Clean Sweep officials hail program
as success in improving city areas
A quality-of-life program designed to
clean up Buffalo's neighborhoods has removed enough garbage this year to fill
about five city dump trucks.
During 15 Clean Sweep efforts, the city's Save Our Streets Task Force collected 122.45 tons of debris scattered across the city.
The task force also removed 3.72 tons of tires, mowed 245 lots, boarded up 62 vacant homes, baited 475 properties for rodents and distributed 195 free smoke detectors.
During the sweeps, the task force rescued 10 animals, removed graffiti at seven sites, disconnected 80 illegal cable connections, removed surveillance equipment protecting a drug house and uncovered 41 properties with nuisance problems or illegal drugs.
City officials say the program is drawing praise from residents.
"It was a very successful program," Mayor Byron W. Brown said just moments after the statistics were released during a Save Our Streets Task Force meeting Tuesday in City Hall.
"Members of the community felt pleased to have various city agencies in their neighborhoods addressing issues of blight and crime," Brown said. "We've been able to go into neighborhoods and completely address and eradicate unwanted conditions."
Tuesday's meeting was attended by about 35 officials - including all five district police chiefs and Deputy Fire Commissioner Garnell M. Smith.
Nicole Drye, Save Our Streets Task Force coordinator, told the group that the number of Clean Sweeps had doubled this year, from seven last year.
Clean Sweeps involves dozens of government departments, law enforcement officials, businesses and community groups. The participating agencies include the Buffalo police, state parole, county probation, U.S. marshals, the U.S. attorney's office and several city departments, including Permits and Inspections.
From May to October, teams of about 30 task force members went door to door in the 15 neighborhoods, plagued by high crime or blight. They talked with residents, offering to install free smoke detectors and discussing problems ranging from a nearby drug house to animal control issues. They also beautified and cleaned up the streets.
"It's like a Herculean effort," said Oswaldo Mestre Jr, citizen services director and chairman of the task force. "We're basically taking City Hall and putting [it] on the streets to work in collaboration with other agencies."
New components of the program this year included landlord training workshops and the involvement of additional groups, such as the Buffalo Employment and Training Center.
Mestre said most residents are praising and welcoming the modified program. He added that the task force now invites block club leaders and community groups to participate in the sweeps.
"We've made the process more transparent," he said. "I know there's a perception that we're violating people's rights, but we're not forcing our way into people's homes. This is strictly voluntary, and we're sensitive to the needs of the community."
"These communities are under siege," he added. "People are living with illegal activity and drug houses in their neighborhood, and we take that very seriously."