Earth Day was celebrated a day early last Saturday, Apr. 21, as a host of community organizations held cleanups of public spaces around the Times Newsweekly coverage area. Many of the events in Ridgewood and Glendale were part of “Love Your Neighbor Day,” a collaborative effort sponsored in part by the Glendale Civic Association (GCA), in which teams of volunteers spruced up locations around both neighborhoods. Individual homeowners were also encouraged to perform spring cleaning on their blocks last Saturday if they chose not to participate in the organized cleanups. Numerous local elected officials, as shown, also visited with the teams, including City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley and Assemblymen Mike Miller and Andrew Hevesi. The GCA team is shown in picture 1 at their gathering point at The Shops at Atlas Park. Other “Love Your Neighbor Day” cleanups included one by the Farmers Oval Civic Association at Shaler Avenue in Ridgewood (picture 2), Civics United For Railroad and Environmental Solutions on Otto Road in Glendale (picture 4), the Kiwanis Club of Glendale at the Glendale Community Garden on 88th Street at 74th Avenue (picture 5) and volunteers at Edsall Avenue in Glendale (picture 6). Shown in picture 5 are City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, State Sen. Michael Gianaris and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, who took part in a cleanup of Queensbridge Park in Long Island City.
