Neighborhoods

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Late in 2014, YNDC began working with Code Youngstown to develop a mobile app that would streamline the process for boarding up vacant homes.

YNDC has significantly increased the scale of vacant home boarding beginning in September 2014 with the AmeriCorps REVITALIZE Team. This required a more efficient system for measuring and recording board sizes in order to keep pace with the new team. Within just a few weeks of learning of YNDC’s need, Code Youngstown had created an open-source mobile app and desktop interface that significantly reduces office time and paperwork required to prepare work plans for board ups.

Since September 2014, YNDC’s AmeriCorps REVITALIZE Team has boarded 167 houses in the following neighborhoods: Lincoln Knolls, Newport, the Garden District, Handel’s, Pleasant Grove, Brier Hill, Oak Hill, Fosterville, and Brownlee Woods.

Code Youngstown is a group focused on connecting software engineers, developers and coders in the Youngstown, OH area. They aim to bring together coders of all ages, genders, and experience levels through events, meetups, and open source software development.

Monday, January 12, 2015

The YNDC is proud to announce the publishing of its 2014 annual report!

The annual report highlights the work of YNDC over the past twelve months. An electronic copy can be downloaded below and hard copies are available in the YNDC office. For more information please contact the YNDC via email at info@yndc.org or via phone at 330.480.0423.

The Garden Cafe at Fellows Riverside Gardens will reopen to visitors next month with some big changes to the restaurant that overlooks Lake Glacier.

A new name and menu are among those changes.

The cafe, previously operated by The Georgetown, is now The Friends Specialty at the Garden Cafe after Friends Specialty was awarded a three-year contract for the cafe in December.

Friends, a coffee-and-tea shop owned by married couple Mitch Lynch and Patricia Tinkler of Salem, has locations in Salem and downtown Youngstown.

The Georgetown’s 13-year run as the provider at the cafe came to an end when the park system’s leadership began thinking about a change. When The Georgetown’s one-year contract for 2014 expired, Friends was chosen to rent the space, which is inside the D.D. & Velma Davis Education and Visitor Center.

Friends was the highest bidder.The owners offered $1,200 in rent per month plus 6 percent of gross sales.

The Georgetown offered $1,000 in rent per month and 5 percent of gross sales.

Though money was a consideration, “it’s also the proposal they gave us of what they have to offer,” said Keith Kaiser, Mill Creek MetroParks horticulture director.

“Everything we do at Fellows Riverside Gardens has to connect people with plants,” he said.

Friends, he thinks, will do just that.

“We’re trying to make the focus be the lake and the woods and the flora,” Lynch said. “When you’re eating here, we want you to be enjoying that.”

Lynch also plans to make connections between plants featured in the gardens and menu items. For example, the cafe might have a special coffee blend that represents the gardens and a tea that uses spices featured in the gardens.

The approach to food is another way they plan to connect people with plants, Lynch said.

Lynch and Tinkler emphasize the local, the fresh and the healthy in making their products.

As such, the cafe’s menu is getting an overhaul. Lynch was not ready to share any specific menu items — they are still being tested, he said — but he explained his approach.

Lunchtime staples such as soups, salads and sandwiches will remain, but the way these are sourced and prepared will be different, Lynch says.

“It’s an emphasis on the plants — a menu that represents the ‘garden-to-table’ [approach],” he said.

Lynch gets all of his ingredients from local producers such as Iron Roots Urban Farm, The Bread Chef and Lady Buggs Farm, among many others.

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

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., enjoyed “another great year,” reports its executive director, Ian Beniston, capped off by being chosen community development corporation of the year by the Ohio CDC Association.

YNDC distributed its annual report this week to news organizations, outlining its accomplishments, which also included receiving the Spirit of Excellence award from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.

In 2014, Beniston reports, “We focused on building the foundation and partnerships necessary to increase our capacity to impact more neighborhoods, people and properties. This work has included the development of an AmeriCorps Vista project site, an AmeriCorps direct service site, creation of our own construction and property management team and the completion of a citywide neighborhood revitalization strategy and neighborhood action plans that will guide the stabilization of neighborhoods over the next five years.”

