Times Square, renowned for its bright lights, saw a different kind of spectacle today — the largest volunteer street cleanup in the city’s history. Among them was TV personality Andy Cohen, who made headlines at the Crossroads of the World on NYE 2022 by talking trash about outgoing Mayor De Blasio.
“It was an amazing feeling coming together with other New Yorkers to clean up the world’s greatest street,” said Cohen today. “There’s no doubt that New Yorkers can pick up trash as well as they can talk it.”
The Great Broadway Sweep was hosted by the Sanitation Foundation — official non-profit partner of the Department of Sanitation — in collaboration with We❤️NYC and the Shubert Foundation. Clean Teams from communities along the route competed for a $5,000 grant towards neighborhood cleanup initiatives, with hundreds of volunteers gathering to collect thousands of pounds of trash throughout the week and the Clean Team from Inwood/Washington Heights emerging as winners.
The week-long event set out to clean the 13 miles of Broadway from Inwood to City Hall — with a total of nine morning cleanups over five days, beginning at the north and south ends of the city and finishing at the Crossroads of the World. Cleanups took place in Washington Heights, Union Square, Morningside Heights, Flatiron Distrcit, Columbus Circle and Midtown South before the final push in Times Square.
“We are very interested in making sure that this neighborhood is clean, safe, and enjoyable for visitors. Times Square is the heart of the city so that’s where people come when they visit New York,” said Todd Rappaport, senior director of marketing and communications for the Shubert Foundation.
“This is the great Broadway Sweep so we are here during this week of action, during Climate Week, because we want to be big and splashy and remind New York City we can take action and do something about it,” said Deborah Lohse, lead volunteer for the Sanitation Foundation.