Neighborhoods

City council authorized the board of control to enter into contracts for up to $1 million from Youngstown’s American Rescue Plan fund to demolish about 75 to 100 vacant homes. But city council members Wednesday remained at an impasse on how much ARP money — if any — should be spent to hire an architectural firm for a proposed safety campus. Council voted 6-0 for the board of control to hire contractors to demolish abandoned houses at a cost of up to $1 million as well as to spend up to $100,000, also in ARP funds, for asbestos testing on about 100 vacant structures. The work will be done this year. The funding for the two ordinances comes from the $3 million city council set aside in ARP money to address issues with the worst vacant homes in Youngstown.

Michael Durkin, the city’s code enforcement and blight remediation superintendent, said he expected the asbestos testing to begin in April and the demolition work to start by June or July. More than 2,600 vacant houses have been demolished in the city since 2017, according to Durkin’s statistics, including 264 last year. Of those 264 in 2023, 176 demolitions used city ARP funds. In addition to the $3 million from the city — with about $500,000 left after this work is finished — the Mahoning County Land Bank received a $6.9 million state grant with $5.3 million included to demolish about 500 homes in Youngstown. The land bank did 61 demolitions last year and expects to do about 350 this year with the rest in 2025, Durkin said. After all of that work is finished, there will be approximately 50 houses in the city that will need to be demolished, Durkin said.

City council is likely to reallocate the remaining $500,000 in ARP funds that are left for demolitions for other projects. The city has to allocate all of its $87.8 million ARP fund by the end of this year.

SAFETY CAMPUS: The city administration is recommending council approve spending $3 million in ARP funds to hire an architectural firm for a proposed safety campus. As it did at its Feb. 21 meeting, council on Wednesday declined to approve the request. A third and final reading is set for a special council meeting on March 26. Not all council members support the safety campus proposed for Wick Avenue on the city’s North Side or spending $3 million for design work. Council members on Wednesday discussed possibly spending $1 million, $1.5 million or $3 million on the design work with Pat Kelly, D-5th Ward, and Anita Davis, D-6th Ward, saying they oppose the project as it currently stands. The location proposed by the administration is on Wick Avenue at what was known as the Wick Six, a group of new car dealerships that left in the 1980s. The city purchased much of the 12 acres of property in 2015 and has spent at least $750,000, mostly from grants, to clean it up for development. Kelly and Davis oppose that location. The two and other council members want other location options for the safety complex. But Mayor Jamael Tito Brown said the “only real location we have is on Wick Avenue.” Finance Director Kyle Miasek said the city has to allocate the ARP money by the end of this year and to go with another site would put the “project in jeopardy.”

The project is estimated to cost $30 million to $45 million with Brown asking city council in December to commit up to $15 million in ARP funds for the facility when an outline for it was unveiled. That financial commitment has met with resistance from a majority of council members. Councilwoman Samantha Turner, D-3rd Ward, who suggested $1.5 million be spent for the design work, said $30 million “is pretty much the Taj Mahal,” and instead of a combined police station-main fire station there could be an option to just build a police station and upgrade the main fire station downtown. Brown said at the Feb. 21 meeting that the $3 million for the design work would help nail down the actual cost of the project as well as consider alternate locations. The administration’s plan would be to use ARP money as well as state and federal grants with the rest borrowed by the city over a 20-year period. The project would take eight to 10 months to design and then 18 to 24 months to construct. Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st Ward and a strong supporter of the project, said he expects it will get done at the Wick Avenue location and council will approve it at the March 26 meeting. Kelly said: “I’m not on board with spending the money. They’re giving us no alternate sites so why give $3 million? I’m a no for $3 million. They better come down a little bit. I can’t say a number. I say, ‘Give me some sites and other options.'”

At Wednesday’s meeting, council allowed the board of control to waive bidding and pay $96,535 to Schindler Elevator Corp. to replace the doors on the police department’s elevator. Brown said the city is trying to postpone any major improvements to the police station because of the proposed safety campus. “The building is so old,” Brown said. “We want to limit our losses.” Also Wednesday, council supported Kelly’s legislation to spend $15,000 from the city’s 5th Ward ARP fund to purchase a bomb-sniffing dog for the city’s police department. Council voted April 6, 2022 to give each of its seven members $2 million in ARP funds for ward projects.

Council gave a second reading Wednesday to give $52,000 from Davis’ ward ARP fund for the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. to do renovations and improvements to Beyond Expectations Barber College on Glenwood Avenue.

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

Monday, March 11, 2024. 

On Friday, March 8, Denise DeBartolo York awarded a $10,000 grant to YNDC for the Glenwood Fresh Market.

The market, located at 2915 Glenwood Avenue, provides year-round access to FREE fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy food items for residents of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. The market also provides free health screenings, nutrition literacy courses, cooking demonstrations, and other resources to members. 

Huge thanks to Denise DeBartolo York for her ongoing support!

On every side of Youngstown, there are streets with vacant lots where houses once stood — and where houses could be built once again.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation estimates there are 25,000 vacant parcels in the city.

To read the full story from WKBN, click here. 

The Business Journal roundtable on repopulating the Mahoning and Shenango valleys took place Feb. 15 at Waypoint 4180 in Canfield. Participating were Christopher Colon, Guy Coviello, Angelica Diaz, James Kinnick, Emil Liszniansky, Lisa Long, Jake Rickert, Julie Michael Smith and Nancy Voitus.

