City of Newburgh residents partook in the 10th annual Newburgh Community Cleanup [NCC] day hosted by Safe Harbors of the Hudson during Earth Day weekend.

The NCC is a city-wide initiative where residents volunteer and clean up trash and debris in order to keep the city clean and green. The City of Newburgh Department of Public Works also assisted the cleanup efforts throughout the morning.

Registration for the cleanup, which was run by the members of the Rotary Club of Greater Newburgh, began around 9 a.m. Residents and volunteers arrived at the Safe Harbors Green Park and made their way over to tables to register in, collect gloves and trash bags, talk to each other or look at several goods at vendor tents.
“This is just an exciting day, the weather is perfect, and it’s an opportunity for all of us to be together and to make sure we have pride in the streets of this city,” said Paul Ernenwein.

“I see unity, I feel unity. I see the community coming together to really help us to clean up our own environment,” said Arlette Murrain, President of the Rotary Club of Greater Newburgh.

Prior to the dispersing of the crowd into the city, Lisa Silverstone, Executive Director of Safe Harbors, welcomed and thanked everyone who came out to take part in the cleanup.

Silverstone shared that over seven tons of trash was collected with 175 volunteers participating in the cleanup. Trash varied from bottles, bags and street trash to bigger items such as furniture, a mattress or other items that may have been left on vacant lots. Cleanup groups went along Broadway and other city streets to pick up trash throughout the morning. Volunteers shared with Silverstone that they were happy to be here and be a part of cleaning the city.

Senator James Skoufis and Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson, who were also in attendance, were recognized and shared several words and reflections on being part of this initiative.

“For anyone that visits this city [of Newburgh], we want to make sure they leave with the best possible impression,” Skoufis said.

Councilman Ramona Monteverde, who also serves as the Director of Operations for Safe Harbors, spoke with fellow community members throughout the morning and truly appreciated the community support. According to Monteverde, while many residents do come out for this event, there are several community groups such as Melanin Unchained that do go out on a regular basis to clean up trash on the streets in the city.

Though city residents go out to clean, Monteverde recognizes there is work still needed to be done to hopefully have one day a truly clean city.

“The big thing that I would like to stop in the city is the dumping. I would like to get to a point where we don’t have to do this cleanup,” Monteverde said. “It’s [cleaning the city] a big effort and it includes everybody getting out there and cleaning up.”

Throughout the morning, collected trash would be placed into several red dumpsters along Broadway with the name Taylor on the side. Those dumpsters were provided by James Taylor Jr., Board Chairman of Taylor-Montgomery, LLC in Montgomery, NY who shared he was truly happy to be here cleaning the city that he was born in.

According to Taylor, not only was he born across Liberty Street in a corner property but he also had a hand in the design and construction of the current Safe Harbors Green Park.

For over 40 years, resident Nancy Layne has lived here in the City of Newburgh. After she retired from her former occupation, she became involved and joined the Safe Harbors board.

Seeing garbage on the streets upsets her and she hopes people will become aware of this on-going problem and keep the city clean.

“I’m thrilled that all these people came out today, it’s wonderful. This is a beautiful city [of Newburgh]. I just wish people would be responsible and use the trash receptacles,” Layne said. “Hopefully an event like this will promote more cleanliness throughout the year, not just today.”

Safe Harbors of the Hudson’s main office is located at 111 Broadway, Newburgh, New York 12550. For more information, you can visit safe-harbors.org or call (845) 562-6940.