Not that I don't realize the actions of a few yahoos shouldn't overshadow the great people who live here.
Not that I don't think plenty of people and organization's are working hard to keep the momentum of our super successful Garden Street clean-up going.
And that lots of people, myself included, are rooting for this neighborhood.
But still...
As with a grain of sugar subsequently added to the recipe that results in a bitter cake, the one, two-hour, clean-up of Garden Street, as you so correctly observed, will never change the prospects for this struggling neighborhood. However, as with the cake, the question that has to be asked is, are there sufficient redeeming qualities offsetting the negative factors to make the required on-going efforts worthwhile?
I say, naively some may suggest, "Pass the sugar!"