Beautification

Keeping the Town of Babylon beautiful is a responsibility we all share. The Town's Beautification Program provides a way for residents, community organizations, businesses and government to work together to keep Babylon beautiful. Whether it be a park, a small plot of land or a highway, the goal of the beautification program is to improve the appearance of the community and change attitudes towards littering and property maintenance. These beautification programs provide an opportunity for everyone in the community to play a role in maintaining the quality of life we have all come to expect and enjoy.

The Town of Babylon Beautification Program is a volunteer program that aspires to keep Town owned facilities and roadways clean and beautiful. Through the Adopt-A-Highway, Adopt-A-Park and Adopt-A-Spot programs, volunteers (schools, scouts, business, and community groups) assist the Town in its ongoing efforts to enhance the overall appearance of our communities and neighborhoods. Volunteers are active during the Spring, Summer and Fall seasons. During this time, “adopted” roadways are cleaned of litter and debris, “adopted” sites are maintained and beautified with perennial and annual flowers by professional landscapers and “adopted” parks and beaches are cleaned up by scores of scouts and school organizations.

The Town of Babylon established its Adopt-A-Highway Program in an effort to improve the quality of life in the Babylon community by keeping our roads and streets clean. Community organizations, businesses, or individuals who volunteer to participate in the Adopt-A-Highway program commit to collecting litter along a specific stretch of road in the town. The adopted road is maintained by the group for a minimum of two years. Cleanups are conducted at least four times per year. The adopted street is identified by a sign, which is installed by the Town, bearing the group name. The Town provides orange safety gear for participants, garbage bags, and other cleanup materials. The Town also picks up and disposes of the litter collected upon notification from the group.

Through the Town of Babylon Adopt-A-Park Program, residents of all ages can take an active role in caring for their community parks, beaches, and playgrounds. Schools, local businesses, community organizations, and scouting groups can work together to create cleaner, more attractive parks. Working with the Town of Babylon, their groups “adopt” a Town park by picking up litter and improving the appearance of our recreational areas. The Town provides garbage bags, rakes, brooms, shovels, and other equipment to the volunteers. The work by Adopt-A-Park volunteers helps change attitudes toward littering. In addition, many scouting groups earn community pride badges for their work. Town recreational areas are normally adopted for one day only. However, in some cases, Town parks have been permanently adopted. In exchange for this commitment, the Town erects a sign at the facility recognizing the adopting organization for their work in the community.

The Town of Babylon Adopt-A-Spot program was designed to help enhance the overall appearance of our Town. The program invites professional landscapers or community groups who want to beautify a Town-owned parcel of land to adopt that spot for a minimum of two years. Once a spot has been adopted a contract is signed between the Town and the adopting organization setting out the responsibilities of both parties. The organization agrees to maintain the spot on a regular basis, with a minimum maintenance schedule of four times a year. The Town donates annual flowers from its greenhouse, perennial bulbs, garbage bags, and gloves, as well as a sign advertising the adopting company or organization’s name and telephone number. Through cooperation and community effort the Adopt-A-Spot program helps transform unattractive sites into beautiful additions to our neighborhoods.

As part of an ongoing effort to improve the quality of life for Town residents, the Town is attempting to upgrade, enhance and beautify all Town-owned sumps. This is an ongoing process and resource-dependant. Therefore, it is not possible to provide a schedule of when improvements will be made to a specific sump location. The ultimate goal is to address all Town sumps by selecting them randomly in areas throughout the Town. Improvements include clean-ups, plantings and privacy fence treatments. Sumps owned by the State, County or surrounding villages, are not part of the Town's Sump Beautification Program. Many sumps are owned and maintained by other agencies including the State, County and Villages.