Press Coverage

 Over the weekend, about 30 members of the Youngstown Housing Task Force protested outside of homes owned by who they call negligent landlords.

Ultimately, task force members did not get what they wanted.

They spent about 45 minutes each outside the homes in Poland, Boardman, Campbell and Youngstown.

In response to a five-year community health survey that showed nearly one-third of adults in Mahoning County are considered inactive and overweight or obese, improvements are coming to an east side park to promote physical activity.

A concerted effort to embarrass landlords into maintaining their Youngstown properties has been going on for several years. Now the Youngstown Housing Task Force plans to protest at the homes of four Mahoning County landlords.

Since these landlords haven’t been charged with a crime, we’re not naming them.

Alden Chevlen is a lawyer representing one of the four landlords people will be protesting Saturday.

“They’re just church groups,” he said. “They’re volunteers who are out trying to use some scare tactics and intimidation to get landlords to clean up their acts.”

A group of people who are fed up with the conditions of their Youngstown neighborhoods took their complaints to the homes where their landlords live on Saturday.

About 30 protesters from the Youngstown Housing Task Force went directly to the homes of landlords they say are not maintaining their properties. Their goal is to get them to sign community agreements and clean up the homes.

On Saturday, the Youngstown Housing Task Force will issue demands in person to four local landlords who have let their properties deteriorate.