On Oct. 2, Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson announced funding she allocated in the Fiscal Year 2021 budget towards clean-up initiatives in the Bronx to decrease littering on sidewalks and public parks.
She held a press conference at Joyce Kilmer Park and was joined by Bronx Community Solutions, Wildcat, Center for Employment Opportunities, the 161st Street Business Improvement District and other community organizations.
The Department of Sanitation was subject to substantial spending cuts in the budget due to a revenue loss from COVID-19. This has resulted in a decrease in weekday basket truck pickups from curbside garbage bins and an increase in concerns from residents over quality of life issues in their neighborhoods. Gibson and other community groups have attempted to fill in the gap through coordinating community-led park clean up events and funding from the council member’s budget went towards power washing commercial corridors in her district.
