NEWHALL RENEWAL; CLEANUP DRIVE PUTS DENT IN COMMUNITY'S JUNKED WASHERS, SOFAS.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

Public works crews canvassed a 12-block area Wednesday, picking up discarded couches, appliances and trash in a beautification campaign aimed at the neighborhood between San Fernando Road and Newhall Creek.

The five-hour cleanup was prompted by a May 21 meeting among local residents, business owners and city officials. At that forum, residents expressed concerns about oversize items like sofas, refrigerators and washing machines being left along alleys and roads, said Paul Zaengle, a management analyst for the city Department of Public Works.

Crews focused Wednesday on the area bordered by Railroad Avenue, and Market, Race and Park streets.

``We ended up getting two large truckloads of trash. We probably picked up six sofas,'' Zaengle said. ``It looks really nice down there.''

Crews hauling away debris often were met by grateful residents, Zaengle said.

``We realize this isn't a long-term solution,'' Zaengle said. ``But one of the focuses (of the cleanup effort) is for people to take more pride in the community,'' he said.

Larry Bird, a member of the Newhall Redevelopment Committee, owns a 34-unit apartment building on Walnut Avenue and, having spent 19 years in the neighborhood, knows its problems well.

``We're concerned about the trash accumulation in the alleys and streets and around the neighborhoods,'' Bird said. Sometimes items like sofas and appliances are left curbside because residents don't realize they can call the trash collection company to pick them up, or they don't have the means to dump the item at the landfill themselves, he said.

The neighborhood has a large number of apartment buildings and duplexes but not always enough Dumpsters to accommodate the demand, Bird added.

``That's been one of the complaints of the residents in the area that their landlords don't supply them with adequate trash facilities,'' he said.

``There also is a large concentration of trash on the street because of the street vendors,'' Bird said. ``We have licensed street vendors who sell ice cream and Popsicles to the kids after school. We're inundated with ice cream and Popsicle wrappers up and down Newhall Avenue.''

Residents can call Blue Barrel Disposal, the trash collection company that serves Newhall, to have an oversize item hauled away, said Karl McCarthy, district manager for the firm.

Homeowners and renters alike are charged $25 per item for bulky-item pickup service, McCarthy said. To make a request, residents can call Blue Barrel at [phone] the day before their weekly trash collection day.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) Santa Clarita Public Works employees Ed Ostroski, front, and John Enriquez load a bulldozer.

(2--color) Walter Ruano with the Public Works job skills program hauls a bag of trash Wednesday through the streets of east Newhall.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News