SHINE THE BIG APPLE! CREATE A HAPPY HEART!!

Shine the Big Apple!

Create A Happy Heart!!

West 4th St. Cleaning Project

Volunteers & Sponsors Needed

Making A Prototype of Collaboration and Love in Your Neighborhood!!

 

Date & time:   Sunday, Nov. 15th, 9 am -11:45 am

Place:     West 4th St. bet. 7^th + 6^th Ave.

            “aki on west 4” (181 W. 4^th St.)

Purpose:

 

--Street cleanup
can create a totally new, safe environment in your neighborhood.  It makes you feel emotionally uplifted and happy.  All of this is done in the spirit of
collaboration and community building.  Simply,
IT IS FUN!!

--Create a
possibility of building a prototype of zero-garbage-emission society by
practicing 4Rs (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)

How:

Pick up and sweep
trash on the streets, and remove sticky gum from the ground. 

Wash the tools after cleaning.   Lite Lunch will be provided for volunteers thereafter.

Why?: 

We have to do something about the facts...

--The garbage produced in New York goes
other States of America, such as Virginia,

   and some of it is shipped all the way to our neighbors in Central & South
America.

--A correlation between cleanliness and reducing crime rates has been
studied.  There is also a connection with
community cleanliness and serenity of mind of inhabitants.

Contact:    Please e mail us to soujiny@gmail.com

                                       

Sponsors & Donaors:

We acknowledge the monetary, material contributions from companies and individuals below:

Capital One BANK,      Nishimoto Trading Co. LT    

One if by Land,             Two if by Sea

NY Mutual Trading Inc.,    Daiei Trading Co., Inc,       Maruto Noriten

         Fan Restaurant Supply,                AKI on West 4

Varsano’s Chocolates                    Bajwa Gift Shop

Jack Ancona,                               Birthday Suit,                           AKI's customers

Planned by Terry Sato, Yumi & Shigy Nakanishi

We are covered by Kyodo News on July 3rd, 09.  You can find the photos and article in English below.

By  Akito Yoshikane

NEW YORK, July 3  KYODO

Few people would choose to be up as early as 9 a.m. spending their weekends cleaning, but for Terry Sato and his Japanese volunteers, sweeping New York City streets is a pleasure.

On a recent Sunday morning, Sato and 14 others are stretching in the West Village neighborhood on West 4th and Avenue of the Americas, indifferent to the light rain that has kept most people indoors.

The streets are mostly empty, save for a few joggers and dog-walkers. Traffic is sparse. The bars are closed and most restaurants are still unopened.
But amid the unusual calm in a city known for its bustle, the litter from the weekend revelry still remains.

That is where Sato's group comes in.

Armed with dust pans, brooms and garbage bags, the volunteers meet once a month to clean up a fraction of the 50,000 tons of trash New York City produces every day, enough to fill the Empire State building. By concentrating on making their block spotless, the group hopes to encourage locals to be less wasteful.

“We want people to notice the difference in how clean one area is and how dirty another area is,” said Sato, a self-described “environmental artist” who works in several areas concerning ecological matters.

New York City municipal services handle more than 12,000 tons of residential waste, according to city data.

Commercial trash is collected privately. Refuse has been hauled out of state since 2001 after the city closed Fresh Kills, once the world's largest landfill.
Sato, 47, wants to reduce trash consumption and make the streets cleaner. He started the group in 2006 in Times Square with a group of friends in hopes of emulating the spotless streets in his native Japan.

“People tend to blame the city or the government for environmental problems, but we should instead be asking if there is something we can each do ourselves to reduce waste,” he said.

The following year, the group moved to their current location after finding a gathering spot at Aki, the Japanese restaurant that serves as their headquarters.

The volunteers are a mix of youth and adults who peruse the streets for trash throughout the year regardless of rain, sleet or snow. Sato says there are usually more than 20 volunteers when the weather is nicer.

The group members are easily identifiable by their yellow caps and neon green shirts, which read, “Shine the Big Apple” on the back.

In a hygiene-conscious country like Japan where they sell items like antibacterial calculators and toothbrushes, the volunteers -- most of whom are Japanese natives -- do not flinch when they encounter dirty trash. Instead, they enjoy it.

“It feels really good. I like to clean anyway,” said Kossan Yamada, a volunteer who is a Zen monk.

Yamada is not surprised at what he finds on the streets anymore. He has cleaned feces, drug paraphernalia and broken beer bottles, but on luckier days, he said, volunteers have found loose change or large bills.

