Neighborhoods

Wednesday, February 17, 2016.

On Thursday, February 11, YNDC's Housing Director Tiffany Sokol was selected as a 25 Under 35 Honoree by the Mahoning Valley Young Professionals for her work at YNDC, involvement in her church: Tabernacle Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and service to the community including serving on the board of Hope for Renewal and mentoring youth.

Tiffany is an incredible asset to YNDC and plays a critical role in our growth and impact. Please join us in congratulating her.

Blue doors invite guests into both the front and side entrances at the newly rehabbed 928 Canfield Road triplex.

The bright blue color represents a Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. signature.

The organization likes to add character to the buildings it rehabs, and a brightly colored door seems to do just that.

To the next person who walks through the blue door, though, that color represents a new home.

“It is real important to the area here,” Tiffany Sokol, housing director for the YNDC, said of the property. “We really wanted to preserve the property.”

The YNDC is in search of tenants for the two, two-bedroom, one bathroom units available for rent at 928 Canfield Road.

The units feature hardwood floors in the living room, dining room and both bedrooms. The bathrooms come with new toilets and the kitchens with new cabinets and counters, and a microwave, stove and refrigerator are included. Each unit has a reserved garage parking space and additional, uncovered parking.

Each two-bedroom unit is available for rent to qualified tenants on a annual lease for $600 per month plus gas and electric. The home, built in 1927, always has been a triplex.

Before the property was donated to the YNDC by an out-of-state developer in March 2014, it was purchased by Rincon Ulysses for $82,680 in September 2006, according to the Mahoning County Auditor’s office.

When the YNDC took over the property, work had to be done to make it what it is today.

“Our crew has been out there the last 10 to 12 weeks or so doing rehabilitation work,” Sokol said.

New windows, furnaces and air conditioners also were purchased for the house.

The YNDC used private funds to pay for the cost to rehab the triplex.

“It’s an important structure in one of our strategic neighborhoods and it’s on a corridor, Sokol said. “If we were to let them demolish it, it would change the look of the street.”

The complex has a third apartment that the YNDC plans to use for short-term renting.

“There’s a pretty severe lack of high-quality rentals in the area,” Sokol said. “Move-in-ready rentals in the area are hard to find.”

The triplex is in the Idora Park neighborhood near the YNDC office on Canfield Road.

“It certainly helps to bolster the Idora neighborhood a little more,” Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally said.

To read more at Vindy.com, please click here. 

Late last week, the City of Youngstown approved a study of blighted and abandoned properties.

As WKSU’s Kabir Bhatia reports, one neighborhood group is already compiling data on the city’s vacant homes.

By the end of this month, the Youngstown Neighborhood Redevelopment Corporation should complete its count of abandoned properties in the city. Executive Director Ian Beniston says the goal is different from the city’s survey of blighted properties.

“I’m not an expert on slum and blight analysis but it’s more than just counting. I believe the city already knows, generally, what’s vacant in those areas. They’re doing a deeper analysis to see if they can classify them as slum and blight areas. And then I believe that there’s acquisition tools they can utilize."

Ian Beniston on the differences between the studies:

“What we’re doing is simply counting every vacant structure and giving it a simple rating throughout the whole city. We’re not going into the extent of whatever’s required for slum and blight analysis. Ours is more for purposes of neighborhood stabilization, demolition [and] renovation.”

The city’s study will assess four specific areas for redevelopment for light industrial use. The two surveys come just as the U.S. Treasury Department announced its latest round of Hardest Hit Funds, which include $97 million for Ohio to demolish abandoned or blighted properties."

To read the whole story from WKSU, click here. 

Some Youngstown property owners' tax bills were higher due to charges from the city for grass cutting.

It’s that time of year when businesses and property owners pay their semi-annual property tax bills, and the Mahoning County Treasurer’s Office began receiving calls from people wondering why their tax bills are so high.

First News has learned thousands of owners, for the first time, are being charged because their grass has been cut by city workers. That extra charge costs $150 for each occasion.

