Boy George, right, drew a large crowd of media onlookers when he fulfilled his community service sentence in New York City in 2006. (Diane Bondareff/Associated Press)

This summer, Boy George will offer a belated "thank you" to New York City sanitation workers — with whom he shared street-sweeping duties in 2006 — by performing a free concert for them.

The pop star announced on Wednesday a concert for the city department on its Family Day Aug. 17.

"The people I worked alongside showed great kindness to me at a very difficult time, and I wanted to thank them all in a way that would show my appreciation," he said.

The British singer and D.J., whose real name is George O'Dowd, rose to fame in the 1980s as the frontman for the pop group Culture Club.

Over the years, his other ventures have included producing records, launching a clothing line, penning his memoirs and creating the semi-biographical stage musical Taboo.

In 2006, after he pleaded guilty to falsely reporting a burglary at his New York flat, the singer was ordered to do a week of community service with the sanitation department.

A crowd of reporters and photographers greeted the singer on his first day and captured images of the flamboyant, gender-bending 80s icon clad in a sanitation department orange vest and assigned to sweep the streets.

"Keeping New York City safe and clean is a daunting challenge — as Boy George well knows — and we welcome his generous offer to entertain those who have made our city the cleanest it has been in more than 30 years," said Michael A. Bimonte, a first deputy commissioner with the sanitation department.

Boy George, who turns 47 on Saturday, will kick off a North American tour in July.

He is also scheduled to appear in a London courtroom in November over accusations he falsely imprisoned a man at his London home in 2007.

With files from the Associated Press