Gerson Rosario, with Select Event Rentals, checks over a pile of chairs this morning in the aftermath of Saturday's Welcome America festivities at Eakins Oval. (Bonnie Weller / Staff Photographer)
- Fourth of July Fireworks
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Taking pride in cleaning up the parkway after the big bash
Willie Guess said his job is to make "Philly look like Philly again" after big events such as Saturday night's Welcome America concert and fireworks show on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
As the street department's waste collection district supervisor for city wide cleaning, he has done all he can. The streets are clean, and have been since Sunday morning.
But the massive stage, with all its lighting and sound equipment, won't start to come down until Monday because of overtime costs on Sunday, said security workers at the site.
Getting the streets clean, however, was no walk through the parkway. Late-night lingeres may have witnessed the crew of 40 armed with leaf blowers, street sweepers, street flushers and trash trucks attack the area after the crowds filtered out. By dawn Sunday, the area was devoid of paper napkins, crushed beer cans and plastic bottles left by the thousands who attended the festivities.
"I know I've done my job when people come out in the morning and say 'Wow, it looks like nothing happened,'" Guess said.
Anthony Ellis saw how "junky" the area was after he left the concert Saturday, but he took note change sitting on a bench near the parkway the next morning.
"It looks a lot different now," Ellis said. "They got a little ways to go, but it looks a lot better."
On Sunday morning, another crew started working in the surrounding neighborhoods where hordes of people walked home. They also did touch-up work on the parkway.
More than 20 tons of trash and recycling were collected out of the streets and 300 temporary litter stations set up by the city, Guess said.
The 130 porta-pottys that were clustered throughout the art museum area were also pumped, cleaned and hauled back to Pottsville Sunday where Potty Queen, the contracted porta-potty company, is located.
John McGovern, Potty Queen's operating manager, said it takes his crew of 15 about seven hours to get through the "labor intensive" work.
City workers like Wayne Woodford who has driven a street sweeper for 22 years take special pride in their work.
"I want to bring more people in to the city," Woodford said. "You know, make their experience a pleasant one."
Contact staff writer Traver Riggins at 215-854-5626 or triggins@phillynews.com
