Written for The Argo by Jenna Sinatra

As issues arise regarding the maintenance of public recreational spaces, Atlantic City once again attempts to focus on improving the well-being of its parks. Parks are environmental places that are vital to their communities—especially to the children of the area. Therefore, it is important to maintain a clean environment for all. There have been numerous requests from residents concerned about Atlantic City’s parks’ cleanliness and safety. The city has dealt with ongoing trials to keep its public spaces safe and clean, with park visitors noticing harmful waste like needles and condom wrappers littered throughout these spaces. 

Another attempt to enhance the cleanliness and safety of the parks prior to this most recent announcement included the Project Clean Community Initiative last year. The purpose of this project was to encourage everyone to do their part, lend a hand, and take pride in their neighborhoods. This past plan urged personal responsibility upon locals through education and community involvement to promote helping keep public spaces picked up on. 

The newest plan put into play will begin this year, acting as a Spring clean-up for public spaces. With the new schedule set into place, public works plan on installing a method for the parks to be visited and checked up on once a week. They will routinely clean 25 parks during the week. 

The first playground hit was the park on Texas Avenue, next to Boston Avenue Park and Pete Pallitto Field, then leading to the playground by the bulkhead at Fairmount and Sovereign avenues. The clean-ups include raking, leaf blowing, and picking up litter. If this method proves itself to be effective, they will continue with this plan knowing how important the cleanliness of parks is to the public. 

It is proven a clean environment tends to lead to people handling the space with more respect. If a park is filled with trash and clutter, it is common that people won’t respect the area, leading to more mistreatment of the space. Having a clean public park system is important to keep the area appealing to the locals and visitors. “Maria Ortiz, overall, sees stricter enforcement of rules as a way to keep the parks clean, saying she’s heard her grandchildren say they’ve seen drug use happening there,” Eric Conklin stated. Many believe that maintaining these spaces will overall improve the community there.