Former city official on a mission to clean up this town

Former Councilmember Joe Strzalka has focused on cleaning up litter in his neighborhood, and has a message for others to do their part.

By Alan Madlane
Maybe you’ve noticed that a street you’re walking, biking, driving down in Hamtramck looks a little bit tidier than the last time you saw it.
If so, it may just be due to the work of former city councilmember Joe Strzalka, of Jacob St., who has taken it upon himself to do some local trash pickup rounds.
Reminiscent of another recent environmentalist, the cagey and inscrutable “Plague Doctor” (who roamed the Pandemic-Era streets of the city dressed in a wild-looking plague doctor outfit), Strzalka’s efforts shall go unnoticed no more, as we herewith profile the good gentleman to see what brought him to this “here and now.”

The Review: Can you provide our readers with a short bit of background on yourself, and especially any connection(s) that you’ve had in the past with Hamtramck, other than serving on the city council (we’ll get to that in a moment)?

Strzalka: I bought my home in Hamtramck 30 years ago when going to night school at Wayne State. Like many people, I also have had a number of family members who have lived here over the last 100 years.
I’ve always loved the city, as it is both walkable and a place where you know your neighbors. I first got involved following the tornado of (19)97. Through my job at the Michigan Deptartment of Agriculture, I was able to bring together a wide range of experts to help start replanting the trees we lost.

The Review: Tell us about your time spent on the city council. What years did you serve? Who were some of your co-councilpersons from that time? What were one or two of the highlights of your tenure there?

Strzalka: I served from 2000 to 2003, when I had to resign due to getting hired by the U.S. State Department.
Those were difficult times as we flirted with bankruptcy. I, and others, were often threatened with physical violence but there were a lot of good people who banded together to get the city through a difficult time.
The two biggest highlights that still resonate today were: approving a housing plan that allowed the city to settle the housing discrimination lawsuit, and getting a charter commission elected who rewrote the city charter.
Those items were team efforts, and I had the good fortune of working with good people, including Phill Kwik, Chuck Cirgenski, Rob Cedar, Bernie Bator, and Chris Cornwell, amongst others. There were also, of course, dozens of other people working behind the scenes on the numerous boards and commissions who made these things happen.

The Review: Tell us a little bit about your time in the U. S. Foreign Service. What is that organization, and what do they do – and why do they do it? What years were you in?

Strzalka: I worked for the U.S. State Department from 2003 through 2022. The U.S. Department of State leads America’s foreign policy, through diplomacy, advocacy and assistance, and by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity.
Like most diplomats, I had a number of different jobs including consular affairs. Being a diplomat overseas, you have to be prepared for anything. I like to joke that I did everything from cleaning bathrooms during Covid, to negotiating with drunken foreign adversaries who totaled our armored car, to representing the U.S. at formal state dinners.
Most of my career, however, was spent in the management section where I managed up to 100 people, overseeing finances, general services, customs, shipping, human resources and facilities. I worked in countries as diverse as Guatemala, Lithuania, Congo, Turkmenistan and Mexico.
I also worked a couple of years in Washington D.C., where I assisted our embassies in Africa and had a lead role in setting up our diplomatic presence in Somalia. I experienced earthquakes, attempted coups, a couple of armed robberies and constant surveillance.
The people I met, though, made it all worthwhile, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world. It was a difficult decision to retire but I realized, at some point, that I needed to return home and be close to family while I was still relatively healthy.
If I were 20 years younger, I’d still be overseas.

The Review: How did it come about that you started to pick up trash around the city? Also: it’s a never-ending job; what keeps you doing it? Seems like it would just get frustrating after a while.

Strzalka: Litter is something that clearly needs to be addressed, not only in Hamtramck but worldwide.
The reasons I’m concentrating on litter are quite varied. First, this was probably the best way for me to reconnect to the community, and meet neighbors.
I’ve noticed that, with the rise of computers, there’s a trend where people confuse opining, posting and emailing with actual work. People seem to have opinions about everything from international affairs to tax policy, but can’t be bothered to pick up a gum wrapper.
Lastly, is my firm belief that we are only one or two events away from an ecological catastrophe, and we, as humans, need to take care of our environment.
I view picking up trash as a form of street art, to bring it all together. A way to make connections, and poke fun at those who spend their day opining but not solving anything, all while helping the environment.
Having a clean street doesn’t take a think tank, endless meetings, or million-dollar grants. All it takes is a person putting the trash in the trash can. So simple a child could do it, yet few do.

The Review: Did you find any interesting differences in northend vs. southend garbage, or west side vs. east side, or etc.

