In the fall of 2019 the BCCA obtained bulbs from the NYC Daffodil Project for P.S.133. Early one cold morning, Principal Nicole Colon, teacher Amanda Arcuri and students planted those bulbs. They beautified the front of PS133 last spring, and they recently started to emerge from the ground again.

Ms. Arcuri recently took her pre-K through 2 students with special needs for a nature walk around the school block. But it wasn’t daffodils that impressed them. They had math practice, counting fifteen piles of “dog poops” on their walk. And they also had a lesson in civics. They saw the problem and did something about it. They wrote “letters”, adorned with drawings, exhorting residents to pick up after their dogs. And, on behalf of the students, Ms. Arcuri and Ms. Colon shared some of the drawings (see below) with us at our March BCCA general meeting (Zoom). They will be laminated in plastic and placed around the outside of the school to remind residents of their responsibility to pick up after their dogs and dispose of the feces properly. It is not only the law but also the right thing for neighbors to do.

The students learned a lesson, and hopefully taught some of our neighbors a lesson. We thank them for bringing the problem to our attention. Let’s hope that as these students grow older they continue to advocate for their neighborhoods, and perhaps become active members of a civic association like the BCCA.

NOTE: A representative from NYC Parks tells us that the Bellerose Playground and adjacent sidewalks are checked and cleaned at least four times a week and any dog feces are removed. The sidewalks adjacent to the school are the responsibility of the school custodian. But they shouldn’t have to be picking up after us or our pets. And more and more litter is appearing on our streets and sidewalks. Let’s keep Bellerose clean!