Atlantic City native and resident Carmelo Maysont recalls the days of his youth in the 1980s when, at the convergence of Massachusetts Avenue and the world-famous Boardwalk in the City’s Southeast Inlet, a festive family atmosphere filled with music and laughter would permeate throughout the neighborhood.
Galloway resident Karen Hober fondly remembers the stories of her grandparents owning Chinese restaurants on the Boardwalk and another on Tennessee Avenue while extended family made an annual pilgrimage to their Mansion Avenue home for a summer of fun in the sun.
It is because of these deep-rooted familial ties and an unwavering love for the City that Maysont and Hober joined half a dozen coworkers from Ocean Casino Resort and more than 80 other volunteers in the inaugural Inlet Community Development Corporation (CDC) and Atlantic Cape Community College Inlet Neighborhood Community Cleanup Day & Summer Kick-off Party in Atlantic City on Saturday, June 28.
The volunteers, decked out in white t-shirts to mark the occasion, gathered at one of two starting locations, Fisherman’s Park on Melrose Avenue and Altman Park on Pacific Avenue. Each volunteer was provided with garbage bags and pickers before they made their way down nearby streets and across vacant lots to rid the areas of loose trash, debris and more.
Inlet CDC Secretary and Director of Atlantic Cape’s Charles D. Worthington Atlantic City campus Lizbeth Castro-James was thankful for the support of so many for this first-time event.
“We are just so happy that everyone came together to help clean up our community. We saw unity today from faculty and staff at the College, Ocean Casino Resort volunteers, the Bungalow Park and Inlet Civic Associations. This is what it is all about, showing pride in your community, having a personal stake in helping and making a difference,” said Castro-James. “We also had some kids come with their families and that’s important too because it teaches them to love their community.”
While doing his part to help beautify the City by picking up debris in a vacant lot next to Altman Park between Pacific Avenue and Dewey Place just feet from the crashing waves of Absecon Inlet next to the Boardwalk sea wall, Maysont reflected back to simple times.
“Here in the Inlet, my great grandmother raised everybody in our family at Massachusetts Avenue and the Boardwalk. This area, as I always called it, was like a little mini Puerto Rico with a lot of Hispanics here. It was very alive,” said Maysont, who is a Security Supervisor at Ocean Casino Resort “Here in this area we are cleaning up now, there used to be a small park and a lot of people used to gather up here. My uncles were known for playing traditional Spanish salsa music here.”
Following the two hours of community cleanup, the accumulated debris was bagged and left at nearly 20 designated locations throughout the Inlet for pickup. A Summer Kick-off Party was held afterwards at Fisherman’s Park complete with a free pizza lunch courtesy of Tony Boloney’s, live music thanks to DJ Dahve, games, face painting and free information from local organizations including C.R.O.P.S. and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Hober, who has been employed at Ocean Casino Resort for three years in Compliance, was proud to take part in the day’s cleanup effort.
“I believe in rejuvenating Atlantic City, helping to get that bad taste out of people’s mouths, because it is so beautiful here with the beach and Ocean Casino. When I first got to Ocean, I turned around and I was in awe with the views and everything, so it made me appreciate it more because this is what people need to see.”
This Inlet CDC and Atlantic Cape-sponsored event was held in collaboration with the Bungalow Park Civic Association, First Ward Civic Association, C.R.O.P.S., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hydrangea Trail 2.0, Ocean Casino Resort, Tony Boloney’s and DJ Dahve.
View a photo gallery of this event on Flickr here.
For more information on other Inlet CDC community initiatives and events, please visit www.acinlet.org.
