Neighborhoods

More trees are being planted in the city of Youngstown, this time at Wick Park and various areas on the North side. 

Tuesday afternoon, Youngstown CityScape and the Parks and Rec Department joined forces with members of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation’s TreeCorp Program.

To read the full story from WKBN, click here. 

Chris Keaton celebrated turning 20 first by being in the right place at the right time, then deriving far more pleasure from giving than receiving. 

“It’s my 20th birthday and I decided to help,” Keaton, of Youngstown, said. “It worked out perfectly. I feel pretty good to help with this.”

Keaton and several friends were walking on Park Avenue on the North Side when curiosity got the better of him. Specifically, he inquired about what a group of 25 or so people was doing in Wick Park before he became part of Tuesday’s North Side tree-planting event, set up to beautify the storied park and surrounding neighborhoods.

Keaton, who has worked at various restaurants and volunteers at the St. Vincent de Paul soup kitchen, extended his volunteer efforts by helping to plant a few berry trees at Park Avenue and Elm Street, the park’s southeast entrance. 

Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. partnered with Youngstown CityScape, Youngstown Tree Corp., the city’s parks and recreation department and other entities to plant mostly native trees in the park, as well as at Beatitude House and Fairgreen Neighborhood Garden. A group from Youngstown State University also assisted.

To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here. 

In preparation for Earth Day on April 22, Youngstown Environmental Sustainability Society hosted an Earth Day event and presentation April 18 at The Cove in Kilcawley Center. 

This event is held every year by YESS to educate students about the importance of improving the environment.

Adriana Devitt, a senior environmental science and environmental engineering major, said YESS teaches students how they can live more sustainably and participate in local environmental organizations.

“We just want to try and educate the students about what is going on locally that they can contribute and participate [in]. It doesn’t take much out of their day to like, just drop off the recycling to the Green Team dumpsters,” Devitt said. “We want people to have a better understanding and better appreciation of where these things are coming from.”

Companies and organizations like the Green Team, the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, Plant Ahead Ohio and Wild You had tables set up at the event to show students different ways to protect the environment.Lola Lewis, president of Plant Ahead Ohio, explained how the organization contributes to sustainability efforts in the Mahoning Valley.

“We work with communities to plant trees in order to help with decreasing carbon dioxide in the air,” Lewis said. “We help in organizing planting events throughout the Mahoning Valley.”
Lewis also said it’s important to collaborate with others when making a difference for the environment.

“[Plant Ahead Ohio wants students to know] how important collaboration is. To also understand that, one of the best things to do is to put back. To be good stewards of the land and to man it, and to remember if we work together and collaborate, we can truly make a difference. That’s very important,” Lewis said.

Julie Bartolone, founder of Wild You, said her organization offers different programs and lets people reconnect with the outdoors. “We offer all kinds of programming, our most popular is our nature school and nature preschool program,” Bartolone said. “We focus on nature-based education, getting people outdoors, reconnecting with nature.”

Lynn Anderson, a volunteer for Treez Please and paid staffer for SOBE Concerned Citizens, said Treez Please is another organization that plants trees with a special twist. “It’s an urban, reforestation program in Youngstown. We plant trees now that are primarily memorial trees and we have a collaboration with [Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation]. We’re going to plant some TreeCorp trees in the fall,” Anderson said.

To read the full story from The Jambar, click here. 

Year-to-Date REVITALIZATION Recap 

Wednesday May 3, 2023

59 Emergency Repairs

2,210 Linear Feet of Sidewalks Scraped

1,146 Yards of Debris Removed

16 New Clients Enrolled in HUD-Approved Housing Counseling

1,189 Participants in 33 Healthy Activities at the Glenwood Fresh Market

#REVITALIZE 

The city’s Design Review Committee approved $60,000 in grants Tuesday morning for exterior improvements for three local organizations, including a nearly $2 million renovation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Youngstown. 

The $20,000 grant awarded to the youth organization will help cover exterior costs, including two signs and new asphalt for the 2105 Oak Hill Ave. building’s sidewalk and parking lot, according to city documents.

The club has raised more than $1.1 million toward the project, James Bird, CEO and executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Youngstown, said. That includes $750,000 awarded by Ohio Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Design work was completed recently, and the project will go out for bid within the month.

“The entire project now is well over $1.5 million. It’s approaching $2 million,” he said. The goal is to make the façade more attractive to local youths and increase the building’s visibility, “but also to highlight and be a beacon to the South Side.”

Once the renovation is completed, the club will move forward on creation of a community park behind the building, funded by a $1.5 million appropriation through the office of former U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan.

The other two exterior improvement grants – also for $20,000 each – were awarded to Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation and Congregation Ohev Beth Sholom.

To read the full story from The Business Journal, click here. 

The city’s design review committee approved exterior improvements to three organizations that allow them to get grants from Youngstown’s facade program for their renovation projects. 

The $20,000 grants were approved for the Boys and Girls Club of Youngstown for its facility at 2105 Oak Hill Ave.; the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation for property in the 2300 block of Glenwood Avenue; and to Congregation Ohev Beth Shalom at 1119 Elm St.

To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here. 

Monday, May 15, 2023. 

In May 2023, YNDC sold a fully revitalized home in the Idora Neighborhood to a new homeowner.

932 Lanterman Avenue sold for $95,000. Congratulations to the new homeowners and thank you for your investment in Youngstown’s neighborhoods. 

Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

Did you know we have a nationally recognized carburetor rebuilding specialist right here on the Glenwood corridor?

Harry Benchwick runs family-owned Benchwick Carburetor Co. on Glenwood Avenue with his wife Rachelle. His father, Harry Sr., opened the business in 1955.

Harry began learning this specialty when he was a child and helped in the shop every day after school. Harry guesses he has been working there for 55 years! Mechanics, restoration specialists, and antique car companies worldwide send carburetors for Harry to rebuild. He has recently shipped carefully rebuilt carburetors to Sweden, France, Greece, and Germany.

He loves being on the Glenwood corridor. He says the people are the best and everyone looks out for each other. He’s so happy to see all the new businesses joining the neighborhood. 

Monday, May 22, 2023. 

On May 15, 2023, the J. Ford Crandall Memorial Foundation awarded a $20,000 grant to assist with the renovation of the Foster Theater. 

YNDC is developing plans to renovate the building as housing and commercial space. Many thanks to the J. Ford Crandall Memorial Foundation for their support! 

Jacob Stanko is the Neighborhood Stabilization Program Assistant for the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation.  Jacob completes a variety of tasks necessary to clean up and improve properties in Youngstown’s neighborhoods and to organize residents and community partners around quality-of-life issues affecting neighborhoods.

Contact Jacob at jstanko@yndc.org.