Neighborhoods

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

On Saturday, August 16th, the Crandall Neighbors, a collaborative of neighborhood groups in the greater Crandall Park area of Youngstown's northside, met.

The event included a potluck style meal, neighborhood group updates, review and discussion of the Crandall Neighborhood Action Plan, and final planning for the United Way Day of Caring. The Crandall Neighborhood Action Plan is the first neighborhood plan to be finalized as part of YNDC's planning partnership with the City of Youngstown. Additional neighborhood action plans will be finalized in the coming weeks and months.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

On Saturday, August 16th, the Idora Neighborhood Association hosted its 4th annual IdoraFest, celebrating the revitalization of the Idora Neighborhood.

The event was held at Glenwood Community Park and featured free food, games, prizes, face painting, a clown, and other children's activities. 

The Idora Neighborhood Association organized the event in partnership with Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, The Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, Tabernacle Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the City of Youngstown, and K & R Lawncare.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Earlier in 2014 YNDC was able to acquire a blighted historic home located at 3231 Neosho Road.

The acquisition was made possible through a partnership with The Huntington National Bank. Huntington released the outstanding mortgage on the vacant and blighted property, which made the rehabilitation project feasible. The home was fully renovated by YNDC's property rehabilitation and maintenance team. The team spent significant energy returning this property to a single family home after its use as an illegal group home. Upon completion of rehabilitation, the property was sold to a new home owner. The two adjacent homes on Neosho Road in the Indian Village neighborhood will be renovated in the coming months. For more information on YNDC homes for sale, click here. Many thanks to The Huntington National Bank for making this project possible!

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

YNDC is seeking candidates to fill a YNDC REVITALIZE AmeriCorps Team Member position.

Under the direct supervision of the AmeriCorps REVITALIZE Program Coordinator, the YNDC REVITALIZE AmeriCorps Members complete five (5) critical neighborhood stabilization activities in accordance with the YNDC REVITALIZE AmeriCorps Program. The YNDC REVITALIZE AmeriCorps members will also work with Property Maintenance staff at YNDC and volunteers to complete components of these projects, but must be able to work independently to complete projects as assigned. A complete job description is available for download below.

To apply, please complete an application in person at YNDC, 820 Canfield Road, Youngstown, Ohio 44511.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

On Saturday, August 23rd, volunteers cleaned and boarded up 7
vacant homes, multiple vacant lots, and two vacant commercial garages along the
Glenwood Corridor on Youngstown's south side.

The workday was planned as a
collaboration effort between YSU’s University Scholars, the INA, YNDC, Councilwoman
Annie Gillam, and community volunteers. In addition to boarding 7 structures,
volunteers removed 60 tires, 30 cubic yards plus 20 bags of trash, and 50 cubic
yards of debris from the properties and scraped 660 linear feet of sidewalk in
the surrounding area. Thank you to all of our volunteers for another great
workday!

The next neighborhood workday is the United Way Day of
Caring schedule for Friday, September 5th on Youngstown’s north side.

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.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

On Wednesday, August 27th, Jonathan Ellis purchased YNDC's most recent Green Home, a 4-bedroom, two-bathroom, brick home at 239 Upland Avenue on Youngstown’s north side.

Jonathan and his family began their journey to homeownership this past February as participants in YNDC’s HUD-Certified Homeownership Counseling program. After 6 months of hard work and dedication to the program, Jonathan was approved for a loan to purchase the property through YNDC’s Community Loan Fund in late July. Jonathan, a Delphi employee, and his wife Amber have three children and are expecting their fourth child this winter.

A portion of Youngstown’s south side that has gone through a number of changes over the years is getting a new look thanks to an artist with ties to the Valley.

Tommy Morgan has been working on his mural entitled “Face the Future” for the past several weeks, first designing his concept and more recently painting it by hand on the south side of the old Park Inn restaurant on Glenwood Avenue. He said the finished work will feature faces representing the Valley’s steel mill past and also looking at the area’s high-tech future, with wind turbines, satellite communications, 3-D printing and organic farming.

“I don’t want it to just be ‘it is what it is.’ I would like it to be something that people can stand at, look at, and discuss as art, how it makes them feel, maybe what the artist’s concept was behind it. But I think something that is theory-based and conceptual is what this town needs,” Morgan said.

Morgan grew up in Boardman, but has spent the past 30 years in the Canton area, where he helped create that city’s arts district. A $15,000 grant obtained through the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, as well as donations from a number of local businesses, are covering the cost of the project.

Morgan hopes to have it completed sometime next week.

To read the full story form WKBN, click here. 

Friday, August 29, 2014

On Thursday, August 28th, residents of the Indian Village neighborhood on Youngstown's south side met with YNDC and city officials to discuss challenges on opportunities in the neighborhood.

Parking issues, dead trees, and a problem property were among the major concerns.

The Mayor stressed the critical partnership that has been established between the City and YNDC to clean up the Glenwood Avenue corridor, which makes up the eastern boundary of the neighborhood. Dozens of vacant homes have been torn down and the lots are soon to be cleaned up and landscaped. The Mayor stated that over the next year the remaining abandoned commercial structures will be a priority along Glenwood.

YNDC has also been working to rehabilitate several homes in the neighborhood over the past few months and just completed and sold a home at 3231 Neosho Road. A tour of the home was held at the conclusion of the meeting.

Friday, August 29, 2014

On Tuesday, August 26, the Youngstown
Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) was awarded a $124,429 Technical
Assistance Grant from the U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial
Institution (CDFI) Fund. The organization was one of only 22 organizations
nationwide to receive the award.

The CDFI Fund makes awards of up to
$125,000 under the Technical Assistance component to allow established entities
seeking to become certified CDFIs with the U.S. Treasury to build their
capacity to provide affordable financial products and services to low-income
communities and families.

"YNDC is excited to be awarded
a CDFI Technical Assistance grant from the US Treasury. The grant will build
YNDC's capacity to be certified by the U.S. Treasury as a Community Development
Financial Institution (CDFI) within two years. Once certified YNDC can further
leverage public and private funds to provide critical financial products and
services for housing, neighborhood revitalization, and small business
development throughout the City of Youngstown,” said Ian Beniston, YNDC
Executive Director.

Through the Community Development
Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program), the CDFI Fund invests in and
builds the capacity of CDFIs, empowering them to grow, achieve organizational
sustainability, and contribute to the revitalization of their communities. By
providing financial and technical assistance awards, the CDFI Program helps
CDFIs expand their services and build their technical capacity. Although
investment decisions are made at the local level by CDFIs, the CDFI Program
creates opportunity in America’s underserved communities by providing access to
affordable financial products and services. Since the program was started in
1994, organizations have received more than $1.4 billion in assistance.  For more information about the CDFI Program,
please visit the CDFI Fund’s website at www.cdfifund.gov/cdfi.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation has been chosen to receive a federal grant.

Valley Congressman Tim Ryan announced on Wednesday that the group will get more than $124,000 from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.

YNDC works to rid the city's neighborhoods of blight and improve the quality of life of residents.

To see the full story from WFMJ, click here.