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The Coram, Middle Island, and Gordon Heights communities are taking spring cleaning to a whole new level this weekend.
The corner of Route 25 and Route 112 in Coram is a major hub for Suffolk County transportation but home to a bus stop that has been blighted for some time.
Panhandling, drug dealing, crime, and other issues are growing around this specific bus stop, CBS News reports, and local volunteers feel it is time for a change.
Three civic groups — the Middle Island Civic Association, the Gordon Heights Civic Association, and the Coram Civic Association — are joining forces on April 2 in a community-wide clean-up as part of their new initiative, “Taking Back Route 25.”
“Route 25 connects us all and all of us are vested in making things better for our communities because we have overlapping problems that impact us all,” said James Freeman, president of the Gordon Heights Civic Association.
Several other groups are also sponsoring the event including the Gordon Heights Chamber of Commerce, Suffolk PBA Legislator Dominick Thorne, Councilman Mike Loguerico, the Coram, Gordon Heights and Middle Island Fire Departments and others.
Volunteers will meet around 9:30 a.m. at the Coram Home Depot Parking Lot (346 Middle Country Rd).
Freeman told CBS News the plan is to start the mass cleanup at Middle Country Road and Route 112 and head east.
The Gordon Heights Civic Association’s overall mission this year is “rebuilding both intellectually and financially,” which includes making improvements to the community’s parks, transportation, living conditions and more.
“All of us have an obligation as human beings to help the people that need it most as best we can,” Freeman said.
Want to help?
If you are interested in learning more about the revitalization of Coram email chrisl.brown@suffolkcountyny.gov.
Top: The bus stop at the corner of Route 25 and Route 112. Photo by Nick Esposito.
