A Decent Allston: A dirty, rewarding task
Bobby Cummings
Issue date: 12/4/07 Section: News
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As dawn breaks over Allston on another Sunday morning, illuminating red plastic cups, half-smoked cigarette butts and pieces of ripped clothing that blow through yards and sidewalks -- remnants left behind by students who plowed through only hours earlier -- a few Boston University students shake off their hangovers, rub their eyes awake and hit the streets again.
Sweeping and sifting through cups, cans and broken glass that collects through the week leading up to destructive Saturday nights is just business as usual for members of Keep Allston Decent, a group of students whose goal is to simply keep streets clean and keep the neighborhood from falling into the gutter.
"The neighborhood was just filthy," said KAD co-chairman and College of Arts and Sciences senior Charlie Geyer. "There was a leaking fire hydrant filling my corner with dirty water because the drainpipe was filled with garbage, and I realized that nobody else was going to take care of this."
Geyer unofficially started the project with BU graduate Alex Owens in December 2006 when the two grew tired of putting up with garbage-filled streets, sidewalks and yards.
"Our neighborhood of Allston is totally neglected by the City of Boston and by most of the people who live and party here," he said. "The first cleanup was my reaction to that."
In September, Geyer said they turned their efforts into an official group and began to hold cleanups on a regular basis on the second and fourth Sundays of every month with 10 to 15 students showing up to each.
"College kids are responsible for a lot of the mess in Allston, and their involvement in a project like this shows the community that we actually care about our neighborhood," he said.
Geyer said the group received discounts and money to buy garbage bags, dustpans and gloves from Model Hardware and two privately donated trashcans that the group decided to paint a signature white -- which are now on display along Ashford streets where it intersects Chester and Linden Streets.
Sweeping and sifting through cups, cans and broken glass that collects through the week leading up to destructive Saturday nights is just business as usual for members of Keep Allston Decent, a group of students whose goal is to simply keep streets clean and keep the neighborhood from falling into the gutter.
"The neighborhood was just filthy," said KAD co-chairman and College of Arts and Sciences senior Charlie Geyer. "There was a leaking fire hydrant filling my corner with dirty water because the drainpipe was filled with garbage, and I realized that nobody else was going to take care of this."
Geyer unofficially started the project with BU graduate Alex Owens in December 2006 when the two grew tired of putting up with garbage-filled streets, sidewalks and yards.
"Our neighborhood of Allston is totally neglected by the City of Boston and by most of the people who live and party here," he said. "The first cleanup was my reaction to that."
In September, Geyer said they turned their efforts into an official group and began to hold cleanups on a regular basis on the second and fourth Sundays of every month with 10 to 15 students showing up to each.
"College kids are responsible for a lot of the mess in Allston, and their involvement in a project like this shows the community that we actually care about our neighborhood," he said.
Geyer said the group received discounts and money to buy garbage bags, dustpans and gloves from Model Hardware and two privately donated trashcans that the group decided to paint a signature white -- which are now on display along Ashford streets where it intersects Chester and Linden Streets.
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