On Saturday, December 8, Philadelphia Water Department employees, including Commissioner Debra McCarty, pitched in for a 'Philadelphia Resilience Project' event in Kensington.

PWD employees (from left to right) Lindsey Adams, Nicole Charlton, Dawn Mason, Brendan (& Emma) Reilly, Debbie McCarty, team leader Jim Golembeski, Ed Borges, Colleen McCaffrey, and Eric Funchess volunteered for the Kensington Resilience Project.

Launched following an order from Mayor Jim Kenney in October, the Resilience Project is the City’s “unified response to combating the opioid crisis.”

The special cleanup was the second large-scale effort of its kind in the last two months and featured City employees volunteering alongside community members in Kensington to pick up trash and litter, clean vacant lots, remove graffiti, and provide other services aimed at improving the quality of life in the neighborhood. At PWD, Jim Golembeski, manager of Emergency and Security Services, organized the effort and recruited employee volunteers.

Here are stats, shared in a post from the Mayor’s Office:

Over three hours, 113 staff from multiple City agencies and 87 volunteers worked to clean areas around schools in the Kensington area.

In total, two large-scale City-organized cleanups have taken place since Mayor Jim Kenney issued an Executive Order to tackle the opioid epidemic.

Outcomes of the Philadelphia Resilience Project’s cleanup efforts to date include:

  • Towed 126 abandoned vehicles
  • Issued 145 abandoned vehicle warnings
  • Swept 32.5 miles of streets with mechanical broom trucks
  • Cleaned 21 illegal dumps
  • Cleaned and sealed 59 open properties
  • Abated 5959 areas with graffiti
  • Painted 23 doors and windows
  • Abated 339 vacant lots
  • Completed 326 community service projects
  • Lent out cleanup supplies to 57 groups
  • Issued 12 tickets for illegal dumping
  • Cleaned 100 stormwater inlets
  • Collected 236 bags from parks
  • Resolved 824 Philly311 quality of life complaints
Read more about the Philadelphia Resilience Project →
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Thanks to all who pitched in!