Fri. March 11, 2016
Washington, D.C.—The DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) hired 23 new maintenance ambassadors to begin work this month, displaying a further commitment to the decision to refocus the BID on its “clean and safe” core mission and to meet today’s growing demands in a successful Downtown.
“The BID is not only hiring more maintenance staff to keep pace with evening and weekend patrons in DowntownDC, but these employees will be deployed in a new way to offer more coverage and support for Downtown throughout the week to ensure cleaner streets and public spaces,” said BID Executive Director Neil O. Albert.
Work schedules have been adjusted for the new ambassadors to enable the BID to offer maintenance coverage from 6am-11pm seven days a week. This expanded deployment schedule will help the BID meet a growing demand for trash removal and maintenance services after business hours.
For this class of new hires, the BID worked with closely with city partners and job development programs to offer this opportunity to local members of underserved populations.
BID maintenance ambassadors work with city partners 362 days a year to bag and remove trash and recycling from DowntownDC, remove graffiti, clean sidewalks, maintain tree boxes, as well as engage in beautification efforts including painting street poles, hanging flower baskets and assisting with the care of select trees and public green spaces.
As part of their training period, the new ambassadors spent their first day in the field Feb. 29, learning about their new duties just in time for spring beautification efforts and to assist with upcoming events that draw an influx of visitors to Downtown, including the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
With the addition of the 23 new ambassadors, the BID will employ a total of 60 maintenance ambassadors and 37 safety/hospitality ambassadors. Approximately 70 percent of the BID’s current ambassadors are District residents.
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