Neighborhoods

Friday, July 24, 2015

YNDC is seeking qualified candidates to apply for the newly created part-time position of Logistics Coordinator.

Under the direction of the Housing and Neighborhood Stabilization Directors, the Logistics Coordinator will provide operational and logistics support to YNDC construction and property maintenance teams. These supportive functions include: supply and material inventory and maintenance management, supply and material procurement, and other logistical support. A full job description is available for download below. To apply, please send cover letter, resume and salary requirements to info@yndc.org. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.

Students from Youngstown State University are trying to fight blight, and they are starting with vacant houses in their own backyard.

Nick Chretien said the vacant homes in the neighborhood are a nuisance. He volunteered on Saturday with other YSU students to do something about it. Chretien is one of the founding members of YSUscape, a new student group trying to improve the neighborhood around the school.

More than 50 volunteers worked Saturday to clean and board up 10 properties in the Wick Park area.

“Some of them are unsightly. So, we came out to clean the weeds off of them, board them up and make them more secure,” Chretien said. “It is just better all around for the neighbors.”

Chretien said it not only helps the neighborhoods, but also provides a more inviting atmosphere for students coming to the university.

YSUscape member Jordan Wolfe said there is a lot of price at YSU and finding volunteers isn’t a problem.

“The fact that it is local and it is within walking distance of where people are going – you are starting to see a lot of impact.”

And local residents are also doing what they can to keep an eye on the vacant properties.

“The neighbors actually put up the caution tape. Their kids used to play in that area and they felt that is was unsafe,” Wolfe said. “They actually put up some of the boarding on that property, too.”

The students received help from the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation’s revitalize truck, securing vacant houses just a few blocks from campus.

This was just the first Wick Park workday for students. YSUscape’s leaders say they want to do more projects to pitch in for the university’s neighbors.

To see the full story from WKBN, click here.

Vacant properties in the Wick Park neighborhood on the North Side have received facelifts.

More than 40 volunteers, mostly Youngstown State University students, came together Saturday to clean up – and board up – about 10 homes. Many of the properties have been vacant and not maintained for several years. YSUscape decided to address the issue.

With the help of a $2,100 grant from the Raymond John Wean Foundation, the YSU student organization purchased supplies and then solicited the help of student organizations, neighborhood associations and neighborhood stakeholders for the workday. Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and YSU’s Center for Urban and Regional Studies helped with the project.

YSUscape was formed nearly two years ago and works to unite university and citywide organizations to revitalize and beautify Youngstown through various projects. Members are committed to revitalization of not only the YSU campus, but the city of Youngstown. It has about 30 members.

Workers grabbed gloves, rakes, shovels and more to clear brush and clean up trash Saturday. They also secured the properties so people cannot enter them.

The group has participated in YNDC work days, but that organization does not have an action plan for the Wick Park area, so YSUscape came up with the idea to clean up that area, said Nick Chretien, YSUscape president.

It made sense for the group to target the neighborhood, said Chretien.

“Campus is just south of here,” he said. “Many of our members reside in the Wick Park neighborhood.”

Christopher Olszewski, a YSU senior, helped out. Though he’s originally from Akron, he said it’s important to help clean up Youngstown.

“I’m always happy to participate,” he said. “This is my second home. I live here more than I do at home now.”

Nick Torres, also a YSU senior, agreed.

“Youngstown’s like home,” he said.

Torres is from Center, Pa. He liked seeing many YSU student organizations work together.

Members of YSUscape, the basketball team, fraternities and sororities were all present, he noted.

“I think this is honestly making a big difference,” he said. “It’s really awesome that a bunch of YSU students can make a difference like this.”

Torres would like to see Youngstown completely revitalized, and said by tackling one neighborhood at a time that can be achieved. “Small steps make big changes,” he said.

Cleaning up the vacant homes will make people feel more comfortable, Olszewski added.

“Because if you see broken bottles and all this debris, people aren’t going to feel safe walking around,” he said. “If it’s all cleaned up, people are going to feel safer.”

YSUscape has planned another Wick Park neighborhood work day Aug. 29.

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

Monday, July 27, 2015

In winter 2013, YNDC developed the Indian Village Housing Action Plan.

Since the plan was completed, the following work has been completed on Kiwatha Road, Neosho Road, Anoka Lane, and Glenwood Avenue from Canfield Road to Midlothian Boulevard: seven occupied homes have received substantive repairs, five single family homes have been rehabilitated, two additional vacant homes rehabilitations are in predevelopment, the planning for the long overdue renovation of the Clearmont Apartments has been completed, eight homes have been demolished with three more demolitions pending, five homes have been secured, and ten vacant lots have been cleaned and greened. A neighborhood welcome sign has also been installed in the neighborhood.

Additional improvements are planned for the neighborhood including new street signage, banners, and other improvements to enhance the neighborhood's historic character and charm. Currently YNDC has two homes for sale on Neosho Road in Indian Village. REVITALIZE.

Monday, July 27, 2015

On Saturday, July 25 YSUscape led a workday to clean up and board ten vacant homes in the Wick Park neighborhood.

YSUscape is a student association dedicated to convene university and citywide organizations in the movement to revitalize & beautify Youngstown through various projects. More than 50 volunteers participated in the clean up event. The volunteers removed 30 tires, 55 bags of trash, 28 cubic yards of debris, scraped 280 linear feet of sidewalk, and installed 106 boards on ten vacant homes.

YNDC provided tools, vehicles, and other logistical support to YSUscape to complete the workday. Other community and student organizations also participated in the workday including: the YSU Men's Basketball Team, Alpha Phi Delta, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Tau Gamma, Delta Zeta, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and Cityscape.

