kindness
He filmed himself picking up litter. $55,000 followed.
He was tired of waiting for the city. So he read the permit rules.
David Clarke started filming himself picking up litter near his apartment in Washington Heights last May. Five months later, the 24-year-old has raised over $55,000, built a volunteer network, and transformed a single Manhattan block through Trash Talk NYC, which he calls "New York City's cleanup club." His videos went viral within days. His real breakthrough came from a quieter realization: in New York, residents own nothing on the sidewalk except the tree pits. With a city permit that is not hard to obtain, anyone can build a guard around one. Clarke spent two months planting flowers and building wooden guards along the block, then handed out printed flyers inviting neighbors to paint them over lunch and music. It was the first block party there in 38 years. People cried. The flowers are perennials, which means they return. "But they only come back if we work together and make sure the dogs don't pee in the beds," Clarke said.
