Neighborhoods

Youngstown City Council approved using American Rescue Plan money to help the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation renovate the Foster Theater.

To read the full story from WKBN, click here. 

Tempers flared as city administration officials told council members that just because they approve legislation to spend American Rescue Fund dollars, it doesn’t mean the projects in question will be funded. It’s been an ongoing issue since shortly after city council in April 2022 agreed to give each of its seven members $2 million in ARP funds on projects in their wards. Council has approved a little more than half of that $14 million total amount with fewer than half of those projects funded by the board of control, which consists of Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, Law Director Jeff Limbian and Finance Director Kyle Miasek.

Brown and Limbian said Wednesday that council-approved projects must be in accordance with federal ARP guidelines and follow what residents want in the city. Too many of those projects don’t qualify because council is passing legislation without first consulting the administration as well as an ARP review committee established by the administration, Brown said. The problem had quieted down in the past few months but reared its head at Wednesday’s council meeting. That’s because Limbian said the board of control would not provide $90,000 in ARP funding approved by council Dec. 7 for the Family Empowerment Student Achievement Institute to provide tutorial services to undereducated former Youngstown school district students. That legislation was sponsored by Councilman Jimmy Hughes, D-2nd Ward. “The board of control is not obligated to, and at times, does not spend money on a project simply because the legislative body has authorized it,” Limbian said. Hughes said the city charter gives council the job of legislating and doesn’t give it to a committee to make decisions. The ARP committee doesn’t hold public meetings.

Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th Ward, wanted Brown to veto the legislation and give council the opportunity to override that. But Brown said some council-backed ARP requests simply aren’t permitted, and he won’t do anything with them. Davis said that leaves the legislation in “la la land, in the ozone” doing nothing. Brown said the council-backed ARP requests need to be vetted by the administration, which continues not to happen. “Typically what would happen is you’d have the administration, the executive side, we make the recommendation to the legislative side,” he said. “It typically does not happen in reverse. That’s why we continually have the hiccups when you change and reverse the process with legislators putting it out first.” Hughes said under this process, “now council’s vote don’t mean anything.”

Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st Ward, said his projects meet federal guidelines and several have been stonewalled by the board of control. “We are all at the point of frustration,” he said. “The administration and city council: How do we work together?” Brown said council needs to give the proposal to the administration before it is put up for a vote to “see if it’s ready for legislation.” Davis urged citizens to put together a charter amendment for the ballot to give more authority to council. Council has the authority to place such a proposal on the ballot.

At Wednesday’s meeting, council voted to spend $318,328 in ARP funding. Among the ARP funding is $163,328 to cover half of the cost to upgrade the municipal court’s database management software to increase public access, improve case management and enhance efficiency. It was sponsored by Brown. The two other requests came from Davis. One was to give $55,000 to the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. to sponsor five students to attend Beyond Expectations Barber College, 2246 Glenwood Ave., to pay for their tuition.

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

The Mahoning Valley Historical Society on Friday announced its 2023 Historic Preservation Award winners. Each year, MVHS recognizes those who work diligently to preserve historical landmarks of the community.

The 2023 Commercial Revitalization Award goes to Penguin City Brewing Co. for the preservation and remodeling of its Youngstown brewery.

The 2023 Community Revitalization Awards goes to:

• Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, for preservation and renovation of an apartment building at 3711 Glenwood Ave.

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

Penguin City Brewing Co. is the recipient of this year’s Commercial Revitalization Award for its efforts to preserve and remodel a former steel distribution warehouse into its downtown brewery, taproom and headquarters.

The Mahoning Valley Historical Society issues revitalization awards each year to recognize the people and organizations that preserve and renovate historical landmarks to show their uniqueness and importance.

This year, MVHS recognized four other projects with its Community Revitalization Award. They are:

Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation for preserving and renovating an apartment building at 3711 Glenwood Ave.

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

East Liverpool, Ohio has recently been featured in Business View Magazine for their recent growth and development, according to a press release. The feature is based on an interview between Mayor, Greg Bicker; and Business View Magazine’s Editor in Chief, Karen Surca; as part of our series covering economic growth and best city practices. East Liverpool is one of the oldest communities in the Ohio Valley, founded in 1798.

In the late 1800’s the city experienced significant growth as it became the hub of pottery manufacturing, bringing success and prosperity. Today, only the American Mug and Stein Company remains, but the city is still has growth and sustainability on its radar, bringing new vibrancy to attract and retain a younger demographic. One evidence of this growth and sustainability is the installation of solar panels on all of the city’s property’s. Mayor Bicker says this has created an opportunity to save money and provide power.

