Hundreds of helping hands keep 86th Street clean

They mean clean.

A record-breaking number of area teens participated inAssemblymember Bill Colton’s neighborhood clean-up on SaturdayNovember 12. About 400 volunteers donned gloves, and wieldedshovels, garbage bags, brooms and rakes provided by the Departmentof Sanitation and Home Depot, as they swept up trash along 86thStreet from 19th Avenue to 26th Avenue.

This is exciting, historic and incredible, Colton said of theturnout. We had to cut kids off because there were too many, butthat is a good omen for this neighborhood. Young people are ourhope for the future and according to this, our future is verybright.

Volunteers came from schools and groups in southern Brooklyn andbeyond, including Midwood High School, Brooklyn Tech, New UtrechtHigh School, the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn, Our Ladyof Grace Teen Group, Bensonhurst Youth Cluster, Comptroller JohnLiu Youth Action Team, Our Lady of Grace Cub Scout Pack 376, GirlScout Troop 2405 and the United Progressive Democrats.

Groups not only picked up garbage along their route, but gavemerchants and residents brochures on how to keep their block clean.When you have a clean and beautiful neighborhood, you have a goodquality of life, Colton said.

Angela Huang, 16, a junior at Midwood, said she came to the lastclean-up too. It was fun, said the Bensonhurst resident. When wefinished, we looked back and saw that it was clean. That feltgood.

Her friend, Sally Liang, lives in Borough Park. This is myfirst time, she said. I saw the neighborhood filled with garbageand wanted to do something to decrease pollution.

It was also Charlie Seaman’s first time participating in aclean-up. The Bensonhurst native worked as an adult leader. Iwanted to do something good for the community, he said.

Loren Carbonaro, 13, attends Mark Twain. I just wanted to helpout the community, said the Bensonhurst resident. I am always on86th Street, so I figured why not clean up?

Her friend, Monica Bressi, 13, is an eighth-grader at St. EdmundElementary School. We are always on 86th Street walking around,she explained. I figured why not clean it up since we always makeit dirty all the time!