Advocating for the Bayside Neighborhood in Portland, Maine
Category: Citizens’ Trash Brigade
The Citizens’ Trash Brigade is an idea that literally came to team lead Megan Holt in a dream — complete with the snazzy moniker. The CTB keeps Bayside clean and beautiful through regular community cleanups and volunteer action. Beyond the longstanding tradition of annual spring and fall neighborhood cleanups that bring neighbors together to prepare for changing seasons, the CTB has expanded to include monthly targeted “walk the block” cleanups that focus on one street at a time. Armed with gloves, bags, pickers, and community spirit, volunteers meet at designated locations to tackle litter while strengthening neighborhood bonds. Recent cleanups have been enhanced by partnerships with local businesses who offer discount coupons to volunteers, turning civic duty into an opportunity to support Bayside shops and services while making a visible difference in the neighborhood’s appearance.
Megan Holt, Team Lead — Rob Sylvain, Board Liaison
Contact ctb@baysideportland.org for more information
Dozens of neighbors and friends showed up yesterday to pitch in and help with the Annual BNA Spring Cleanup in collaboration with the City of Portland’s Great Portland Pickup. Thanks to Karly Meyer of the City of Portland’s Office of Sustainability and Leyla Hashi of Portland Parks Conservancy for helping put together the city-wide effort, to Eighty-8 Donuts and Coffee by Design for keeping us fueled up, and to Charlie Mitchell and staff at Bayside Bowl for hosting the afterparty. A great start to Bayside Week!
Along the way, some intrepid litter-pickers noticed some new neighbors in Bayside—the Bayside Gnome Roam got underway yesterday also. Here’s a sneak peek at some photos we’ve received already from gnome hunters:
You’re also likely to run into another beloved Bayside neighbor, the “Bayside Bunny” (okay there’s probably more than one) posing here for a gnome hunter’s camera. Be careful not to disturb the bunnies—or gnomes—and leave them where you find them for others to enjoy.
The City of Portland asked us to help share information about a great program run by Age Friendly Portland. They are looking for volunteers who can shovel snow for an elderly neighbor this winter, and they’re also seeking Neighborhood Coordinators—particularly from the Rosemont and Deering Center neighborhoods—to help match Portland homeowners with volunteers.
If you are a Portland homeowner age 65+ in need of snow removal assistance, please call 207-541-6620.
ALSO: CTB Block Walk Dec 19th
The BNA Citizens’ Trash Brigade continues monthly block walks, sun or snow! We pick a block to pick up trash along our sidewalks, and if there’s snow, we shovel! Every Baysider knows that although property owners are responsible for their sidewalks, when it snows there are always some stretches of sidewalk that don’t get shoveled, whether by ignorance, neglect or special needs. We know clear sidewalks are only good if the paths connect, so we’re committed to helping bridge the gaps, and we could use your help too. Meet 3pm Friday December 19th at 28 Portland Street.
If you’d like to hear more about the BNA’s Citizen Trash Brigade, email ctb@baysideportland.org
meet @ Bayside Community Garden on Chestnut Street
Every year for decades Bayside neighbors and friends have come together to cleanup our streets and sidewalks and enjoy each other’s company in preparation for the winter. This year every participant will be given a valuable Bayside Business Coupon Card, good for deep discounts at sponsoring Bayside restaurants, shops, services, venues and vendors.
We’ll meet at the Bayside Community Garden on Chestnut Street and choose routes from there. Trash bags, gloves, pickers, water, coffee and snacks are provided.
Thanks to our local businesses who offered discounts to volunteers: Leavitt & Sons Deli Two Fat Cats Bakery Lay Day Coffee Roasters The Studio Portland Fortune Teller Tattoo Cyclebar Maine Clay Collaborative Isa Bistro F45 Training Bayside Bowl Check back in the Spring for your chance to earn a Bayside Business Coupon Card from the BNA!
Team leads met April 7th to discuss communication, shared challenges, resources and goals. A decision was made to reboot the Baysider as an online publication, facilitated by the tech team.
Garden Team — Holly Picotte, lead — Susan McClosky, board liaison
We held the 2025 garden orientation on Saturday, May 3rd with a great turnout. We met several new plot holders and gardeners were exchanging ideas about what they were going to plant in their plots! The water access was discovered to be broken (pex coming from the shelter was snapped), but Stephen, one of our gardeners, volunteered to fix it which he did that day which is fantastic. Water was set to be turned on Monday, 5/5 by Port Property.
