Friends, 

The District J office, in partnership with the Houston Police Department, Solid Waste Department, and Southwest Management District, gathered with volunteers for a clean-up event along the Bissonnet Corridor in an effort to combat illegal dumping in the area. This event was part of the mayor’s One Clean Houston and One Safe Houston initiatives and a continuation of direct efforts to improve the Bissonnet neighborhood.  

Nearly 100 people were on hand to pick up litter, mattresses and other illegally dumped furniture left along the side of the road. Volunteers included local residents, business owners, city leaders, educators and most of all, students from Alief ISD. Working together, we were able to tackle four large areas and eliminate discarded trash. Our hope is that as we continue working to make this neighborhood safer and cleaner, everyone will join in and do their part. Together, we can make these changes permanent.

In addition to this latest effort, several other initiatives have gone into effect over the last couple of years to help decrease the Bissonnet area of prostitution and sex trafficking including new laws, road blockages, and arrests of solicitors. The feedback we have received from residents and business owners has been very positive, and we look forward to implementing more creative ideas to help improve the quality of life in the area.

These victories would not be possible without the hard work of many people and agencies, especially Mayor Sylvester Turner, HPD Chief Troy Finner, and the Houston Police Department. I’d also like to thank Commander Reece Hardy, Lt., Lee Donovan and Lt. Jonathan Lui of HPD; Director Mark C. Wilfalk of the Solid Waste Department, along with Desmine Allen and Elizabeth Rodriguez, also from Solid Waste; Southwest Management District; METRO; Alief ISD Superintendent Dr. Anthony Mays, and the District J staff.

Together we will!  

Edward Pollard