"Todd Vogel of the International Sustainability Institute bought two floors of the Nord in 2007, and began using it for his own office space as well as renting space to a number of for-profit and non-profit tenants. When he moved in, he began doing small things to clean up the adjoining alley, wanting to send a signal to others to respect the space.
"We began by cleaning, painting, taking boards off the windows, adding plants and putting nicer doors up," he said. "I bought a table on Craigslist and put it out there, and as soon as I did that, people started taking care of it better.""
Thanks to Eric Nusbaum