Neighborhoods

In the nine years that Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. has been renovating abandoned houses, the end result has largely been the same.

But as employees and supporters celebrated the 100th house to be finished, the process has certainly been refined.

“I can’t say I’ve really thought about it but the short answer is no, I never imagined a hundred houses and definitely not this quickly,” said Ian Beniston, executive director of YNDC. “The bulk of these have been renovated in the past four or five years. We started with two or three a year. It’s much faster than I ever thought.”

When the community improvement organization started renovating houses shortly after its inception in 2010, YNDC was reliant on government subsidies to get work done, including hiring contractors for construction work.

“It was really expensive,” said YNDC housing director Tiffany Sokol. “Now, we’ve been able to hire an in-house construction team made up primarily of residents of the communities we serve. We have a lot more control of the projects. It certainly saves us on the overhead because we’re writing specs ourselves and doing the work ourselves.”

In 2018, YNDC acquired and rehabilitated 22 blighted properties across the city. 

“With each project, it gets a bit easier because we have systems in place that we’re constantly revising to improve and streamline things. Even the time it takes from start to finish is much smaller,” Sokol added.

In many respects, the renovation of 4202 Rush was like most of the other projects undertaken over the years. It had been owned by someone out of state – New York, in this case – and had the occasional tenant here and there but was largely unoccupied and fell into disrepair. Over time, the owner fell behind on taxes, setting the stage for Mahoning County Land Bank to acquire the property. To read the full story from The Business Journal, click here.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. celebrated its 100th home rehabilitation with the unveiling of a recently finished property at 4202 Rush Blvd.

The nearly 1,800-square-foot South Side home in the city’s 6th Ward has three bedrooms and 11⁄2 baths. The YNDC obtained the home through the Mahoning County Land Bank.

Ian Beniston, executive director of the YNDC, said the organization is closing a sale on the home, which was listed for $75,000.

The YNDC is a multifaceted neighborhood development organization launched in 2009 in partnership with the city and The Raymond John Wean Foundation. According to its website, the organization works “to transform neighborhoods into meaningful places where people invest time, money and energy into their homes and neighborhoods.”

Beniston said the house was listed as a top priority for rehabilitation by residents when the YNDC developed the Pleasant Grove Neighborhood Action Plan.

The YNDC’s first home rehabilitation was in 2011. Since then, the majority of the group’s rehab projects have taken place in the past four years.

“I think it shows we’ve come a long way over the last four to five years,” Beniston said. “And I think this house, in particular, shows that we’ve been getting results, too.” To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here. 

Friday, April 12, 2019

On Friday, April 12, the Walter and Caroline Watson Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to support Clean Up Glenwood Avenue, a program aimed at systematically cleaning up and transforming Glenwood Avenue and its adjacent neighborhoods into a safe, stable community with a vibrant corridor that provides a high quality of life and economic opportunity for residents.

All aspects of the program align with priorities set forth in resident-driven neighborhood plans and include the clean up of  vacant properties, improvement of unmaintained vacant lots, installation of LED lighting at key locations and crossings to improve pedestrian safety, and replacement of broken sidewalks on the streets surrounding Glenwood Community Park, which serves thousands of youth each year. As part of a broader neighborhood revitalization strategy, these improvements have begun to reduce crime and tax delinquency while restoring homeownership, property values, and pedestrian safety. Many thanks to the Walter and Caroline Watson Foundation for their support!

The faith-based community organizing group, ACTION (Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods), will host its 17th annual community fundraiser and banquet May 2 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Social Hall, 243 Via Mt. Carmel Drive.