Development Developments Team — Amelia LaBreck, lead — Alex Landry, board liaison
The Franklin Street Redesign Project is in early planning stages at the city. Several Development Team members attended an open house to reboot the project at the Rines Auditorium on April 17th. The Live Nation Music Venue has had the question of traffic and parking feasibility is to be examined by the transportation committee. 89 Elm construction is underway, though currently is more of a void in the ground than a structure. 60 Elm has had an enlargement and redesign, being workshopped May 6th. The whole Reveler MDP is undergoing some changes to be announced. 72 Parris held a public meeting at the McGoldrick Center on April 14th which was attended by many BNA members and neighborhood voices.
BNA Citizens’ Trash Brigade — Megan Holt, lead — Rob Sylvain, board liaison
Thanks to all who turned out for another successful spring cleanup on Saturday April 17th. Special thanks to city arborist Mark Reilland for providing compost and mulch for the BNA Tree Team to spread on our new neighborhood trees. Many thanks to the generous Bayside Businesses that donated gift certificates: Leavitt & Sons Deli – Isa Bistro – Wilson County BBQ – Bayside Bowl – Two Fat Cats Bakery – Tally’s Kitchen – Maine Oyster Company
Tuesday April 22 Preble Street hosted another cleanup and BBQ which was attended by BNA board and team members. Just three days after the BNA cleanup, it was noted that trash had already accumulated again.
Saturday May 3rd Portland Parks Conservancy hosted a city-wide cleanup with Megan Holt acting as a hub captain at the Bayside Community Garden. The tree team continued mulching and the garden team met to clean up and prepare the garden for spring. Holly noted that Public works did not pick up the garbage bags the following day, causing a mess on Hall Ct. Jennifer Rogers had noted the same problem after the April 17th cleanup.
Caroline Fernandez from Preble Street has indicated interest in collaborating on monthly cleanups Friday afternoons. Next cleanup is scheduled for Friday
Tech Team — Joey Brunelle, lead — Jim Hall, board liaison
The Baysider newspaper is getting an online reboot. Submissions of news and photos from team leads are needed. Also looking for content from the community including editorials, reviews, events, photos, art, poetry, and prose of all sorts. Thanks to Special Collections Librarian & Archivist Abraham Schechter, the Portland Public Library’s has been digitizing their collection of The Baysider which lives in the Portland Room archive. The public can now access searchable pdf copies of many issues of The Baysider at the Portland Public Library Digital Commons website, and the BNA website.
Tree Team — Avery Kamilla, lead — Susan McClosky, board liaison
The BNA Tree Team has been active this spring working to grow our tree canopy and tend our existing trees. During the annual Spring Cleanup, neighbors mulched all the newly planted trees on Chestnut Street and many of the newly planted trees on the Bayside Trail.
The Tree Team is also working with the Portland Park Rangers to host the annual Tree Hugging event June 7. For the first time, it will be held in the Bayside Neighborhood on the Bayside Trail. At the Tree Hugging event, Portland’s lead Park Ranger and certified forest bathing expert Liz Collado will lead a forest bathing walk and encourage participants to envision the day when the young trees on the trail become mature, heritage trees with wide canopies.
Members of the Tree Team attended the recent Tree Talk given by Portland’s arborist Mark Reiland and hosted by the West End Neighborhood Association. Reiland discussed the new planting requirements that he has initiated for new trees that mandate much larger planting wells and a compost-rich soil. The disappointing news he delivered during the talk was that he does not expect to plant any trees in Bayside or East Bayside this year. Reiland said the reason why is because the city used all the viable planting locations during last year’s tree surge.
Members of the Tree Team also attended the recent Reimagining Franklin Street event hosted by the Planning Department at the Portland Public Library. The event was a chance for the public to offer feedback about what they like and don’t like about the current street. Tree Team members advocated for the need for more trees and parkland.
Tree Team member and Portland Protectors co-founder Avery Yale Kamila talked with city officials about the need to restore Lincoln Park to its original size and further expand it. Of particular concern is preserving the heritage oaks growing in the median between Congress and Middle streets.
