Boy George reports for NYC trash duty

AP via Yahoo! ^ | 08/14/2006 | SAMANTHA GROSS

[BJClinton]

By SAMANTHA GROSS, Associated Press Writer 44 minutes ago

NEW YORK - With a city-issued broom in his hand, Boy George started his court-ordered community service early Monday, sweeping leaves and trash off the sidewalks of New York.

It took less than an hour for the former Culture Club frontman to get into a spat with the media.

"You think you're better than me?" he yelled. "Go home. Let me do my community service."

Boy George took to the streets of Manhattan as a Department of Sanitation worker wearing an orange vest, dark capri pants, shoes without socks, and without the wild makeup and androgynous style that made him so recognizable as the '80s icon who sang "Karma Chameleon" and "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?"

"This is supposed to be making me humble. Let me do this," he said. "I just want to do my job."

The singer, born George O'Dowd, was ordered to spend five days working for the Department of Sanitation after pleading guilty in March to falsely reporting a burglary at his lower Manhattan apartment. The officers who responded found cocaine instead.

At 7 a.m. Monday, a sport utility vehicle pulled up at a Lower East Side sanitation depot. The agency planned to issue the singer a shovel, broom, plastic bags and gloves for the job of picking up trash on the city's streets.

In June, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Anthony Ferrara issued a warrant for O'Dowd's arrest after he initially failed to complete the requirements of his plea deal. When O'Dowd appeared in court 10 days later, Ferrara called off the warrant but warned the singer he could not escape his community service commitment.

"It's up to you whether you make it an exercise in humiliation or in humility," Ferrara told O'Dowd.

O'Dowd, 45, initially envisioned a service project more in line with his status as an '80s icon.

He petitioned to spend the time helping teenagers make a public service announcement. Among his other proposals to the court: holding a fashion and makeup workshop, serving as a DJ at an HIV/ AIDS benefit or doing telephone outreach.

Boy George's manager, Jeremy Pearce, told reporters shortly after the singer arrived for his first day on the job: "He doesn't show any kind of emotion about these things. He takes it in his stride."

"He doesn't need to be humiliated," Pearce said. "He's a humble person."

"Things outside in the street were a little chaotic," said Sanitation spokesman Keith Mellis. "We'll see if there's some cleaning that can be done inside."

The sweeping later resumed in a gated Sanitation parking lot.

"This is for everyone's safety," Deputy Sanitation Chief Albert Durrell said as photographers crowded outside the gate. He said the day's work also might include mopping inside the depot.

Boy George appeared to be in good spirits during a late-morning break, waving to reporters on the other side of a chain-link fence and yelling, "How are you?" before returning to work.

___

Associated Press Writer Karen Matthews contributed to this report.

[Stoat]

EVEN MORE on this essential topic....

The Sun Online - News Boy George's brush-off

Binman ... Boy George

BREAKING NEWS

Boy George's brush-off

By SUN ONLINE REPORTER

BOY George's stint as a street cleaner in Manhattan lasted just 30 minutes today after a media scrum erupted.

The musician - real name George O’Dowd  - was put to work with gloves, shovel, broom and plastic bags but was swiftly surrounded by a crowd of photographers and reporters.

He was returned to the New York sanitation department’s garage on 'safety grounds' and was seen sweeping an area behind a fence.

The former Culture Club frontman, 45, was beginning a five-day stint of community service after his arrest last October.

At the time, he had called police following an incident at his home. But cops arrested the star after finding cocaine in his apartment.

He later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of wasting police time.

Earlier, he unleashed an angry rant at reporters, at one point
sweeping a pile of leaves angrily towards cameras.

Asked if he thought his punishment was unfair, he replied: "It’s not unfair. It’s just impractical having you f****** chasing me around.
F*** off. Go away."
 

O’Dowd also told reporters asking whether he was troubled by the menial nature of his task: "My mum was a cleaner, my dad was a builder, know what I mean?"
 

After a convoy of cars chased the singer around the streets of Chinatown, O’Dowd was returned to the safety of the depot.
 

Sanitation department deputy chief Albert Durrell said he had taken the singer off the streets because he was concerned for everyone’s safety.
 

Instead, he said, O'Dowd would spend the rest of his eight hour shift and possibly the rest of the week working at the garage.
 

"He’ll be hand sweeping the area along the fence," Mr Durrell added.
 

[2dogjoe]

Hey, he has Hillary's fat ankles!

[Stoat]

Hey, he has Hillary's fat ankles!

I guess that continually bending over to grab them isn't very good exercise, for him at least.

[Tzimisce]

See Boy George in "The Crying Game".....

[BJClinton]

With all that's going on in the world, this makes news??

Sometimes you gotta step back from the death and destruction and laugh at the little things.

[BJClinton]

That is just priceless.

[Screamname]

From packing doody to picking up doody. Oh myyyyy!

[Screamname]

I tell you, I think that`s the only way these stars get busted, if they call the cops on themselves. How Whitney Houston for example is still walking around without one single solitary bust is beyond me. There is no way in hell this girl isn`t on some kind of hard drug, whether it be crack, heroin or meth, yet she just cannot get busted!

[Paulus]

Give the guy a break! He did the crime and now he is doing the time. I have to kinda hand it to him. Having a group of photographers running around while your serving out your sentence would make me testy, to say the least. Looks like he took it all in stride. I say good on him.

[Screamname]

Hillary would have been better...

[Owen]

You know, you're right. He showed up. He picked up a broom. He paid his debt to society. And not with AIDS benefits or other "punishment" that lets him bask in some aura of elevation. This is basic manual work he's agreed to do and I think he gets a check mark for this.

[Screamname]

Yeah you`re right... I mean how many stars have been busted, yet you never see them do this. They always get some wrist slap sentence. Look at Winona Ryder...She had to serve at an old age home, which probably just means talking to old people. Oh! The horror! Half these Hollywood a-holes would kill themseleves before sweeping the streets, yet BG is doing it. Hillary is one who should be doing that for the next 5000 years.

[Screamname]

I don`t get this....He smokes....

Then wears a mask to protect his lungs....

[Minutemen]

I thought he belonged to England?

[eleni121]

I can't believe what a light sentence he got! I know people who are rotting way for years for what this scum did.

[pollyannaish]

Goodness.

I don't really care about this guy at all. He's a lot of fluff musically and personally.

But there are times when the paparazzi needs to just be kept away. This kind of punishment would be a lot more effective if they didn't get to keep their celebrity status and entourage.