Uticans Taking Notice Of Mayor’s Quality Of Life Sweeps

Utica, NY (WIBX) - People in the City of Utica are getting used to seeing the mayor in their neighborhoods, picking up garbage and cutting branches.
Mayor Robert Palmieri has been working with the city's department heads and city workers to clean up Utica, covering nearly 30 miles of the city's streets in the process.

He says their hard work is paying off and the city's residents can see the results.

"The fact that they see that the city really does care about them, it instills a little bit more pride into them, they have more energy, and in turn, they're taking pride into their property and their neighborhoods," Palmieri said. "So it's kind of contagious."

Eric Baley lives in one of the cleaned up neighborhoods. He says the sweeps are making a difference.

"You wouldn't see this before a year or two ago," Baley said. "All the trash out in the streets, it was horrendous. But, now I can see that they're actually trying to do something which will maybe motivate people to do the same."

Palmieri says areas that were cleaned early in the season have stayed cleaned, raising his confidence in the city's belief of the program.

The mayor vows to continue cleaning up a new section of the city every Wednesday until the snow starts to fall.