Neighborhoods

Monday, May 26, 2014

On Saturday, May 17th, volunteers from YNDC, the Idora Neighborhood Association, and Tabernacle Evangelical Presbyterian Church, participated in a workday in the Indian Village neighborhood on Youngstown's far south side building on their work at the April workday in the same area.

Volunteers cleaned and cleared brush surrounding a vacant home and cleaned out the interior of the structure on Neosho Road that is soon to be rehabilitated by YNDC to create quality housing for new homeowners. Thank you to all of our volunteers for another great workday!

The next neighborhood workday is schedule for Saturday, June 21st from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at Iron Roots Urban Farm in the Idora Neighborhood. Volunteers should meet at 820 Canfield Road.

For more information about the next workday or to get involved in other neighborhood revitalization efforts, please contact Jack Daugherty via email at jdaugherty@yndc.org or via phone at 330.480.0423.

Youngstown, Ohio is a classic example of a city where its physical footprint does not fit its current market.

Built to support a population of 250,000, the city’s population topped out at 170,000 in 1930, when the city was fifth in the nation for homeownership earning it the nickname the “city of homes.” Today, the city of homes has a vacancy rate 20-times the national average. Clearly, new strategies are needed to better match the city’s built environment to market demand.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC), in cooperation with the city of Youngstown and local and national partners, is working on a strategy to do just that. After conducting a citywide vacancy study, YNDC created five neighborhood market types – ranging from stable to extremely weak – to help guide their response strategies and strategically focus resources. The effort has helped decrease vacancy and crime across the city and is one of the many programs highlighted during the recent Forum on Rebuilding Markets hosted by NeighborWorks America’s Stable Communities Initiative on May 22, 2014 in Louisville, KY.

The Forum engaged over 100 practitioners representing more than 40 NeighborWorks organizations in a robust, daylong exchange on ways to stabilize and strengthen communities through strategic, market-oriented approaches. The Forum explored how organizations from across the country are analyzing market trends, diagnosing critical issues, adapting strategies to changing conditions, and promoting positive community transformation. The program featured presentations from:

• Teresa Lynch of Mass Economics
• Alan Mallach
• Diane Sterner with New Jersey Community Capital
• Ian Beniston of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation
• Rebecca Brady of The Greater Louisville Project
• Bill Bynum with Hope Enterprise Corporation

The day also included afternoon tours of community stabilization efforts in Louisville, coordinated by New Directions Housing Corporation.

To read the full story at stablecommunities.org, click here.

Friday, May 30, 2014

On Thursday, May 29th, twelve Youngstown residents participated in YNDC's first FREE workshop in partnership with The Home Depot for individuals interested in learning more about basic do-it-yourself home maintenance projects.

The 1.5-hour course, held in the Community Workshop located directly behind YNDC's office building at 820 Canfield Road, covered topics including basic home security, plumbing, drywall repair, and replacing electric outlets.

Writing this post during my semester at NACEDA was a journey that started with a problem and ended up as a profile of a remarkable solution.

I had planned an analysis of food deserts, how they are defined, what their costs are to society, and an overview of the critical questions about their debatable existence.

And indeed, the overall body of research does not produce a blanket confirmation that food deserts exist, as portrayed by many advocates. However, it is clear that poorer neighborhoods fall behind wealthier ones in life expectancy, obesity rates, and a litany of other troubling health and wealth statistics. These trends stem from a combination of diverse factors, including the aggressive advertising and presence of fast food, general economic conditions, pollution, and more. We cannot successfully target a single scapegoat—especially one as vague and difficult to measure as a food desert.

So I shifted focus from the problem to the solution. I reached out to the NACEDA network and asked what they were doing to fight poor health and improve disinvested neighborhoods. Getting a response was not difficult—communities across America are developing innovative ways to boost public health.

In Ohio, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) has encouraged citizens to develop small agricultural enterprises on vacant lots. To support this effort, YNDC’s Iron Roots Urban Farm serves as a working farm and training center,training city residents in economically viable market gardening techniques and incubating successful microenterprises. In addition to offering affordable fresh produce, YNDC’s website goes on to detail their hope to “empower residents to help themselves” by seizing the opportunity of abundant vacant land.

