A Helping Hand on the Block
Mark Smith Is a One-Man Pick-Up Crew
By Joyce Mann
In the 1970s, Mark Smith moved to New York from North Carolina to pursue an acting career. In those days, urban living had a gritty edge. The years went by, Smith met his wife Miriam Cukier, and in 1994, they moved to what he describes as “the paradise of 315 Riverside Drive.” Today Smith is an agent representing and managing performing artists, and Cukier, retired from the Metropolitan Transit Authority, is co- editor of Bloomingdale Aging in Place’s popular Buzz Newsletter.
Some months ago, as the pandemic crimped neighborhood services like trash removal, Smith wanted to find a way to help. Through a new organization, One Block UWS, Smith adopted West 104th Street as his special charge, setting out several days a week to pick up stray trash and keep the block tidy. He spoke with Block Association Board Member Joyce Mann about what got him started and how One Block works.
What made you get involved in OneBlock?
I got tired of railing about the garbage in the streets like Jack Lemmon in Prisoner of Second Avenue. I saw an article about the group in the West Side Rag and I thought it was a great idea, so I contacted them. They have both Facebook and Instagram pages and now a website, www.oneblockuws.org, and a gmail account, oneblockuws@gmail.com
The organization was started only a few months ago by Jake Russell, a Texas native involved here in real estate. I was invited to join a group cleanup of Broadway between 96th Street and 106th Street, avenues usually being dirtier than sidestreets, to learn the ropes. I was given the organization’s tee shirt to identify myself, special gloves with rubber tips and a few bags with their logo on it. I ended up buying my own “grabber” for $25 at World Hardware on 99th St.(great guys!).
How often do you clean up and how long does it take?
I go out once or twice a week, weather depending, and it takes between 45 minutes and an hour. I usually fill up two “Duane Reade-size plastic bags. My adopted area is the two blocks on 104th Street from Riverside Drive to the west side of Broadway. I clean garbage left on the side- walk, out of the flower beds and also around the parked cars. You can get pretty fanatical about it after a while!
What is the most common trash you find?
Fortunately, we live on a very clean block. I find a lot of cigarette packs/butts, but the closer you get to Broadway, the more fast food garbage you find, especially plastic knives and forks, coffee cups, bottles and fast food containers. If owners leave dog poop in the bags, I pick that up, too.
Do you need to recycle what you find?
No. The most frustrating part of the job is finding the garbage cans to put the trash in. There is only the one can on the corner of WEA and 104th, near the mail box, for the whole block, and it is usually over- flowing. I often end up just taking everything back home with me.
Any thoughts for folks interested in volunteering?
It feels good to do this. I feel effective and you can see immediate results. The organization started with 70 volunteers in August and now has 1600 volunteers as of October 24th. And they hired three men from a local shelter to help out. They earn a salary and health benefits, so it’s a win-win for everyone.
One Block is always looking for more volunteers, as well as donors. Just don’t sign up to adopt West 104th Street—it’s mine