- Portland, Maine’s Clean Team Is Making “A Noticeable Difference” By Keeping Downtown Clean, Safe And Welcoming. For WGME, Sam DeCoste reports that the city’s 10-person street team “patrol[s] for litter, remove[s] graffiti and help[s] refer unhoused people to city services,” while checking for “trash cans overflowing,” targeting “hotspots” and filling cleanup gaps after the city’s last trash pickup. Portland Downtown Executive Director Cary Tyson, who oversees the clean team, explained the impact the team has made in just a year: “If you were downtown this time last year versus being downtown this year, you’ll notice a big difference.” He called the ambassadors “an extra set of eyes and ears” and said “that enhanced presence [has] given a higher level of comfortability to our visitors, our residents and our workers.… We’re making an impact.”
- Austin, Texas, Clean Team Removes Graffiti At No Cost, “Keeps The Community Safe And Healthy.” For KXAN, Ava Brendgord reports that Austin’s five-member graffiti inspection and removal team responds directly to 311 complaints, offering removal “at no charge to property owners” and completing the work “within 48 hours” after receiving consent. Since October, the city has received 428 requests and spent more than $100,000 through the pilot, with the team staying busy “from shift start to end.” Division Manager Dedric Knox said the program has “opened a door that didn’t exist before” and that “there is a need for it… so that we can continue to keep the community safe and healthy.”
- Seattle, Washington’s Clean Team Removes More Than 1 Million Gallons Of Trash, 40,000 Graffiti Tags Each Year. For KIRO 7, Jack Bilyeu reports that Seattle’s “more than 100 Clean Team ambassadors” keep streets clean while “fielding calls from dispatch,” with brooms and dustpans at the ready. Their work “goes beyond just cleaning up”; the clean team also “act as guides,” helping people navigate the city, including with translator apps. Clean Team member Brittany Jordan said their visible presence encourages others to take care of public spaces: “If you care, they care… People care because they see us out here… and they’re very respectful.”
