Neighborhoods

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

On Saturday, April 21, fifty-five volunteers helped clean up the
property around the Youngstown Playhouse for the Global Youth Service Day
Workday in the Idora Neighborhood.

Volunteers from Academic Year America,
Freedom Church, Grace Lutheran, Hope Springs Academy, Mahoning County Juvenile
Court, Ohio Reading Corps AmeriCorps, Tabernacle Evangelical Presbyterian
Church/Hope for Renewal, Youngstown CityScape, YSU Communications, YSU Honors
College, and Youngstown Playhouse attended the workday and removed 110 cubic
yards of brush and two tires. Thank you to all the participants for their hard
work!

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

YNDC closed on the sales of two homes in the month of April. 

3465 Shelby Road in Cornersburg sold for $60,000 and 87 Eliot Lane in Lincoln Knolls sold for $35,000. Three more YNDC homes are also pending sale: 454 Madera Avenue and 1823 Fifth Avenue in the Crandall Park Neighborhood and 138 South Glenellen on the West Side.Congratulations to the new homeowners and thank you for your investment in Youngstown's neighborhoods!

Citizens Bank on Tuesday announced that seven nonprofit organizations in the Pittsburgh region will receive $112,000 in contributions through the Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money financial literacy initiative.

Citizens is part of Providence, R.I.-based Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG), which, as part of the initiative this year, is contributing more than $1.5 million to 80 nonprofits throughout its nine-state footprint. The program aims to help people obtain a better understanding of financial topics. Citizens is Pittsburgh's fourth-largest bank according to deposit market share.

“With Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money, Citizens Bank colleagues will provide members of our communities with the knowledge, confidence and resources they need to budget, save, invest and be fiscally healthy,” said Mark Latterner, president of Citizens’s western Pennsylvania market, in a prepared statement. To read the full article from The Pittsburgh Business Times, click here. 

Friday, April 27, 2018

Citizens Bank has awarded YNDC with $10,000 for the Community Financial Literacy Initiative through its Citizens Helping Citizens program. 

The funds will support YNDC's comprehensive homeownership development services, including HUD-Certified Housing Counseling and Education, as well as the organization's small business development programming. We would like to thank Citizens Bank for their continued support!

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

On Friday, April 27, the Walter and Caroline Watson Foundation awarded YNDC with a $10,000 grant for Corridor Improvement Corps.

The Corridor Improvement Corps is a comprehensive revitalization strategy aimed at improving public health, safety, and quality of life for residents by leveraging AmeriCorps members and community volunteers to complete physical improvements to Youngstown’s neighborhood corridors. The improvements will include 1) cleaning up and painting blighted walls and facades of vacant buildings, 2) cleaning up and clearing overgrowth from vacant lots littered with debris, 3) planting hearty urban trees, 4) installing split rail fencing along vacant lots, 5) replacing broken and unsafe sidewalks, 6) installing covered benches at public spaces and bus stops, and 7) improving corridor lighting and signage around public spaces and corridor businesses. When applied systematically, these improvements will restore a basic sense of order to Youngstown’s corridors and will result in sustainable improvements to the safety and quality of life for Youngstown’s residents. Many thanks to the Walter and Caroline Watson Foundation for the ongoing support! REVITALIZE.

Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. will host a ground-breaking event at 10 a.m. May 10 to kick off its renovation of the four-plex residential structure at the corner of Clearmont Drive and Glenwood Avenue.

The event will be held at 650 Clearmont Drive.

Home Savings Bank will provide financing for the project, according to a YNDC release announcing the event.

YNDC characterized the project as “another step in the ongoing revitalization of the Greater Glenwood Avenue Corridor” with its partners, which include the city of Youngstown, the Mahoning County Land Bank, residents and other community partners. To read the full story from The Business Journal, click here.

For the last few years, the City of Youngstown contracted YNDC to cut grass on over 2,000 vacant lots in the city. According to a city council member, the new administration has cut ties with that organization.

21 News first reported last week that there are some residents that worry the work will not get done this year. 

Since then, the Youngstown Mayor's Office has announced a request for letters and proposal of interest for a Grass Remediation Program.

That program will include cutting grass, cleaning up lots and boarding up buildings.

"Grass grows fast and furious and it's the number one complaint I get from residents come spring, summer and fall seasons where the grass creates a nuisance for mice and a place where people feel they can litter," says city council member, Lauren McNally.

A press release from the Mayor's Office states all parties interested in being on the contractor's list to perform grass cutting and maintenance for vacant properties are urged to apply for a short-term contract. To read the full story from WFMJ, click here. 

Monday, May 7, 2018

Destiny
recently moved into her new home at 138 South Glenellen Avenue on the West Side
of Youngstown!

Destiny is from Erie, Pennsylvania and has lived in Youngstown
for seven years. She said one of the main things that attracted her to the
neighborhood was the proximity of her new home to West Side locations she can
walk to with her daughter like the West Side Bowl Bowling Alley and the new Michael Kusalaba
Branch Library right down the street. This is Destiny’s first homebuying
experience and her best advice for other young, first-time homebuyers is to be
patient with the process. Congratulations, Destiny and good luck in your new
home!

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Claire Hawkins has been participating in YNDC’s FREE, HUD-Approved Housing Counseling program since 2014 and recently purchased her first home.

“It’s everything I wanted in a house,” said Claire. She moved to the area from Alabama and saw an ad for the Housing Counseling program on Facebook after renting homes in Youngstown for a few months. “I didn’t know anything about credit or how to get a credit card, so I started taking the classes.” She said once she had a credit card and was able to start building credit, she was able to make progress toward her goal of homeownership. “The program is amazing, it’s a blessing. In Alabama we didn’t have anything like this.” She said one of her biggest motivations to purchase her own home was to have something to leave behind for her children. “No matter what happens to me now, they’ll always have a place to call home.” Her advice to new homeowners is to seek out educational resources like YNDC’s HUD-Approved Housing Counseling program because the information can be valuable and empowering. Congratulations on your new home, Claire! 

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) hosted a groundbreaking Thursday as it begins one of its largest renovations.

YNDC is spending $250,000 to renovate a building with four townhouse apartments just off Clearmont Drive and Glenwood Avenue.

Each one is at least 1,200 square feet. 

The building is 90 years old, and when it's done, it will still have many of its historic features. 

It's part of a larger effort to revitalize the Glenwood Corridor.

"There's many projects that are happening, so this kind of fits in with what we're attempting to do up and down the street," said YNDC Director Ian Beniston. 

Councilwoman Anita Davis said she's glad to see the work taking place.

"This adds to the cosmetic value but also to the actual dollar value of the neighborhood," she said.

Down the street, a planned health clinic will also bring investment to the neighborhood. To read the full story from WKBN, click here.