The story of Sophia Buggs, a Youngstown native and dedicated employee of Iron Roots, provides a window into how small-scale urban farming might transform vulnerable neighborhoods and tap into entrepreneurial spirit nationwide.

After high school, Sophia found herself in Daytona Beach, Florida,studying for a degree in criminal justice and, later, education. She graduated and started her career, but never really became attached to the community or found fulfilment. After being laid off, she returned to her grandmother’s house in Youngstown, without a clear idea of what she wanted to do, and “tried to make it work.”

Eventually, Sophia became an urban farmer. She says that her journey “was not unique,” and that many others have come into urban farming from diverse origins. At home, Sophia was encouraged by friends and neighbors to tend to her grandmother’s garden—they loved her grandmother’s homemade zucchini bread and cucumber salad. I thought, I can do this,’ and went from container gardening, to backyard gardening, to gardening on empty urban lots,” Sophia recalls. Her passion was fueled by “not wanting to work for someone else again, wanting to be my own boss and take control of my future.”

After completing the Specialty Crop Apprentice Program at Ohio State University, Sophia took a AmeriCorps VISTA position at NeighborWorks America, and from there began to work with YNDC on urban farming. Eventually, she became directly employed by YNDC. Today, she builds capacity by bringing folks to the Iron Roots farm, either for free farming or cooking classes. Sophia calls herself aa “jack of all trades;” helping growers throughout the city take ownership of the land they have planted on.

“I’m not your typical farmer. As a black woman with nose piercings, I don’t fit the stereotype,” Sophia notes. Indeed, urban farming doesn’t fit Americans’ general perception of agriculture. There are no wide open fields, super-sized farm vehicles, or amber waves of grain. But that does not make Sophia any less of a farmer or urban farming any less important.

To Sophia, Iron Roots Farm is “a one-stop shop.” It provides so much more than just fresh food. “It serves as a focal point in the community, allowing people to come together,” Sophia explains. The Farm has a measurable, firm presence; with farmers’ markets, community meetings, appearances by employees on local radio, and large solar panels visible throughout the neighborhood. “We aren’t too uppity to go door-to-door,” Sophia says. “People pull up to the farm to ask questions—you might envision it as an alternative to a fast food drive-through.”

Hearing Sophia’s fervent enthusiasm for urban farms and their benefits for Youngstown, I asked her how YNDC’s success could spread to other areas around the country. She emphasized “awareness,” arguing that “this will spread naturally if people are aware.” She did not, notably, suggest more grants or government dollars, but she did remark that site visits by key administration officials could help give urban farming an air of legitimacy.

The impact made by Sophia and her colleagues at YNDC shows that solutions for America’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods don’t need to be as complex and intertwined as the problems they intend to solve. Every challenge—income inequality, drug abuse, poor education, or food accessibility and affordability—is influenced by and contributes to all the others. Iron Roots Farm exemplifies an approach that can have a hugely beneficial impact on public health across America because it empowers residents to have ownership of their neighborhoods.

Sophia taught me the importance of focusing on solutions. She didn’t need me or anyone else to describe or debate with her the existence/size/costs of food deserts, vacancy, disinvestment or any of the other challenges her neighborhood faces. She lives there. She experiences them every day. What Sophia and other community practitioners need is exposure to actionable solutions that improve health, communities, neighborhoods, and lives. And she provided one.

To read the full story from NACEDA, click here.

When it comes to developing the Idora Park property on the city’s South Side, the property owner routinely is long on promises and short on cash.

In 1985, Mount Calvary Pentecostal Church on the South Side bought the 26-acre site of the amusement park. In 1987, the internationally recognized Bishop Norman Wagner announced plans for a “City of God” complex there.

Nothing happened, however. For 29 years, the church has made plans and promises but little progress.

In May 2013, Bishop C. Shawn Tyson of Mount Calvary attended a meeting of the Idora Neighborhood Association to discuss the church’s plans for the property. Bishop Tyson had taken over as pastor of the Oak Hill Avenue church after Bishop Wagner died in 2010.

During that meeting, Bishop Tyson said the City of God would include a nursing home, counseling center, gymnasium and worship facility. The first priority would be a 75,000-square-foot “Dream Center.”

“The time has come for us to do something with this,” Bishop Tyson said then. “I’m working day and night to move that vision into fruition, absolutely. It’s my No. 1 priority.”