The city says the law is to keep property owners from being absent landlords, as well as improve neighborhood aesthetics. The law has been in effect for more than a decade, but it went largely unenforced until last spring and summer when more than 9,000 lots were cut at a cost of more than $3 million to the city — a cost which is now being passed on to the owners.

Lawyers for the city said warning notices were sent out last April with local water bills, as well as running them in the newspaper.

This isn’t the first time the issue has been discussed. In October, property owners complained about the $300 charge, which was cut down to $150.

Abby Beniston, of the Youngstown Code Enforcement and Demolition Department, said the $150 covers the cost of manpower.

“That is to cover the manpower that’s actually cutting it, the personnel time for the research to find these property owners,” she said. “There’s a lot of costs that go into that.”

Mahoning County Treasurer Dan Yemma said despite the notices, the new charges led to a lot of questions from property owners.

“There are many all at once, so people are… surprised, I guess,” he said.

The city says it will step in if the grass grows above eight inches. There is an appeals process for those who think they are being unfairly charged, and that next hearing is March 9.

To read the whole story from WKBN, click here. 

Today’s entertainment picks:

v WWE Live, 7:30 p.m.: The wrestling show returns to Covelli Centre with tag-team champs New Day and more ($15 to $110 at the box office); 800-745-3000.

v Greek Festival, noon to 10 p.m.: Greek food and entertainment (free admission) at Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church, 401 12th St., Campbell.

v Katrina Brown, 8 and 10 p.m.: Raw standup comedian at the Comedy Cellar at Mojo’s Pub and Grill, 6292 Mahoning Ave., Austintown; 330-793-6656.

v “Dear Liar,” 7:30 p.m.: An intimate show that relives playwright George Bernard Shaw’s affair through letters ($17.50, includes dessert and coffee at intermission). It’s in the cabaret room at Selah Restaurant, 130 S. Bridge St., Struthers; 800-838-3006.

v “Vaudeville at the Vic,” 7:30 p.m.: This annual fundraiser ($10) is a fun revue-style show. The theater is at 702 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown; 330-746-5455.

“MythBusters” (8 p.m., Discovery): The explosive final season of “MythBusters” continues. Tonight, Adam and Jamie try to determine whether or not gummy bears can be used as rocket fuel.

For complete listings, see TV Week magazine, included with today’s paper.

LOCAL TOPICS ON TV

“Community Connection” (Sunday at 6:30 a.m. on 21 WFMJ-TV and 11 a.m. on WBCB-TV): Host Madonna Chism Pinkard’s guests will be Nick Santucci or Youngstown city schools, Jerome Franklin of the Starting Lineup, Katie Seminara of the Youngstown Phantoms and JoAnn Stock of Akron Children’s Hospital.

“Increase the Peace” (today at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 6:30 a.m. on MyYTV): Host Andrea Mahone will welcome local artist Monica Currie.

“A Conversation With Dee” (Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on WKBN-TV): Host Dee Crawford’s guests will be Ian Beniston and Tiffany Sokol from the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.

“Senior Focus” (today and Sunday at 9:30 a.m. on Armstrong Cable channels 20 and 100): Host Bill Adams will talk with guests from the Antonine Sisters and Easter Seals Adult Day Care programs.

Oscar contest deadline nears

The deadline to enter The Vindicator’s Best of Film contest, in which the winners win gift certificates from Rulli Brothers, is Wednesday. The ballot will appear in Monday’s paper.

Musicologist will lecture on campus

YOUNGSTOWN

Michael Baumgartner, a professor of musicology at Cleveland State University, will give a free lecture at 4 p.m. Feb. 26 in Bliss Recital Hall, on the Youngstown State University campus. For information, call the Dana School of Music at 330-941-2307.

Baumgartner will focus on Jean-Luc Godard’s early films from 1960 to around 1966, which reveal an ironic reflection of Hollywood cinema from the 1940s and 1950s.

His research comprises music in relation to the other arts (cinema, theater and visual arts), music of the 20th and 21st centuries, and the narrative capacity of music.

To read the whole story at Vindy.com, please click here.

Youngstown Community School, a kindergarten through sixth-grade public charter school, will take applications for the 2016-17 school year from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Wednesday through Friday at the school, 50 Essex St. Children applying for kindergarten must be 5 by Sept. 30. Call Kathy Krusel, school secretary, at 330-746-2240 for information.

