In celebration of Earth Day, members of the Levittown Community Council teamed up with the Town of Hempstead to host its eighth annual community clean-up day.
On April 26, residents from Levittown and the surrounding areas gathered their rakes, shovels and gloves and met up in front of OfficeMax by Hempstead Tpke. and Gardiners Ave. before getting down and dirty—picking up garbage and planting trees.
“We were in puddles at 8:30 this morning, so this is a significant improvement,” Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray said. “We are thrilled that we have more and more people joining, especially our young folks, each year. It shows we all have pride in our community and this certainly enhances the look and what better time then Spring when we’re all thinking about cleaning our own yards and getting our houses in order. It’s good to get our communal house in order as well.”
According to Tom Kohlman, co-president of the Community Council, this event started as a way to bring the community together to try and make the community look even better.
Participants ranged from honor society students, Boy Scouts, student-athletes, corporate volunteers, religious programs, Key Clubs, and other youth organizations.
“It’s so good for the kids to participate,” stated Kathy D’Arpa, who supervised her daughter and her friend on Saturday’s clean-up. “It teaches them to respect their surroundings and environment.”
Hempstead Town Clerk Nasrin Ahmad added, “I think this is absolutely a wonderful idea. This is my first year and I wish that more towns, more areas, would do this, because it brings the young people out and it gives you pride for your own town. When you’ve taken the Saturday out to go and clean up, you’re going to take pride in your town. It’s good for the younger generation and it’s good for the community.”
