Bronxites hit litter out of the park

Take a walk along the streets of the Bronx, or NYC in general, and you will notice litter is a problem. Potato chip bags, cans of beer, bottles of water and general refuge can be spotted on any given day along the city’s sidewalks, and an initiative from the Department of Sanitation of New York (DSNY) is mobilizing Bronxites to keep their neighborhoods clean and rewarding them with free tickets to a Yankees game.

In partnership with Yankee Stadium, the Sanitation Foundation — the official nonprofit partner of DSNY — launched the Bronx Summer Cleanup series in 2021, and on Friday morning, volunteers came together for the last day of the fifth annual event since its inception.

This year, the series launched on June 12 along Bedford Park where 118 volunteers collected 795 pounds of trash. On July 25, 71 garbage picker-uppers cleared 402 pounds of litter and on Aug. 2, 97 helpers cleaned up a little more than 400 pounds of waste. The numbers of how much garbage was collected on Friday have yet to be calculated, but more than a dozen bags of trash were collected.

“We have to be near 30,000 pounds of litter that we’ve removed from the borough in the last five years and we’ve had at least 2000 volunteers,” Kenny Leandry told amNewYork, native Bronxite and senior director of corporate relations for Yankee Stadium.

A 2025 study by Dreyfus Advisors revealed that 80% of New Yorkers see litter as a major problem, although 62% said they always properly dispose their refuse, while 14% admitted to being chronic litterers. And litter is not only an eyesore when walking through the “greatest city in the world,” but it also contributed to several instances of flooding in the subway system. Twice this year, torrential rainstorms left New Yorkers stranded on the trains and on highways.

“During flash flood conditions — significant amounts of litter floated with stormwater and swiftly clogged catch basins, exacerbating flooding issues in some neighborhoods, correlating with a large spike in catch basin complaints called into 311,” read a recent report on street cleanliness from the NYC Council.

A new campaign called “Don’t Do NYC Dirty” that launched in May, with offshoots for each borough, allows locals to join the “Adopt Your Spot” program. New Yorkers choose an area they promise to maintain and DSNY sends them a cleanup kit with gloves, trash bags and other tools necessary for safe trash disposal. Soon, they will also roll out the “Adopt a Catch Basin” program where residents can choose a specific sewer drain and make sure it stays free of debris to allow proper drainage of rainwater.

“This is so much fun,” said 8-year-old Amari who was out cleaning up Jerome Avenue near Yankee Stadium with her grandmother, Debra Hamilton.

Fitted with neon yellow gloves, garbage pickers and green trash bags, the two, along with about 100 other volunteers, tackled the perimeter around Yankee Stadium on Friday. This summer was Amari and Hamilton’s second year volunteering. They also joined the “Adopt Your Spot” program where they clean up Jerome Avenue near the Tracy Towers.

“ I like doing this is because it’s fun and I like helping my community and letting it be safe, and I don’t want everything to stink, and I don’t like when other people litter and then they put it on us to clean it up so, people should clean up after themselves,” Amari added who, along with her grandmother, was wearing a Yankee t-shirt and headband to commemorate the day.

It was the first time joining a cleanup effort for Melissa Serrano and her three sons who live near Bedford Park and were excited to receive Yankee tickets so they could watch their favorite player, Aaron Judge. Her two older sons, Jamie, 16 and Jayden, 15, attend Mount Saint Michael Academy where community service is a required part of the curriculum. She figured they could help clean their beloved borough while also getting a special treat for themselves. It was a win-win.

“ The interaction of the community is, and making sure, that the event is curated properly and the community feels respected and they feel safe,” Johari James said, community engagement manager for Sanitation Foundation. “That’s what brings people back and that’s what fosters a nice community, a cleanup community.”

James estimates around 20% of volunteers come back to help following their first time.

After about an hour of collecting garbage, volunteers returned to the home base at Macomb’s Dam Park where they exchanged their cleanup gear and instruments for two Yankee ticket vouchers per person distributed by Halima Johnson, director of volunteer programs for the Sanitation Foundation.

“It’s about Bronx Pride, it’s about loving the city that you’re from and the things that make us so special. Even if nobody else thinks it, we think we’re the greatest city in the world,” Johnson said.

Volunteers were also treated to free Mr. Softee ice cream, adding the cherry on top.

The summer cleanup series has concluded for the season, but people can begin signing up for next year’s iteration or start volunteering now at sanitationfoundation.org/volunteer-hub.