phillip

WELCOMING FACES, FRIENDLY PLACES

Milwaukee’s walking concierges. Downtown’s spirit squad. Information gurus. Our Public Service Ambassadors (PSAs) go by many names. What remains consistent is their unwavering dedication to keep downtown Milwaukee clean, safe and friendly. From locating missing children to assisting disabled motorists, the PSAs serve as an extra set of eyes and ears for Milwaukee’s police and fire departments—making BID #21 one of the safest districts in the city and one of the safest downtown’s in the country.

Weather permitting, Milwaukee Downtown also employs a PSA bike patrol to heighten visibility. On top of contributing to safety, this amiable crew is on the front lines welcoming visitors on a daily basis. Need suggestions on things to do? How about where to stay or where to dine? Just track down a PSA. Equipped with informational brochures and a world of downtown knowledge, the PSAs always have a pulse on what’s happening.

If you walk around Rosslyn, you are likely to see Rosslyn’s Ambassadors in their familiar purple sweatshirts, jackets, and hats. Their mission is to keep Rosslyn’s streets clean, give directions, offer restaurant suggestions, and even call a tow truck if a person’s car breaks down. They removal litter, weeds and graffiti. They also set up, provide hospitality services and tear down for many special events in the district. A Safety Ambassador element was added to the program to enhance the awareness of the organizations services throughout the district as well as support events and other programming.

Meet the Team! 

Public Service and Hospitality

An important area of focus for the DID is working to ensure that Downtown is a safe and inviting environment for those who work here, those who live here and those who visit to dine, shop or be entertained. Uniformed and highly trained Public Service Ambassadors are charged specifically with the responsibility of achieving these objectives. Their list of services, programs and communications is varied.

Public Service Ambassadors

• Concierge assistance
• “Eyes and Ears” for local law enforcement
• Foot patrols
• F.R.E.D. – Free Ride Every Day
• Monthly inventory of inoperable street lights
• Community Services Board Resource Guide
• Referrals to human service programs
• Security alert system
• Safety escorts
• Security training programs for business
• Special event support
• Trespass enforcement
• Norfolk Cares – an opportunity for you to help
• Visitor Information bicycle kiosk

District Support Certification:

• VDOT Work Zone certification for Street Closures

DNC Ambassadors are on patrol Monday-Thursday, 5am-9pm; Friday and Saturday, 5am-11:30pm; and Sunday 7:00am-3:00pm.

The Operations team works to ensure that Downtown is one of the cleanest and safest neighborhoods in the city. Together, Operations and the Houston Police Department work to ensure public safety, while also addressing homelessness. The District provides the cleaning and care of Downtown’s sidewalks and streetscapes, removing over 2,000 tons of litter in 2019, and addresses the improvement of Downtown’s quality of place by collaborating in the creation of a number of ordinances and regulations.

• The District collaborates in the creation of a number of ordinances and regulations addressing the improvement of Downtown’s quality of place.
• The District collaborates in significant changes related to coordinated housing and services for the homeless with a 54% reduction in homeless from 2011 to 2020 based on the annual Point in Time count.

The Downtown Ambassador Program is the hospitality service team provided by the Downtown Public Improvement District (PID). The Ambassadors are circulating throughout downtown in their vibrant green pick up, on foot, on bicycles, and on Segways assisting visitors, creating a friendly and welcoming environment, and adding extra eyes and ears on the street.

Downtown Ambassadors Hours: 
Sunday – Saturday 7 am – 12 am.

Contact:
Ambassador@dfwi.org
On Duty Supervisor 817-484-3723

The Downtown Ambassador Team provides the following services:

• Hospitality Services
• Directions
• Safety Escorts
• Coordination with Clean Team
• Coordination with Security Providers
• Homelessness Outreach
• Referrals to Social Services

The Downtown Ambassador Team expanded to include an Outreach Coordinator in early 2020.The Outreach Coordinator joined the team to focus on building relationships with homeless individuals to provide strategic case-level management directing them to needed services.

Outreach Coordinator Contact:
682-218-8156

Program managed by Block by Block. Block by Block operates programs in over 100 districts nationwide, including seven districts in Texas.

All ways clean. All ways safe.

Since 1999, Centro has provided cleaning + hospitality services for the Public Improvement District (PID) in Downtown San Antonio. Our Ambassador team works 7 days a week, 365 days a year to create the cleanest and safest downtown in the US. As the organization and PID have grown, additional services have been added, increasing the beauty, cleanliness, safety, and prosperity of downtown.