At the time, Bishop Tyson didn’t have a tentative start date or information about funding. By October 2013, that changed.

“I think those projects that involve the physical buildings can be accomplished even while we work congruently to develop outdoor recreation pieces,” Bishop Tyson said in a rare interview. “That can be done because there’s enough property where we could get started on [the outdoor recreation] piece as early as spring of 2014.”

Spring 2014 is here, and the property is still idle.

The reason: A Dec. 28 fire heavily damaged the church itself. Church officials said plans for the Idora property are on hold while they concentrate on renovating and repairing the historic church building.

This is just the latest financial setback for the church and the development of the Idora property.

In 2011, the city wanted to place the property in land-bank foreclosure, said Ian Beniston. As deputy director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., he has led stabilization efforts in the Idora neighborhood.

“The [Mahoning] county treasurer was at least in attendance at one meeting, at which point it was proposed that the county land bank execute a land-bank foreclosure on the property to clear the title of the property,” Beniston said. “At the time, it was land-bank eligible, which means it had a significant back-property tax. Eventually, the church paid off the property taxes in full, which made the land-bank foreclosure no longer an option.”

Also during this time, Beniston remembers the importance of trying to clear the title because of the amount of money against the property.

“I know there was an excess of $1 million in liens, including a first mortgage of more than $600,000 on the property,” Beniston said.

Beniston cited a lien report dating to Nov. 28, 2011, which showed $358,618 against the church in liens and $680,000 owed from Mount Calvary’s original mortgage.

When asked about the liens and back taxes, Bishop Tyson said, “Those issues are already being addressed. Absolutely.”

A lien report run Nov. 1, 2013, by Western Reserve Title & Escrow Inc. in Canfield, however, shows all previous liens were still active, and the same amount was owed on the mortgage. That report also said taxes are still due for 2012.

Besides the $680,000 mortgage, the church has accrued $536,630 in liens from the Ohio Bureau of Worker’s Compensation, the Ohio Department of Taxation, and the Internal Revenue Service.

Bishop Tyson said Mount Calvary has roughly 600 active members and credits them with financially sustaining the church.

“The church has carried the load: tithes and offerings [through] the liberality and the generosity of the members of this congregation,” he said.

Bishop Tyson said the church may ask the community to help fund the City of God project.

“What we have not done, which is perhaps something we need to do a better job of, is requesting donations or contributions from people in the community and community entities,” the bishop said. “That is something we have not done, but that’s something that I’m definitely open to because this project is going to benefit everyone.”

Beniston said the priority of the YNDC, which is concerned about upgrading the Idora neighborhood, however, is to help the community, not financially aid private institutions.

Beniston also believes the church may want to consider selling the parcel if development is not economically feasible because of Mount Calvary’s current financial situation.

“They should consider all options and possibly parting ways with the parcel and allowing someone else, such as the [Mill Creek] MetroParks or whoever that may be, to take a crack at it,” Beniston added.

“We would be willing to entertain being a part of the dialogue and possible partner for passive recreation activities, such as picnic areas and walking trails,” said Steve Avery, the MetroParks director of planning. “We are not interested in any active recreational facilities such as fields or athletic centers, nor can we become involved in any of the liens or purchasing of the property.”

Bishop Tyson says the church has a more spiritual-minded purpose for the property, however.

“We’ll develop a place where this congregation and other believers can come to worship and pray,” he said. “The Idora neighborhood is loaded with kids. Particularly in the African-American community, from a historical standpoint, the church has been the center of its social, educational and recreational activity.

“I’m not able to go into too many details other than to say that we do have a plan,” the bishop added. “I will call a press conference and announce those plans sooner than later.”

Beniston is skeptical, however.

“A plan doesn’t mean you’re going to do something. I could give all kinds of plans for the city. Most of them are just going to sit on the shelf,” he said.

Beniston said the church must show the community proof that it has plans and the financial means to carry out those plans.

He said some questions must be answered.

“What specifically are you doing?” asked Beniston. “Show us your financial statements — that you have money to develop a plan. How are you going to get rid of these million dollars in liens? Show us the real plan for the property.

“If they’re not going to answer those questions, there’s no point in really reporting there’s a dialogue because it makes it seem like they’re trying to be productive and positive when really they’re not.”

Despite Beniston’s skepticism, the church might still be interested with working with the YNDC.

