October 16, 2009
The Mayor’s Neighborhood Appreciation Day Trolley Tour
The official winner of the AFRO Clean-Green Block Contest for 2009 is the 1200 Block of Whatcoat Street in Sandtown-Winchester. Mayor Sheila The Mayor will took a “Neighborhood Appreciation Day” trolley tour of the winning block and the three finalists on Saturday, October 3, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm to congratulate them on their tremendous efforts.
More than eight blocks entered the contest and in addition to the winner, the other finalists were: the 700 block of East 30th Street in the Better Waverly Community; the 100 block of Culver Street in Edmondson Village Community; and the 2400 block of Etting Street in the Penn North Community.
Started in 1934, the AFRO Clean Block Competition is the oldest existing environmental program in the nation. 2009 marks its 75th year of continuous operation. It went “Green” and officially partnered with the Cleaner Greener Baltimore Initiative in 2008.
The winner and finalists in the AFRO Clean-Green Block Award received prizes that included t-shirts, re-usable bags, fluorescent light bulbs, a six-month subscription of the AFRO, a block party and a visit from The Mayor on “Neighborhood Appreciation Day.” The overall winner also received four Landmark Theater tickets to give to their most outstanding volunteers.
Winner Profile
Clayton Price, leader of the 1200 block of Whatcoat, decided to take matters into his own hands. He organized the 23 houses on the 1200 block of Whatcoat Street in spite of the fact that the community association had not yet reorganized.
Last year he missed the deadline for competing in the Afro Clean Green Block Contest. So this year he was not going to be left behind. So he registered the 1200 block of Whatcoat St. and got all hands on deck for a major clean up and beautification on Saturday, August 15.
Mr. Price was able to get 15 to 20 people for the clean up effort. He has a very persuasive personality. If not enough people show up, he’s on his bullhorn going up and down the street!
“We help the City out by cleaning our own block and sweeping the gutters, so they don’t have to send the mechanical sweeper around,” said Mr. Price. “We petitioned the City so that we could have parking on both sides of the street at all times”. This partnership has served both the City and the community very well.
As part of the clean up, flowers were planted as well as tree grates and water meter covers painted. “We had a small problem with rats,” said Mr. Price.