Over the past ten years, the PID Ambassador team has grown from 54 to 92. Additional services including the Quality-of-Life Team, disinfecting high touch infrastructure, power washing pavement and bus stops, street vacuums, bird abatement, and landscaping have been added.

The Downtown Clean & Safe Team

Keeping downtown Nashville clean and safe for employees, residents and visitors is the primary focus of our Ambassadors.

Carrying out services that supplement those of the Metro government, this team improves the appearance of downtown streets and sidewalks, elevates the sense of security, and helps create an attractive and welcoming downtown environment.

On foot or Segways, the safety ambassadors keep an eye out for situations requiring police or emergency services and quickly communicate with the appropriate dispatchers.

HOURS OF SERVICE

• Clean Team:
  • 5:00 am – 10:30 pm daily in the central district
  • 6:30 am – 3:30 pm daily in The Gulch district
• Safety Ambassadors:
  • 6:00 am – 10:30 pm daily in the CBID & GBID

To report cleanliness or safety issues or request services from the Downtown Ambassadors, please contact our Clean & Safe Office:

P: (615) 242-9909

Clean & Safe Streets

Litter, graffiti, and crime – or the perception of crime –  deters pedestrian activity, economic vibrancy, and investments. This is why MMDC and its partners prioritize keeping the District clean and safe for every worker, resident, and visitor.  MMDC deploys a range of tactics including our Ambassador Team; coordination with existing security and law enforcement agencies; graffiti and litter removal; and landscape enhancements to make sure the District is safe and inviting for everyone.

MMDC’s Ambassador Program

The 10 Memphis Medical District Ambassadors focus on keeping the District clean and inviting.  They are approachable and welcoming for visitors, employees, students and residents.  Ambassadors can help with directions or offer suggestions for places to eat and visit in the District.  They also ensure that the District is free of weeds, litter, and graffiti.

The highly visible, trained, and friendly Myrtle Beach Gold Cap Ambassadors are part of a cooperative effort to enhance and promote Downtown Myrtle Beach as a unique, authentic, and vibrant downtown experience. Our ambassadors provide guests with information and directions to area businesses and attractions, have the ability to communicate with the Myrtle Beach Police Department, and facilitate area improvements through communication and contacts.

All of our Gold Cap Ambassadors are radio equipped and can be dispatched for a variety of services. They patrol throughout the 40-block Downtown Area and are easy to spot with their gold shirts adorned with the MBDA logo and their warm, welcoming smiles.

Importantly, Gold Caps provide supplemental cleaning and hospitality services intended to complement rather than supplant regular maintenance services provided by the City of Myrtle Beach.

So who are those knowledgeable, helpful folks in the yellow shirts riding and walking around downtown Columbia? They’re the Main Street District’s Clean and Safe Ambassadors, but many people just know them as the “Yellow Shirt Ambassadors.”

Many folks have seen them at big events like Soda City Market or one of our many festivals, but the ambassadors’ visibility is much larger. They operate seven days a week from 7 AM to 11:30 PM and cover the Main Street District jurisdiction (36-block area bound by Assembly, Marion, Gervais and Elmwood), plus both sides of Elmwood Avenue from Bull Street to Lincoln Street.

The Yellow Shirt Ambassadors have been operating within the Main Street District since 2002, providing cleaning services and public safety information. From removing litter and graffiti to maintaining contact with businesses and residents, and even shuttling people to their destination, the Yellow Shirt Ambassadors are here to help. They also remain in contact with CPD when needed.

To get in touch with the Yellow Shirt Ambassadors, call their customer service line at 803-587-7831, or find them in their bright yellow shirts along the street.

Since 2005, the Providence Downtown Improvement District (DID) has had a visible presence downtown, working side-by-side with community partners.

Clean Streets for Everyone

The DID Clean Team is on litter patrol every day! You’ll find team members wearing bright yellow uniforms, sweeping the sidewalks and collecting trash throughout the downtown district. They collect an average of nearly 50,000 lbs. of trash each month!

Clean Team members also powerwash sidewalks, remove stickers from street signs and poles, and do touch-up painting of street furniture. In the summer months they do graffiti removal, and in the winter they shovel snow from sidewalk curb cuts. Keeping downtown clean and attractive is a top priority.

The Sports Complex Special Services District, or SCSSD for short, is non-profit corporation that serves approximately 9,000 residents living in 4,100 households surrounding the Sports Complex venues in South Philadelphia. SCSSD is engaged in a mission to: protect community interests, improve neighborhood quality of life and promote efficient operation of adjacent sports venues.

