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Sanitation Foundation details Bronx cleanup programs, Adopt Your Spot and volunteer incentives
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Summary
The Sanitation Foundation presented spring and summer community cleanup programs for the Bronx, including the Big Spring Clean, Yankee cleanup series, Adopt Your Spot kits and volunteer incentives; staff and DSNY deputies answered questions about enforcement capacity and assistance for elderly homeowners.
Jahadi James, manager of community engagement for the Sanitation Foundation, told Bronx community boards the Foundation is the Department of Sanitation’s nonprofit partner and outlined education, volunteer and stewardship programs planned for spring and summer.
James said the Foundation runs school programs (K–12 waste audits and compost education), adult education such as a 10‑module “Trash Academy,” and large volunteer events including a Big Spring Clean and the Bronx Yankee cleanup series. “We are the official nonprofit partner to the Department of Sanitation,” James said.
The Foundation described Adopt Your Spot, a program that supports individual stewards with starter kits (picker, gloves, bags) and a WhatsApp community for sharing before/after photos; the group said there are more than 1,000 adopters citywide. James said Foundation volunteers have received incentives — the presentation described one voucher for two Yankee tickets per volunteer for the Bronx cleanup series — and noted past metrics the Foundation cited: over 2,000 volunteer participants and 22,000 pounds of trash collected across 2001–2025 figures shown in the slide deck.
The Foundation also described the Clean City Alliance, a hyperlocal pilot that pairs education with neighborhood stewardship and bids or volunteer groups to sustain results beyond one‑off cleanups.
During Q&A, community members raised practical enforcement questions: elderly homeowners who miss hearings and accumulate fines; limited capacity for snow removal for frail residents; and persistent illegal street vending. Robert Falcaro, deputy chief for sanitation in the Bronx, said enforcement teams are understaffed and that field supervisors have limited latitude after violations issue, though he offered to review specific cases and suggested local community groups and BIDs as resources. “I don’t have a lot of great answers, unfortunately,” Falcaro said, noting staffing and resource constraints for vending and illegal car‑wash enforcement.
The Foundation offered to work with boards to identify local cleanup routes for the Yankee series and to share promotional and PSA materials. Board staff said the borough office will circulate the Foundation’s schedule and coordinate locations ahead of mid‑May events.
Next steps: Foundation will share event schedules and materials with community boards; boards were asked to propose cleanup locations and connect local stewards.
