SitemapCall it a military fight against blight.
Members of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station’s (YARS) Civil Engineering squadron are tearing down blighted homes on the south side of Youngstown as part of training exercises.
“There’s nothing quite like this in the Air Force Community Partnership Program,” said Col. James Dignan of the YARS. “We get to train qualified airmen comfortable operating heavy machinery. The city gets free labor. They provide the equipment and supervision. And together we’re taking houses down.”
The City of Youngstown and YARS are teaming up to remove 17 homes in the area around Taft Elementary School.
“It’s very important to the mayor and the city to make sure that all of the children are safe on their route to school,” said Abigail Beniston of Youngstown’s Code Enforcement & Blight Remediation.
At least one resident said the abandoned properties have attracted criminals.
“They would come through there and hang out on these corners instead of going home like they are supposed to,” said resident Jerry Hughes, who has lived in the area for more than 15 years. “They would come through here and hang out on these corners instead of going home like they are supposed to. We’ve caught them throwing rocks at the house.”
The city, YARS and The Pentagon worked for more than a year to get this program in place.
“Getting rid of slum property like this is going to make this a safer area,” said Youngstown 7th Ward Councilman member John R. Swierz.
Swierz stood in front of a home which had a front and back foundation starting to crumble.
“It’s sad to see this house go,” Hughes said. “But I like the idea of them tearing down the abandoned houses.”
Jerry Hughes has lived in the neighborhood around Taft Elementary for more than 15 years.
He’ll be the first to tell you… Vacant homes are a big problem around here.
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