Garbage Ogre - Cosmo Blazer

The Garbage Offensive was a community service initiative that evolved into a series of protests that occurred throughout the summer of 1969 in East Harlem, New York, United States. The offensive was organized by the New York Young Lords, a newly-formed civil rights organization. The Young Lords, after consulting with neighborhood residents, decided to address neglect on the part of the New York City Department of Sanitation in East Harlem, which was a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood where uncollected garbage was a significant concern. After being denied cleaning supplies by the sanitation department, the Young Lords organized weekly street cleanups in East Harlem to engage the community, but these efforts failed to attract significant attention.