The Hillcrest Town Council’s Neighborhood Improvement Committee (NIC) spearheaded a community pre-Mardi Gras cleanup throughout the neighborhood this morning with several Hillcresters showing up at 8:45 under the Hillcrest sign to enjoy coffee donated by Peet’s and City Deli cookies (thanks, Mike) before grabbing their brooms, bags and trash cans and setting off throughout the neighborhood to pick up trash.
The groups filled dozens of bags with street litter and removed discarded mattresses, furniture and large items that had been left in alleys. Some of the worst areas were the alley just off 
University between Third & Fourth avenues (come on, American Apparel, help us out) and event promoters whose crew discarded thousands (yes, thousands) of postcards promoting events at local clubs. (The photo at left shows Hillcrester Luke Terpstra with 100s of fliers picked up by Evan Kohler along just one block of Fifth Avenue north of University.) A reporter from CW-Channel 6 covered the clean-up effort. It was shown on the 10pm news.
Free orange t-shirts were given to all volunteers… and gift certificates donated by Baja Betty’s and Urban Mo’s were shared at the end of the effort. Thanks to all the volunteers for pitching in to make Hillcrest look even better by putting the shine on the neighborhood just in time for Fat Tuesday.
The Hillcrest Clean T.E.A.M. was formed in November 2005 to clean the sidewalks and gutters of Hillcrest. These valiant volunteers now sweep at least once every quarter being led by the NIC of the Hillcrest Town Council. For more information or to become involved contact Tim Gahagan at 260-1322.