The Bayside neighborhood’s only playground, the Stone Street Playground, is slated for a $400,000 upgrade this budget year. However, Reiland is concerned that a major revamp of the playground will kill the park’s trees. The BNA and the Tree Team are awaiting more information about the project. Any day now the cherry trees in the Stone Street Playground will unfurl their pink blooms.
Bayside Business Breakfast Club — Tom Blackburn, lead — Betsy Boyd, board liaison
Gathered on April 30 at Coffee Me Up, hosted by Alba Zakja. Topics included creating a Bayside business map, intra-team communication via whatsapp, mentorship program with ProsperityME, updating the business contact list, outreach to corporate entities, improvement district funding, ads for Baysider, lobbying city hall, promoting good news stories to the media, and delegating action items. Tom Blackburn has stepped up to lead the team. Next meeting will be at Jay York Photography, 58 Wilmot Street on Wednesday, May 28th, 8:30am
Welcome Team — Belinda Vemba, lead — Deb VanHoewyk, board liaison
The Welcome Committee has co-hosted its first event – the Samosa Social! On Thursday, April 3rd, the BNA and the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center held an afternoon get-together at the IWC at 24 Preble Street in Bayside. The idea was to bring together various organizations, including the BNA, who serve our newly arrived neighbors who come to the IWC to learn English, access workforce and entrepreneurial programs, and navigate their way to citizenship.
Bayside neighbors and immigrants from all over the world made short work of the over 200 samosas donated by Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, along with other halal treats from Portland’s immigrant groceries and restaurants. Music and conversation were the order of the day, along with presentations by representatives from immigrant-serving organizations. Grace Mo-Phillips from Coastal Enterprises, Micky Bondo from In Her Presence, Bright Musuamba and Amen Mibaraka from Prosperity Maine, and Belinda Vemba from the Immigrant Welcome Center, all spoke about how their organizations help the community. City Councillor and Bayside resident Sarah Michniewicz was on hand not only to meet and listen to new neighbors, but also to help serve up samosas to the crowd.
The BNA formed the Welcome Committee to better connect with the various communities who comprise the very diverse population of Bayside – home to immigrants and faith groups, homeowners and renters, social service and education organizations. The Welcome Committee works to unite neighbors in making Bayside a more “welcoming” place. We’re hoping this event is the beginning of many enduring collaborations.
BAYsideBEEs — Deirdre Paul, lead — Rob Sylvain, board liaison
Working on an event calendar for the BNA website, highlighting performing arts and First Friday openings in Bayside. 82 Parris Gallery and Maine Clay Collaborative both had open houses on First Friday in May.
Student Liaison — Michael Marston, lead — Rob Sylvain, board liaison
Michael is working on a 3D model of Bayside, which should be complete by the end of the term. The mural project has been put on hold. John Wensman from Baxter Academy hopes to design a full-year project with a new student next fall.
Art Team — Carolyn Megan, lead — Betsy Boyd, board liaison
Still working on idea of painting of utility boxes. Looking for funding sources. Carolyn needs to be away most of May into mid-June and possibly into July. As such, the Art Team needs any new interested members/lead. Email Carolyn with questions and/or if you want more information.
Safe Streets Team — Bowman Brown, lead — Deb VanHoewyk, board liaison
The next meeting is scheduled for May 20 at 6 pm in the Steve Hirshon Community Room at Unity Village 24 Stone Street.Items to be addressed at the next meeting include better lighting; the group will work out how to create a list of all non-operating street lights, as well as key places where lighting could be improved, such as Portland Street – Bowman’s building is 34 Portland Street, and there are definite dark spots there. The Preble Street 295 underpass is another.
In February, the group discussed a “text buddy” system so people could text to get a buddy for walking together in unsafe situations. There were concerns about having personal numbers out there, but it seems as if WhatsApp could take care of the privacy issues. A number of people have already volunteered to participate via WhatsApp.
Pedestrian safety – hotspots are Portland Street, especially at the intersections with Parris and Hanover Streets. This is related to the lack of parking enforcement, which results in people parking every which way, making pedestrian pathways unpredictable.
Bowman distributed for discussion the New York Times article highlighting the increasing problem of Meth as opposed to fentanyl use in our neighborhood.