Strzalka: I can’t comment on different areas of town, as I concentrate on my block of Jacob as well as (Jos.) Campau between Holbrook and Goodson, and Gallagher between Keyworth and Holbrook.
I’ve found it’s best to concentrate on one area and do that well; keep it clean and demonstrate to others what can be done. I have noticed differences based on the time of day. Kids, in the daytime, tend to drop water bottles, candy wrappers and chip bags. Adults coming home after work are the source of fast-food wrappers, cigarettes and coffee cups.
I should emphasize that most people try, and about 20 percent of the households create over 80 percent of the problems. That said, on any given day I can predict with surprising accuracy which car is going to empty their cigarette butts onto the street, who buys their bottled water from Costco, and who works in Warren based on the variety of fast food they eat.
I have a good idea who discards their green beer bottles every weekend on Hanley, who is not to be confused with the person who drinks a bottle of tequila every Saturday and leaves it on the sidewalk.
I also know who on Gallagher regularly tosses a condom on the street and then smokes a Marlboro light. Most would guess the owner of the sports car, but they’d be wrong.

The Review: Any interesting tales that have happened while you’ve been out on these litter missions? Seen anything interesting happen?

Strzalka: There are the usual car accidents, running of red lights, crashing into buildings, all stuff that belongs in the meme “You know you’re from Hamtramck when …”
The most interesting (thing), though, is the varied people who take time to talk and help when they can. Everyone from the Polish grandmother who loves her garden, to the Yemeni on his way to prayer; from the Ukrainian refugee practicing English, to the Bengali returning home after a 12-hour night shift, to the homeless man who makes a bed out of discarded cardboard.
Everyone has a story to tell, and we’re fortunate to live in a community where it’s possible to meet so many diverse people and share those stories.

The Review: Have you heard from the city, either positively or negatively, about your efforts? For example, has anyone said to stop because you’re taking away work

Strzalka: I’ve only heard positive things from the city, from the manager on down. I’ve noticed that they take our neighborhood more seriously as they see that people care.
When I go to city hall with a problem bigger than I can handle, the response has always been all positive.

The Review: Are there some places or situations that are more difficult to do this in? For example, the city sewer grates, which are known to get backed up and then, presumably, kind of nasty with wet, sodden refuse.

Strzalka: Sewer grates are actually easiest, as, after a heavy rain, the trash in concentrated in one spot. The downside is, half of it has already washed into the sewer, plugging it up or emptying into the lake.
The most difficult (situations) actually are the intersections, the worst being next to commercial buildings off of (Jos.) Campau. People love to park there, eat, drink and party, leaving the mess for someone else to clean up.
Cigarette butts outside of stores and bars are a big problem, which one would think could be solved by a simple ash tray.
Then, there are the ubiquitous discarded water bottles. Those bottles can last up to 450 years in the environment. It’s hard for me to understand why people toss them on the street, (while) knowing that future generations will be dealing with them for the next 450 years.

The Review: Is there a point where you draw the line? Are you equipped to handle, say, stray “dog leavings”?

Strzalka: I try to limit myself to man-made objects, such as plastics, cigarettes, and glass. I’ll get the occasional dead animal or dog droppings but those are rare.
I had to (set) limits, and draw the line at certain streets to limit myself to no more than two hours a day.

The Review: Do you ever see a perfectly clean Hamtramck of the future? What could help move us toward that lofty goal?

Strzalka: Definitely.
I think there already is movement toward that goal. There are many people who already dedicate themselves to having a clean city, and their hard work is everywhere to be seen. It’s just a matter of enough good people stepping up.

The Review: Any advice for the citizenry? Any urge to call for backup to help with the mission?

Strzalka: Start with your (own) house. Do what you can. Pick a corner, and try to work your way there, concentrating on the intersections where trash tends to accumulate.
Do it every day. Find satisfaction in the small victories, and don’t let the defeats discourage you from doing the right thing.

The Review: What about outside-the-box trash? Could you consider dealing with trash novels? Trash television? Trashy people, or their trashy clothes?

Strzalka: What’s one man’s trash is another one’s treasure, and I’ve lived in enough places to know that taste is just a point of view. Roasted caterpillars are a delicacy in Congo and carpeted car seats are a sign of wealth in central Asia.
The one thing that most can agree on, however, is litter belongs in the trash can — so put it there.

The Review: Feel free to close with your own personal flourish – add anything you want to that we didn’t already cover.

Strzalka: Hamtramck is a great place, with a lot of great people.
Hopefully, we can all continue working together to not only preserve what we have, but make it even better.
Posted July 26, 2024