The next Wick Park workday is planned for Saturday, August 29.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Two Better Block events are scheduled for fall of 2015.

The first will be held on Mahoning Avenue and the second will take place on Midlothian Boulevard. The events will be modeled after other successful Better Block events that have been held in cities across the country over the past few years. Blocks along Mahoning Avenue and Midlothian Boulevard will be transformed into vibrant, colorful spaces with performances, activities, pop-up businesses, art galleries, outdoor seating, and bike lanes. The improvements will be temporary, but the goal is to spur more permanent improvements in the future.

The first Better Block will be located on Mahoning Avenue, between Steel Street and Milton Avenue, from 10am to 8pm on Saturday, September 26, 2015. The second Better Block will be held on Midlothian Boulevard, between Sheridan Road and Irma Avenue, from 10am to 5pm on Sunday, October 25, 2015.

The Air Force Community Partnership Program (AFCPP) has been official policy for about a year since Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James issued a July 2014 directive.

A new collaboration between the 910th Airlift Wing and the City of Youngstown is the first of its kind under the program.

Members of the 910th Civil Engineer Squadron, based at Youngstown Air Reserve Station (YARS), Ohio teamed up with a City of Youngstown Street Department team to kick off a joint blight removal project in a south side neighborhood here, July 23, 2015.

This kickoff was the start of a larger project between the City of Youngstown and the 910th working together to demolish at least a dozen vacant, deteriorating structures as part of the AFCPP, which began locally June 23, 2014. The program is designed to identify and develop mutually beneficial partnerships between Air Force installations and surrounding communities.

The joint blight removal project has been in the works since it was identified as one of the first goals during AFCPP meetings and required extensive efforts between the Air Force Reserve and city officials to coordinate details such as associated costs, project liability and more.

According to city officials, the number of blighted homes requiring demolition in Youngstown far exceeds the city’s available manpower. In the joint effort with Youngstown, the city gets skilled labor from the civil engineers, while the civil engineers gain valuable training opportunities that are hard to find under normal circumstances.

910th Airlift Wing commander Col. James Dignan said the wing was looking forward to this partnership.

“This RMT (Realistic Military Training) project is truly a win-win for the 910th and Youngstown. Our Citizen Airmen will receive real-world training they require to do their jobs anywhere in the world right here in our own backyard,” Dignan said. “And, the city is able to have access to Air Force Reserve resources to help them battle blight in Youngstown by demolishing these properties.”

During this project kickoff, 910th Civil Engineer Squadron Heavy Equipment Noncommissioned Officer in Charge Tech. Sgt. Casey Klein operated the excavator to take down the dilapidated house which had been vacant for about nine years.

“I think it's an outstanding opportunity. And a lot of fun to boot,” Klein said. “It's going to be excellent for my men to get out here and get some hands on training. To go ahead and do some of the demolition and hands on work, and… do something positive to enhance the Air Force image and do something for our local community.”

In addition to the AFCPP policy directive, authority for the 910th to complete the demolition work in Youngstown is granted by a section of the U.S. Code and the Department of Defense Instruction outlining RMT Off Federal Real Property.

The houses 910th Civil Engineer Squadron members are scheduled to take down are located near Youngstown's Taft Elementary School. The vacant houses, frequented by squatters, pose risks to area children, many of whom pass by these houses while walking to school.

A neighborhood resident, Alexander Reece, living a few doors down from the vacant house being demolished, said he was glad the work was being done.

“My kids can’t even walk by here with the weeds, broken glass, animals and who knows what being in these abandoned houses,” said Reece. “It will make it much safer for my kids and the rest of the neighborhood kids.”

Members of the 910th Civil Engineer Squadron are scheduled to resume demolition work on the remaining structures by the middle of next month.

“For the things we're trained to do, to deploy worldwide in any scenario, and support global air power,” said Klein. “It's nice to be able to come home and to make an impact to the local community.”

To read the full story from the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, click here.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

On Wednesday, August 5th, Upper West Side residents gathered at the Grace Evangelistic Temple Church on Mahoning Ave. to review the action plan for the neighborhood, which was presented by YNDC and the City of Youngstown.

The Upper West Side Action Plan outlines a strategy for dealing with each blighted property in the neighborhood, as well as recommendations for infrastructure improvement, crime reduction, and encouraging economic development along Mahoning Ave. Residents expressed concerns about specific vacant properties with issues, but also offered to help implement the goals outlined in the plan by assisting with community workdays and being part of the neighborhood action team.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

YNDC team members have begun cutting and painting over 500 boards at our blight fighting facility on Oneta Street for the 2015 United Way Day of Caring on Friday, September 4th.

Approximately 75 vacant and unmaintained homes on the south side will be boarded between Southern Blvd and South Avenue in one day. The American Red Cross will also be installing free smoke detectors in occupied homes on the same day to enhance safety and prevent fires. If you are interested in participating in the 2015 Day of Caring please contact the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley at 330.746.8494.

It goes beyond that invisible line that separates Boardman Township and the city of Youngstown.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation is bringing the two closer together with its “Welcome to the Glenwood Corridor” signs.

The latest sign was added on Friday on the township side. The signage is actually part of a larger project to repair several homes and tear down others on Glenwood Avenue and the nearby neighborhoods. Y.N.D.C. says it all helps improve the quality of life.

“It shows the pride the folks have in the neighborhood and the work that’s been done”, says Jack Daugherty with the agency. “It helps to highlight the positive aspects and the way things have been improving. It really just celebrates the future of Glenwood and the work that’s been done”.

Trinkle Signs of Youngstown created the the above sign and many others that the corporation has erected.

To see the full story from WKBN, click here.