Mayor Greg Nickels, city crews and Ballard residents pitched in this morning to give part of Central Ballard a quick spring cleaning.
It’s the 98th event with the mayor’s “Clean and Green Seattle” initiative, which began organizing neighborhood clean-ups in 2002. A group of 40 or so people gathered at Marvin’s Garden a little after 9 a.m.
“It sounds like it’s one morning, but it’s really a lot more than that,” the mayor said. “There will be follow up on the issues that I know you’ve got here, graffiti and behavior in the parks.” He presented longtime Ballard businessman Art Olsen with a graffiti kit. As a “Red Wagon” volunteer, Olsen will help work with businesses in Central Ballard to help clean up graffiti on private property. The mayor also thanked Mary Hurley, who has worked hard over the last few years to secure neighborhood funds to improve Ballard sidewalks.
City crews and volunteers fanned out a few blocks around Marvin’s Garden and Bergen Place, picking up trash, weeding and cleaning up graffiti. Here, the mayor helps plant a tree in front of Sonic Boom on Market St. The planter has been without a tree for the last 8 years.
Crews also spread chips, filled a few potholes and collected stray shopping carts. And a Department of Corrections work crew tackled a big homeless problem area, which we’ll explain in a story later today.
Spring cleaning in Central Ballard
Where's the angry mobs, you know the really stupid ones who can't get past calling Nickels Mc Cheese, McFatty, McCondo, McWhatever?
This reminds me, I need to spring clean my house.
I expected to see more folks, but thank you to those who did show up.
you forgot Mayor Quimby…
hey 'neighbor' – Mcfatty just does it for publicity. I joined the crew several years back when we tried to save the ballard bowl. he just struts around in a vest for photos. I did get to cut a stinky one when i got the photo opp though. Silent justice. Nickels is nothing put a fat puppet with no interest in the citizens or their health. Just make sure to shovel his neighborhood first the next time a snowstorm hits or else he'll doze more green spaces.
Wish I could have made it down there. Did Mayor Knucklehead stay the whole time?
Are you kidding? When the cameras stopped there was nothing more the two rubber track left behind by his chauffeur driven car.
Yes, this is only a symbolic victory, but it is still a win for Ballard. We all know it's totally up to us now to make real change happen in our community. Now is the time for a full-court press. We must move forward as if this is a war on drugs and Bergen Place is the trench on the battlefield.
Wow, a politician doing a photo op. WHo would ever imagine such a thing.
Amazing, I always thought it was a politician's job to be doing the actual work. Stupid me.
looking forward to trenchfoot…diggin in.
The entire steet behind Market Street north from Golden City all the way down to 15th is an open air crack and meth operation. You have dozens and dozens of people living in all sort of vacant buildings there or on the porch of the building behind 7 11. Dealers, felons, ex cons etc, waiting around for free lunches and dealing drugs all day and night. (Or breaking into houses, or stronge arming people as reported here. AKA mugging)
Who cares about Bergen Park? Drive them out of their cushy free housing, and have the cops at least patrol that one alley and street.
I had two big transients follow myself and a date last night so closely from the frount of Old Peculiar down Market Street, we literally stopped to force them to pass. They came up so close, my date thought we were about to be jumped from behind. No, they were not from OP, who does a great security job. They came out of that creepy dollar store next dor.
It was obvious they were up to no good, and of course were young, healthy and filthy larger males. Probably about to rob us after jumping me from behind, because we are yuppies. AKA two broke people just trying to go out on a cheap date in our OWN NEIGHBORHOOD. I am not a small guy, but getting jumped from behind by two big guys on Market Street at night, is not worth it. I will stay away from there at night from now on.
Don't give up, Bro. Fight back. We need to keep raising hell with the city about these issues. There's a group of us planning a bike ride around Ballard two Fridays from now. We'll meet at Ballard Commons Park at 10:00. You don't have to bike, you can walk or drive. The point is to patrol our streets and look for ways to help as a collective group. The more of us who connect, the better. It's the classic,”united we stand…” It may not seem tangible, but getting out, talking to people, taking pictures and video footage of what you see and hear, does make a difference. When we all say the hell with it, I'll go else where, we all lose and the creeps win.
The war on drugs was lost a long time ago.
Not a bad idea. But who will the pictures and video footage be shown to? From what I see the mayor doesn't really care about the growing thug problem.
Maybe the next one will…we need a Ballardite Mayor
So anybody that dares to disagree or just not like hizzoner is “stupid” eh? I thought dissent was patriotic? Fact is, it's time for local change too. Or is he simply King Nickels? Funny how trashing to some is religion, but when it's their guy it's hate. Can't have it both ways. So he came to Ballard. BFD. I'd like to see him try and drive at peak times and feel our pain. Perhaps walking streets after dark without a throng of cops etc. Symbolism over substance. I'd give him a 5 for effort.
Oh yeah, I can clearly see they mayor “helping” to plant that tree.
Clean shovel – CHECK
Clean gloves – CHECK
Two guys actually putting the tree in the ground while our ilustrious mayor looks up at the sky – CHECK