Neighborhoods


Strategic Neighborhood Transformation

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Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and Action are organizing a free bus trip to Columbia, S.C., to deliver a bill to Vision Property Management for properties the company owns in the city.

The bill, the community groups said, is to pay for “damages incurred by the city such as demolitions and legal costs associated with the blight left behind” by Vision’s land contracts.

In these contracts, Vision and other such company’s purchase houses that have been foreclosed, offering them to homebuyers under land contracts requiring residents to pay for all repairs and often charge interest rates in double digits.

“These companies are picking up on the wreckage of the foreclosure crisis, buying properties and using unregulated predatory practices to take advantage of people, particularly low-income people,” said YNDC Executive Director Ian Beniston in October at a press conference announcing legislation to address the practice. “They target minority neighborhoods the most.”

YNDC and Action site the house at 226 E. Lucius Ave. as an example. Behind the disintegrating front porch roof on the house owned by Vision, hangs a sign advising that the property has been winterized. Just a few yards away, a tree grows through an attached trellis. To read the full story from The Business Journal, click here. 

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Monday, December 18, 2017

Aaron Maurice of Hope for Renewal is the latest volunteer to earn a BLIGHT FIGHTER VIP T-shirt for volunteering six times in 2017!

We’d like to thank Aaron and all our volunteers for the time they have dedicated to fighting blight in Youngstown this year! REVITALIZE.

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Friday, December 15, 2017

Angel and Maipe Cruz recently moved into their new home at 3011 Kiwatha Road in the Indian Village Neighborhood and sat down with us to talk about their homebuying process and what drew them to the area.

Both longtime residents of Youngstown, Angel and Maipe said the home's proximity to Mill Creek Park was very appealing. They are also the first REVITALIZE Home Mortgage (RHM) borrowers to purchase a home. RHM provides a first-mortgage financing source with flexible underwriting criteria for borrowers who don't meet requirements for conventional banking products. “It was amazingly easy,” said Angel of the loan process, “and friendly and helpful...supportive. I didn’t have one bad experience at all.” Cruz also went through YNDC’s FREE HUD-approved Housing Counseling program in order to qualify for the loan. Angel has some advice for new homeowners, saying to be patient and diligent. Congratulations, Angel and Maipe on your new home!

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Monday, December 18, 2017

On Saturday, December 16, nineteen volunteers helped organize
and clean the inside of the Youngstown Playhouse.

Volunteers from the Boulevard
Park Block Watch, Cohen & Company, Freedom Church, Friends of the Mahoning
River, St. Mark's Victory Lutheran Church, Tabernacle
Evangelical Presbyterian Church/Hope for Renewal, YNDC, Youngstown Playhouse, YSU
Honors College, and YSUscape removed 17 cubic yards of debris, 12 cubic yards
of trash, and 5 cubic yards of scrap metal. Special thanks to Hope for Renewal
for providing refreshments. We would like to thank all the volunteers for their
hard work!

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Tuesday, December 19, 2017

On Monday, December 18, YNDC became a member of the Alliance For Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods (ACTION). 

ACTION is a grassroots community organization which seeks to unite faith groups, schools, neighborhood organizations, tenant councils, and other non-profits to work for social justice.  It is ACTION’s mission to create a safer community, improve the quality of education, provide a voice for young people, support the rights of immigrants, and strengthen communities in Mahoning Valley (Trumbull, Mahoning, and Columbiana County).  ACTION is based on the premise that residents themselves hold the solutions to the problems that face their communities.  ACTION’s organizing approach involves training and developing local leadership, identifying common common issues and goals.

YNDC looks forward to being an effective member of ACTION and working with all members to improve the quality of life for residents of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. 

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TRIPS and tours

ACTION and the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation are sponsoring a free bus trip to Columbia, S.C., to confront Vision Property Management about its housing practices in the city. The bus will depart from St. Edwards Church, 240 Tod Lane, Youngstown, at 4 p.m. March 3. Reservations can be made by calling 330-480-0423 or by filling out the form at http://ow.ly/ZHAO30hcqXO. To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here.

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Tuesday, December 19, 2017

YNDC is seeking general contractors to complete owner-occupied
and vacant home repair and rehabilitation projects in 2018.

Interested
contractors should return completed contractor application to YNDC. The
application can be downloaded here. Interested parties can also request an
application via fax, mail, or email by contacting Katie at 330.480.0423. Additional
information regarding contractor requirements can also be found here

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Friday, December 22, 2017

On Tuesday, December 5, the Schwebel Family Foundation awarded a $1,000 grant to YNDC for REVITALIZE Youngstown.

The grant award will be used to continue Neighborhood Action Plan implementation including vacant home board ups, vacant lot improvements, vacant home rehabilitation and other public space improvements. Many thanks to the Schwebel Family Foundation!

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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Neighborhood Action Teams, composed of neighborhood leaders, residents, YNDC, the Mahoning County Land Bank, the City of Youngstown, churches, and other institutions, collectively accomplished significant results in 2017. 

Thirteen action teams across the city demolished 256 properties, boarded and cleaned up 196, brought 92 into compliance, and repaired or rehabilitated 43.  Team members raised $1,325,830 in grant funds, coordinated 28 community workdays, planted 287 trees, made significant improvements to 5 parks, and held one Better Block event. Over the past three years the teams have accomplished a huge amount. Please download the Neighborhood Action Team report below. REVITALIZE.

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Wednesday, December 27, 2017

On Wednesday, December 27, a ribbon cutting was held to open the fully rehabilitated historic Crandall Park pavilion constructed in 1930. 

Funding for the rehabilitation was provided by a grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the City of Youngstown.  The facility is now ADA-accessible, HVAC systems upgraded, roof and windows replaced, masonry repaired, and bathrooms renovated.  The pavilion will be open for parties, picnics, and meetings in 2018. REVITALIZE.