Still open

Yes, I want to leave it open.

Thanks for posting, and thanks for doing your part, @Mahfouz. I too am continually frustrated by all the littering--and illegal dumping--going on in East Rock Park and our other public spaces. It seems to be getting worse and not better. I am told the city is about to begin a clean city campaign. We will see...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7OHG7tHrNM

Dear Mahfouz,
As an East Rock neighbor and head of the Friends of East Rock Park I thank you for your ongoing service. You are fighting the good fight. It matters greatly.
I am also livid about trash and routinely pick it up. For the last 5 weeks in particular I have supervised 4 Youth at Work interns who have been working 25 hours each week in the park. Being 425 acres there is a lot that can be done, and we have done great work besides trash pickup!
But regarding trash pickup we have cleaned College Woods each day and its trashy perimeter - Orange, Cold Spring, Livingston and Farnham. We've cleaned all along English and the white trail to Rice Field, the half-basketball court, the View Street playground, and further into Cedar Hill. We've cleaned East Rock Extension multiple times. We walked Mitchell to Willow and cleaned over the bridge and the field below. We cleaned Giant Steps and filled several large bags walking in and out of all the hideaways along the Summit Trail.
Our most disgusting job was hauling away 2 PICKFUP truckfulls of crap dumped illegally over the cliff at Whitney Circle. That needed to be wheelbarrowed through the Whitney Museum to Ranger Dan's truck.
As Rob said, there is apparently a mayoral initiative on the way. I welcome it!
We must not be discouraged. We must reclaim the park from the litterbugs and illegal dumpers.
Again, THANK YOU for your service.
Please contact me via our website - www.friendsofeastrockpark.org
The least FERP can do is provide you with a T-shirt that says FRIEND on the back and an image of the rock on the front! You are truly a friend of East Rock Park.
David

Thank you, David. I'm glad you guys are around and so active. Given the number of people it must take to make such a huge and consistent mess of the most beautiful spot in this part of the state, discouragement is hard to fight. However, I believe that between us and all the volunteers and good people who don't litter and the young people you're guiding in the right direction, that we'll do more than just keep up with the mess -- we'll get ahead of it.

It takes vigilance. We definitely noticed there was less trash each time we went back....especially along East Rock Extension which is such a littering and illegal dump zone. We've had many drivers stop to thank us. One woman cited the Disney Effect...keep it clean and folks are less inclined to dirty it. I believe that.
I've been leading work projects for FERP since 2008, and as bad as the littering is I don't see much trash on the bed or along the banks of the Mill...not on this side of Orange anyway. And we used to find many more used needles in the park. That has lessened. The most disgusting thing to me is used diapers left on the side of the road....a main road like Cold Spring! How can someone justify doing that? How?
Do you have a picker tool? FERP would be happy to supply you with one. They work amazingly well.

Great conversation here. It's definitely a two-pronged approach: yes we pick up after others to keep the park clean, but I also hope we can work harder as a community to get the word out to not litter/dump in the first place. I'm thinking the schools would be an important part of that educational outreach. Does anyone know who the point person is for the city's rumored "Clean City" campaign? I also agree with David, diapers are about the worst! Where do you learn that it's ok to just throw your @#$% (literally) out your car window? Or maybe the question is better worded, how do you NOT learn that it's NOT ok to do that?? A couple of suggestions: I'd like to see us experiment with more garbage cans along the summit of East Rock Park where the long single line of cars park, though only if that includes regular visits to empty said cans. Let's see if more accessible trash receptacles leads to better behavior. I'd also like to see us experiment with an anti-littering signage campaign that's fun and creative and maybe even a little irreverent.

David,
Just got back from my afternoon bike ride up ER and without even trying very hard beat yesterday's intake by probably 50% by weight and 25% by volume.
Some people walk or drive by and look at me like I'm crazy.
Most slow to stop to tell me thank you. And I always reply: Anybody can pick up trash.

Rob, I wrote to each alder in New Haven about offering help in organizing a clean up of the most visible streets in each ward -- sent out the emails last week to all of them, and there are many alders. Heard not one little peep from any of them but Aaron Greenberg, my alder.
I don't have an explanation for the silence.

Most people probably assume I am doing community service for some misdemeanor!
Actually, I also get lots of thanks and it helps to have FRIEND across my back in bold letters. I encourage folks to join the Friends of East Rock Park and be part of the solution.

David, I feel the same way. People stare like you should be wearing striped prison garb.

M.
I agree with identifying the trashiest streets. I go through newhallville on my way to church in westville. Bassett is filthy, especially the intersection with dixwell. (I want to give an award though to several homes who keep immaculate properties!) I was waiting for the light to change when a teenager took all his garbage and stuffed it into the storm drain. I truly believe many kids in this community think it is for trash. I agree with Rob. Part of the campaign must include education in our schools. I also think church groups could make a big difference. Businesses must be accountable for their property including the curb strip as a gesture of public pride. Then there are the absent landlords to contend with.

For obvious reasons, I will leave this post open to further comments and reflection.

Again and for the same obvious reasons, I leave open this post to further comments and reflection.

The Parks Department is trying to better manage SCF issues and are closing old issues. While we know illegal dumping and litter continue to be a problem, these specific instances should have been addressed. Please continue to report these litter bugs in new posts with as much detail as possible including trails, streets or other "landmarks" to help us find more quickly.