Neighborhoods

Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation has been awarded a Dominion Community Impact Award for its work along Glenwood Avenue on the south side of Youngstown.

YNDC is one of 14 organizations throughout northeast Ohio selected for an award. YNDC was awarded for its ongoing Clean Up Glenwood Avenue program.

Clean Up Glenwood Avenue is an ongoing effort to stabilize and revitalize Glenwood Avenue. Over the past year YNDC has completed multiple projects along Glenwood Avenue including: rehabilitating a four-unit apartment complex and multiple single-family homes; cleaning and greening vacant lots; planting 145 trees; adding LED spotlights to enhance safety at Glenwood Community Park; and reactivating one of the largest underutilized commercial buildings on the corridor.

“The residents of Youngstown deserve to have neighborhood corridors that are safe, vibrant and provide economic opportunity and access to the essential quality-of-life needs,” says Jack Daugherty, the YNDC’s Neighborhood Stabilization Director. Clean Up Glenwood Avenue has also generated tangible economic benefits including six permanent jobs, 25 construction jobs and the opening of three businesses, helped YNDC forge strong community partnerships, and laid the ground work for additional development and improvement along the corridor. To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here. 

Dominion Energy has presented $110,000 in grants to 15 Ohio community organizations in its 24th annual Community Impact Award competition, co-sponsored with Cleveland Magazine.

A panel of community judges chose the winners from among more than 50 entries, submitted by organizations throughout the region. The awards recognize non-profit organizations that make Ohiocommunities better places to live, learn, work and play. The Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, the company's philanthropic arm, funds the Community Impact Award grants. The Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation is dedicated to the economic, physical and social health of the communities the company serves.

"As we have come to expect, this year's Community Impact Award honorees devised, developed and delivered a wide range of ambitious, innovative and unique projects," said Jim Eck, vice president and general manager, Ohio and West Virginia Distribution. "These projects demonstrate the major role our region's non-profit and economic development agencies play in improving their local communities.

Since 1996, Dominion Energy and its predecessors have distributed more than $1.9 million in Community Impact Awards to Ohio organizations.

Towards Employment of Cleveland received a special $10,000 Workforce Development grant for its Bloom Bakery Baking the Change program. The program focuses on formerly incarcerated individuals, young adults aging out of foster care and residents of economically distressed Cleveland neighborhoods. The transitional job program helps participants develop baking skills, while receiving resume building and case management support. Over six years, Towards Employment expects the program to generate 100 transitional jobs, 120 work experiences and five permanent jobs, for a total community opportunity of at least $2.5 million in wages.

This year's Community Impact Award winners are:

ArtsinStark of Canton received $12,500 for its Canton Music Block program, a series of live music concerts. The performances, which have attracted tens of thousands of visitors, helped generate more than $835,000 in economic impact and enhanced redevelopment in downtown Canton.

The Children's Museum of Cleveland received $10,000 for its Museum for All program, which provides discounted tickets to lower-income families. The discounted tickets, available to families who show proof of receiving federal assistance, have helped increase attendance, while making the museum experience available to children who otherwise would not have been able to afford it.

United Way Services of Geauga County received $10,000 for its Bridges@Work program. The program connects working families with a variety of local programs and services, coordinating with several local partners, including the Geauga Growth Partnership, Catholic Charities Services and Geauga Credit Union.

Cleveland Leadership Center received $7,500 for its Accelerate: Citizens Make Change program. The annual civic competition provides prospective entrepreneurs incentives to develop ideas to make positive changes within the community.

JumpStart Inc., of Cleveland, received $7,500 for its Core City: Cleveland Impact program. This three-month program works to provide business advising and industry-specific mentoring to a diverse group of new entrepreneurs within the community.

Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership of Warren received $7,500 for its Building a Better Warrenprogram, which provides training and on-the-job mentorship for residents while improving city neighborhoods.

Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation received $7,500 for its Clean Up Glenwood Avenue program. The program is working to revitalize the neighborhood surrounding one of the city's busiest thoroughfares. Accomplishments include rehabilitating apartment units and single family houses, planting 145 trees and adding LED spotlights to improve safety at Glenwood Community Park. The work also has generated such tangible economic benefits as generating six new permanent jobs, 25 construction jobs and the opening of three businesses.

To read the full story from Oil and Gas 360, click here. 

Dominion Energy has awarded $7,500 grants to two organizations in the Mahoning Valley.

The grants are part of a $110,000 Community Impact Award competition sponsored by Dominion Energy and Cleveland Magazine.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) received the grant for the Clean Up Glenwood Avenue project.

YNDC is working to rehabilitate the Glenwood Avenue area by planting trees, adding LED lighting at Glenwood Community Park and fixing up homes and apartment units.

The project has created jobs and business openings in the area.

Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership of Warren also received $7,500 for their Building a Better Warren program. To read the full story from WFMJ, click here. 

Dominion Energy is handing out $110,000 in grants to 15 Ohio organizations as part of its 24th annual Community Impact Award competition, co-sponsored with Cleveland Magazine.

The Akron/Canton-area recipients are:

• Ronald McDonald House of Akron, which received $5,000 for its facility expansion. The 48,000-square-foot, 42-room facility offers housing, a meal service, laundry facilities, work and study spaces and play areas for families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at area hospitals.

• ArtsinStark of Canton, which received $12,500 for its Canton Music Block program, a series of live music concerts. The performances helped generate more than $835,000 in economic impact and enhanced redevelopment in downtown Canton.

• United Way of Greater Stark County of Canton, which received $5,000 for its Financial Prosperity Center. The program offers employment assistance, financial education/budget coaching and access to income supports, benefits and tax credits.

A panel of community judges chose the winners from more than 50 entries. The Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm, funds the Community Impact Award grants.

“As we have come to expect, this year’s Community Impact Award honorees devised, developed and delivered a wide range of ambitious, innovative and unique projects,” Jim Eck, vice president and general manager, Ohio and West Virginia Distribution, said in a prepared statement. “These projects demonstrate the major role our region’s non-profit and economic development agencies play in improving their local communities.”

Other winning organizations are: Towards Employment of Cleveland ($10,000), Children’s Museum of Cleveland ($10,000), United Way Services of Geauga County ($10,000), Cleveland Leadership Center ($7,500), JumpStart Inc. of Cleveland ($7,500), Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership of Warren ($7,500), Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. ($7,500), Cleveland Police Foundation ($5,000), Music Settlement of Cleveland ($5,000), True Freedom Enterprises of Cleveland ($5,000), Union Miles Development Corp. of Cleveland ($5,000) and Van Wert City Schools ($7,500).

To read the full story from the Akron Beacon Journal, click here.

Beginning Monday, the state Route 711 ramp to Interstate 680 south will be closed until September for a bridge-replacement project.

The Ohio Department of Transportation said the closure is part of a $9.7 million project to replace 12 bridges on the interstate between state Route 711 and U.S. Route 224.Motorists can detour on Gypsy Lane to U.S. Route 422, to state Route 193 (Belmont Avenue), to I-680.Traffic traveling the two lanes of I-680 northbound from Route 711 to Belle Vista Avenue will be split, with one lane crossed over into the I-680 southbound lanes, ODOT says.The overall project is expected to be completed by July 2021.

State of city address

YOUNGSTOWN

Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, in partnership with the City Club of the Mahoning Valley, will deliver his State of the City address today at the Ford Family Recital Hall in the DeYor Performing Arts Center, 260 W. Federal St.

Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. with Brown starting his speech at 5:15 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

Dryer catches fire

YOUNGSTOWN

Firefighters say a dryer was responsible for a small fire shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday at a 716 Park Ave. home on the North Side. No one was injured. A damage estimate was not available at press time Wednesday night.

