First Steps

Today, the Bronx Community Solutions community service crew took a broom, shovel and rake to the first of what will be many step streets throughout the Bronx.

Pedestrians traveling on 176th Street at Jerome Avenue, on Clifford Place at Jerome Avenue, and on Davidson Avenue at Featherbed Lane should see a noticeable difference. Old car doors from nearby chop shops have been removed, planter boxes filled with bottles and chip wrappers have been thoroughly cleaned, and piles of slippery fall leaves on step slopes have been raked into bags. And the whole thing will be cleaned again in two weeks.

Located in Community District 5, the three sites cleaned today were identified by Community Board 5 and by the Department of Sanitation as locations in need of some serious attention. In addition to trash buildup, the areas are home to walls covered in graffiti and the heavy foot traffic of subway riders.

Although the Department of Sanitation makes an effort to clean the steps as often as they can, they simply do not have the resources to be out on the steps on a consistent basis. This is where Bronx Community Solutions comes in – through our community service mandates, Bronx Community Solutions has a steady stream of labor and a desire to respond to the stated needs of different Bronx neighborhoods. So we’ll be back every other Tuesday now to make sure that these steps stay clean and safe.


And this is only the first phase of the cleanup – our goal is to work with community residents, local businesses, and community-based organizations to remove the graffiti, make sure the lights are working, and put flowers and plants in the planter boxes that are usually home to trash. Today was definitely a successful start to the project and we’re looking forward to the work ahead!