Lots going on in Bayside, and the BNA teams are rising to meet the moment. If you want to join a team, just send an email to any of the groups below, and a team lead will get back to you asap. If you have an idea for a team and want to get it started, we want to hear from you. Let’s do it!
Safe Streets Team Public Safety, Walkability, Infrastructure, Crime prevention
Student Group liason to Baxter Academy and Portland High School
Tech Team Website, Workspace, Social Media, Calendar, Newsletter, etc.
Tenants’ Team Renters’ perspectives are at the forefront of this team’s activity.
Tree Team overseeing planting and maintenance, trails and green spaces
The Tech Team is working on better communication pathways for the general membership, including mailchimp, which will allow us to send targeted email news and allow subscribers to tailor how they receive updates from various teams. We’re also now using google workspace to organize teams into google groups that can share files, calendar events, to-do lists, plus follow and archive conversations by topic within each team and between teams. Setting up the groups in a way that is simple to use but powerful enough to keep track of team tasks and communications, calendar events, shared files and important links has proven to be a challenge, but worthwhile. If you have experience and/or interest in admin tools please consider joining the tech team and helping us out.
Recent News
December’s Safe Streets Meeting was met with a strong response from the community and from the media. Troy Bennett from Bangor Daily News was in attendance and wrote this article about the effort and subsequently WCSH6 Newscenter Maine picked up the story as did WGME CBS13 shown below. The next Safe Streets Team meeting will be Tuesday, February 25th, 6:00pm in the Steve Hirshon Community Room at Unity Village, 24 Stone Street, Portland.
If you missed last month’s BNA Board meeting on zoom, you can view a recording of it here: BNA Board Meeting January 7 2025 See below for details on the next board meeting.
Upcoming Events
Saturday January 25, 11am BNA Citizens’ Trash Brigade Parris Street Block Walk
UPDATE: With the recent snowfall we’re pivoting to salt & sand for sidewalks on Parris Street, which has several spots that need attention. We’ll provide buckets of sand & salt from the city lot, shovels and a few ice choppers. If you have an ice chopper please bring it! We’ll warm up afterward at Wilson BBQ.
OP: We’re coming together for a short pickup party targeting Preble Street in particular, focusing on bits and butts that get overlooked during the Spring & Fall cleanup, and also to get eyes on the street to take stock of the pedestrian experience, flag infrastructure concerns, and to get to know each other. Afterward we’re planning to gather at Wilson BBQ to warm up, wind down, and plan for next month’s block walk. We’ll meet at 72 Parris Street and walk together. Trash bags and gloves provided.
Monday January 27, 6:00pm Portland Music Hall Presentation Composing Room @ Press Hotel 119 Exchange St, Portland, ME
The BNA Development Developments Team invites Baysiders to attend a public presentation by Portland Performance Ventures, LLC on their proposal for a 3,300-seat Live Nation music venue at the site of the old Press Herald printing press building across Myrtle Street from the Merrill Auditorium in Bayside. More information on the project is available on the city of portland website here: https://selfservice.portlandmaine.gov/
Wednesday January 29, 8:30am Bayside Business Breakfast Club Isa Bistro, 79 Portland St. Portland, ME
The Bayside Neighborhood Association is starting 2025 with a renewed commitment to connecting with diverse stakeholders and providing opportunities for community members to come together in pursuit of shared goals. To that end, we’re excited to present the first of what will be monthly events specifically for Bayside business owners to meet in an informal setting to meet, chat, and plan a better future for all Baysiders.
Mission Statement: “The Bayside Neighborhood Association (BNA) empowers the Bayside community by building meaningful partnerships that promote health, safety, green spaces, diversity, housing, and sustainable development for all who live, work, and play in this unique urban neighborhood.”
We need your help! Please consider a tax-deductible donation to the BNA, a 501c(3) non-profit organization. Contact Jim Hall, treasurer for more information at jim@baysideportland.org
It’s time to do a little spring cleaning! Join your friends and neighbors on Saturday, April 23 2022 10AM – 12PM for snacks, a chance to win a gift certificate, and a big dose of community pride. All volunteers entered for a chance to win a gift certificate to a great Bayside business – Leavitt & Son’s Deli, Wilson County BBQ, Maine Oyster Company, Bayside Bowl, and Bayside American Cafe!
