EASTON, Pa.(www.lafayette.edu), May 1, 2008 — Beginning today, “downtown ambassadors” are augmenting ongoing efforts to keep Easton's streets clean and safe.

The Greater Easton Development Partnership has engaged the firm Block by Block to supply trained, uniformed employees – called ambassadors – to enhance downtown cleanliness by removing litter, weeds, and graffiti. There are five ambassadors on the streets, wearing distinctive red shirts. They also will do other projects to improve the downtown’s appearance, for example, landscaping and painting light poles, utility boxes, and tree grates.

In addition, the ambassadors will enhance the city’s hospitality by welcoming visitors and helping meet the public’s need for information and assistance.

To increase safety, the ambassadors also will patrol the streets on foot and bicycle. They will provide an additional presence to deter crime and report unwanted activity to local authorities.

Easton mayor Sal Panto said, “The Ambassadors are an integral part of our ‘Clean and Safe’ program. I thank the individuals and programs who have stepped forward to support this very important program.” Panto announced the downtown ambassadors program Jan. 31 and also said the city is hiring five more police officers and three more firefighters this year and setting up a “hotline” to the mayor’s office to enable citizens to report anonymously “any clean or safe issue, situation, or problem.”

• See also: Transition in Easton -- City began new year with a new form of government, a new mayor, and a police department recently accredited by the Pa. Chiefs of Police Association

The Block by Block program has an impressive record of success nationally. It has partnered with downtown improvement organizations to develop customized ambassador programs that have made a positive difference in more than 25 cities from coast to coast, including New York City, Newark, Providence, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Nashville, Albuquerque, and Pasadena.

In Easton, the ambassadors’ activities will augment the work of Easton’s public-works employees and police to keep the city clean and safe and will complement and support the Main Street Program and other initiatives by institutions, community groups, and the private sector.

GEDP has entered into a three-year contract in excess of $820,000 with Block by Block, a division of Brantley Services, a custodial and security company based in Louisville, Ky. A challenge grant of up to $300,000 from the College will cover one-third of the cost.

Easton is first city where the program is funded by gifts from the private sector. In other cities, the program is supported by downtown improvement organizations. In addition to Lafayette, contributors to the Easton program include Air Products and Chemicals, Capital Blue Cross, Crayola, Dieter Brothers, Easton Area Industrial Land Development, Easton Hospital, Easton Rotary Services Foundation, Hale Bilt Company, KNBT Foundation, Lafayette Ambassador Bank, Metropolitan Edison, Sovereign Bank, Spring City Company, Turner Construction, and the Wachovia Foundation as well as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, and Northampton County.

GEDP Chairman Marc Troutman says, “The Ambassador Program reflects a commitment by the private sector in our community to the revitalization of Easton’s downtown core. This commitment is a logical extension of the Wallace, Roberts, and Todd strategy to create a hospitable, clean, and safe environment in our downtown.”

Last February, GEDP began a $1.3 million capital campaign to fund the Block by Block program and to make the Main Street Initiative self-sustaining. Now funded by the state, the Main Street Initiative is a comprehensive, community-based revitalization approach developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

• Greater Easton Development Partnership
• Easton Main Street Initiative