Volunteer Group 'Proud Astorian' Strives For Cleaner Streets

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Kate Peterson spends her weekends picking up trash.

The Astoria resident is the founder of the volunteer group Proud Astorian, which meets each weekend to collect garbage along the neighborhood's commercial corridors.

The group has hosted dozens of cleanups along 30th Avenue, Ditmars Boulevard, Broadway and 36th Avenue since it formed last summer. Hundreds of volunteers have participated, including more than 50 regulars.

"We’re picking up needles, we’re finding rat infestations," Peterson said at a recent Queens Community Board 1 meeting. "Businesses are suffering because of trash overflowing in front of their locations.”

It all started with a Facebook post in June 2020.

Peterson kept seeing neighbors post photos online of Astoria's trash-riddled sidewalks and streets, and she was frustrated that no one was doing anything about it. So, decided to pick up trash along 30th Avenue and shared her plan on Facebook in case others wanted to join.

“I showed up and there were five people there,” Peterson told Patch.

Proud Astorian's early efforts focused on 30th Avenue and Steinway Street, where volunteers cleaned up the remnants of late-night, outdoor parties.

Garbage kept piling up after the New York City Department of Sanitation's budget was slashed by more than $100 million last year, and the agency had to reduce garbage pickups at public litter baskets.

Since then, the group started organizing separate crews of volunteers to clean up Broadway, Ditmars Boulevard and 36th Avenue. The group's largest cleanups so far drew about 60 volunteers, according to Peterson.

Several volunteers addressed Queens Community Board 1 this month to spread the word about their efforts and urge board members to join them in advocating more Department of Sanitation funding for trash pickups at the city's public bins.

“It’s not litter cleanup," one volunteer, Jesse Cerrotti, said. "It’s massive trash cleanup."

Peterson said she wishes she could focus on local beautification efforts instead of doing the work that the Department of Sanitation would normally do.

Still, she credits Proud Astorian for bringing her and her neighbors together and getting them more involved in local issues.

"I always knew that Astoria was the best place in New York, but I’ve seen how cool my neighbors are," she said. "It’s formed a stronger community connection."