At the beginning of the interview, Bishop Tyson pulled out a spiral-bound copy of “Welcome Back to Idora Park” before returning it to his briefcase with no comment. This report was a conceptual design put together by Ohio State University’s City and Regional Planning Department and its Knowlton School of Architecture, in cooperation with the YNDC.

The document, available at www.yndc.org, provides an overview of Youngstown, Idora Park, comparable sites, and then provides suggestions of uses for the land, ranging from walking trails to a community center.

Beniston was part of the group that came up with the conceptual design. He said though the report was shared with the church, there was no concrete plan to use the study.

“We’ve been trying to keep it public and, even with the study that the Ohio State students did, the purpose is to show some of the simple possibilities of what that property could be,” Beniston said.

To read the full story at Vindy.com, click here. 

YNDC is pleased to announce our 2014 Lots of Green 2.0 Project Competition, meant to assist groups throughout the city in performing vacant land reuse projects.

Project winners will receive up to $8,000 in contractor labor for their projects. Winning projects will have strong community benefit, have the support of surrounding neighbors, and will be located within the City of Youngstown. The applicant commits to maintaining the project after completion.

A representative from each group applying for project assistance must attend a training workshop. An RSVP to Liberty Merrill Senior Program Coordinator, via email at lmerrill@yndc.org is encouraged. Training workshops are held at the following dates and times:

• Wednesday, July 9th, 5:30pm-6:30pm, YNDC Demonstration Kitchen (822 Billingsgate Avenue, around the corner from 820 Canfield Road).
• Monday, July 14th, 6:30pm – 7:30pm, Newport Library (3730 Market St., Youngstown, OH, 44507).
• Thursday, July 17th, 2:30pm – 3:30pm, East Branch Library (430 Early Rd, Youngstown, OH 44505).
• Saturday, July 19th, 1:30pm-2:30pm, Main Library (305 Wick Ave, Youngstown, OH 44503).

Project applications are due on Friday, July 25th, 2014, by 5:00. Please contact Liberty Merrill at YNDC by phone at (330)480-0423 or via email at lmerrill@yndc.org with any questions.

Twenty-nine years have passed since Mount Calvary Pentecostal Church on Youngstown’s South Side bought the Idora Park property and proclaimed plans to create a spiritual community called the “City of God.”

It has been said that God works in mysterious ways, but after almost three decades it’s time to ask: Should the church concede defeat and let some other entity attempt to redevelop the land?

It’s clear that the lack of funding is at the root of Mount Calvary’s inability to build the “city,” which is supposed to include a nursing home, counseling center, gymnasium and worship facility.

The late Bishop Norman Wagner, who had the vision for the 26-acre site of the once very popular amusement park, was not able to secure the financing needed to make his dream a reality.

Wagner died in 2010, and his successor, Bishop C. Shawn Tyson, is facing the same challenges.

Divine intervention may be the last hope — seeing as how the church on Oak Hill Avenue was heavily damaged last December by fire. Tyson and his congregation have committed all available money to the restoration and renovation of the church. The “City of God” project has been put on hold.

Yet, the bishop isn’t giving up. He has talked about the first phase being a 75,000-square-foot “Dream Center,” and is considering a communitywide fundraising drive.

“What we have not done, which is perhaps something we need to do a better job of, is requesting donations or contributions from people in the community and community entities,” he said. “That is something we have not done, but that’s something that I’m definitely open to because this project is going to benefit everyone.”

There’s no reason to doubt Tyson’s sincerity and commitment, but there is a reality overshadowing the project that cannot be summarily dismissed.

Ian Beniston, deputy director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. who has led the effort to stabilize the Idora Park neighborhood, is skeptical that Mount Calvary Church has the financial wherewithal to proceed with the “City of God” project. Beniston has good reason to be skeptical.

There are liens totaling $532,455 against the church and $680,000 owed from Mount Calvary’s original mortgage. Three years ago, the city of Youngstown wanted to place the property in land-bank foreclosure, but the church paid off the property taxes that were owed and retained ownership.

But the absence of any significant progress in making the project a reality simply feeds the perception that the proponents are waiting for a miracle.

Beniston is right in saying that the church must prove to the community that it has solid plans for the property and the financial means to carry them out.

