Love Your Block and let it Shine

Want to start that community garden you've been dreaming of? Or paint that mural and plant that tree? Maybe build that bench or clean that blighted lot?

Last year, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed launched the 'Love Your Block' initiative and challenged city residents to develop and execute their own neighborhood beautification projects.

Twenty-seven individuals and civic groups answered the call to action, received their grants and contributed their time in helping beautify the city.

A new round of the Love Your Block program is underway as the city will be awarding $60,000 worth of neighborhood improvement grants over the next several months.

The $1,000 mini-grants are available to any resident or community organization to apply for, but applications must be completed by Jan.11, 2013.

Applications are available at www.IAMATLANTA.org

In unrelated grant news, the Neighborhood Planning Unit-E this month approved the applications of four NPU block grants from the city of Atlanta’s Office of Planning. Award decisions on the applications, which totaled $3,700, will be made on or before Jan. 15, 2013.

The applications are as follows:

1) Loring Heights. $1,240. Application is for concrete work to create a flume to channel water run-off into the Loring Heights pond previously fed by city water.

2) Brookwood Hills. Two applications totaling $1,227. The first application is for $500 and is for the placement of a trash can at the entrance into the neighborhood at the corner of Palisades Road and Peachtree. The second application is for $727 is for the trimming of trees located in the city right of way between the sidewalk and curb.

3) Midtown neighborhood. $1,233. The application is for the placement of trash cans in the Midtown neighborhood.