John
Zelenoski, poking at litter on Ann Street.
“This year, there will be close to 20
tons,” said Jim Taylor, estimating the
total amount of garbage collected. He
stood in front of three huge, trash-
filled dumpsters parked next to the Safe
Harbors Green.
Taylor owns the Taylor Recycling
Facility, which recycles construction,
demolition and other waste materials
at its recycling facility in the Town of
Montgomery. This year, as in past years,
Taylor donated equipment, manpower
and garbage dumpsters to collect garbage
for the cleanup.
When asked why he gives so much to
the cleanup each year, Taylor motioned
across the street. “See that vacant lot?”
he said, pointing to the empty lot on
the southeast corner of Broadway and
Liberty Street. “I was born right there.”
Taylor personifies the “community”
in the community cleanup, which aims
to beautify the city through coordinated
cleanup work by residents and various
volunteer groups. The event drew about
350 volunteers this year. “The first year,
when it started, you had a handful of
people,” Taylor said. “Eight years later,
there are hundreds of people working to
Gap employees Marcio Une and Francisca Lopez volunteer in the 8th Newburgh Community Cleanup Saturday.
make this happen. The people have taken
ownership of it. That is success.”
Safe Harbors Executive Director Lisa
Silverstone said this year’s group of
volunteers included many new faces.
“There were a lot of young people
involved,” Silverstone said. “It is nice to
see the young people of the city stepping
up to take responsibility for their
community.”
The cleanup took place a day before
Earth Day. Founded in 1970, the day
celebrates the planet and its preservation
through civic action and planet-friendly
activities, including cleanups, education
and environmental-awareness projects.