It’s a job that’s never “done” for long. But that doesn’t stop William Vega’s team from sprucing up the streets in Williamsburg. 

“Just having your sidewalk look clean means that somebody cares about your neighborhood,” he said as he took litter off the ground.

Each week, Vega and his band of volunteers break out their garbage bags and grabbers. 

He first started improving his community by planting and tending to the nearby Cooper Park six years ago.

“I got tired of seeing the trash in front of my house and started looking at it as being like… if I had a house in suburbia, that’s my front yard, lawn and so we started picking up,” Vega said.

So he used his Cooper Park equipment to clean it up and then continued to cover more ground. His neighbors joined in, too.

“It’s been gratifying to help neighbors connecting with each other,” he said.

That’s something with which Vega is familiar.

The retired small business advocate linked isolated seniors with others to pick up their medications. He helped young people find mental health services. 

“I made an effort to make sure they connected to their neighbors on their left and right and then little by little, people started sticking their heads up from their windows and saying ‘Hi,’” Vega said. 

Vega also advocates for more cleaning services at his park.

While Vega has done a lot of good, he’s made some troubling discoveries: glass bottles, drug syringes and young New Yorkers who have needed to be resuscitated.

“I’ve done that seven times,” Vega recalled. “My neighbors: we’ve done that like 24 times.”

And even when it gets tough or dirty, Vega remembers the advice learned as a child.

“My father taught me a long time ago in Central Park. Always leave it better, cleaner than when you found it,” he said.

For helping to make his neighborhood better, William Vega is our New Yorker of the Week.