Citywide clean-up makes Holyoke shine

by Town Reminder

By Dennis P. Hohenberger
Turley Publications Correspondent

HOLYOKE – For three hours on Saturday, dozens of volunteers armed with brooms, shovels, dustpans and trash bags spread out across the city and gave Holyoke a clean sweep during the annual Citywide clean-up.
Crews picked up trash in parks and brooms swept city streets from Rohan Park in Ward 6 to High Street and Main Street. Volunteers from civic groups, city departments, the Holyoke DPW and private businesses grabbed brooms and got to work.
As though on cue, a large contingent from Hampshire Towing let loose on High Street and quickly made their way from City Hall to Lyman Street, picking up old wrappers, cigarette butts and a long line of debris.
Bill Johnson, of Hampshire Towing, said, “Every community we tow in we try to give back,” he said of his army of volunteers. The city contracts Hampshire for towing services. He said 17 employees cleaned up High Street. “We have a pretty good crew and it’s a fun day.”
John Borowaski, of Amber Energy, cleaned up a puddle of radiator coolant outside La Favorita Mini Market on the corner of High and Hampden streets. He used a special absorbent that soaked up the liquid and then swept up the then-dried material for disposal.
Even a small amount of antifreeze, he said, could prove fatal to pets.
Ed Caisse, who heads the South Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative (SHSNI) for the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office, organized a crew near Main and Cabot streets. Staff and volunteers from the sheriff’s pre-release program swept streets and removed large objects from alleyways. “We just want to make it a lot nicer as part of the city clean up,” he said.
Caisse said clean streets have a positive effect on a community. “People don’t realize the impact – the old broken window theory. When a neighborhood looks clean, crime is not going to be there as often, like a neighborhood that’s rundown and people let it go,” he said. “We’re going to encourage the community to get more involved.”
On Friday, the SHSNI hosted their Family Fun Night at Morgan School. The initiative is working toward making South Holyoke a safer, cleaner and more vibrant community, and includes assistance from law enforcement and local social service agencies.
Rafael Santos, the Ward 4 Neighborhood Watch coordinator, said a tight knit group of volunteers came out to help. Most of the volunteers regularly attend the monthly neighborhood watch meetings at the Holyoke YMCA.
The volunteers concentrated on Avery Field and the surrounding area. The volunteers wanted to make sure the field was clean before a community picnic on June 16. “A clean neighborhood says we have good residents in the area who care,” he said. “When you see the community come out, and start making that difference, it sends a signal to the people who are trying to do something good.”
He believes cleaner neighborhoods deter crime or makes those inclined to criminal activity to think twice.
Ward 4 City Councilor Jason Ferreira, said, “There’s a lot of folks invested in the community and it makes it easier for me, as a city councilor, to organize events like this and have it really make an impact. He added events like the clean up are “community building exercises” and creates stronger bonds between neighbors.
Stan Geddes, a Suffolk Street resident, has seen improvement in the area since he and other residents started the monthly “Trash Bashes” a few years back. He said the Holyoke Police Department is more in-tune with quality-of-life issues, like trash and graffiti.
“Overall the neighborhood is getting cleaner, but there’s still specific pockets, bad spots, like corner stores,” he said, where he is often finds discarded plastic bags and food wrappers. The stores need to be a little more involved.”
Geddes said some businesses have installed trash receptacles.
When the work ended, volunteers were treated to a pizza party at Heritage State Park.