Girl Scouts clean up Hempstead Turnpike

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Members of Girl Scout Troop 1257 in Franklin Square joined other local troops to clean up sections of Hempstead Turnpike last Saturday. Christy McKenna, the troop’s leader, and Lisa Mazerese started the program, called Adopt the Pike, when they saw litter accumulating in front of shops along the turnpike. McKenna felt that the issue wasn’t being addressed, and saw the repercussions firsthand, as stores that she and other residents frequented began to close.

“It’s just a mess on Hempstead Turnpike,” McKenna said. “Nobody wants to shop. Everybody complains about it but no one wants to do anything about it.”

Twenty work-glove-wearing scouts lined Route 24, from Franklin Avenue to Lincoln Road, and, using brooms, trash grabbers and rakes, they filled three 30-gallon trash bags with garbage in one hour.

McKenna said she hopes the program will shock people into helping. Ninety gallons of garbage, while impressive, doesn’t address the problem of littering. McKenna is starting out small, focusing on a few blocks in Franklin Square but eventually hopes to see cleanups stretch as far as Cherry Valley Avenue. That effort would take more than just the Franklin Square Girl Scouts, which is why the Adopt the Pike program is open not only to the scouts, but to all members of the community.

“It’s really about empowering the girls,” McKenna said. “…To actually see it in action is amazing.”

With Small Business Saturday just a week away, local shop owners lauded the cleanup effort. Joe Khimou, owner of Cool Cuts Barbershop, offered the girls lollipops for their volunteer work. “It’s a great thing they’re doing,” he said.

As the girls made their way down Hempstead Turnpike, more shop owners came out to express their gratitude. “This is great — it’s a community again,” said Johnny Carlino, owner of T & F Deli and Pork. “It gives you a sense that the community is coming back together.”

Carlino, who has owned the deli since 1988, said he has seen a gradual decline in the appearance of the sidewalk. What was once a community effort to clean up the town, he said, has become virtually nonexistent.

“When I first started, everybody used to be out by the storefront and everybody used to clean,” Carlino recalled. “Now you don’t see anybody. Instead of having 10 people around the block doing it, you only see one person.”

Being more involved, and learning that you are part of a larger group, is something that McKenna hopes the girls learn by being active in their community. “I hope they learn to give back, and if they see something that isn’t the way it’s supposed to be, then go out and change it,” she said. “I’m hoping that they have a little more pride in their community, and basically be the change they want to be and see in the world.”