SOUTH SHORE — A group of South Shore residents who helped clean their neighborhood for Earth Day said their sustained work — and increased city services — can make their busy blocks safer and more vibrant.
Monday’s Earth Day on Essex event brought together residents along the 7500-7800 blocks of Essex Avenue to rid the area of trash, glass and debris while encouraging neighborly connections.
About a dozen neighbors as young as 2 came out for the start of the event, which was scheduled for noon-4 p.m. The Y.E.P. Block Club Association provided cleaning supplies.
From installing trash cans on street corners, more frequently sweeping streets and punishing “fly dumpers” and absent landlords who let trash pile up at their properties, the city must provide more services in the densely populated area, organizers said.
Volunteers called on local leaders like Ald. Greg Mitchell (7th), property owners and residents to do more to create a cleaner community. They also acknowledged the neighbors and apartment complex maintenance workers who already do their part daily.
“I’ve joined with my neighbors [who are constantly] picking up trash, and we all realized we’re doing this by ourselves,” organizer Shanna Landheart said. “We have an alderman, we have a state rep, but our neighborhood looks like this, so we need help.”
Renters often get a bad rap for not being “invested” in the neighborhood, organizer Debra Moore said.
South Shore, which has long been home to more Section 8 voucher holders than most other neighborhoods in Chicago, is a great place to change that narrative and encourage all to see their stake in the area, volunteers said.
“You’re invested in the community. You’re invested in the one unit, or whatever that is,” Moore said. “If windows are broken, if blinds are distorted, that should be something you should be informing the landlords about on a regular basis. If that’s not being corrected, that’s a problem.”
Organizers plan to hold more cleanups and draw a bigger turnout via word-of-mouth and signs around the neighborhood, they said.
As neighbors cleaned Monday, passersby gave thanks, offered encouragement and asked why people were cleaning up.
But one person drove past, looked at the volunteers and still tossed their trash in the street, 8-year-old Derrick said.
Derrick said it was frustrating to see how some people responded to his “hard work,” but he was undeterred as he kept sweeping, shoveling and bagging.
“You can’t control their actions, but you can control your actions,” Derrick said.
Neighbors must adopt the “mindset” that they “deserve to be invested in” — and don’t deserve to live among so much trash, organizer Adjoa Love said.
Monday’s event and future cleanups can help change “the thought processes about, ‘Oh, over east is just nasty,'” Landheart said. “We’re here today, so we’re going to clean up the block, reach out to our neighbors and do it together.”
The Essex Avenue blocks are near South Shore properties owned by landlord Christopher Amatore, which have for months housed hundreds of migrants. The landlord accused Mitchell earlier this year of threatening him for placing “migrants in his ward without his permission,” the Sun-Times reported.
New arrivals to the neighborhood regularly sweep sidewalks and pick up trash just like long-term residents, organizers said. Community actions like Earth Day on Essex are a way for residents to unite for more resources, rather than see each other as competition, they said.
Migrants are “a part of our community,” Love said. “They’re living here, they’re spending money here, they’re spending time here, they have families here.”
Organizers of this week’s cleanup said they have not yet linked up with Amatore, who recently led a paid cleanup in the 7th Ward, according to ABC7.
Staffers in Mitchell’s office did not respond to Block Club’s request for comment. A spokesperson for Mitchell told ABC7 the alderman supports residents’ efforts to keep their neighborhoods clean.
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