Spring in North Riverdale: volunteers lead cleanup and planting along Riverdale Avenue

North Riverdale residents may notice signs of spring with bright, new plants blooming, the smell of fresh mulch in tree pits and litter-free streets. Behind it is the Riverdale Main Streets Alliance, whose Streetscape Committee kicked off the season March 28 with their first beautification efforts of the year.

The alliance, which is entirely volunteer based, said more than 25 participants helped plant pansies and hardy shrubs, in addition to picking  up dead plants, leaves and trash. By the end of the day, alliance board secretary Denis Haxhija estimated more than 30 garbage bags had been filled, and between 15 and 20 plants were put in the soil.

The cleanup initiative ran for about two hours along Riverdale Avenue from West 253rd Street to West 261st Street, as well as Mosholu Avenue down to Broadway, alliance board member David Quart said.

Quart joined with the alliance in 2018, and works fulltime at civil engineering firm Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. He said the cleanup initiative has grown since he’s been participating, and several years ago it was only a handful of volunteers who showed up.

Quart said the March 28 cleanup felt fun and productive, and passersby extended their appreciation that the group was working to upkeep the neighborhood. He added the amount of volunteers allowed them to cover a lot of ground quickly.

“North Riverdale needs some love,” Quart said. “I find it very satisfying to contribute to the neighborhood in a way that’s tangible.”

Haxhija has been with the alliance since 2023, and works at the real estate firm Brown Harris Stevens. He echoed Quart in the fact that volunteer turnout has only grown. They span all ages and walks of life, he added, noting some of the participants from the March 28 cleanup were Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy students.

Riverdale Main Streets Alliance was formed in 2012 as the North Riverdale Merchants and Business Association. Its volunteers work to beautify the neighborhood’s main streets, and grow the neighborhood economically. Aside from cleanups, they also maintain Sheridan Triangle and a garden in Van Cortlandt Park near West 261st Street, Haxhija said.

“If you have all these nice trees and floral arrangements and welcoming sidewalks,” Haxhija said. “That’s going to improve the foot traffic to these small local businesses.”

The alliance is made up of more than 100 community members, nonprofits and local businesses and other organizations with the shared vision of celebrating Riverdale, according to the alliance’s website.

At the March 28 cleanup, the alliance contracted a New Rochelle-based landscaping company, Mario Bulfamante & Sons, that helped lay down fresh mulch in tree pits, Haxhija said.

Haxhija said a date for the next initiative by the Streetscape Committee has not been set, but the alliance will be doing a small cleanup as part of Riverdale Neighborhood House’s Earth Day Skillshare event on April 19. The organization is also focused on resuming its work on the pollinator garden and mural at Vinmont Veteran Park it has been planning since last fall, Haxhija said.

“We want everything to look as beautiful as possible,” Haxhija said. “And sometimes volunteers have to take those matters into their own hands … It’s passion, it’s dedication, it’s devotion.”