Colon is a co-founding director of Thrive Mahoning Valley, which works on welcoming immigrants and refugees. Coviello is president and CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber. Diaz is executive director of Youngstown OCCHA, the Organization Civica y Cultural Hispana Americana, a nonprofit social services agency. Kinnick is the executive director of the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments. Liszniansky is a consultant with Envision and special projects coordinator for Eastgate. Long is financial resources development director of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation and its CEO-designate. Rickert is director of workforce development at Penn-Northwest Development Corp. Smith is a consultant to Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition and is working with its counterpart in Mercer and Lawrence counties, Pa. Voitus is executive director of Catholic Charities Regional Agency, also a nonprofit social services agency that has served Greater Youngstown since the late 19th century. 

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

Thursday, March 14, 2024. 

Bonnie’s roof had a large hole in it, which was slowly leaking into her 2nd Ward home, causing the ceiling to unexpectedly cave in on her bedroom. Bonnie said, "I almost got seriously hurt. I heard water trickling, but didn't know the roof was messed up." The water was slowly being absorbed in the attic insulation which became so heavy, half of the ceiling came down on her bed while she was sleeping. YNDC replaced Bonnie’s roof and there are no more leaks! Bonnie loves her home and her neighborhood and is so grateful to be able to stay in her house, where she has lived since 1989. Bonnie said, “I speak very highly of YNDC’s roof replacement program.”  This new roof was made possible by The Affordable Housing Program of Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati. 

Monday, March 18, 2024. 

On Friday, February 9, The Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley awarded a $150,000 grant to the Glenwood Fresh Market.

The market, located at 2915 Glenwood Avenue, provides year-round access to FREE fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy food items for residents of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. The market also provides free health screenings, nutrition literacy courses, cooking demonstrations, and other health resources to members. The Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley and Mercy Health's Community Health team are primary partners in the Glenwood Fresh Market. Hats off to The Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley for their ongoing support and partnership!

Monday, March 18, 2024. 

The Taft Elementary School Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Travel Plan continues to pay dividends with the recent completion of a project to install pedestrian scale lighting on the streets adjacent to the school. YNDC developed the Taft SRTS Travel Plan in 2014 in collaboration with the City of Youngstown, Youngstown City School District, students, parents of students, and other stakeholders. The plan has since resulted in multiple SRTS infrastructure awards that have been used to improve crossings, replace sidewalks, install missing sidewalk connections, improve signage, install bike racks, and most recently to install pedestrian scale lighting. The Taft Travel Plan was the first travel plan completed in Youngstown and was prioritized because the school has the highest percentage of students that live within walking distance. Thank you to everyone involved in the travel plan and ongoing implementation!
 

Monday, March 18, 2024. 

YNDC worked with the City of Youngstown, Councilman Julius Oliver, and the Mahoning County Land Bank to develop the Bernard Street project in 2023. Councilman Oliver supported the award of $725,000 in American Rescue Plan funding from the City of Youngstown to support the project.

YNDC began the project by working with the Mahoning County Land Bank to assemble all of the vacant land on the north side of Bernard Street. YNDC assisted the homeowner at 321 Glenwood Avenue with critical exterior repairs. YNDC has also surveyed and replatted the lots on the north side of Bernard Street.

In March 2024, YNDC began clearing the north side of Bernard Street to prepare for the construction of three new homes to be sold to homeowners. YNDC has removed more than 550 cubic yards of debris, dead trees, and vegetation. Once the clearing is complete, the next phase will be construction. YNDC anticipates beginning construction in the coming months. 

Leigh is currently the Director of Community Health for Mercy Health Youngstown, beginning her journey with the ministry May 31, 2021. Leigh graduated in 2020 with her master’s in social services administration with the concentration: Community Practice for Social Change from Case Western Reserve University.

Prior to her position with Mercy Health, she was the director of the Youngstown Office on Minority Health for the Youngstown City Health District. Her role in the position was to inform, educate and empower the minority populations to take a more preventative and proactive role in their health. She is the co-chair to the Greater Youngstown Community Dialogue on Racism (GYCDOR).

To her credit she co-produced with members from GYCDOR and MY Baby’s 1st the video “Dads Do Matter” (that can be found on YouTube). The video project specifically targets at risk fathers, by providing education and real-life experiences of young fathers. Leigh was a navigator for Access Health Mahoning Valley enrolling individuals without insurance into the ACA. For 18 years she worked as the Social Service Director for a skilled nursing facility.

Leigh is currently a board member of the Western Reserve Foundation, Healthy Community Partnership, as well as being involved in equity and maternal coalitions. Leigh is member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Youngstown Alumnae Chapter and the National Association of Social Work. She is a member of Tabernacle Baptist Church. Her joy is that she is the mother of two adult sons David and Desmond.

Her passion is to enhance the work of the office, concentrating her efforts on health equity, removing barriers to access care, and improving social determinates as it relates to quality of life for residents living in Youngstown and surrounding areas. 
 

Wednesday, March 20, 2024. 

On Wednesday, March 20, 2024, YNDC and project partners broke ground on the construction of two duplexes that will be located at 3017 and 3029 Glenwood Avenue. The new construction project will create four apartment units each with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open concept living, kitchen, dining area, and in-unit laundry. Each unit will also have covered and visitor parking. The units are approximately 1,100 square feet each.

The project is made possible through funding support from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh's Affordable Housing Program (FHLB) and the City of Youngstown's HOME program. PNC Bank served as YNDC's partner and member bank for the FHLB application. PNC is also providing the construction financing for the project. The vacant lots were provided by the Mahoning County Land Bank. The builder for the project is Joe Koch Construction. The project also received support from The Raymond John Wean Foundation, Sixth Ward Councilwoman Anita Davis, surrounding neighbors, and the Glenwood Neighbors Business Association. Many thanks to all involved in making this project possible!