Block by Block is responsible for the daily management and staffing of the Clean and Outreach Team. The staff is comprised of two Street Team Ambassadors and 21 Clean Team Ambassadors. The Clean Team Ambassadors are responsible for creating a clean and presentable environment in Downtown Pittsburgh that serves the residential and professional communities, while also creating an inviting and welcoming atmosphere for those seeking a family-friendly fun time. Clean Team Ambassadors are responsible for keeping downtown free of litter, weeds, and graffiti as well as carrying out tasks that improve the long-term appearance in downtown. The Street Team Ambassadors aid in the safety of those who live, work and play in Downtown Pittsburgh. Their primary responsibility is directly engaging the unhoused and unsheltered population to provide available resources to assist them in improving the quality of their lives and restoring the quality of their standard of living that should be afforded to us all.

The Golden Triangle Ambassadors are the hospitality arm of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

The Oakland Business Improvement District contracts Block By Block, a nationally recognized maintenance contractor, to provide sidewalk cleaning services for the District. A crew of ambassadors works seven days per week to ensure that the commercial corridor – over 4 miles of sidewalks – remains free of litter and debris. We remove more than 5 tons of trash, 220,000 cigarette butts, and over 2,000 pizza boxes annually!

Since the inception of the program in Spring 2008, thanks in large part to private contributions, the Ambassadors have provided assistance to business owners, residents and visitors by helping to improve the cleanliness and safety of the downtown. Administered by Block-by-Block, they work hard to make Easton a welcoming destination and improve the quality of life for existing businesses and residents. They can be seen in any weather, from early morning until late at night, sprucing up, removing graffiti, providing directional assistance, planting and watering, mulching, or shoveling snow in winter. They play a crucial role in the future economic development of Easton’s downtown.

DCP’s Downtown Ambassador Team provides on-street services throughout the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Improvement District. Five days a week, our three-person team removes trash, graffiti, and stickers; maintains pet waste stations; removes snow and ice from sidewalk ramps, maintains more than 186 seasonal hanging flower baskets and a dozen large self-watering sidewalk planters, and provides directions and assistance to visitors.

Look for their signature gold and blue uniforms and come say hello to the SouthSide Ambassadors. Here in South Bethlehem, our Ambassadors pick up litter, remove graffiti, empty trash receptacles and remove weeds to keep the downtown clean. Safety patrols work directly with the local police to serve as a highly visible presence throughout strategic areas of the district. All of our SouthSide Ambassadors provide energetic and personal hospitality to visitors with friendly greetings, directions, recommendations and assistance.

The Ambassadors program is administered by BEDCO, managed by Block by Block, and launched in partnership with Lehigh University in 2014.  Lehigh University provides most of the funding for the program and other funders include CADCB, Northampton County, and Sycamore Hill Farm Development.

In Northwest Ohio’s premier shopping destination, Block by Block maintains the common areas and provides a safety and hospitality patrol.

The Downtown Toledo Ambassadors are a service of ConnecToledo, Downtown Development Corporation and the Downtown Toledo Improvement District.  They work 7 days a week and help keep the public spaces clean and orderly; provide hospitality services such as directions, flat tire changes and event management; and work with property owners/businesses/Toledo Police on safety issues.  They’re here to serve you… always with a smile!

The Downtown Ambassadors are on the streets year-round, making your downtown a cleaner and safer place to be. The ambassadors are easy to spot, wearing bright “safety green” shirts in warm weather and bright blue jackets in inclement weather.

Ambassador duties include picking up litter, power-washing sidewalks and removing graffiti. They also patrol on bicycles and on foot, serving as extra eyes and ears for the Dayton Police Department. Most importantly, they serve as goodwill ambassadors providing assistance to downtown visitors, workers and residents.

If you have comments about the ambassador program you would like to share, please contact us. If you need to contact the ambassadors directly, they can be reached at (937) 224-4DDP.

Downtown Cleveland, Inc. is focused on maintaining an environment of wellbeing for everyone in the Downtown Cleveland area including residents, visitors, employees, and disadvantaged individuals. We accomplish this mission through our team of dedicated clean and safe ambassadors.  Ambassadors can be spotted in bright blue and yellow uniforms walking and biking throughout downtown enhancing the pedestrian experience through a variety of services.

We deploy ambassadors for over 110,000 hours annually to ensure the pedestrian experience in the city’s core is clean, safe, and welcoming for everyone.

Our Clean and Safe Team is constantly improving the Downtown area by disposing of litter, sanitizing public touch points, removing graffiti, providing safety escorts, offering motor vehicle assistance, increasing uniformed visibility, and ensuring the welfare of the unsheltered population. While we believe there is no single fix for the complex issues surrounding homelessness and mental health, our goal is to address the problem in a comprehensive manner through various initiatives.

