Our street cleaning program—known as the Community Improvement Project (CIP) and represented by the iconic Men and Blue—is undeniably the most well-known of our social enterprises. But how did CIP begin… and what lies ahead?
The fundamental principle behind The Doe Fund is that the majority of people experiencing homelessness and leaving incarceration want to, and are capable of, reentering mainstream society. They simply lack the opportunity to do so. Ready, Willing & Able was created to provide that opportunity by combining housing, supportive services, and paid work. The latter has been the key ingredient of our Work Works model.
When Ready, Willing & Able began in 1990, The Doe Fund contracted with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to demolish empty City-owned apartments. But just four years later, these abandoned buildings were sold to private landlords. This eliminated 60% of The Doe Fund’s revenue stream—and the ability to provide paid work.
By then, NYC was facing a crisis of mounting garbage. Neighborhoods like the Upper East Side were drowning in trash, and the City lacked the financial resources to handle its filthy streets.
The Doe Fund has always seen opportunity in times of challenge. In this spirit, the Community Improvement Project was born.
Soon, hundreds of men donned bright blue uniforms to sweep streets, bag garbage, and remove graffiti across the Upper East Side. Residents received letters explaining who these Men in Blue were: people who have experienced homelessness or incarceration, and who were now rebuilding their lives through Ready, Willing & Able. The Doe Fund’s hope was that locals would value these much-needed contributions, and in turn support the efforts of the Men in Blue to become self-sufficient.
This hope was well-placed. Neighbors began shoving personal checks—sometimes even wads of cash—under the front door of The Doe Fund’s Upper East Side office. Just weeks before, the Men in Blue they celebrated were sleeping in doorways and huddled on subway grates. People crossed the street or averted their eyes to avoid them. Now, they were indispensable to the community.
What began as a desperate leap of faith on one stretch of East 86th Street today covers 115 miles of city streets, generates over $10.4 million in revenue annually, and puts over $8.5 million of that directly into the pockets of the Men in Blue.
For over 25 years, the Upper East Side has been home to our original “goodwill route”—a route solely sustained by private donations from residents of the serviced neighborhood. This is in contrast to the dozen-plus other routes we operate throughout the city, which are funded by Business Improvement Districts and Government contracts.
Like every New York institution, the pandemic has put an enormous strain on Ready, Willing & Able. As a result, we have had to temporarily reduce the frequency of our service along some goodwill routes.
Where does that leave the future of CIP?
Last year, we expanded the Community Improvement Project to all five boroughs for the first time, thanks to our participation in the CleaNYC initiative. This year, we have partnered with the City Cleanup Corps, the Mayor’s ambitious effort to hire 10,000 New Yorkers for supplemental sanitation and beautification efforts across the city. These initiatives demonstrate significant opportunities for Ready, Willing & Able to partner more broadly with the City to do what we do best: provide clean, safe streets for New Yorkers and paid work for marginalized people seeking opportunity.
We are also in the process of innovating our approach to goodwill routes to ensure their long-term sustainability. Doing so will not only restore and expand services, but evolve them to better meet the needs of the community and the men in Ready, Willing & Able. This includes exploring the formation of an Upper East Side Business Improvement District—which would ensure stable, perpetual funding for sanitation services—as well as cultivating support from local real estate, retail, and other business communities.
The work the Men in Blue accomplish through CIP is a crucial first step on the pathway we create to economic mobility: from being unemployable, to learning the essentials of work, to securing a first job, to building a career. That’s why we are steadfast in our commitment to preserving and growing the Community Improvement Project. There is no better example of how indispensable the Men in Blue are to the larger community, and how necessary they will be as we rebuild a safer, cleaner, and more equitable NYC.
Is your community supported by the Men in Blue? Would you like to bring them to your neighborhood? We want to hear from you! Tell us your thoughts below, and include your ideas for CIP’s future.