If you were walking about downtown Paterson yesterday, 25th August 2012, you might have noticed teams of people wearing green shirts and black sunglasses, holding  black garbage bags and floor brooms on hand. The group was part of a city initiative to clean up the area between Main Street, Broadway, and Ward Street, called Paterson Quality of Life Initiative.

Group members were on the sidewalk picking up pieces of litter carelessly dropped on pedestrian walkways by heedless shoppers; they were also sweeping the streets. As they finished one street and moved to the next, they left behind clean city streets, free of litter.

Members of the group came from many different age groups: teenagers, adults, and children (see picture). The Youth Services Bureau and School Based Youth Services, were the main participants of the clean up project. The arrangement included a panoply of sponsors: DPW – Clean Communities, The Department of Health and Human Services, and S.I.D. – Main Street Merchants.

A local blog, Positive Possibilities in Paterson, stated the cleaning begin at 12 and ended at 2pm.

Pictures of the group at work:

https://picasaweb.google.com/107695344181269320423/PatersonCleanUp