A team of ambassadors works seven days a week to ensure a clean, safe and welcoming environment by providing safety escorts and other services to make downtown enjoyable for everyone. The ambassador program began in 2009 as a way to further Downtown Akron Partnership’s mission.

Ambassador hours of operation—now seven days a week through support from Akron Civic Commons

For ambassador services or to report a problem, call the on-duty ambassador during hours of operation at 330-706-7383. Monday – Saturday: 7 a.m. – 11 p.m. | Sunday: 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Ambassadors will be available for limited services on December 24 and December 31: Expect a slight delay if calling for vehicle lockout or jumpstart. Ambassadors will not be available on December 25 and January 1.

For non-emergency issues outside of ambassador operating hours, use the Akron Police Department’s non-emergency numbers, 330-375-2181 or 330-375-2101. For any emergency at any time, call 911.

Safety Ambassadors

• Provide escorts to and from businesses and parking locations
• Report on potential and actual emergencies
• Work with street-level businesses to address security/safety concerns
• Work to connect people in need of assistance to available service agencies

Cleaning Ambassadors

• Provide cleaning services to downtown sidewalks
• Remove litter and graffiti
• Identify and complete special projects
• Maintain downtown planters and hanging baskets

All Ambassadors

• Provide information and directions to visitors
• Perform walking and biking patrols throughout the service area
• Jump car batteries and unlock car doors for stranded motorists

Downtown Fargo Ambassadors work to improve, promote, and enhance the overall attractiveness and downtown appeal by providing hospitality, safety, and maintenance services for Downtown Fargo’s Business Improvement District (BID). A few specific duties include: litter control, weed abatement, graffiti removal, visibility and presence patrols, personal safety escorts, homeless outreach, and providing general hospitality services for all visitors, workers, business owners, and residents of Downtown Fargo. The BID program is the first of its kind in North Dakota; its primary goal is to make Downtown Fargo the “Coolest Place on Earth!”

The primary mission of the Clean and Safe Program is to ensure Hillsborough Street remains a safe, clean, welcoming and attractive environment for everyone who visits our community.

The Hillsborough Street Ambassadors walk the street seven days a week and during special events to engage and assist visitors, keep the street clean, and keep an eye out for safety issues. With their tan pants and bright red shirts reading “AMBASSADOR” across the back they are easy to recognize. Our Ambassadors assist visitors with directions, parking and mass transit information, restaurant information, emergency assistance and generally are a welcoming greeter to everyone visiting our street. Feel free to approach them with your questions and they will be more than happy to assist.

Our Ambassadors are always looking for things that need to be fixed, such as broken trash cans, damaged or missing signs, burned out street lights or missing bricks or pedestrian hazards. The Ambassadors do minor repairs themselves and other times we contract for the repairs from professionals. Ambassadors use “See Click Fix” to report major issues to the City of Raleigh for repair and maintenance. The Ambassadors job is to help us maintain the investment value of the street.

Ambassador Program

Downtown Ambassadors offer a range of services to the community, including business owners, residents, and visitors within the boundaries of the MSD. Our services include:

• Graffiti Removal
• Pressure Washing
• Litter Removal
• Biohazard Removal
• Safety Escorts
• Hospitality Assistance
• Business Contacts
• Street Light Outage Reporting
• Street Outreach – Connecting the Unhoused to Services

The Center City Ambassadors serve as the front line of service continuing to engage our diverse stakeholders ranging from business owners to visitors to individuals in crisis.

It is our goal that Center City is a welcoming, safe and highly serviced place for our residents, employees and guests. The Ambassador Program is part of achieving that goal. Ambassadors act as facilitators, expeditors and multipliers, connecting those in need with the specialists who can help.

The Center City Ambassador program focuses on three major areas. The first is creating an atmosphere of safety by serving as an extra pair of eyes and ears through our collaboration with CMPD. Next, they provide a high degree of hospitality by assisting Uptown workers, visitors and business owners. And finally, they conduct outreach to our homeless neighbors and individuals in crisis by connecting them with social services.

Look for the Ambassadors throughout Center City, easily identifiable in their bright orange uniforms, stop by the Ambassador info cart when it’s deployed in Uptown, or visit their street-level offices at 201 S. Tryon St.

Three Block by Block Ambassadors work seven days a week to help keep this mixed use dynamic neighborhood in the center of Brooklyn clean and tidy.