The event, which opens at 5 p.m., will feature the Rev. Todd Johnson, pastor of Warren’s Second Baptist Church, who will speak on the theme, “Rooted to Soar.” He will be joined by guest author Sheryl St. Germain, who will read excerpts from her collection of essays, “Fifty Miles,” which treats challenges arising from addiction. ACTION will recognize institutions and individuals for contributions to the community. The annual Frances Kerpsack Awards will be presented to Jeffrey M. Magada, founder and executive director of Flying High; Mike McNair, editor of The Buckeye Review; Ian Beniston, executive director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation; and Sam Covelli, owner and operator of Warren-based Covelli Enterprises. Proceeds will help to underwrite ACTION’s key initiatives to enhance the quality of life for residents of the Mahoning Valley. The organization is dedicated to confronting ongoing challenges such as racism, predatory lending, rebuilding the future for returning citizens and mitigating problems related to the food desert that affects scores of urban neighborhoods. Tickets are $40 per person. ACTION is a nonprofit organization, so all contributions are tax-deductible. For information, call Rosetta Carter at 330-941-0475. To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here. 

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

On Wednesday, April 24, Citizens Bank awarded YNDC with a grant for $10,000.

The grant will be used to benefit the Community Financial Empowerment Initiative. Many thanks to Citizens Bank for their support!

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. received a $10,000 grant from Citizens Bank today.

The funds will be used to benefit the Community Financial Empowerment Initiative locally. To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here. 

Thursday, April 25, 2019

On Wednesday, April 24, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team Oak 3 completed their service in Youngstown with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation.

Over their seven week term the team completed the clean up of 102 vacant properties, the board up of 22 vacant homes, the collection of 208 tires, the removal of 705 yards of debris, scraped and cleared 6,480 linear feet of sidewalk, and the clean out of four homes in preparation for rehabilitation.

The team is composed of Team Leader Ramon Hilliard, Lynzia Baca, Daniel Coman, Nicole Hertle, Ashlyn Lutz, Matthew Owens, Luke Robbins, Travis Simmions, Hannah Stephens, Brittany Sykes, and Yasith Yasanayake. Many thanks to Oak 3 for their service to YNDC and the City of Youngstown! REVITALIZE

A Youngstown organization is holding a meeting to hold a man it calls a "slumlord" responsible for back taxes and failure to maintain property codes, according to a news release. 

In 2017, WKBN reported that the property owner, Mark King, was behind about $500,000 on his tax bill. 

ACTION Housing Task Force says they expect King to sign a community agreement for failing to maintain property code standards, tenant maintenance requests and tax delinquency.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Martin Luther Lutheran Church, located at 420 Clearmont Dr. in Youngstown. 

ACTION, a group of faith leaders in Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, is partnering with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation for this meeting. It's part of a campaign to hold landlords accountable for the condition of their properties. To read the full story from WKBN, click here. 

A public meeting is scheduled at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Martin Luther Lutheran Church, 420 Clearmount Drive, to host Mark R. King for failing to maintain his properties to minimum property-code standard, failing to respond to tenant maintenance requests and tax delinquency in the city of Youngstown.

King is expected to sign a community agreement, drafted by the ACTION Housing Task Force, which sets dates for completion of nine strategies outlined in the agreement.

About 150 members of the community are expected to attend.

ACTION’s Housing Task Force is a group of residents and faith leaders from neighborhoods throughout Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley who are engaged in a campaign to address long-standing housing quality issues that negatively impact neighborhoods.

King was selected because of his tax delinquencies, large holdings of more than 150 properties, and based on complaints made by his tenants.

The Task Force will select the next landlord to hold accountable at the meeting. To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here. 

The Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods will host its 17th annual community fundraiser and banquet Thursday at the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel social hall, 343 Mt. Carmel Ave.

The event will open at 5 p.m. and will feature the Rev. Todd Johnson, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Warren. He will speak on the theme, “Rooted to Soar.” Sheryl St. Germain, guest author, will share excerpts from her collection of essays, “Fifty Miles,” which discusses challenges arising from addiction.

The annual Frances Kerpsack Awards will be presented to Jeffrey M. Magada, founder and executive director of Flying High; Mike McNair, editor of The Buckeye Review; Ian Beniston, executive director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.; and Sam Covelli, owner and operator of Covelli Enterprises. To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here.