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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 083-06
March 21, 2006

MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND SANITATION COMMISSIONER DOHERTY LAUNCH "STOMP OUT LITTER" CAMPAIGN

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty today announced the launch of a dynamic STOMP OUT LITTER public awareness campaign featuring a series of vibrant public service announcements, as well as colorful bus and other outdoor print ads encouraging New Yorkers to keep New York City clean.  The campaign is a joint effort of the New York City Department of Sanitation, the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, and Waste Management, Inc., in conjunction with STOMP, the long-running New York hit theatre troupe, and Keep America Beautiful, the nationwide organization that sponsors beautification projects and mobilizes volunteers to achieve these goals. Joining the Mayor at the event was actor Tony Danza and Keep America Beautiful President G. Raymond Empson. Also honored at the ceremony were two volunteers who have pitched in to keep their communities clean: 104 year-old Carl Berner of Middle Village and 15 year-old Raymart Dinglas, a student of the High School of Environmental Studies in Manhattan.

“New York City is the cleanest it’s been in over three decades, and with this dynamic public awareness campaign it will only get better,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “I am delighted to launch the STOMP OUT LITTER campaign to sustain and enhance the great work of our Sanitation Department. We are grateful to our invaluable partners, Waste Management, Inc., STOMP and Keep America Beautiful, who are helping to spread the anti-litter message. I encourage all of our local media outlets to help in this effort by running these PSAs.”

“The Department of Sanitation is very proud to launch STOMP OUT LITTER whose objective is to eliminate, once and for all, littering in New York City,” said Commissioner Doherty. “Although the men and women of Sanitation tirelessly work to keep the Big Apple clean, in a city the size of New York, cleanliness is everybody’s responsibility – especially right here in Times Square at the crossroads of the world. We are fortunate to be joined in this anti-litter effort by extraordinary partners.  So let’s all work together to STOMP OUT LITTER and keep New York City clean.”

“Waste Management is delighted to be a part of this unique effort to promote environmental stewardship,” said David P. Steiner, CEO, Waste Management, Inc.  “Whether it’s keeping New York City litter-free or helping to promote recycling, it’s all a part of thinking green and being a trusted and valued community partner.”

“Keep America Beautiful is delighted to kick off its Great American Cleanup effort in New York City’s Times Square for the third consecutive year,” said G. Raymond Empson. “We’re especially excited to be a part of New York’s announcement of its anti-litter initiative, STOMP OUT LITTER. This is further demonstration of how important litter prevention and other quality of life issues are to Mayor Bloomberg and the Department of Sanitation.”

“New York welcomed STOMP with open arms, so it makes us proud to be part of a campaign which gives something back to the City,” said Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, STOMP’s creators who directed the PSAs released today.

Today’s kickoff featured an exhilarating performance from the percussion sensation STOMP.  The cast of STOMP star in the new series of public service announcements and print ads for the City’s “STOMP OUT LITTER” campaign.  All five boroughs are captured in the stunning spots, which follow cast members across the City from places including The Bronx Zoo, Staten Island Ferry, Coney Island Boardwalk, World’s Fair Unisphere in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Central Park, and Times Square.  The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City raised $105,000 to support design, film, and printing costs associated with the campaign. The ads were produced by NYC TV and Night Train Films in coordination with Serino Coyne Inc. and are available at www.nyc.gov.

Keep America Beautiful’s 2006“Great American Cleanup” is expected to involve 2.5 million people, who will volunteer more than 8 million hours to clean, beautify and improve 15,000 communities during 30,000 events in all 50 states.  Activities will include beautifying parks and recreation areas, cleaning seashores and waterways, handling recycling collections, planting trees and flowers, and conducting educational programs and litter-free events. 

Under Commissioner Doherty, DSNY instituted Operation NICE (Neighborhood Intensive Cleaning Effort). Operation NICE is a block-by-block street-by-street statistically based system of accountability that is modeled after the NYPD’s COMPSTAT. Under the initiative, district superintendents are given the responsibility to deploy their resources to areas in their commands that need special attention in the way of litter reduction, lot cleaning, public outreach and enforcement.  Today, more than 92% of New York’s streets are rated acceptably clean, the highest level in 31 years.

STOMP arrived in New York in 1994 from the United Kingdom and has become part of the theatrical landscape in New York, across the country and around the world.  STOMP has received an Olivier Award; an Obie Award; Drama Desk and Emmy Awards, and an Academy Award nomination, among several honors, and has been seen in venues ranging from The Acropolis in Athens to the Academy Awards. 

Waste Management, Inc. is the leading provider of comprehensive waste and environmental services in North America. The company is strongly committed to a foundation of financial strength, operating excellence and professionalism. 
 
The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City is a not-for-profit corporation established in 1994 to develop partnerships between the City of New York and the private sector. The Mayor's Fund accepts donations that help to promote the general welfare of New York City residents, aid civic improvements and support the work of many City agencies.  For more information on the Fund and how to give, visit www.nyc.gov/fund or call 311.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser/Jordan Barowitz   (212) 788-2958

Vito Turso   (Department of Sanitation)
(646) 885-5020

George McGrath (Waste Management)   (212) 354-5588




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