In New York City, something magical has happened along the sidewalk in Washington Heights that can best be described in a metaphor.
In the East, the lotus is not only a food source, an ornamental, and a religious symbol, it also serves as a convenient allegory—because it grows best in the dirtiest water.
So it was with David, a young New Yorker who felt “powerless” to change the circumstances on his block at 171st between Broadway and Fort Washington. Everywhere a piece of litter could be, it was. Whether wrapped around the bolts securing a fire hydrant or choking the tree plots on the sidewalk, litter was everywhere.
So David bought some bags and a grabber stick and announced on his TikTok account that he was going to clean the litter off of a single NYC block every day for 100 days.
The project, like the lotus blooming out of sludge, revealed a caring community hungry for change, just waiting for someone to show that it was possible to do something.
@trashtalk_nyc DAY 100! Thank you for all your support during this incredible and challenging time. When I started this account, I had no expectations. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to help our communities through kindness and hard work. I am so excited for this fall, as we transition to education and beautification for New York families #newyork #communitycleanup #trashtalk ♬ original sound - Your Neighbor David
“When this account went viral, I learned that litter was correlated with pride and a sense of community,” David wrote in his 100th day montage video. “I could have picked up trash my whole life, but instead I want to give people a reason not to litter.”
The reason was simple: that littering would spoil the beauty that David and an ever-proliferating number of local volunteer comrades worked to bring about along this special neighborhood in the Big Apple.
What started as a solo cleanup has grown into a broader community effort, with local businesses donating plants, lumber, and equipment to help improve neighborhood spaces. It wasn’t long before many of his neighbors were there right beside him, picking up litter, badgering city officials to make more of an effort to keep streets clean, and cultivating beds of flowers and plants where the city’s trees grow on the sidewalk.
@trashtalk_nyc Day 44 of Cleaning New York: let's clean our own blocks, but let's also call out problems where we see them. The organizations responsible for cleaning and protecting this city should lead by example. Please comment and share to grow this mission #trashtalk #communitycleanup #newyork #bronx #CapCut ♬ original sound - Your Neighbor David
For this was the ultimate culmination of David’s good work. As much as his videos went viral, so too did his idea of fencing off little flower beds under the trees, laying down soil and mulch, and planting flowers to encourage neighbors and passersby to keep the streets clean.
His new green thumbs have pulled him as far afield as the mountains upstate looking for native plants to put into the beds along the streets.
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“Litter can kill plants, but plants can also teach people not to litter,” David says. “People don’t notice a dying tree, but when flowers magically appear for the first time in decades, people notice when they die.”
He’s so far spent some $2,000 buying fence and gardening supplies to beautify the tree plots along his own block, enriched by giving hands inspired by his creative solutions to litter control.
@trashtalk_nyc Day 108 of Cleaning New York: when you build in public, you create a mirror for the community to understand itself. I have loved watching my neighbors sit on these fences and enjoy the flowers, and I'm excited to replace our stolen plants soon. Please consider contributing to my GoFundMe to support this mission #newyork #communitycleanup #trashtalk #washingtonheights #gardening ♬ original sound - Your Neighbor David
SHARE David’s Incredible Work In Washington Heights On Social Media—Keep The Viral Train Rolling…