YNDC, five years old, cited other accomplishments in its 2014 annual report. Among them:

• Reclaiming 64 lots that total nine acres.
• Building 2,084 linear feet of split-rail fencing.
• Supporting 12 urban farmers with materials to tend their plots.

At its Iron Roots Urban Farm on the south side of Youngstown, YNDC staff gave 27 free classes on farming and 28 classes on cooking more healthful meals.

Under its Paint Youngtown program, YNDC staff helped homeowners make limited repairs to their houses, executed and completed six full rehabilitations of owner-occupied houses

The community development corporation acquired 22 vacant blighted properties for rehabilitation and completed that rehabilitation on 14. In the process creating more than 125 construction jobs. It sold 11 of those rehabbed houses.

One YNDC goal is helping renters to become homeowners. To this end, the CDC provided U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development counseling to 47 homebuyers and taught five classes to 50 would-be homebuyers on how to manage their finances to qualify for home ownership.

Since Sept. 2, in unison with 16 AmeriCorps volunteers (10 of them residents of Youngstown), YNDC cleaned up and secured 213 vacant properties in 16 neighborhoods, repurposing two of those properties, rehabilitated six vacant houses and reclaimed one mile of sidewalks, restoring them to usable conditions. In addition, the volunteers removed 464 tires illegally dumped at those properties and collected 75,000 gallons of trash in contractor-size trash bags.

In addition to its staff, YNDC engaged more than 1,000 volunteers in the 16 neighborhoods where it worked to clean up and secure more than 100 vacant sites. Community workdays were held in eight neighborhoods: Crandall Park, Fosterville, Idora, Indian Village, Lincoln Knolls, Oak Hill and Rocky Ridge,

In developing its plans for this year, Beniston says, YNDC held 21 community meetings attended by more than 800 residents. This led to a detailed report on the condition in all neighborhoods in the city as well as the adoption of a U.S. Route 422 Corridor Redevelopment Plan in the “beginning stages of implementation.”

Five of the plans focus on eliminating blight: Cottage Grove, East High/Lansdowne, Kensington/Upper North Heights, Lansingville and Newport.

Core Funders of YNDC are the Raymomd John Wean Foundation, a community development block grant from Youngstown and a home investment partnership grant, also from Youngstown. Funding came from another 38 sources including banks, charitable foundations and federal government agencies.

YNDC received $2.9 million in grants in 2014 and will be reimbursed another $1.6 million for work done once it submits documentation that it’s completed that work.

To read the full story from the Business Journal, click here.

Events are planned to celebrate the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Workshop: The MLK Planning Committee of Mahoning County will sponsor a workshop from 8:30 a.m. to noon today at First Presbyterian Church, 201 Wick Ave., Youngstown. Community activists will address Dr. King’s challenge to fight for justice.

MLK National Day of Service: The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. is taking part in the nationwide MLK Day of Service by sponsoring a volunteer community cleanup. From 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. today, Day of Service participants will gather near Taft Elementary School to address 11 blighted vacant homes in the path of children’s walk to school, They will board up the structures and clear the properties of debris.

Diversity breakfast: Wilson Okello, a Rising Star award winner, will be featrured speaker at the MLK diversity breakfast from 8:30 a.m. to noon Thursdayat Youngstown State University. Tickets are $15 for the public and $12 for YSU students. For reservations, call the Rev. William Blake at 330-941-2086.

Selma Memorial March: The event will be at 3 p.m. March 1 starting at Tyler Historical Center, 325 W. Federal St., Youngstown. For information, call Penny Wells at 330-207-4467.

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

Valley organizations are inviting the community to join them in celebrating the life and civil rights accomplishments of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Below are a list of confirmed events open to the public.

January, 18:

Youngstown, 3:30 p.m. – Celebration and Community Worship. Tabernacle Baptist Church in Youngstown.

Warren, 6 pm. – “One New Man” Community Worship Service. Patricipating organizations: Trumbull Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, Trumbull County Community of Christians and Evangelical Ministers Fellowship. Greater Apostolic Faith Church at 3571 Tod Ave., NW Warren.

