In the Works - Community Newsletter February 2018 Newsletter | Page 20

Our crews began an intensive
cleaning operation throughout
the historic neighborhood in
the weeks leading up to the
Lunar New Year festivities –
and workers will remain on the
job seven days a week to ensure
the streets and sidewalks keep
looking good.
To help meet that goal, we
established a workforce
development partnership
with the Chinese Newcomers
Service Center, a nonprofit
organization that specializes
in helping new Chinese
immigrants and local residents
obtain job training, social
services and employment
opportunities.
Seven trained block sweepers
who wear orange vests and use
a cart to hold a small trash can
and cleaning tools, are focusing
on nothing but removing
cigarette butts, old newspapers,
discarded coffee cups and other
litter that sully the heart of the
iconic neighborhood.
This 3-month pilot program
aims to cover the Chinatown
neighborhood bounded by
Powell, Kearny, Sacramento
and Broadway streets.
The Chinese Newcomers block
sweepers are on duty from 9
a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a
week. Each trainee is assigned
to focus primarily on one
major street. Their job is to
walk up and down the blocks
to manually sweep sidewalks,
constantly removing trash.
Larger, more intensive cleaning
needs will be handled by our
more experienced crews.
Public Works' seasoned
street cleaning staff provided
hands-on training, from safety
to sweeping tips, to ensure
the new sweepers keep the
sidewalks in Chinatown clean,
safe and litter free.
“Chinese Newcomers Service
Center is thrilled to work
with Public Works to keep
Chinatown clean and help
businesses maintain tidy
storefronts,” said Amanda
Fung, the group’s program
coordinator. “Workforce
development is one of the
key focuses our agency is
concentrating on and we
offer job training, classes
and work-skills development
opportunities to Chinese
immigrants with the ultimate
goal of landing employment
and making decent wages.”
Public Works is excited
about this partnership, which
provides job opportunities and
enhanced cleaning in one of the
nation’s most densely packed
neighborhoods that is popular
with both locals and tourists.