He added, “It's not really a matter of dirtiness than it is danger. There's a lot of glass, needles, condoms. I used to clean barehanded. Now I wear gloves so I can clean more things.”

The volunteers stick their hands into puddles to pick out cigarette butts. They use tongs to throw away wet napkins stuck on the street. They chisel the ubiquitous patches of blackened gum on the sidewalks which the rain has softened.

“They're taking every single thing. I see them. I'm watching them,” said Roni Rezvi, who owns a convenience store on the block where the group cleans. He said he wished the volunteers made cleaning their full-time job.

“If they're working like that, it's very good for the city. It's very good for us and the neighbors.”

The group receives funding for their cleaning supplies from local store owners, corporate sponsors and patrons who dine at Aki. During the street cleaning, some passersby offer fleeting glances while others inquire and offer praise.

“We want to make an impression by action, not by preaching,” Sato said.

The trash the group collects is ultimately tossed in the city trash bins. Some critics might point out that the group is only culling trash, not reducing it. But Sato says he has noticed a difference in the neighborhood.

“We have a trash barometer near the train station. There used to be a lot of garbage there when we started, but now there is a lot less. People don't throw away their trash there as much now,” he said.

The success of his Manhattan chapter has spurred some volunteers to start their own cleaning groups in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Sato, who has been in the United States since 1988, said he is simply expressing an appreciation for the city and he hopes others will follow.

“If you clean up somebody's trash, then maybe somebody might be cleaning up your trash somewhere else. Then you can realize that there is something cyclical, that we're all helping each other someway,” he said.

The Big Apple Beautifiers acknowledges Kahori Matsumoto for her faithful contribution as a photographer having been helping our street cleaning activity since 2007 when we initiated the program. 

Terry Sato
President
Big Apple Beautifiers

This is a wonderful video clip to show a contradicting aspect of Carbon Offset.

Click and take a look!!

"Can you offset cheat as well as CO2?"

What did you think about it?

The Carbon Offset is not a reliable way of stopping Global Warming. 
One of the genuine ways really working for protecting our beautiful
planet is to reduce the amount of daily garbage.

Our street cleaning activity definitely helps the reduction of daily garbage produced around the city. 


What is a carbon offset?

A carbon offset is a financial instrument representing a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. One carbon offset represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide, or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases.
 

There are two primary markets for carbon offsets. In the larger
compliance market, companies, governments or other entities buy carbon
offsets in order to comply with caps on the total amount of carbon
dioxide they are allowed to emit.

In the much smaller voluntary market, individuals, companies, or
governments purchase carbon offsets to mitigate their own greenhouse
gas emissions from transportation, electricity use, and other sources.

 

For example, an individual might purchase carbon offsets to compensate
for the greenhouse gas emissions caused by personal air travel.

 

Offsets are typically generated from emissions-reducing projects.
The most common project type is renewable energy, such as wind farms,
biomass energy, or hydroelectric dams. Other common project types
include energy efficiency projects, the destruction of industrial
pollutants or agricultural byproducts, destruction of landfill methane,
and forestry projects.

Carbon offsetting as part of a "carbon neutral" lifestyle has gained
some appeal and momentum mainly among consumers in western countries
who have become aware and concerned about the potentially negative
environmental effects of energy-intensive lifestyles and economies.

The Kyoto Protocol has sanctioned offsets as a way for governments and private companies to earn carbon credits which can be traded on a marketplace.

The commercial system has contributed to the increasing popularity of voluntary offsets among private individuals, companies, and organizations as well as investment in clean technologies, clean energy and reforestation
projects around the world. Offsets may be cheaper or more convenient
alternatives to reducing one's own fossil-fuel consumption. However,
some critics object to carbon offsets, and question the benefits of
certain types of offsets.

 

“It is so much fun.  I want to do it again!”

“After the last participation, my dream came true.  Not just one…  Many other little lucky ones, too!  That’s why I came back.

These are the voices of participants in the street cleaning volunteer activity called,

“Shine the Big Apple! Create A Happy Heart!!”

What we did on February 17^th, 2008, was significant for many other participants as well.  We hold this project once a month, mostly the third Sunday.

Waking up early and start it from the 9 o’clock in Sunday morning?  Crazy?

You may wonder why we started doing this project.

Facts:

Did you know how much trash is daily produced in New York City? 

About 50,000 tons daily!

It is equal to the
size of Empire State building!

The landfill in Staten Island was closed a few years ago; since then the huge amount garbage there from NY goes to the other states, and

even exported to the
Central American countries.

The situation like this,however, cannot be kept forever; otherwise, you would soon see trash everywhere no matter where you go in Manhattan.

