Neighborhoods

Monday, October 26, 2020

The work and team of YNDC along with other Youngstown residents are featured in a documentary film titled The Place That Makes Us that will premiere online from November 11 through November 19 at the DOC NYC film festival. DOC NYC is New York City's Documentary Film Festival.

Tickets can be purchased on the festival's website here.
Please purchase a ticket and help spread the word. YNDC will receive a contribution from the festival based on the number of ticket sales.

Monday, October 26, 2020

In recent weeks progress has continued on Mineral Springs Avenue with the completion of seeding and strawing of the new landscape area and demolition of the two remaining vacant homes by the Mahoning County Land Bank.

Additional improvement work will continue in the spring of 2021.

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

The Sylvester family are originally from Masury, Ohio and were looking for a home that could comfortably fit their family. They had been house hunting for a very long time before they came across the listing for one of YNDC's fully revitalized homes on Mistletoe Avenue.

What stood out to them the most was how spacious and affordable the property was. They love the spacious interior and large yard of the move-in ready home. They are both first-time homebuyers and this experience has changed their lives a lot. The increased responsibility of owning a home and caring for a larger space has been an exciting new challenge for the couple. Congratulations, Sylvester family! Thank you for your investment in Youngstown’s neighborhoods, and best wishes in your new home!

Monday, November 2, 2020

185 Owner-Occupied Home Repairs

105 Vacant Homes Boarded Up

143 New Clients Enrolled in HUD-Approved Housing Counseling

2,060 Yards of Debris Cleared

REVITALIZE

Youngstown regularly resurfaces in film and on TV newsmagazines as the poster child for post-industrial decay and economic decline.

But the latest example turns that model on its ear by taking the message a step further.

“The Place That Makes Us,” a documentary by Karla Murthy, shows the crumbling factories and decrepit housing in the city. But it does so to set the stage for its real purpose: spotlighting the people who want to stay and improve the city. It puts a face to the story by focusing on residents who are trying to improve Youngstown neighborhoods, especially Ian Beniston and Julius Oliver.

“The Place That Makes Us” was shot over the past three years, but mostly in late 2017 and early 2018.

Accepted by a handful of film festivals, the film will make its public premiere Nov. 11 through Nov. 19 at  DOCNYC.net. Tickets for the 70-minute film are $12.

“The Place That Makes Us” is the first film by Murthy, who was inspired to make it during a 2016 visit to Youngstown to do a segment for PBS NewsHour Weekend.

It wasn’t her first visit. In her director’s statement, Murthy said that happened years before, and was by accident.

“I was helping my boyfriend move his stuff from our college in Ohio to his home in New York,” she said. “After a hard turn, our U-Haul tipped over and we went careening down Interstate 80. We ended up spending the night at a run-down motel [near Youngstown]. All night long, people partied or got into fights, banging on our door. This was also when Youngstown had the highest murder rate in the country. I never thought I would return.”

Murthy did return with an assignment of checking on how the city was faring during the 2016 presidential campaigns. It was then that she noticed that the younger generation was choosing to stay – not to flee – so that they could revitalize their hometown.

Filming the documentary gave Murthy a chance to spread her creative wings.

“My reporting work often requires me to parachute to a town for a couple of days, reducing people to an issue and a couple of sound bites,” she said. “But filming this documentary gave me the chance to witness gradual change, experience the seasons and watch people’s lives and the impact of their work unfold over time.”

To see the full story from The Business Journal, click here.

“The Place That Makes Us,” a documentary film highlighting the work and team members of Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, as well as Youngstown residents, will premiere online this week.

 The documentary will be available for viewing from Wednesday through Nov. 19 as part of the DOC NYC film festival.

To see the full story from Mahoning Matters, click here.

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

On Friday, November 13, the Walter and Caroline H. Watson Foundation awarded a $15,000 grant to revitalize the first floor of 1810 Volney Road as a Neighborhood Action Center to provide public meeting and gathering space for Youngstown residents working to organize together to improve their neighborhoods.

The funding will be used to update the mechanical systems, complete first floor finish work, improve the outdoor meeting space and parking. Many thanks to the Walter and Caroline H. Watson Foundation for their support of this project!

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

On Monday, November 16, the FirstEnergy Foundation awarded a $2,500 grant to YNDC for the Corridor Improvement Corps.

The Corridor Improvement Corps is a comprehensive revitalization strategy aimed at improving public health, safety, and quality of life for residents by completing physical improvements to neighborhood corridors. Thank you to the FirstEnergy Foundation for the support!

Most of the national stories about Youngstown seem to focus on the shutdown of the steel mills and the problems they left behind.

But now, there’s a new documentary out that focuses on the Youngstown of today and the younger generation that’s working to bring it back.

Ian Beniston, who runs the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, is one of the main characters in the documentary.

“This is the place that shaped me and made me who I am. It’s my home,” Beniston says in the documentary.

The documentary is titled “The Place That Makes Us.”

“But I think in general terms of its general portrayal of the city, I think it’s a good, honest portrayal. It certainly doesn’t show that everything is OK here,” Beniston said.

“I was really surprised with what I saw. It was completely different, the perception that I had,” said Karla Murthy.

Murthy, who has worked extensively for PBS, was the director and producer. She got the idea from former Mayor John McNally, who told her there’s more to Youngstown than just the loss of steel.

To see the full story from WKBN, click here.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Tiffany bought her grandfather’s home from her uncle in 2012.

The city notified her that a lot of work needed to be done after she acquired the property, and she knew she wouldn’t have been able to get it all done herself. With YNDC’s help, Tiffany feels more comfortable in her home and less stressed now that her home meets the city's property maintenance standards. “I think it’s a wonderful program, especially for low-income families who can barely put a few dollars together to do anything extra around their home. I am very grateful.”