Neighborhoods

The Downtown Youngstown Farmers Market will open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 13 at the B&O Station, 530 Mahoning Ave.

The market, that takes place on the second Wednesday each month through October, is open to the public and allows people access to fresh, locally-grown produce. The market is an ongoing partnership between the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and Mercy Health Youngstown. To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here. 

Completing a home improvement project can be expensive, especially if you don't have the tools necessary for the job. Which is why the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation is reopening the Community Toolshed for the summer. 

Youngstown residents can borrow a tool or piece of equipment, free of cost, from the tool shed. Inside community members will find tools for all sorts of jobs- from weed whackers, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, edgers, and other landscaping tools to carpentry tools, drywall and paint tools, to the basics like saws, shovels, rakes, and more. All it takes is a valid driver's license, proof of residency in the city of Youngstown, and a signed Community Toolshed Borrowers Agreement and Liability Waiver. For proof of residency, community members can show a current lease/rental agreement, utility bill or tax bill. All borrowers must be 18 years of age or older. To read the full story from WFMJ, click here.

City council members expressed concern over the change in the cutting of grass on the lots of vacant houses.

Council discussed the grass-cutting program Wednesday. The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. handled the program between 2015 and 2017, doing more than 10,000 cuts each year for a flat $200,000 fee. Under the new program, the YNDC was replaced by seven contractors getting paid $200,000 in total. But the cost is $30 per cut meaning the businesses can do no more than 6,666 cuts. If more cuts are needed, however, Kyle Miasek, interim finance director, said money could be taken from the demolition program to fund it. “I thought YNDC was a good program,” said Councilwoman Lauren McNally, D-5th. “The new program got behind the eight ball. We’re trying to catch up. But I’m not happy we’re paying a lot more per cut and not getting more work.” Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th, said, “I’m not happy with it. We were getting it cheaper per cut last year. If we use these companies for multiple lots, it shouldn’t be $30. That is too high. We should be getting a better deal.” To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here.

Youngstown City Council did not make a decision Wednesday night on the contracts for grass cutting.

Many have been complaining about high grass on properties in the city. One man who lives on W. Evergreen Avenue said some of the grass in his neighborhood is as tall as him. Councilman Julius Oliver addressed this resident and asked for patience, saying the city is trying to work out its new grass-cutting program. One of the agenda items on Wednesday was for council to approve this new program for multiple contracts with private contractors. Council decided to push this vote to its next meeting. A woman in charge of one of the private contracts also asked for patience because the mowers got a late start. To read the story from WKBN. click here. 

There were issues between Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown and members of city council before the election.

And they seem to be getting worse, particularly in recent weeks. During last year’s mayoral campaign, a majority of council members didn’t back Brown even though they’re all Democrats. Council members Julius Oliver, D-1st; Lauren McNally, D-5th; and Basia Adamczak, D-7th, solidly supported Sean McKinney, the former buildings and grounds commissioner and an independent candidate, who lost a close race to Brown. Also, Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th, supported Janet Tarpley, a former councilwoman from that ward and also an independent, in the general election. Brown spoke of working with all of city council – despite who the members supported – and things seemed to be going smoothly even though McKinney challenged the outcome of the election in court. McKinney ended that legal challenge Jan. 31. But whatever harmony there was between council and Brown didn’t last long after I reported Feb. 17 that the board of control had approved the purchase of a new Ford Explorer for the mayor’s use. The water fund originally was going to pay the entire cost of $28,757.50 for the vehicle, but upon further review by the law department it was determined that about half of the expense would come from the general fund. Council members expressed outrage at their Feb. 21 meeting with McNally saying the purchase “sounds illegal to me.” Adamczak said Brown should “use a vehicle already in the [city’s] fleet.” To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here. 

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Youngstown, in collaboration with the McGuffey Centre, will offer summer programming at the McGuffey Centre, 1649 Jacobs Road, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday from June 18 through Aug. 17.

Summer camp activities include academic support, career development and training, healthy lifestyle activities and field trips. Collaborations for summer programs include Jewish Community Center, YNDC, Junior Achievement, Regal Cinema, Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation and more.

