Neighborhoods

The first farmers market at the B&O Station takes place on Wednesday night from 4 pm until 6 pm.

The event is an ongoing partnership between the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YDNC) and Mercy Health - Youngstown.

The farmers' markets take place once a month and are open to the public. To ready the full story from WFMJ, click here. 

The Downtown Youngstown Farmers Market will open for the season from 4 to 6 p.m. today at the B&O Station, 530 Mahoning Ave.

The market takes place once per month and allows local residents to access fresh, locally grown produce right in their backyard.

The market is an ongoing partnership between the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and Mercy Health-Youngstown. Not only is fresh produce brought to those who may not have access, the market is designed to accept SNAP/EBT payments and with a grant from the Mercy Health Foundation–Mahoning Valley and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, individuals using SNAP can “double-up” their produce purchase up to $30. To read the full story at Vindy.com, click here. 

The popular Farmers Market in downtown Youngstown kicks off the summer season Wednesday.

It will be set up at the B&O Station on Mahoning Avenue from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. every Tuesday through October.

The market offers fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms. To see the full story from WKBN, click here. 

Six landlords who collectively owe the city more than $140,000 in taxes declined to appear at a meeting of the Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods to sign a community agreement pledging to maintain their properties.

ACTION also wants the six to pay their back taxes and respond to tenants’ maintenance requests in a timely manner.

More than 120 community members attended the Tuesday ACTION meeting at Martin Luther Lutheran Church on the South Side. To read the full story at Vindy.com, click here. 

If Youngstown landlords targeted by the community group ACTION don't sign a pledge to maintain their rental properties, members of the group have promised to embarrass them.

The promise came at a meeting Tuesday evening. Six landlords were cited for, among other things, failure to correct code violations and delinquent taxes.

While two are from out of state, four of the landlords live in the area and may be getting a knock on their doors. To see the full story from WKBN, click here. 

Xavier Weaver, 12, was so set to begin the Penguin Challenge Tuesday at Homestead Park that he did not even have time to give a reporter his last name.

Instead, after stretching at the start of an obstacle course and saying he wanted to win, he ran off.

The challenge is sponsored by the city police department, Youngstown State University and the Parks and Recreation Department.

The Penguin Challenge will be at the park at 3 p.m. every Tuesday through July 30. In the challenge, there will be a weekly fitness test for kids that will conclude with a final challenge, where kids will compete in a combination of all the events for a grand prize. To read the full story at Vindy.com, click here. 

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

On Tuesday, June 11, more than 120 members of the ACTION Housing Task Force met at Martin Luther Lutheran Church.

The meeting included updates and discussion. The task force leadership provided an update on the implementation of landlord Mark R. King’s Community Agreement and House Bill 103 to address predatory land contracts. Landlord Mark R. King has complied with all items in the Community Agreement including the demolition of his twelve worst houses.

The task force leadership also provided detailed information on the six problem landlords currently being targeted for the execution of community agreements. The six landlords are: Vision Property Management, Dane Armstrong of Armstrong Properties, Jared Shade of Shadetree Holdings LLC, Damon Irby and Cornell Kennedy of Cardinal Renovations Group LLC, Michael Robidoux, and Carmen Neapolitan of San Francisco Group and other LLCs. Together these six landlords own 121 properties and have the following issues: 113 are not registered rental or vacant properties, the properties are over $141,000 delinquent in Mahoning County property tax, over 75 reported crimes, and thousands of dollars owed to the City of Youngstown in water bills and code enforcement fines.

The landlords will be asked to sign community agreements to address all of these issues or will face further community and legal action. On Saturday, July 13, at 8am the housing task force will visit the homes and businesses of these landlords to present community agreements for execution.

The ACTION Housing Task Force is a diverse group of Youngstown neighborhood and faith leaders working together to ensure all people in Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley have safe, fair, and quality housing. 

Home Savings recently donated a check for $25,000 to the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation. 

The funds will be used for the community financial empowerment initiative. 

The program will help YNDC's comprehensive community development model which is aimed to help underserved city residents, including increased financial stability, quality affordable housing, and asset building. To read the full story from WFMJ, click here.

The popular Farmers Market in downtown Youngstown kicks off the summer season Wednesday. 

It will be set up at the B&O Station on Mahoning Avenue from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. every second Wednesday of the month through October. 

The market offers fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms. To see the full story from WYTV, click here. 

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. will break ground on the construction of three homes at 10 a.m. today at 4212 Helena Ave.

The single-family homes will be sold to homeowners as part of a planned strategy to revitalize Helena Ave. To read the full story at Vindy.com, click here.