How can we solve this problem?

Simply reduce the trash!

But How?

What is it?

The 4Rs is a successful waste program practiced in Germany and EU countries.

The 4R program:

Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

Refuse
means that, for example, say “No” to disposable items such as plastic bags, disposable
cups, plates, utensils, chopsticks…etc.

Instead, carry and bring your own shopping bags, or your own chopsticks for your convenience.

Reduce
refers to an action to reduce the amount or frequency in using an item.

For example, at the restaurant, people grab so many unnecessary paper napkins for themselves.  Maybe, just picking one is enough?   

Refrain from making left-overs at the dinner.

Think about something you use everyday, reduce it to once a week.

Reuse
means to keep using one item until it really becomes unusable.   Think about fixing before buying a new one.  Think about a way of using used water plastic bottles. 

Use ceramics plates and wash & use again, again, and again.

Take a handkerchief with you so that you do not have to use paper towels.

Recycle, everyone can imagine what it is, is the last action you can take to create a
Zero-waste-emission society.

Street cleaning is one practice of the 4Rs.  It is the reducing action. 

A statistical study shows that

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litter

If that is true, it could also be true that if you keep a place clean, it keeps trash away from the place, and make people feel not litter. 

Another study suggests that dirty places attract crime, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixing_Broken_Windows

So, possibility, let’s say, is that cleaning streets can contribute to crime reduction.

I also discovered that

Cleaning makes people so happy!

I had one participant telling me her story like this…

“I was so angry when I came here this morning.  But I discovered that

My anger disappeared!

…when I was scraping sticky chewing gums from the street!!  It is amazing!!”

“I was upset and angry because my husband did not keep our promise last night.  We were supposed to go to see a movie today, but he did not wake up this morning because he came home late last night being drunk!!  But, now, after the cleaning, I feel so grateful for everything.  I feel fulfilled and accomplished something extraordinary.  I strongly believe that the cleaning project created such a spiritual power that removes all the negativity from my mind.”

Another lady who took part in this project every month happily told me her story.

“I got a new boy friend on the following day!”

Sara, a business person who deals with wines, also shared her success.

“Every time I come here, I get more offers on my business! 

I feel so good about it.”

In this way, it seems that the cleaning can transform people into positive beings with good luck.

I, therefore, would like to invite all of you to this project.  So far, I had 150 participants in this event.  I am sure these people have kindled the joy of stress-free life and have been in good luck.

Again, join us in the making-you-happy-project,

“Polish the Big Apple!”
The Apple's Clean Sweep Get You A Paradise Within.

Did you know where thegarbage produced in New York goes?  Some of them go to other States of America, such as Virginia.  And some of them are shipped all the way to South American countries, they say…

Because the garbage amount is so huge in NY, they cannot handle it on their own.  The situation like this, however, cannot be kept forever; otherwise, you would soon see trash everywhere no matter where you go in Manhattan.  I am not exaggerating… In reality, if you walk, now, a few blocks away from a place like Times Square, you’ll see a lot of trash around the streets in spite of the city’s efforts of keeping it clean.

A sunny Sunday in March 2007, the third time of the project called “Shine the Big Apple! Create A Happy Heart!!” held around Bryant Park in Manhattan.

Before starting this project, I was not courageous enough to stand for it, and I was just hoping and waiting, like others, for somebody coming someday to do something good for betterment of the society.  When I faced the reality, however, the feeling “I want to do something.” welled up from my heart and moved me to plan it…  Thanks to my friends’ strong push, I was able to make this happen, and have been holding this project successfully.  So far, I have twenty five volunteers participated in my project.

The project is very simple:

go out to the streets, pick up trash and clean up.  The Sanitation Department of New York City helped
and provided some garbage bags and gloves.  Previously, Starbucks Coffee gave us the bags and a space for garbage collection. 

We wanted to give participants an opportunity to raise their awareness of the environment issues we face today, specifically, the garbage situation in local areas.  It is my belief that this creates a possibility of getting people seriously consider about starting establishing a zero-garbage-emission society.

It was such great learning experience for everyone.  “I feel so fulfilled and uplifted after I finished it,” said one participant.  “Cleaning is great not only for environment, but also for spiritual training, like Zen practice.”  “I will quit smoking because so much cigarette debris I found on the streets made me so guilty.”  “After finding so much litter on the streets, I now realized that I was one of those who litter the city!” 

As you see from the above comments, cleanliness also created serenity in people’s minds.  Cleaning up the streets can purify your mind and make a happy heart.