By Sarina Trangle
Judging by her discretionary funding allocations, City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Glendale) put a priority on a pristine pavement.
The Doe Fund’s Ready, Willing and Able program, which employs homeless and recently incarcerated men to clean streets and sidewalks, benefited most from the roughly $425,000 set aside in the city budget for Crowley and each of her colleagues to disperse to nonprofits and charitable initiatives.
The councilwoman earmarked $61,800 for Doe Fund work in her district, which spans Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood and parts of Woodhaven and Richmond Hill. This was more than she directed to any other organization, excluding those she pooled money with other lawmakers to fund.
While announcing the Doe teams will clean stretches of Myrtle and Grand avenues three days a week, Crowley highlighted The Doe Fund’s yearlong Ready, Willing and Able initiative. The residential program helps formerly homeless or incarcerated men earn money, complete educational programs, undergo career training and otherwise prepare for independent lives.
“Myrtle and Grand avenues have been major sources of sanitation complaints for years, but thanks to The Doe Fund, residents and business owners along these commercial corridors will begin to see a big difference almost immediately,” Crowley said in a statement. “This program is win-win: keeping our community clean while simultaneously providing jobs, education and career development services for hardworking New Yorkers trying to turn their lives around.”
The Doe crews began cleaning Myrtle Avenue between Cooper Avenue and Fresh Pond Road July 15, according to Crowley’s office.
They were slated to start collecting litter and clearing trash on Grand Avenue between 61st and 74th streets July 22.
George McDonald, president and founder of The Doe Fund, said he was grateful for the new territory.
“By choosing The Doe Fund’s ‘men in blue’ to service Myrtle Avenue and the surrounding area, Ms. Crowley is leading by example, providing our men the opportunity and work they need to transform their lives, while improving the cleanliness and safety of the district’s streets,” McDonald said in a statement.
Crowley indicated she hoped to expand The Doe Fund program in coming years.
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com.