YOUNGSTOWN

Get work experience, help with school

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. is seeking candidates for its Revitalize AmeriCorps project.

YNDC is seeking hard-working individuals interested in strengthening their skill-set and experience in basic construction, landscaping, and property maintenance through the completion of projects to stabilize city neighborhoods.

These are one-year, full-time national service positions through the AmeriCorps State Program sponsored by ServeOhio. A modest living allowance and a basic health plan option are provided to all members.

Eligibility for a Segal Education Award upon successful completion of service can help to pay your way through trade school, college or student loan debt.

Positions start in early March. Interested candidates can apply at YNDC’s office, 820 Canfield Road, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Shenango Watchers

HERMITAGE, PA.

The annual public meeting of Shenango River Watchers will be 7 p.m. Tuesday in the activities building at Buhl Park, 715 Hazen Road.

Information will be shared about volunteer opportunities, upcoming events, research and more. For information, call 724-342-5453 or email info@shenangoriverwatchers.org.

 To read the whole story at Vindy.com, please click here.

Monday, February 22, 2016

On a warm 60 degree February day, volunteers from Tabernacle Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Victory Christian Center, Youngstown State University students, AmeriCorps members and community volunteers cleaned up and boarded 21 vacant homes, removed over 50 cubic yards of debris and 196 tires.

The next workday will be held Saturday, March 19, at 8:30am. FIGHT BLIGHT.

Friday, March 4, 2016

On February 24, 2016, the Ohio Department of Transportation approved the City of Youngstown's Safe Routes to School travel plan, which will allow the City to apply for funding from ODOT to address safety issues around elementary and middle schools.

The plan was created by YNDC with input from students, parents, principals, and city officials. The goal of the plan is to document issues affecting students who walk and bicycle to school and to provide countermeasures that address those issues. A previous travel plan had been created for Taft Elementary School on the South Side, which has the highest percentage of students who walk to school in the district. The plan allowed the City to receive $200,000 in 2015 for infrastructure improvements around the school. Improvements are planned for the next two years around Taft and Harding Elementary Schools. On March 4, 2016, the City of Youngstown submitted two grant applications to ODOT: 1) $315,000 to fund infrastructure improvements around McGuffey and Williamson Elementary Schools; and 2) $30,000 to fund a part-time Safe Routes to School coordinator for two years. The coordinator would facilitate educational and encouragement activities at the schools, such as pedestrian and bicycle safety demonstrations, helmet giveaways, and walking school buses.

Friday, February 26, 2016. 

Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation is pleased to present a new series of its free intensive business planning course, Bright Idea to Business Plan, presented this spring with the support of Cortland Banks.

These classes are geared to help those starting small businesses create a business plan and understand local resources for business assistance and financing. This series will run Tuesday nights from 6-9pm from April 5 - May 17th. While the classes are free, participants should commit to attending the entire series. An application for this course is required—interested individuals can contact Liberty at YNDC (330.480.0423) to set up a one-on-one meeting about YNDC services and fill out application materials.

Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. will present a free business-planning course this spring, Bright Idea to Business Plan.

It will run 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays from April 5 through May 17.

The classes, underwritten in part by Cortland Banks, are designed to help entrepreneurs write a business plan and learn about the resources, both financial and mentoring, available.

Topics covered are community resources, mission and vision, cash flows, financial statements and pricing. Established small-business owners will participate in classes, offering students their perspective on what it takes to succeed.

Other program partners are the Ohio State University Extension and the Burton D. Morgan Foundation.

While the classes are free, participants should be prepared to attending the entire series. An application for this course is required. Workbooks and class materials will be provided.

In addition to classes, YNDC has loan funds and financial counseling available for new or operating entrepreneurs in Mahoning County.

To apply or obtain additional information, call Liberty Merrill at 330 480 0423 or email her at lmerrill@yndc.org. A one-on-one meeting can be arranged to discuss YNDC programs and services and to fill out application materials.

To read more from The Business Journal, click here.