City of Philadelphia Launches Fall Citywide Cleaning Program Progress Report

Philadelphia - On Friday, November 6, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker joined City Officials and departments in launching the fall edition of the 2026 One Philly, A United City Citywide Cleaning Program. Now in its third year, the program continues to build on significant progress, delivering more than 585,000 quality-of-life services citywide -and advancing Mayor Parker's vision to make Philadelphia the safest, cleanest, and greenest big city in America with access to economic opportunity for all.

The goal of the program is to clean every neighborhood in the City of Philadelphia over a 13-week period from November 2, 2026, through January 29, 2027. The Managing Director's Office, in collaboration with various city departments along with quasi-governmental agencies and nonprofits, employs a proactive and holistic strategy to address the many chronic quality of life issues related to litter, illegal dumping, graffiti, abandoned vehicles, vacant lots, rodent control, potholes and nuisance properties enforcement.

"This is the sixth iteration of the Citywide Cleaning Program," said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. "I'm proud to say since the One Philly, A United City Citywide Cleaning Program began, crews have cleaned 208,395 blocks. I have said nothing will waver me from my mission to deliver a government residents can see, touch, and feel. We will continue taking action on the leading concerns and quality-of-life priorities for residents including cleaner blocks, greener neighborhoods, rat abatement, and pothole repairs."

Progress on Delivering Services

The One Philly, United City Citywide Cleaning Program is now a standard, twice-yearly citywide operation, ensuring that every neighborhood receives comprehensive cleaning services through a coordinated, intergovernmental approach. Every block in the city receives cleaning at least twice a year, spring and fall. And with the Residential Cleaning teams established in each Council District each block receives an additional four cleanings a year for a total of six times a year. 

"Under Mayor Parker's leadership, this massive effort to address multiple quality of life issues has had a positive impact on neighborhoods across the city," saidCarlton Williams, Managing Director. "Multiple departments and supporting agencies touch every neighborhood of the city providing tangible results for all residents."

To date, since the program started in 2024:

Litter Index

• The average citywide litter index measured through the District Residential Cleaning Teams assigning a score from 1-4 on every block they clean declined from 1.23 in 2024 to 1.1 in 2025, an 11% improvement.  
• Overall litter tonnage has decreased by 50 % citywide since the first clean up in 2024. 
• TCB measures the litter index on commercial corridors specifically, which are highly trafficked areas that experience challenging litter conditions. In 2025, the average Litter Index on commercial corridors served by TCB was 1.48. 92% of TCB areas have a Litter Index between 1 and 2, up from 82% of all areas in 2024. 

 Illegal Dumping

• In 2026, the Sanitation Department collected 6,648 tons of material, compared to 9,873 from this time last year. Year-over-year, that represents a 33% decrease. It shows that our cleaning and enhanced enforcement efforts are working. 
• In 2026, 59 Notice of Violations have been filed garnering $1.6 million in fines/judgements obtained as a result of the City's Illegal Dumping Taskforce.

311 Complaints

• From 2024 to 2025, graffiti requests to 311 decreased by 15% and declined in 2026 YTD. 
• From 2024 to 2025, abandoned automobile requests decreased by 10% and declined in 2026 YTD. 
• 311 illegal dumping complaints in areas receiving twice-weekly trash collections have dropped in their first year of implementation. 
• South Philly saw a 12% drop in illegal dumping complaints in 2025 compared to 2024.
• North Philly saw a 13% drop in illegal dumping complaints in 2026 YTD compared to 2025 over the same time period.

Introducing the Road Warriors

During the event, Mayor Parker announced the City's new initiative as part of the Citywide Cleaning Program. The Road Warriors Pothole Squad will be the frontline defense for our city's streets by proactively tackling, targeting, and repairing potholes quickly to keep drivers safe and traffic moving. The teams will proactively repair street defects identified as potholes within two days. The normal repair turnaround is typically three days. Having dedicated teams focused just on repairing potholes allows for a speedier repair of a two-day response.

"I'm so excited to finally have dedicated Road Warrior Pothole Squads working across Philadelphia," said Streets Commissioner Kristin Del Rossi. "This is a unique opportunity for our new employees to have firsthand, on the job, training by our skilled Highway Division staff."

The new Road Warriors will consist of six teams (22 positions) dedicated to repairing potholes across the city. The program will operate Monday through Friday, 8am - 4pm excluding City-observed holidays. Pothole requests submitted after 4pm will be processed the next business day. Crews do not work on the weekends. 

Beginning Monday, November 9 pothole requests can be submitted to roadwarriorspotholesquad.org. Potholes that are repaired will be tracked and populated on a data-driven map where residents will be able to view the number of potholes filled and the location where it was serviced. 

Streets Commissioner Del Rossi pointed out that not all street defects are potholes. Only street defects identified as a pothole will be treated by Road Warriors. Street defects like cave ins, ditches and asphalt adjustments require coordination with other agencies and extended time to make repairs. These cannot be serviced within 48 hours. 

Rat Abatement Manager

Mayor Parker also introduced the City's first-ever Rat Abatement Manager, Adrian Jordan. 

Adrian will lead a comprehensive 'One Philly' response to address and manage an interconnected series of ongoing community and quality-of-life issues that attract rats to Philadelphia residential neighborhoods and commercial areas. He will oversee and mobilize rat abatement efforts across the city, strategically coordinating with leaders and mobilizing resources across six city departments including Public Health, Streets, Sanitation, CLIP, L&I Quality of Life, and the Water Department to ensure that emerging and existing issues with rats are prioritized and addressed promptly.  

"I am honored to be given the opportunity to support the residents and help make Philadelphia the cleanest, greenest, and safest big city in America," said Adrian Jordan, Rat Abatement Manager, Philadelphia Department of Public Health. "I've worked to fight rats in Philadelphia for more than twenty years, and I am looking forward to being able to work directly with colleagues from departments across the City to ensure that we are properly prioritizing this."

Full-Service Cleaning Plan

The Citywide Cleaning Program is supported by more than a dozen City departments and partner organizations, including:

• Office of the Mayor
• Managing Director Office
• Office of Clean and Green Initiatives
• Department of Sanitation Department
• Community Life Improvement Program (CLIP)
• Department of Commerce - Taking Care of Business (TCB)
• Philadelphia Police Department - Neighborhood Services Unit
• Philadelphia Parks & Recreation
• Philadelphia Water Department
• Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA)
• Department of Licenses and Inspections
• Department of Streets
• Department of Health
• SEPTA
• School District of Philadelphia
• Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

Tracking Progress and Results

Each participating agency will track and report service delivery to ensure transparency and accountability. Program data and results will be publicly available at officeofcleanandgreen.org, allowing residents to monitor progress in their communities.

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