Jersey City to Host First Annual “Great Jersey City Cleanup” as Part of Earth Day Festivities; Nearly 1,000 Residents to Clean Neighborhoods Citywide

3^rd Annual Earth Day Festival at City Hall will Feature Local Vendors, Workshops to Promote Environmentally Sustainable Practices and Activities for Children

JERSEY CITY – In celebration of Earth Day, on Saturday, April 23rd, nearly 1,000 residents will take part in the first annual Great Jersey City Clean Up, a massive citywide initiative in which community members will join city crews in cleaning their neighborhoods.  The third annual Jersey City Earth Day Festival will also be held at City Hall featuring interactive and educational workshops, locally produced culinary creations, food trucks and handmade goods for guests of all ages.

“Jersey City is a community of neighborhoods and one of our greatest assets is our residents,” said Mayor Fulop.  “Whether through the Great Jersey City Clean Up, United Rescue or dozens of other community-based initiatives, our residents dedicate countless hours each year to make their city a better place.”

The Great Jersey City Clean Up, which will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, is part of the Great American Clean Up, a nationwide effort that will take place in 20,000 communities and engages over 4 million volunteers across the country.  The initiative is spearheaded locally by the Department of Public Works and Keep Jersey City Beautiful, the local affiliate of the national nonprofit Keep America Beautiful.

A total of 949 volunteers have signed up to clean 51 different locations across every ward in the city. Special garbage truck routes have been created to support the volunteers†efforts. Support for the initiative came in part from Acme, Imperial Bag & Paper Co., Honeywell, and PPG.

“The Keep Jersey City Beautiful team has conducted an annual litter index over the past two years, and we have seen a slight down-tick in the amount of litter and graffiti citywide based, in part because of initiatives like Stop the Drop and the murals program and by clean up efforts from our neighborhood, civic and park groups,” said Mira Prinz Arey, Keep Jersey City Beautiful board member and Ward B representative. “We wanted our first event to have a major impact and we are thrilled by the level of participation by our fellow citizens. Great things happen when people get together and focus on a common goal, and we canâ€t wait to see what kind of an impact the Great Jersey City Clean Up will have on the city.”

In addition to partnering with Keep Jersey City Beautiful and the Jersey City Parks Coalition, and dozens of neighborhood block associations, the clean up has also gained involvement from the County of Hudson, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, and BikeJC, amongst dozens of other groups and businesses.

Anyone who is still interested in volunteering for the clean up on Saturday can do so by emailing: kjcb@jcnj.org.

The third Annual Jersey City Earth Day Festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in front of City Hall.

Vendors at the Earth Day Festival will include Jersey City-based businesses Taproot Organics, Myrtle & Flossie, Oh Honey, Whos Gluten Free, Milk Sugar Love, eveningstarstudios, Modcup Coffee, and more.  Guests will enjoy complimentary massages by Harborside Sport and Spine, yoga sessions with Jivamukti Yoga, and a variety of food and drink options.

DPW staff will also be handing out fresh herbs, potted plants and veggies to guests. Workshops will include planting demonstrations, seed saving, composting and treatment-free beekeeping, as well as childrenâ€s activities with JC Fab Lab.  For event details, please visit:  http://jerseycityculture.org/earth-day-2016/

Environmental conservation has been a focus of the Fulop administration. Since taking office, the administration has made the largest investment in open space in the cityâ€s history, investing more than $6 million in park renovations across all six wards. The City also partnered with the Jersey City Parks Coalition on an initiative to expand the cityâ€s tree canopy and plant 2,020 trees by 2020. And, last year, the administration announced plans to conduct an energy audit and greenhouse gas footprint analysis, both of which are ongoing and will lead to recommendations on how to further make Jersey City a greener city.

 All media inquiries should be directed to Jennifer Morrill, Press Secretary to Mayor Steven M. Fulop at jenniferm@jcnj.org or 201-376-0

The post Jersey City’s- Great Jersey City Cleanup first appeared on River View Observer.

 

The tour will begin at 9:45 a.m. at Riverview Community Garden at Riverview-Fisk Park in the Heights. Participants will then visit seven other gardens throughout the cityâ€s six wards.  Bike JC will lead a bicycle ride to each garden and the Recreation Department will provide a shuttle to each site.

“Urban gardening is a model for a sustainable future and I am proud of the work that has allowed gardens to bloom on formerly vacant lots throughout the city,” said Mayor Fulop. “One of the goals of my Keep Jersey City Beautiful initiative is to work with our Division of Planning, Public Works and neighborhood organizations to get more lots adopted as gardens.”

City-owned lots and parks can be adopted by eligible neighborhood associations and groups of residents for only $1 a year. More information and leases will be available at the closing festival or visit http://www.jerseycitynj.gov/resident.aspx?id=8012.

The stops on the Adopt-A-Lot Community Garden Tour are scheduled as follows:

9:45 a.m. Meet at Riverview Community Garden, 300 Ogden Ave.

10:15-10:25 a.m. Ogdenâ€s End Community Garden, southern end of Ogden Ave.

10:35-10:45 a.m. Jersey City Art School Garden, 362 Fifth Street

11-11:10 a.m. Urban Action Community Garden, 528 Ocean Ave.

11:20-11:30 a.m. Lafayette Community Learning Garden, 312 Pacific Ave.

11:35-11:45 a.m. Astor Place Community Garden, 72 Astor Place

11:50 a.m.-12 p.m. OUR Community Garden, corner of Clinton Ave. and Crescent Ave.

12-2 p.m. Closing Festival UMMI Living Garden, 93 Harrison Ave.

 

All media inquiries should be directed to Jennifer Morrill, Press Secretary for the City of Jersey City, at 201-547-4836 or 201-376-

The post Jersey City to Hold Annual Adopt-A-Lot Garden Tour; Tour Includes Eight Community Gardens first appeared on River View Observer.