By Bill Parry
After 90 days in office, City Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria) has crossed a major campaign promise off his “to-do” list.
The streets of Astoria are looking cleaner after he enlisted the help of crews from the Doe Fund to sweep and remove trash from three major areas.
“During the campaign I heard too many stories about people jumping over garbage on their way to work, about small business owners who had to be garbage ninjas, running out in front of their businesses to clean up before they got a ticket,” Constantinides said.
He allocated $40,000 in discretionary funds to hire the street cleaners from the famed nonprofit to spruce up around 31st Street, 30th Avenue and Broadway seven hours a day, seven days a week.
“The Doe Fund is going to make our streets cleaner,” Constantinides said.
In the three months since taking office, Constantinides introduced legislation to bring green energy to the East River Ferry, fill potholes in a more timely fashion and get the city Sanitation Department to collect trash from public receptacles more than once a day.
Unwilling to wait for Sanitation, the councilman enlisted the help of the group’s founder and former mayoral candidate, George McDonald, who provides more than a thousand formerly homeless and incarcerated people with work opportunities, educational services and career development resources through the Doe Fund’s “Ready, Willing and Able” program.
The cleaners, in familiar blue jumpsuits, maintain more than 150 miles of New York City streets while earning above minimum wage.
“This is a win not only for the community, but for our guys,” McDonald said. “This provides hardworking New Yorkers with a hand up into the economic mainstream — that’s the ultimate goal of our program, to get people jobs.”
The crews have been working since April 1 and one owner says the streets are already cleaner.
At a news event in front of his Pizza Palace, at 29-29 Ditmars Blvd., Jack Vitale said, “I’ve been here 33 years and I’ve seen the neighborhood go, especially in the last few years with all the garbage cans spilling over. Now look around you: The streets are cleaner already, thanks to these men.”
Community Board 1 General Manager Lucille Hartmann has also noticed the difference.
“I am excited to hear that Doe Fund workers are beginning to sweep the streets across Astoria,” she said. “Litter-free sidewalks will make our community a more hospitable place for all and will help further the economic growth of Astoria.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
