Mayor's T-Town initiative starts cleaning city

Members of Pathway, teenagers and young adults employed through a Lucas County summer job placement program, mow and clean debris from abandoned homes on Earl St. near Kingston Ave. during a clean-up of the East Toledo neighborhood.

Toledo officials and volunteers teamed up early today to clean up a several-block area in East Toledo as part of Mayor Mike Collins‘‍ T-Town Initiative. 

Those participating met up at 8:30 a.m. to tidy up the streets and alleyways on McKinley, Butler, Navarre and Earl streets.

T-Town was developed by the mayor’‍s office, in conjunction with the Toledo Police Department and the Department of Code Enforcement as one of the ways to tackle blight issues in the city and get residents involved in preventing further deterioration of their neighborhoods.

PHOTO GALLERY: Click here for more photos from the cleanup

Mayor Collins spoke at the Toledo Police command post, 444 East Earl St., before the cleanup began.   

City officials said they will select a neighborhood for a second cleanup initiative on July 31.

Neighborhoods are selected for the initiative based on the strong community involvement demonstrated by the residents, the Collins administration said.