KEEP NEW YORK CITY BEAUTIFUL

Miss America Joins our Times Square Earth Day Celebration

By John J. Doherty, Commissioner of Sanitation

On Earth Day 2009, the Keep New York City Beautiful Coalition (KNYCB), an affiliate of the national organization Keep America Beautiful, gathered in Times Square for the kickoff of KAB's Great American Cleanup, and to celebrate KNYCB's many achievements. 

The coalition, which I chair as Sanitation Commissioner, represents several city agencies and non-for-profit organizations, all committed to combining their ideas, energies and volunteers into a unified strategy to make our city a cleaner and more beautiful place in which to live and work.  We've already made impressive gains.  Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of the Sanitation Department, working together with enthusiastic volunteers and concerned citizens, New York City is now the cleanest it has been in 35 years! 

The themes of this year's celebration were greening the Big Apple and recognizing the extraordinary work of the thousands of volunteers who organize and participate in community clean up and beautification efforts throughout the five boroughs. 

We were also joined by a representative from the White House, other officials and children from Holy Cross School and the High School of Environmental Studies.  Broadway was also represented at the rally by a cast member from the show Wicked, who - fittingly-- sang the part of Green Witch Elphaba.   And last but not least, we were joined by none other than … Katie Stam, the reigning Miss America 2009!  During her year of service, Katie will be traveling all over America, promoting greening efforts and volunteerism!
 
The spirit of volunteerism was represented by Karen Washington, from the Bronx, this year's recipient of KAB's Hometown Hero Award, who in 21 years as a volunteer has logged nearly 22,000 hours, creating gardens and tirelessly working on a whole host of social issues.  We're proud of Karen and of the many thousands of volunteers, who generously give of their time to clean and beautify our city.  These dedicated men, women and children are the city's unsung heroes, whose civic spirit and commitment echo NYC Service, Mayor Bloomberg's recently launched initiative and call to volunteerism for all to help their communities and fellow New Yorkers.

We wrapped up the festivities by joining Miss America in ringing the closing bell at NASDAQ.  All in all, it was a great day that shone a light on caring for Mother Earth and our city, and highlighted the importance of volunteerism

In fact, we can all do our part to preserve and improve our city's quality of life.  Here are some suggestions to keep New York City clean and beautiful:

• Don't Litter
• Organize and join community clean ups and beautification efforts
• Combat graffiti - call 311 
• Create community gardens
• Don't toss cigarette butts or chewing gum on sidewalks or streets
• Always clean up after your dog
• Remove illegally posted fliers, handbills, etc.  They create an unsightly mess
• Keep tree pits free from trash … better yet, plant flowers in them -- the Parks Department will guide you

If you would like to volunteer, call 311 or visit our website at www.nyc.gov/sanitation and click on Keep New York City Beautiful.

Let's all pitch in and make New York City clean, green, and beautiful!