A vacant lot off of Cornelia Street in the town of Plattsburgh, once home to the Ames-P&C Plaza, has become a dumping ground since its demolition in 2011. Trash, discarded belongings and debris have accumulated over the years. However, a group of dedicated neighbors, led by Beekmantown resident Tonia Barber, is now working to restore the lot to its former state.”I spent maybe 40 hours up here with a mixture of people, and it really didn’t take that long. You can make a difference if you are driven enough to come up and put a little bit of hard work into it,” Barber said.For the past two weeks, Barber and more than half a dozen volunteers have been cleaning up the mess left behind. The group has removed over 5,600 pounds of items from the lot, including fish tank equipment, coffee pots, a pullout couch bed and numerous tents. The site has become a temporary camping spot for some homeless individuals since the property was vacated. However, Barber emphasizes that the mess isn’t solely the result of homelessness. “It’s a lot of useless garbage that wasn’t just produced by homeless people being up here. It’s people coming and dumping their personal garbage instead of taking it to the county landfill,” she said.The lot is currently owned by the hotel chain Home2 Suites by Hilton, which has plans to build a new hotel at the location. However, town officials have confirmed that there is no set timeline for construction to begin.But in the meantime, Barber and her team are focused on the task at hand: cleaning up the lot. “The majority of it’s taken care of. I really could spend more time picking up tiny pieces, but you can always help until you can’t help anymore,” she said.Barber plans to continue her cleanup efforts in the first week of December.
A vacant lot off of Cornelia Street in the town of Plattsburgh, once home to the Ames-P&C Plaza, has become a dumping ground since its demolition in 2011.
Trash, discarded belongings and debris have accumulated over the years. However, a group of dedicated neighbors, led by Beekmantown resident Tonia Barber, is now working to restore the lot to its former state.
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“I spent maybe 40 hours up here with a mixture of people, and it really didn’t take that long. You can make a difference if you are driven enough to come up and put a little bit of hard work into it,” Barber said.
For the past two weeks, Barber and more than half a dozen volunteers have been cleaning up the mess left behind. The group has removed over 5,600 pounds of items from the lot, including fish tank equipment, coffee pots, a pullout couch bed and numerous tents.
The site has become a temporary camping spot for some homeless individuals since the property was vacated. However, Barber emphasizes that the mess isn’t solely the result of homelessness.
“It’s a lot of useless garbage that wasn’t just produced by homeless people being up here. It’s people coming and dumping their personal garbage instead of taking it to the county landfill,” she said.
The lot is currently owned by the hotel chain Home2 Suites by Hilton, which has plans to build a new hotel at the location. However, town officials have confirmed that there is no set timeline for construction to begin.
But in the meantime, Barber and her team are focused on the task at hand: cleaning up the lot.
“The majority of it’s taken care of. I really could spend more time picking up tiny pieces, but you can always help until you can’t help anymore,” she said.
Barber plans to continue her cleanup efforts in the first week of December.