Questions

There are questions that should be answered by the bishop, Beniston said, foremost of which is this: “How are you going to get rid of the million dollars in liens?”

For the answer to be credible, the church needs to be willing to make public its financial statements so people can judge for themselves if the “City of God’’ is real or simply a dream — that may never come true.

It’s a truism that the best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray. That’s what seems to be happening with the “City of God.”

There is no shame in admitting defeat.

Bishop Tyson must know that the community’s patience is wearing thin. There are individuals and groups willing to take on the challenge of redeveloping the property, but they won’t get involved so long as the church owns it.

To read the full story at Vindy.com, click here. 

A master plan for the U.S. Route 422 corridor will be unveiled at 2 p.m. Friday.

The event will take place at a cul-de-sac adjacent to 1242 Ada St., Youngstown, along the corridor.

The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and the Trumbull County Planning Commission hired Interface Studio, a Philadelphia-based urban-design and planning firm, for $150,000 to develop a plan for the portion of the corridor that encompasses 3,500 acres, 220 businesses and 8,500 residents.

That area is bounded on the north by Liberty Street, state Route 711 and state Route 193 on the east, Interstate 680 on the south, and Meridian Road on the west. It includes portions of Youngstown, Girard and Liberty.

It took Interface about a year to complete the plan. The three partnering organizations will discuss the plan’s highlights and steps to implement the recommendations Friday.

The plan calls for an increase in industrial areas, adding sidewalks, bike paths, medians and more lighting, as well as stabilizing residential areas.

To read the full story at Vindy.com, click here. 

An ambitious development plan to spur industry and stabilize neighborhoods along the U.S. Route 422 corridor was unveiled Friday by the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., in cooperation with the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber and the Trumbull County commissioners.

To read the full story from the Tribune Chronicle, click here.

The three mile stretch of Route 422, from Girard to Youngstown, is now the focus of a major revitalization plan.

Cities and private organizations came together to fund a master plan on how to improve the corridor.

Ian Beniston from the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, says "We have quite a bit of economic development but cleaning the corridor up making it look as good as it possibly can will leverage additional job creation also stabilize the neighborhoods around here that faced some distress over the past couple decades."

John Rossi, a consultant to the Regional Chamber, says, "To have this be the focal point of the community when people get off interstate 80 people come to see YSU or go into Trumbull county is of utmost importance not only for our image but for our community pride."

The plan targets five key themes: improving the look of 422, identify areas for new industrial development, support local businesses, stabilize residential areas and improve natural areas for parks and trails.

"The plan ultimately will lead into larger infrastructure issues which may lead to economic development down the line as well as improvements to the actual roadway itself to beautify it as sort of a promenade into the cities, says Rossi.

The plan itself will be used to solicit state and federal grants and other funding to help pay for the proposed recommendations.

Organizers believe it will take a few years for everything to be realized and completed.

Although the plan contains multiple strategies for YNDC and its partners to pursue, each recommendation requires a different set of partners and volunteer efforts, enabling many proposals to be addressed concurrently.

Regardless of who spearheads a given initiative, implementation of the plan will necessitate great cooperation, hard work, and persistence to ensure that resulting change delivers success to the residents, business owners, and stakeholders in the 422 corridor.

The plan outlines new investment in community programs, public infrastructure, parks, housing and retail.

It’s important to note that economic investment brings economic benefits both to the local community but also to the cities of Youngstown and Girard, Mahoning and Trumbull counties, the region and State.

Thee benefits emerge from both upfront construction and through ongoing operations, or ripple effects, that are the result of new jobs, expenditures and sales.

But to reach this potential it will be important to keep the momentum built during the planning process alive.

IMMEDIATE NEXT STEPS

1. SUBMIT THE PLAN FOR ADOPTION

2. IDENTIFY A 422 CORRIDOR PROJECT MANAGER

3. FORM 5 ACTION TEAMS

4. GET TO WORK WITH A SPRING CLEAN UP

Cleaning up the corridor ranked #1 during the priority identification exercise at the recommendations public meeting.

The surrounding neighborhood groups should partner with local businesses and Youngstown Green to kick off the plan with a cleanup of the corridor.

This will help to keep engagement levels high and make sure residents and business owners are further invested in the plan’s success.

You can download entire study here.

To see the full story from WFMJ, click here.