Neighborhoods

A newly renovated park pavilion in Youngstown is once again open for park visitors.

The pavilion at Crandall Park now has a new roof, upgraded windows, restrooms and appliances. 

New walkways and entrances also make it accessible for everyone, including wheelchairs. 

To read the full article from WFMJ, click here.

The Western Reserve Health Foundation and the Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation have approved grants totaling $348,605 to 10 area health initiatives.

During what’s termed the second grant cycle of the year, the Western Reserve Health Foundation awarded $282,108 and Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation $66,497.

The Western Reserve Health Foundation and Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation are affiliate funds of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley.

The largest grant from the Western Reserve Health Foundation was $99,660 to Fresh Coast Communities. It will leverage investments in Youngstown’s stormwater infrastructure by giving the city insight into the benefits of a green strategy for managing stormwater runoff. Additionally, Fresh Coast will use its Youngstown Green Infrastructure Plan process to consider and set priorities for the impact of future green infrastructure, a goal of Western Reserve Health Foundation.

Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley received a grant of $35,400 from the Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation to establish a Peer Recovery Program at St. Joseph Warren Hospital. This program, modeled after Anchor Recovery in Providence, R.I., links individuals  at the emergency department as the result of a drug overdose with specially trained and certified peer recovery coaches .

Additional grants from the Western Reserve Health Foundation are:

• $5,000 to Boardman Township for the project Reinvigorate Market Street, a multimodal feasibility study intended to provide data in support of traffic lane reduction.
• $12,500 to Economic Action Group for Downtown Better Block, a model for how urban planning and community engagement can create a healthy and vibrant downtown.
• $40,000 to Mahoning County District Board of Health for its collaboration with the YWCA of Youngstown on The Coming H.O.M.E. Project (housing opportunities for mothers expecting).
• $24,948 to Mercy Health Youngstown for an expansion to its Stepping Out Program, designed to improve health outcomes of those with limited access to fitness and recreation areas and activities.
• $100,000 to Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. for improvements to the built environment and fitness programming at four Youngstown parks.

Mahoning County experienced the largest growth in foreclosure filings among large Ohio counties between 2015 and 2016, according to a recent study, but more than half of the filings were tax foreclosures initiated by the Mahoning County Land Bank.

There were 1,289 foreclosures filed in the county in 2016, up 9.9 percent from 1,173 in 2015, a study by Policy Matters Ohio found.

Although an increase from 2015, the number remains lower than the 1,381 foreclosures in the county in 2011, the earliest year for which the report provided data.

Foreclosures dropped in the county from 2011 through 2014 before rising again in 2015 and 2016.

In 2016, the Mahoning County Land Bank initiated 660 tax foreclosures, up from 623 the previous year.

This still leaves an increase of 79 foreclosures from 2015 to 2016, or a 6.7 percent increase, unexplained by county land bank activity.

These numbers, however, do not include tax foreclosures initiated by municipal or township land banks in Youngstown, Struthers, Campbell and Boardman.

Ian Beniston, executive director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., said it’s important to distinguish between tax foreclosures and bank foreclosures.

Bank foreclosures occur when someone is unable to pay his or her mortgage, which could lead to a property becoming blighted or vacant. Tax foreclosures often represent a group such as the Mahoning County Land Bank moving to acquire those blighted or vacant properties.

“The tax foreclosure thing could actually be good because the land bank is acquiring more properties and wiping out blight,” Beniston said.

Debora Flora, land bank executive director, said tax foreclosure is a necessity to assure people they have clear title to a tax-delinquent property and won’t take on existing debts. The land bank will turn tax-delinquent properties over to new owners, including people who want to expand their yard, when a house is demolished, or for projects including the Joseph Co. International chill-can technology, can-filling and distribution center on the East Side.

Flora expressed hope bank foreclosures are not on the rise. Click here to read the full story from The Vindicator.

The Trumbull Memorial and Western Reserve Health foundations have approved grants for various programs and projects, including a peer recovery coaches program at St. Joseph Warren Hospital.

Rachael Chacon of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley said the Western Reserve foundation granted $282,108 and the Trumbull Memorial foundation granted $66,497 to local agencies and programs.

Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley received $35,400 from the Trumbull Memorial foundation to establish a peer recovery program at St. Joseph Warren Hospital.

The program, modeled after the Anchor Recovery in Providence, R.I., links individuals who arrive at the emergency department due to a drug overdose with specially trained and certified peer recovery coaches when they are most open to receiving support and services, Chacon said. To read the full story from the Tribune Chronicle, click here. 

 The City of Youngstown says it will replace cracked and crumbling sidewalks around Harding Elementary on the north side.

Work will involve streets near the school, including Cordova, Benita and Ohio avenues. In addition to tearing out current sidewalks and replacing them, the city will also put in some new curbs, curb ramps and traffic signals. To read the full story from WKBN, click here.

The city will make about $220,000 in improvements to deteriorated concrete sidewalks around and near Harding Elementary School on the North Side this summer.

The city plans to remove and replace sidewalks on Cordova Avenue between Benita Avenue and Granada avenues, Benita between Fifth Avenue and Ohio avenues, Dennick Avenue between Cordova Avenue and Elm Street, Curry Place between Cordova and Ohio avenues, Granada between Fifth and Ohio avenues, Ohio between Upland Avenue, and Benita and Lauderdale avenues between Ohio and Elm. To read the full story from The Vindicator click here.

Friday, January 5, 2018

YNDC is proud to announce the publishing of its 2017 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.

A.C.T.I.O.N. and the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.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 at 4 a.m. March 3 from St. Edwards Church, 240 Tod Lane, Youngstown. Reservations can be made by calling 330-480-0423 or by filling out the form at http://ow.ly/ZHAO30hcqXO. To read th whole story from The Vindicator, click here. 

One local Sparkle Market is continuing to help feed our Valley by providing food for those who need it most.

Thanks to new grant programs, Youngstown residents on food assistance will be about to get more green for less green. The SNAP Double Program allows people who are on SNAP to get up to ten additional dollars of produce each day for each $10 they buy. The program is only available at the Cornersburg Sparkle Market on South Meridian Rd. The new incentive is for people to eat healthier. "Anyone who gets SNAP or EBT or food stamps, as it's commonly known, often time aren't able to purchase enough fruit and vegetables for a healthy diet," said Anthony Florig from the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation. To read the full story from WFMJ, click here.

Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. has become a member of the Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods.

This is a step toward achieving the mutual goal of uniting many groups and partners to increase the quality of life for all in Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. YNDC and ACTION are working together to increase ACTION membership and develop organizing campaigns that achieve results. To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here.