Near Northwest Neighbors Make Lot Clean and Safe
April 27, 2002
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Members and staff of Near Northwest Neighborhood, Inc. (NNN), volunteered time today to clear trash from an empty lot near the organization's offices at Portage and Vassar in South Bend, IN.
From 10 a.m. to 12 noon a dozen volunteers cleared the lot of tree limbs, broken glass, beer bottles, paper and other debris including an abandoned washing machine.
The organizers used rakes, shovels, a wheelbarrow and saws to collect the trash. The City of South Bend placed a dumpster in the alley and assigned a garbage truck and driver to haul garbage to the land fill.
The triangle shaped lot is located at the junction of two alleys in the interior of a large residential block. Garbage and debris had accumulated for some time. NNN organizers were unsure who owned the lot.
Cleaning neglected property combats the " broken windows syndrome." Trash filled lots affect the tone of a neighborhood. Trash and petty vandalism set the stage for more serious criminal problems and neighborhood decline.
Trash clean ups show pride in the neighborhood and build community. <insert before photo here>
NNN plans other clean ups. The next action will be to tidy and beautify the Muessel Elementary School block.
After this project was complete, the staff and members walked to the NNN offices for pizza and soft drinks.
A number of St. Joe Valley Greens live in the near-northwest side not far from the clean up site. One of our members, who is also a member of NNN, participated in the clean up.
St. Joe Valley Greens, South Bend, IN