Neighborhoods

Monday, September 30, 2024.

On September 26, YNDC completed the first phase of the Bernard Street project. Phase one of the Bernard Street revitalization project included: the assembly of land on the street; clearing of more than 500 cubic yards of debris, installation of new infrastructure: sidewalks, curbing, street paving, water boxes, etc; completion of home repair for an existing homeowner; construction of three new homes; and preparation of three additional lots for a second phase which will construct three additional homes and break ground in the coming months.

The newly constructed homes are approximately 1,500 square feet with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open concept living, kitchen, and dining area, first floor laundry room, and two car attached garage. The homes are listed for sale for $195,000.

The project is made possible through funding support from the First Ward American Rescue Plan funding from the City of Youngstown allocated by Councilman Julius Oliver. PNC provided the construction financing for the project. The vacant lots were assembled by and acquired from the Mahoning County Land Bank. The builder for the project was Joe Koch Construction. The project also received support from The Raymond John Wean Foundation, City of Youngstown, and the Glenwood Neighbors Business Association. 
 

Two new duplexes on Glenwood Avenue are available for rent through the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation.

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

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) marked the completion of two new duplexes on Glenwood Avenue on Tuesday.

To read the full story from WFMJ, click here.

Two new duplexes on Glenwood Avenue are available for rent through the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC).

To read the full story from WKBN, click here.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation and Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown celebrated completing a major project that transformed a vacant lot into affordable housing for Youngstown residents.

To read the full story from Mahoning Matters, click here.

On Wednesday, Youngstown City council members voted unanimously to to earmark close to $6 million in ARP money, to rehabilitate parks around the city.

However, during that meeting, the current and former  7th ward council woman argued over the impact that full-length basketball court would have on the community.

Basia Adamczak, the former, represented the ward when ARP dollars were first dispersed, and last night presented city council and community members with data collected from Cleveland and Akron--a pair of cities that also allocated ARP funds to make upgrades to parks.

"A 20 percent increase in homes within a walking distance, and a 30 percent decrease in vandalism and petty crime.", said Adamczak.

On the other hand, current city councilwoman Amber White says she's following the voices of her constituents, and city park data. A survey done in connection with YNDC found that out of 117 residents, 48 percent found the court to not be important, while 23 percent were neutral.

To read the full article from WFMJ, click here. 

Voters in the sprawling 6th Congressional District of Ohio are fortunate this fall to have two credible candidates seeking to represent its 785,000 residents in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The two candidates also will be familiar names to district voters as this race rises as a rematch of the special election in June in which Republican Michael Rulli defeated Democrat Michael L. Kripchak. The results of that special election — Rulli, 55 percent of the vote; Kripchak 45 percent of the vote – were much closer than most analysts had predicted and the closest in years for that traditionally Republican-dominant 11-county district that winds southward from Youngstown to Marietta.

Clearly, both candidates have appealing qualities to the electorate. After reviewing their backgrounds and conducting interviews with each of them, members of this newspaper’s Editorial Board conclude that either Kripchak or Rulli would serve competently the interests of the 6th District in general and of the Mahoning Valley in particular.

Both Rulli and Kripchak have respectable backgrounds in leadership and public service and neither has made politics a lifelong career.  Rulli has served as director of operations for Rulli Brothers Markets in Boardman and Austintown for three decades and therefore has acquired strong business and customer relation skills.  Kripchak has distinguished himself as an honors graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and has worked in myriad fields as an acquisitions officer, research scientist, production manager and as chief of strategy and partnerships for NEGEMS Inc. of New York. Clearly, neither candidate is a slouch.

Both Rulli and Kripchak share similar goals of more sustained job growth and economic development in the district. Kripchak, for example, has developed plans for a Mahoning to Marietta Manufacturing Corridor with the Youngstown area designated as the home base for advanced manufacturing.  Rulli, for his part, vows to prioritize initiatives that stimulate entrepreneurship and investment in job growth. He also plans to work with groups such as the Youngstown Neighborhood Corridor to fortify the housing supply in the region to help attract new businesses and new residents.

To read the full story from the Tribune Chronicle, click here.

Shovels hit the ground as volunteers began planting new greenery across Warren — part of an initiative to revitalize the city’s urban canopy.  Led by Lydia Lynch, health and wellness coordinator for Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership and the Mahoning Valley Tree Corps, the goal is to plant 5,500 trees across Warren and Youngstown over the next five years, with Warren set to receive 1,215 of those noninvasive, native species trees.

To read the full story from The Tribune Chronicle, click here.

Looking for that perfect book to snuggle up with as the weather cools?  Look no further than the Westminster Presbyterian Church’s 68th annual used book sale that begins Wednesday at the church, 119 Stadium Drive, Boardman. The book sale has been an important fundraiser for the many missions the church helps throughout the year. It began as a simple idea, according to book sale co-chair Andrea Armbrecht.  “It started in 1956 when my father, Rev. Sam Warr, was pastor of the church,” Armbrecht said. “The church was located in downtown Youngstown.”  She said the church used to be at the end of the Market Street bridge in downtown Youngstown on the site where the Thomas D. Lambros Federal Building is located today.

The first book sale was credited to the idea posed by church member Hazel Thorne. She had been to another church that hosted such a used book sale and thought the idea was a good fit for Westminster.  The first book sale was in 1956 with the Westminster Church’s Women’s Association taking on the project. The first year brought in close to $300.  Every year except for the COVID-19 years has seen the sale continue and grow. Following the pandemic, it did drop a bit, but is returning to the pre-COVID-19 sales that saw more than 50,000 used books offered.  The books offered for this year’s big sale have been collected since Nov. 1 of last year. A volunteer staff, including church members and non-members who love books, gather on two Mondays each month to sort the book donations. Co-chair Jan Machel said the program is part of the county’s recycling program.  “We are an official dropoff center for used books,” she said. “We work with the Mahoning County Green Team to recycle.”   She said when a donation of books is dropped off at the church, the volunteers will go through the donations and check them for things like letters, bookmarks, or even money stuck between the pages. The books are then separated into categories and are priced.  “We usually price them at 10% of the value,” Macher said. “And that is for the first day of the sale.”  She said on Thursday, all the paperback books will be sold at 25 cents each. On Friday, all books will be half price until 4 p.m. The sale runs 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. all three days.  After 4 p.m. on Friday, it’s time to move some books and Macher and her staff have just the way to do that.  “We’ve had a donation of paper bags from Rulli’s,” she said.  “On Friday, shoppers can buy the bag for $1 and fill it with as many books as they can fit.”  At the end of the three-day sale, the remaining books are then sent to the recycling center. Volunteer Tom Davis said it is an important service. “I have been doing this since the church was downtown,” he said. “This is a community service for people who can’t afford new books. This is a win-win for everyone.”

Last year’s event, according to Machel, brought in $17,000. That amount, she said, was down from the pre-pandemic years. She said a small amount of those proceeds goes to the church for use of the room, but the majority goes to international, national and local charities.  Among the local charities to benefit from the used book sale are the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, Protestant Family Services, Needles Eye, Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp, Habitat for Humanity, Pregnancy Help Center, Hope for Renewal, Sleep in Heavenly Peace and Purple Cat. Machel added the Hope Lodge in Cleveland for cancer patients is also supported.  

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

Tuesday, October 8, 2024. 

YNDC is proud to announce the publishing of its performance report from the 3rd Quarter of 2024!

The performance report highlights the work of YNDC from July to September 2024.

An electronic copy can be downloaded below.