Clean sweeps: Rose Avenue gets a new outlook for 2006
ROSE AVENUE — Young students wearing florescent green vests and hard hats are cleaning up this neighborhood street some say has been neglected — until now.
The effort will better maintain a gateway to Venice Beach where trash from motor and pedestrian traffic often collects on the sidewalks and is slow to disappear.
The dozen or so Los Angeles middle school students — who can be seen shoveling, raking and sweeping sections of Rose Avenue twice a month — are involved in a program called “Clean and Green,” organized by the Los Angeles Conservation Corps.
The LACC is a nonprofit group which provides struggling youth with employment opportunities to develop their job skills and character while working on community-oriented projects.
Participating students are paid minimum wage. In addition, they gain a better sense of pride, responsibility and community involvement, said Mark Antonio Grant, a field deputy for Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose jurisdiction includes Venice and helped organize the sweeps.
“This is a great program that gets the kids out there making a difference and being recognized for it,” Grant said.
Younsgters who complete the eight-week program are honored with an award ceremony hosted by Rosendahl. The program runs year round, and the sweeps are expected to continue indefinitely, Grant said.
The effort was initiated by a local resident, Jamie Cantor Ginsburg, who owns Plantine Cookies, which are made to order from a commercial kitchen in Venice.
“I moved to the area six months ago and my husband and I were walking down Rose Avenue and noticed it could use a little love,” Ginsburg said. “The kids have really helped.”
Ginsburg said she felt Rose was in such need of “love” that she decided to run for an elected position on the Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood Council last fall with the hope of finding a solution to the street’s woes.
Ginsburg failed to win the election. However, she wanted her campaign promise to be fulfilled.
She contacted Grant, who made some inquiries and learned that the LACC offered to head up localized cleaning projects.
Having spoken with LACC representatives and local business groups, Grant was able to arrange for Rose Avenue and areas in Westchester to be cleaned on a bimonthly basis. Support for the LACC’s programs come from a variety of public and private donors, according to the group’s Web site.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 3, 2006. Read the original PDF.