Bicker also prioritizes updating housing and attracting new development, he says that he recognizes that housing is a mess, and is still in need of repair, but is finding way to fix it. Bicker has partnered with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, to do a housing quality survey in East Liverpool. He says that the YNDC has done remarkable work in Youngstown, tearing down 2,500 homes and rehabbing over 1,000.

To read the full story from WTRF, click here. 

Founded in 1798, East Liverpool is one of the oldest communities in the Ohio Valley. In the late 1800s, the city experienced significant growth as it became a hub of pottery manufacturing, bringing success and prosperity. Although evidence of this vibrant part of East Liverpool’s history is on display at the Museum of Ceramics, and in the historic architecture throughout the community, only the American Mug and Stein Company remains. Today East Liverpool is a city with growth and sustainability on its radar, bringing a new vibrancy and working to attract and retain a younger demographic.

The installation of solar panels on all city property is evidence of this new direction, and Mayor Greg Bicker says this has created an opportunity to save money, while also providing power. He maintains, “We’ve just been looking at it as a way to cut our costs. Scout Solar came in and did a nice presentation for us, and said, this is no cost to the city. The end result is that we’ll be able to reduce our electric bills, which is perfect timing because electricity has gone up 30% here in our area. That way we can put that money into our infrastructure and improve the city with the savings that we incur.” Scout Solar has also purchased a decommissioned catholic school building to be used as dormitories for workers, as well as storage and office space.

Updated housing, and attracting new development is also a priority for Bicker, who acknowledges, “My number one initiative, and a big reason I ran for mayor to begin with, is our housing was a mess. It’s still in need of some repair, but we are recognizing that and finding ways to fix it.”

Partnering with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation has been a step in the right direction. 

To read the full story from Business View Magazine, click here. 

In this week’s In-Depth segment, WKBN Community Affairs Director Dee Crawford sits down with Youngstown Mayor Tito Brown about a roof replacement program in the city. The program for Youngstown residents was passed by city council on June 7. “We took some of our American Rescue Plan dollars and put this together to decide, how do we make a greater impact for individuals to stay in their home and to sustain our neighborhoods?” Brown said.

To be eligible, a person must own their own house and be up to date on their taxes. They will also be required to share their income. A current need for a new roof is also required. “Individuals who have issues right now in their roof that may be leaking, just had it patched or they can’t afford it, but they want to stay in their home. That was probably the driving force for us. We want to keep our individuals, maybe the seniors, those with disabilities, you know, individuals who’ve worked all their life, they want to stay in that neighborhood. They love where they live but putting $12,000, $15,000 down for a roof is pretty expensive,” Brown said.

The city is partnering with local agencies like MYCAP and the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation for the project.

To read the full story from WKBN, click here. 

PNC Bank has partnered with the United Way to sponsor financial empowerment education sessions. Grimilda Ocasio-Santiago, United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley’s director of community impact, said many people don’t know about the free programs. Giving individuals access to knowledge about the programs is important to her, she added. “United way and PNC are here to serve our community members and assist with financial education to provide useful skills. The goal of this program is to advance equity through financial literacy, by providing education and services directly to the Valley,” Ocasio-Santiago said.

Nine events have been hosted and more than 250 families have been assisted since the start of financial empowerment in the Valley. One session was late last week at the Eugenia Atkinson Center on Otis Street. Ocasio-Santiago explained that the organization is working to connect community members to agencies and teach them about financial literacy. Seventeen agencies were on hand to help educate, they included Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Program (MYCAP), Catholic Charities, Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County Public, Apprisen (debt management and credit counseling), Mahoning County Training Association, Home for Good, Easterseals, Goodwill, Molina Health, Community Legal Aid, YMCA, YWCA, Youngstown State University and ACTION Mobile Market.

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

The Mahoning Valley Historical Society has announced its 2023 Historic Preservation Awards. They’ll be presented Tuesday evening during a ceremony at Youngstown’s Tyler History Center.

The Commercial Revitalization Award goes to Penguin City Brewing Company.

The Community Revitalization Awards go to the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation for the renovation of an apartment building on Glenwood Avenue and the Stambaugh Auditorium Association for the preservation of its monumental steps. 

To read the full story from WKBN, click here. 

Tuesday June 27, 2023. 

On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, the Frances Schermer Charitable Trust awarded a $5,000 grant for emergency repair to YNDC. The funds will be used for the emergency home repair program to assist residents of owner-occupied, single family homes with emergency repairs such as furnace and plumbing repairs at NO COST. Thank you to the Frances Schermer Charitable Trust!