Councilman Hopes to 'Spring Clean' Neighborhoods

Sick of hitting that pothole every day on your way to work? Graffiti making the neighborhood look bad? Somebody dump a sofa in your alley?

For those recognizing long standing maintenance issues in their Ninth District neighborhood, Long Beach City Councilman Steven Neal wants you to help the district do its own spring cleaning by reporting issues to his office for a possible prize, the councilman announced Tuesday.

According to Neal, the entire month of April will be dedicated to the "9th District Spring Cleaning Challenge," awarding individuals and neighborhood associations with the most items reported with $1,000 neighborhood improvement grant.

Neal encouraged residents of the district to report maintenance issues such as potholes, dumped items, damaged street signs and graffiti to his office throughout the month of April.

"Ensuring our community is clean and safe is a top concern of the 9th District," Neal said in a statement. "That's why, this month, I'm glad to bring back the 2nd Annual 9th District Spring Cleaning Challenge with my 9th District neighbors."

According to Neal, during last year's inaugural challenge, residents submitted about 250 maintenance issues and wrote approximately 80 letters to Caltrans about the condition of freeway on ramps. Neal said he hopes to beat last year's numbers by challenging residents to submit at least 500 maintenance issues.

Residents who want to submit a mainteance report can do so through one of four ways:

• Emailing district9@longbeach.gov
• Calling the 9th District office at 562-570-6137
• Submitting through the website www.insidedistrict9.com
• Through the Long Beach smart phone application "GO Long Beach"