South Philly Review

Trash tornados are typical on a windy day and, with a max gust of 48 mph, such was the case last Saturday. But on this day, more noticeable than the whirlwinds of soda cans, fast food bags and candy wrappers, were the 8,000 to 10,000 Philadelphians who voluntarily spent the day cleaning and beautifying their neighborhoods.

Sponsored by Mayor Michael Nutter and the City, April 4 marked the second annual Philly Spring Cleanup, which targeted more than 80 locations throughout the city from schools to rec centers to parks. There were about 10 local sites, including FDR Park, South Philadelphia High School, Gold Star Park and Palumbo Rec Center, 725 S. 10th St.

Last year's cleanup was so successful, Keep America Beautiful, the organization responsible for more than 17,000 similar events across the country, named it the largest single-day, citywide cleanup on record in the United States and the second largest in the world. Whereas last year's event focused on litter -- 2.5 million pounds were collected -- Nutter wanted this year's theme to be about building sustainable communities. The idea was to encourage projects that are more long-lasting than picking up trash, such as planting trees, painting fences and removing graffiti.

At FDR Park at 1900 Pattison Ave., volunteers pulled debris from the creek while members of the Southeast Philadelphia Collaborative, 2029 S. Eighth St., distributed recycle bins and Zion AME Church, 21st and Fernon streets, got a new fence and flower garden.

As Christine Knapp, vice president of the Passyunk Square Civic Association, pointed out, beautification shouldn't be just one day a year and her group abides by that mantra. At 9 a.m. the first Saturday of the month, the association meets at Gold Star Park between Sixth and Seventh streets on Wharton to make the area sparkle.

"We need to be teaching community members to keep neighborhoods clean and not just rely on the City to do it," Knapp, of Seventh and Earp streets, said. "After all, it's not the City who's putting the trash on the ground."

Knapp said about 50 volunteers came out Saturday to clean from Washington to Tasker and Sixth to Broad. They pulled down flyers and distributed no-circular stickers, which, when displayed, prohibits businesses from leaving items such as take-out menus.

"This effort has been around for years, but it's rarely enforced," Knapp said. "It's a cheap way to cut down on trash when there's not a lot of money to spend."

Based on a proposal submitted by the Lower Moyamensing Civic Association (LoMo), beautification of Southern, 2101 S. Broad St., was chosen by Nutter as one of the top five projects in the city. Under this designation, the City donated a tree to the school and Nutter made a brief appearance Saturday to help put it in the ground. About 75 volunteers spent the rest of the day planting 14 oak and crabapple trees and repairing and painting the school's wrought-iron fence.

LoMo encompasses Snyder to Oregon avenues and Broad to Eighth streets, but Kim Massare, the association's president, said the group focused on the school in hopes of getting the area's youths involved and to forge a partnership with the institution.

"Maybe we could have movies in the summer or training for staff and students. We could teach about gardening or tree care," Massare said. "We want to work with the kids in whatever way we can, because they are the future of our neighborhood."

In the weeks prior to the cleanup, which went from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., representatives from registered sites could submit proposals to the City detailing their chore list and needed materials.

Greg Demais, who headed the South Broad Street Neighborhood Association's efforts, said the City sent him precisely what he asked for -- 100 trash bags, 12 brooms and four bottles of graffiti remover, among other requested items.