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New Clean and Safe Team on Duty in University City

Philadelphia, 11 January 2002 -- Since January 2nd, responsibility for the University City District Public Safety and Public Space Maintenance programs has been consolidated under one person, John Fenton, who came to University City as Ambassador manager in November of 2000.

"I bring my enthusiasm for our safety services to our cleaning services," he said. "Concern for cleanliness and safety belong together because one influences perceptions of the other." Fenton spent his first days on the streets with the cleaning crews to see firsthand what they experience.

Other new Public Space Maintenance staff are operations manager Vernon Banks and assistant manager Ron Dorsett. Banks’ decades of experience includes maintenance management for Philadelphia City Hall and the Philadelphia School District. Dorsett was a supervisor for Center City District. All three are dedicated to improving services to the neighborhoods and enhance the effectiveness of cleaning and graffiti removal crews.

In public safety, Ted Moore replaces Fenton as Ambassador operations manager. Moore has nearly 20 years’ experience in the security industry.

Clean and Safe programs are the UCD’s largest. In 2001, UCD employees removed over 6000 posters and stickers from poles, eliminated more than 4500 graffiti tags, and picked up 1 million pounds of sidewalk and vacant lot trash. In last year’s UCD public perception survey, 73% said that University City is cleaner than three years ago. The UCD Ambassador program has helped to lower major crime by nearly 30%. Ambassador services have expanded significantly in the past two years to include free vehicle assistance in conjunction with Penn’s Division of Public Safety, an in-line skate patrol, and a greatly developed homeless outreach unit. Last year that unit helped 412 homeless people to shelter and medical attention. Over 71% of those surveyed said that they feel safer in University City than they did three years ago.

 


Release Date: Friday, January 11th 2002