BX leaders announce clean up fund
BY JASON COHEN
As budget cuts slashed $106
million from sanitation in
June, the borough’s cleanliness
has taken a turn for the worse.
This became evident when the
Bronx was recently ranked the
lowest for cleanliness.
Stepping up to the plate to
address this issue is Councilman
Rafael Salamanca. On
Wednesday, Oct. 7 the councilman
announced an allocation
of $160,000 in funding to
Sustainable South Bronx/The
HOPE Program and Wildcat
Service Corporation for NYC
Clean-Up services throughout
Council District 17. These organizations
seek to address economic
and environmental issues
through community green
programming and job training,
“The mayor’s report on
street and sidewalk cleanliness
acknowledges one of the worst
kept secrets in city government;
when the city institutes service
cuts, it’s the communities
of color who feel the most dramatic
impacts of the lack of resources,”
Salamanca said. ‘The
conditions we see in the south
Bronx, and the resulting quality
of life issues, would never occur
in the more affl uent sections of
Manhattan or Queens, and the
scorecard refl ects that. Partnering
with Sustainable South
Bronx/The HOPE Program, I
am proud to utilize my offi ce’s
discretionary funding to provide
the cleaning and beautifi -
cation Bronxites deserve. Not
only does the funding facilitate
these valuable services, it allows
Sustainable South Bronx
to hire local residents for green
jobs and programming.”
Salamanca said that comparison
between the Bronx and
Manhattan is often referred
to as “a tale of two cities,” but
when it comes to cleanliness
in the borough “it’s a tale of
two Bronxes.”
According to a recent report
from the Department of Sanitation,
Community Boards 8, 10
and 11 had 100 percent cleanliness,
while CB 1 and CB 2
were at 81 percent, and CB 3
and 6 were at 83 percent and 75
percent respectively.
“When you look at the
south Bronx we’re not at the
same level of these communities,”
Salamanca said. “My colleagues
in Throggs Neck and
Riverdale, they’re getting the
same funding as I am.”
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Salamanca told the Bronx
Times he contacted sanitation,
but they only said they are doing
less pickups. The agency offered
no answer as to why certain
parts of the borough are
cleaner than others.
The press conference was
held in Hunts Point at Hunts
Point and Lafayette Avenues,
where medians were put in
eight years ago at the request
of the NYC Economic Development
Corporation (EDC).
Salamanca, who was the former
district manager of Community
Board 2, explained
that the board supported
the median, but questioned
who would be responsible for
cleaning them.
While the expectation was
that EDC, Parks or DSNY
would provide cleaning services,
the onus eventually fell
on residents and groups like
Sustainable South Bronx/The
HOPE Program and Wildcat
Service Corporation.
Salamanca said that this is
not the fi rst time he allocated
money for these groups.
“That’s why it takes coalition
builders to get together
and work with nonprofits
such as The HOPE Program
and fund them so they
can help individuals make
money while they clean,” the
councilman said.
Jennifer Mitchell, executive
director of The HOPE Program,
which is based in Hunts
Point, praised Salamanca for
his partnership and fi nancial
assistance. HOPE runs job
training programs and helps
people build careers.
One area they help people
fi nd employment in is street
and median cleaning. She
noted that 75 percent of the
people in the program get work
and 80 percent still have a job a
year later.
“The way to build communities
is to make sure people
are working, providing money
for their family and sustaining
a career,” she said.
Councilman Rafael Salamanca announced an allocation of $160,000 in
funding. Photo by Jason Cohen
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