Dwellers spruce up Riverwalk on North and South Banks

Dwellers spruce up Riverwalk on North and South Banks
Volunteers pick up trash along the shore near Sidney J. Gefen Riverwalk Park

Led by members of the Downtown Dwellers, 904 Happy Hour and Downtown Vision, Inc., more than 200 residents turned out to put a little spit and polish on the Riverwalk that runs near their homes by hauling away more than 165 bags of trash during a massive clean-up effort Oct. 10.

District 5 City Councilwoman LeAnna Cumber and her executive assistant Debra Rubin-Pataky pick up trash on theSouth Bank Riverwalk.
District 5 City Councilwoman LeAnna Cumber and her executive assistant Debra Rubin-Pataky pick up trash on theSouth Bank Riverwalk.

Participants of all ages met at three locations along both Riverwalk park parcels from Sidney J. Gefen Riverwalk Park and the Main Street Bridge park at the former Jacksonville Landing lawn, and the South Bank along the shoreline and bulkheads by the Riverplace Tower. The volunteers passed out bottles of water, large trash bags and gloves and grabber sticks to assist in collecting the trash. City Park personnel drove small pick-up vehicles to haul the trash away. “We’re still waiting on the report of the numbers of pounds of trash collected. I was at the Riverside location and saw huge numbers of bags being hauled away. I understand it was the same at all three sites,” said Sandra Fradd, a South Bank resident and former president of the Downtown Dwellers.

DIA CEO Lori Boyer joined Daryl Joseph, director of Jacksonville Parks, Recreation and Community Services and Sandra Fradd during a massive clean-up in Geffin Park Oct. 10.
DIA CEO Lori Boyer joined Daryl Joseph, director of Jacksonville Parks, Recreation and Community Services and Sandra Fradd during a massive clean-up in Geffin Park Oct. 10.

On hand to assist in the effort were Downtown Investment Authority CEO Lori Boyer of San Marco and her assistant, Ina Mezini, Daryl Joseph, director of Jacksonville Parks, Recreation and Community Services, Jill Enz, chief of Jacksonville’s Natural and Marine Resources, and her two children, and District 5 City Councilwoman LeAnna Cumber and her executive assistant, Debra Rubin-Pataky, Brooks Dame, executive assistant to District 14 Councilwoman Randle DeFoor, and Eric Miller, president of the Downtown Dwellers.

“The clean-up was impactful in several ways,” said Fradd. “The officials who attended want to see it continue. There was a large number of people who participated, and the plan was well organized. There is an ongoing interest in making this a quarterly event or having it more often.”

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