YNDC receives impact award

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. won a Dominion Community Impact Award for its work along Glenwood Avenue on the city’s South Side. YNDC was one of 14 organizations throughout Northeast Ohio selected for an award Tuesday. Clean Up Glenwood Avenue is an ongoing effort to stabilize and revitalize Glenwood Avenue. Over the past year, YNDC has completed multiple projects along Glenwood Avenue including: rehabilitating a four-unit apartment complex and multiple single-family homes, cleaning and greening vacant lots, planting 145 trees, adding LED spotlights to enhance safety at Glenwood Community Park, and reactivating one of the largest underused commercial buildings on the corridor. To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation celebrated the renovation of the group’s 100th home renovation this morning.

The 100th property is at 4202 Rush Blvd. on the South Side

Thus far, the YNDC has produced 106 units of move-in ready housing in the city. To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here. 

Thursday, March 28, 2019

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) has completed an impact analysis of multiple factors related to neighborhood health and stability.

Neighborhood Action Plans were completed in 2014 and 2015 and the data analyzed includes 2014 and 2015 baseline data, which was compared to 2018 data. Historic data was also analyzed to review recent changes against long term trends. Key findings include: a major decrease in vacancy from 2014 to 2018, slowing of new vacancy particularly in Neighborhood Action Plan areas, decrease in crime, decrease in tax delinquency, increase in property values, and a stabilization in owner occupancy rates in some neighborhoods. The overall findings show positive change in Neighborhood Action Plan areas since implementation work by YNDC, the Mahoning County Land Bank, City of Youngstown, and neighborhood groups began. The findings and data can be downloaded below. REVITALIZE.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, along with several partners has put together a study on the "health and stability" of the neighborhoods in the City of Youngstown. 

YNDC says the hope of the study is to determine what impact they, and other groups, are having on the city's neighborhoods. 

The data in the study picked up from 2014-15, when the first neighborhood action plans were completed. 

"We're seeing some encouraging signs in that we're not just fighting to remain stable anymore, we've actually decreased the number of vacant houses, we are seeing an uptick in home values and we are seeing a slowing in the rate of new vacancy particularly in the action plan areas," explained Ian Beniston, the executive director of YNDC.

Some of the highlights from the report state that vacancy has decreased dramatically citywide, from 3,927 vacant structures in 2014 to 2,226 in 2018.

In addition, new vacancies have reportedly slowed according to the research, which states that between 2008-2014 approximately 278 structures became vacant citywide each year, but between 2014-2018 only 25 structures became vacant each year in all action plan areas combined.

The report also says that property values have increased significantly, from an average sale price of $35,235 in 2014 in action plan areas to $50,544 in 2018.

Where Neighborhood Action plans were put into place, YNDC says homeownership rates stabilized, whereas city-wide the rate of homeownership declined. 

Similarly, in areas where YNDC and the Mahoning County Landbank intervened the rate of property tax delinquency decreased in half of them. The data says property rate delinquency was on the rise for the city as a whole, however. To read the full story from WFMJ, click here. 

Friday, March 29, 2019

YNDC is proud to announce the publishing of its first quarterly performance report of 2019! 

The performance report highlights the work of YNDC from January to March 2019. An electronic copy can be downloaded below.

Next Tuesday, demolition will begin on an abandoned gas station in Brookfield, not only because it's an eyesore but also because it's a health hazard.

But Brookfield isn't the only area in the Valley that has an issue with old gas stations.

What was once Palko's Mill Creek Service Station now sits an abandoned gas station at Bears Den Road and Schenley Avenue on Youngstown's west side.

Mark Ramahi, owner of the Mill Creek Deli next door, would love to see it gone.

"I'll be honest with you, it's a bad eyesore in this neighborhood. It's a clean neighborhood, we should keep it that way," he said.

"But it's a major problem. This is a major problem," said Ian Beniston, executive director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation.

Beniston has a map of all the potential underground storage tanks in the city, 331 of which are old gas stations, auto shops or even laundromats that stored chemicals underground.

"You don't want to go start digging in any of these lots and putting up a building and the next thing you know you got five 100-gallon tanks that you stumble upon and you're like, 'Oh crap,'" Beniston said.

To read the full story from WYTV, click here.