The grounds surrounding Mayfair Elementary School in East Cleveland are meticulously maintained, providing a welcoming environment for students. However, just down the block, Manhattan Avenue tells a different story.
Lined by railroad tracks, the stretch of road has become a hotspot for illegal dumping—a situation that resident David Webb knew had to change. “This is a pathway for the kids to get to school,” Webb explained. “We just wanted to make sure that the kids were safe, they had a good clean environment to get to.”
Webb is no stranger to community cleanups. Last September, he stepped in to clear the aftermath of Labor Day celebrations, refusing to let the mess define his neighborhood. “I said, ‘Man, I’ve got to get down there,’” he recalled at the time. “Just felt compelled to come down here and help any way that I could.”
Determined once again, Webb and his son set out Monday to tackle several blocks of Manhattan Avenue, knowing the effort would take time. “You know it’s going to take a couple of days, but we want to get it to where it’s at least, uh, livable,” he said. By Wednesday, significant progress had been made. “We cleaned all that back here,” Webb said, gesturing to the cleared area. “We’re coming up here, this is the part we’re going to dig out and throw all of this out. I mean, we did clean up everything down here.”
This time, however, Webb wasn’t working alone. The City of East Cleveland stepped in, providing heavy equipment and manpower to accelerate the cleanup—work that could have taken Webb a week or longer on his own. “I think it’s like our fifth or sixth load today,” he said, watching as a front-end loader filled a waiting truck. “Yeah, they’ve been out here all morning… we’ve been out here all morning trying to get this together.”
City worker Jason Wallace praised Webb’s dedication, emphasizing the need for more community involvement. “We need more people out here like that to come help,” Wallace said. “We try to do as much as we can, but obviously we have a dumping problem in East Cleveland.”
For Webb, the fight isn’t just against litter—it’s against the negative perception of his community. “I’m tired of people not only dumping in East Cleveland but dumping on East Cleveland,” he said. “East Cleveland was once one of the richest neighborhoods, and now it has a bad rep. I want the reputation to get back to where it was. I want people to want to come out here and live and want to come out here and stay.”
His actions speak louder than words, proving that change begins with those willing to take the first step.