The programs, which aim to provide a safe, fun and educational experience for the city’s youth, are intended for children age 6 to 15. To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here.

We are used to govern- ment, especially at the local level, acting in mysterious ways. But the decision by Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown to launch a new grass-cutting program that isn’t delivering as much as the one that was in place from 2015 to 2017 is a real head-scratcher.

Brown, who has been in office since January, decided that $30 per cut for vacant home lots is a better deal for the residents of Youngstown than $10 per cut. And, the mayor is of the opinion that contracting with seven entities rather than one that delivered quality service is the best way to go. Brown was not available for an interview with Vindicator Reporter Graig Graziosi, whose expansive story detailing the administration’s plans was published June 1. Here’s the bottom line of Graziosi’s investigation: Fewer grassy lots of vacant homes will be cut by the end of the summer even though city government has budgeted for the same number of cuts it paid for last year. What gives? We could speculate, but we’re willing to provide the mayor a chance to explain his decision. Meanwhile, here are some facts that give us pause: The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. handled the grass-cutting program between 2015 and 2017 and averaged 10,000 cuts each year. YNDC charged the city $10 for each cut. Under the new program developed by the mayor, the following seven contractors will handle grass cutting: Dare to Dream Foundation, Tucker and Son’s Lawn Care, United Returning Citizens, Art’s Lawn Care, Phylum LLC, Eartha Shade Enterprises and Craig’s Lawn Service. Each cut will cost city government – in actuality, the taxpayers – $30. Because of that, only 6,600 cuts will be completed this season. YNDC had sought $25,000 more than the $200,000 it had been receiving in order to hire additional laborers and to cover increased management costs. The corporation had formerly relied on the Mahoning Columbiana Training Association’s Summer Youth Employment program to provide the workers, but changes in the program put an end to that relationship.

Given the recent dire warnings about the city’s imploding budget, was the additional $25,000 justified? It was – if documents provided to The Vindicator by the YNDC are to be believed. To read the full editorial from The Vindicator, click here.

 If you live in Youngstown and have projects around the house but no tools, there's something new for you.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation is opening up a community tool shed Monday. Those interested need to be at least 18 years old with a valid driver's license. They also need to provide a current utility bill or rental agreement and sign a liability waiver. The tool shed is open by appointment only at 820 Canfield Rd., those interested need to call Laina Wells at 330-480-0423 to make a reservation. To read the full story from WKBN, click here. 

To watch the full video from WFMJ, click here. 

Monday, June 11, 2018

On Sunday, June 10, 2018, the US Conference of Mayors and Wells Fargo awarded the First Place Small City 2018 CommunityWINS Grant for $150,000 to the City of Youngstown and YNDC for REVITALIZE Youngstown.

The award program honors the best neighborhood stabilization efforts in the country and YNDC’s work was selected as the best in the country in the small city category. The award was accepted by Mayor Jamael Tito Brown at the US Conference of Mayors 86^th Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. YNDC Executive Director Ian Beniston was also in attendance at the event. REVITALIZE Youngstown is an ongoing effort by YNDC, the City of Youngstown, Mahoning County Land Bank, neighborhood groups, and other community partners guided by Neighborhood Action Plans to stabilize transitional neighborhoods. From 2015 through 2017 the program achieved significant results including: 116 homes repaired and rehabilitated, 683 vacant properties cleaned and boarded, 655 vacant homes demolished, 61 volunteer community workdays, 196 homes brought into code compliance, 10 neighborhood signs installed, upgrades to neighborhood parks, and many other improvements. These activities have resulted in a significant decrease in vacancy, increase in home sales prices, and decrease in crime in the city’s transitional neighborhoods. “This is a great honor for the City of Youngstown, YNDC, Mahoning County Land Bank and our many partners to achieve national recognition for our neighborhood stabilization work. We are making great progress, but have much work to do and will continue doing our best to make an impact,” Ian Beniston, YNDC Executive Director. The grant award funds will be used to renovate 2246 Glenwood Avenue, which is a vacant commercial building that will be used to attract businesses to the Greater Glenwood Avenue Corridor on the south side of Youngstown.