Environmentally minded residents and those who want their town to look a little bit better participated in the Great Brookhaven Cleanup, an annual effort that removed tons of litter and debris from the landscape.
It’s part of the Great American Cleanup, the nation’s largest organized beautification and community improvement program. Over the last decade, more than 50,000 Brookhaven residents joined millions of volunteers in 15,000 communities across America to pick up 750 million pounds of garbage, beautify over 500,000 miles of roadway, and clean up more than 500,000 miles of rivers, lakes, and seashores in their communities.
“Brookhaven Town is full of caring and conscientious residents, and everyone's efforts are deeply appreciated to make our town look better,” said Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico, who filled up a few trash bags along with town council members Jonathan Kornreich, Jane Bonner, Neil Manzella, and Karen Dunne Kesnig, Town Clerk Kevin LaValle, and Suffolk Legislator Jim Mazzarella.
“The volunteers know that they really make a difference, and the results are dramatic,” Panico noted. “The communities look clean and beautiful, and there is a sense of hometown pride and accomplishment.”
The program is sponsored by Teachers Federal Credit Union, with Arrow Recycling, and was helped by members of the James V. Kavanaugh Knights of Columbus Council and many other local organizations. “The Mederos Family went out and cleaned the median on William Floyd Parkway all the way from Brushwood Drive to the Smith Point Bridge,” said Grand Knight Frank DeNatale, Jr., pointing out just one of the many areas targeted by the cleanup campaign.
“Thank you so much to all of the residents who joined Farmingville Residents Association for today's Spring Clean Up and Planting, in conjunction with The Great Brookhaven Clean Up,” said Marissa Pizza.