January 19:

Youngstown, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Volunteer Community Cleanup sponsored by the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation.Volunteers are to gather near Taft Elemtary School to help clean up blighted vacant homes in the area.

Youngstown, 8:30 a.m. to noon – Community Workshop, “Civil Rights Fifty Years Later: Remembering What is Civil and Doing What is Right.” First Presbyterian Church on Wick Avenue.

Farrell, Noon – “Day of Remembrance.” Hosted at the City of Farrell Municipal Building by the Shenango Valley Urban League to honor the life, work and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community is invited. Guest speaker will be Rev. Jeannette Hubbard.

Hubbard,1 p.m. – “The Educational Dream is Alive” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Celebration. The“Trailblazer Award” will be presented to Jan Adams of Youngstown City Schools and the public is invited to attend this free event and luncehon. Hosted by The Donald Lockett V.F.W. Post 6488 and Ladies Auxillary. Held at the Donald Lockett Post 6488 located at 2065 Coitsville-Hubbard Road.

February 1:

Youngstown, 2:30 p.m. – Dedication of bronze Martin Luther King, Jr. sculpture and“Black History Month” program. The Butler Art Institute will dedicate a 300-pound bronze sculpture of Dr. King created by scupter John Wilson in 1982. The afternoon program is open to the public at no cost. Featured speakers include Dr. Louis Zona, WFMJ's own Madonna Chism Pickard and Reverand Wiliam King of Price Memorial AME Zion Church. A performance by the Price Memorial Choir will also be featured.

To see the full story from WFMJ, click here.

Local community groups are hosting a variety of events Monday to remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation sponsored a volunteer community cleanup.

It took place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Volunteers gathered near Taft Elementary School on the south side of Youngstown to help clean up nearly a dozen severely blighted vacant homes that are in the direct path of some students’ walk to school.

Also Monday, the MLK Planning Committee of Mahoning County sponsored a workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church on Wick Avenue in Youngstown.

A free baby shower for new and expectant mothers will take place at the McGuffey Center in Youngstown Monday afternoon.

These are just a few of the many events taking place around the Valley to remember Dr. King.

His life and legacy will also be celebrated Monday at the Atlanta church where he worked as a pastor.

Dr. King was assassinated on April 4th, 1968, and his legacy as a champion of civil rights has been honored and recognized since his death.

All city, county, state and federal offices are closed today, and there is no mail delivery.

Many schools are closed today including Youngstown, Warren, Salem, Niles, Sharon and New Castle Schools. YSU and Kent State’s Trumbull campus are both closed.

Most banks are closed and some trash collection is delayed one day.

To see the full story at WKBN, click here.

Volunteers spent Monday cleaning out and clearing the way for a renewed Youngstown community.

"I think it brings a sense of pride and accomplishment for everybody, not just the volunteers today, but for the community as a whole," said Jack Daugherty with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation.

Folks with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, AmeriCorp and the City of Youngstown spent four hours sprucing up the area near Youngstown's Taft Elementary School. Nail by nail, volunteers secured the 15 properties, left vacant by their owners.

"It's a lot of planning. It's a huge process, but it's well worth it," said volunteer David Tamulonis of Poland.

"The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation and its partners choose this neighborhood on East Avondale Avenue in Youngstown because of its close proximity to the elementary school. Volunteers hope their work will make the neighborhood safer for students who walk to the school.

"We came upon these houses that were gang-tatted, drug paraphernalia, just all kind of criminal activity going on. So, we just wanted to get this cleaned up and safe for the children to walk because also the children are going into these houses and playing," said Anika Jacobs-Green with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation.

The group chose Martin Luther King Junior Day to serve the south side community as a tribute to the late reverend's legacy.

"The fact that it is bringing us together as a community, us together as one, so that we are not saying it is a black thing or it is a white thing. It is a Youngstown thing and that's just what it is, bringing the community together," said volunteer Martina Boyd of Youngstown.

To see the full story from WFMJ, click here.

This Martin Luther King Junior Day was one of service for a number of volunteers in the Valley.

