OMAHA, Neb (KMTV) - -Neighbors in North Omaha are launching a renewed effort to clean up 24th Street to improve the community's image as new developers and investments come to the area. Longtime resident Preston Love Jr. notes that while severe poverty previously kept trash cleanup off the community's agenda, it is now a top priority.
- Neighbors along 24th Street are prioritizing street cleanups
- Longtime residents say keeping the community clean is the focus for a neighborhood that previously faced severe economic struggles.
- The community is continuing its push to keep the area clean with a Neighborhood Clean Up Day scheduled for April 25 at Goodwin Heritage Garden.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Neighbors along 24th Street are noticing a renewed effort to keep the streets clean and change how North Omaha is viewed. As more developers eye the area for investment, the community has a new outlook on cleaning up the neighborhood.
Preston Love Jr. said things were much different when he was growing up. He said picking up trash was not a priority for a community facing other economic struggles.
"I've been walking the 24th Street in the '40s and the '50s and the '60s," Love said.
"We were a community that was drowning in poverty. We now have poverty," Love said.
"Now, trash is on our agenda," Love said.
Jaylen Smith recalls walking the streets near Chubbs Grocery Store. Smith said as more growth comes to North Omaha, his neighborhood can be a destination.
"It makes me feel really happy, and for the future generations, or, you know, for even, like, my family, my future children, and, you know, I want them to have a very good place, or, you know, even better than I did," Smith said.
Love said for a community that has so much to be proud of, they do not want to be defeated by trash.
"The last thing we want to be defeated by is trash," Love said.
The community continues its effort to keep North Omaha clean with a Neighborhood Clean Up Day scheduled for April 25. The group will me at Goodwin Heritage Garden at 9am.
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