In honor of Doctor Martin Luther King Junior, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation and AmeriCorps coordinated a day of service.

“Martin Luther King believed in a fair and equitable society where people could be proud of their neighborhoods,” Jack Daugherty with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation said. “We’re doing what we can to help make that happen.”

About 40 volunteers helped board up 14 abandoned homes on Youngstown’s south side.

More than a dozen YSU students pitched in on a day when they had no classes.

“It feels pretty amazing,” YSU sophomore and YSUscape member Emily Coelho said. “You don’t really realize how much work goes into these things until you’re doing it.”

A big reason that volunteers came out was to help clean up the streets for Taft Elementary school students.”

“We figured the kids walk this way to school and we wanted to make it a little bit safer for them to walk,” AmeriCorps Vista member Anika Jacobs-Green said.

They focused their work on the blocks around Taft Elementary, including East Avondale and Boston Avenues.

Martina Boyd and her husband live on Youngstown’s west side and saw the day of service as an opportunity to help improve the city.

“We love the community. We love the kids,” Boyd said. “They shouldn’t have to deal with it. The community shouldn’t have to deal with it,” Boyd said.

“It’s great to see this many people come out on a cold winter day like this and participate. It makes me proud to be a Youngstowner,” Daugherty said.

To see the full story from WKBN, click here.

People occupy and keep up most of the houses that surround Taft Elementary School, but the 11 that concern residents of this South Side neighborhood sit empty with broken windows and missing doors.

“We did a survey of the area directly around Taft Elementary and found that a lot of these houses are blown-in with a lot of drug activity, gang activity and even prostitution, says Anika Jacobs-Green, a revitalization volunteer with AmeriCorps. “We're just trying to make it safe for these kids to walk to school.”

Jacobs-Green was one of the coordinators for Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.'s workday to clean up the vacant structures Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

All are on Avondale Avenue or Boston Avenue -- the streets on both sides of the school that lead to South Avenue. About 35 volunteers were on hand to board up the windows, trim trees and bushes, clear sidewalks and pick up trash.

“There are a lot of people from the [Youngstown State] university and some other organizations. I'm kind of surprised there are that many people, but I'm also grateful that they took the time out of their schedules to come out here,” says 7th Ward Councilman John R. Swierz.

Most of the volunteers are students at YSU, with many in its University Scholars Program or YSUscape. Doing projects like this, even though it's off-campus, fits with YSUScape's mission, says the organization's president, Nick Chretien.

“Gradually, if you take care of 11 homes on one weekend, 10 on another and do that over and over, it will help the overall condition [of the neighborhood] and make it a little more livable,” Chretien explains. “It makes the school a more inviting place. The first home we worked on this morning was a former drug house that was burned out with broken windows. By boarding that up, it brings the potential to drive kids to come to school.”

Engaging in a project so close to a school has the potential to let kids see the benefits clean and maintained neighborhoods, adds YSUScape member Nicole Pilolli.

“Our main goal is to revitalize Youngstown and try to give back to the community. We all live here and we want to see the best for [the community],” she says. “There's a lot of kids around here and they're our future. If they see adults caring about the city, then hopefully they'll want to help out too. The younger you start [kids on that path], the better it will be.”

Monday's project, Swierz notes, coordinates with Mayor John McNally's concern about blight near the city schools.

“This is a very important project. YNDC has been contracted by the city of Youngstown to be the planting arm for the city and they've put together multiple housing action plans throughout the city,” Swierz says. “Also, with today being Martin Luther King Day, it's a good thing to be out doing community service today.”

In the second half of 2014, YNDC has cleaned up more than 100 houses on the group's work days, Jacobs-Green says, with 73 worked on during an event in the Newport neighborhood on the South Side.

“Most of our work days have been very successful. Since 2010, we've been at this and boarded up 253 houses in Youngstown,” she adds. “We want to make sure they're completely safe and look good. We're going to clear off all the sidewalks, trim the hedges back, bring out all the trash, get rid of any drug paraphernalia.”

To read the full story from the Business Journal, click here.