Confidence Lost?

Tuesday the carriage house at 259 Park Ave. was demolished. Since then, there has been much impassioned dialogue — and rightfully so — about why the demolition happened, despite plans for preservation.

The CDA is committed to carrying out the community’s wishes. The CDA did its part to communicate the mutual commitment that was reached between residents and neighborhood stakeholders at a public forum Nov. 9 at Wick Park.

During the discussion, attendants pledged to develop a task force to determine an interim strategy for the reuse of the remaining historical structures at 259 Park Ave. The property, the recent target of arson, was built in 1875. The stone structure was the first house on Park Ave. in what is now a historic district recognized by The National Register of Historical Places.

While 259 Park Ave. was demolished, the structure was not the only thing that the city lost. The city lost the confidence of the community in its ability to effectively implement agreed upon strategy for neighborhood revitalization.

The CDA has always strived to remain sensitive to the needs and concerns of residents. The recent activities surrounding 259 Park Ave. show that there is still much room for improvement. There must be effective collaboration between city departments if community-based projects are to be successful.

Neighborhood Action Partners: Treez Please

In continuing with our Neighborhood Action Partners series, we’re profiling Deb Weaver and her work with Treez Please, an organization that has been instrumental in Youngstown’s beautification process.


If you notice more trees lining Youngstown’s streets, you have Deb Weaver to thank for the added greenery.

Since Weaver, along with four other initial members, started Treez Please about two years ago, she and others have undertaken various projects aimed at replenishing the city’s trees.

For their first project, Treez Please acquired property on the corner of Broadway and Kensington, turning the area into a pocket park that included trees and a walking path. Initially, Weaver wanted Treez Please to be a reforestation project that would take advantage of the changes created by building removal.

“It was creating a lot of green space,” Weaver said of demolition.

In addition to reforestation, Treez Please members have been focusing much of their time on targeting neighborhoods with streets in need of foliage. Most recently, they have finished working on an area on Midlothian and also did some planting in Wick Park. Weaver also plans to work downtown, in a project that will add two trees to the front of the DeYor Performing Arts Center.

In addition to continuing with the street tree projects, Weaver has her sights set on expansion. Fundraisers and grants approved by the Wean Foundation finance Treez Please, but Weaver wants to go after bigger Neighborhood Success grants.

“There’s more and more demand,” she said.




In addition to Treez Please, Weaver is involved in a number of other organizations:

Founding member of the Grey to Green Festival
Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation
Neighborhood Success Grant Board
Art Youngstown

She also blogs about Youngstown.

Photo courtesy of Deb Weaver

YNDC Executive Director Chosen

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development corporation has chosen Presley Gillespie as its executive director. You can read more about Gillespie in the Business Journal's article.

Neighborhood Action Partners: Profiling the City's Unsung Heroes

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that change starts at the grassroots level. Youngstown’s ongoing revitalization can be attributed not only to a few well-known faces, but also to the many unsung heroes who are involved in their own communities. These people may not get quoted in the newspaper. They may not appear in local documentaries. But all the same, these individuals are the ones who are affecting change on their streets and blocks. In an effort to recognize some of these people, The CDA has decided to do a blog series called Neighborhood Action Partners. Feel free to suggest people to feature in the series.

Sybil West: President of the Bennington Block Watch on the East Side

Sybil West used to hear gunshots at night. Now she can hear crickets chirp.

“This is a beautiful side of town, a lot of green spaces, a lot of potential,” West says.

West says crime on the East Side was bad in the 70s, 80s, and 90s – the block watch was started by a neighbor who had her car stolen. But now the neighborhood has really changed. West, 63, has been president of the Bennington Block Watch for the last three years. The block watch offers a social outlet for its members, since many are senior citizens. But the group has also been instrumental in helping to make the community a safe and calm one.

West and other members participate in a crime watch, and work to reduce blight and deterioration by utilizing a grass cutting program. The block watch has even joined forces with the MVOC.

West’s positive attitude and leadership have helped keep her community secure. Her group’s work can be a prime example of how city safety begins with neighborhoods.

Grey to Green Festival: A Success!

The turnout Saturday afternoon at the Grey to Green Festival at Wick Park is just added proof of just how much of a city's revitalization starts with community activism and involvement.

There was great food, performances, art, crafts, music, and information. But apart from all this, there was an underlying energy present. This energy manifested itself in the positive response the audience gave when listening to Will Allen, an urban farmer who was awarded with the MacArthur Fellowship for bringing sustainable food practices to urban areas. The energy was also evident in the inquisitive nature of the attendees.

Far from just accepting brochures and moving on to the next booth, some people who stopped by the City of Youngstown table stayed to talk and to ask questions. Many were interested in the deconstruction process. Some wanted to know about marketing the salvaged materials, others questioned how much job creation the deconstruction would result in. Some inquired about the Youngstown 2010 Plan.

Above all, these questions exemplify the interest that people have in the city's sustainable practices, in its redevelopment process. And the best part about it was that people of all ages were doing the questioning.

The diversity was largely apparent in the attendance of the festival itself. Young kids, older senior citizens, families, college students -- all of these people found a reason to come to Wick Park on a Saturday. Maybe most had been to Wick Park before. But maybe this was some people's first time there. And maybe this means they'll be coming back to the park, back downtown. And that means a couple more people become part of Youngstown's ever-growing community of proactive individuals. Namely, they wake up and notice that the city has changed for the better while they were sleeping.

Who Are We!

Youngstown has seen a lot of positive changes occur over the past several years. Even prior to the Youngstown 2010 plan many of those changes were underway. The Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI), economic development in the business parks such as Salt Springs and Performance Place, and the downtown convocation center were all underway pre-Youngstown 2010.

The Youngstown 2010 plan, however, has been the thing that has brought the most attention to us. National and international professional planners, journalists and scholars have been looking to and visiting Youngstown to see how the Youngstown 2010 plan is being implemented. No matter how we see ourselves locally, the outside world sees us and the Youngstown 2010 plan as “The Model of Sustainability.”

Yes, in quotations and bold.

The successes of the YBI, the business parks, downtown, Millcreek Park, or the latest wave, being named a top ten place for entrepreneurs, are all important by themselves. Still, they do not fully represent who we are or how we are seen.

Diversifying our economy with high tech, light manufacturing and distribution and entrepreneurs makes us more sustainable. Having a world class urban park system makes us more sustainable. Being the home of Youngstown State University makes us more sustainable. Being a model of sustainability gives us identity.

Three simple words; say it with me: model of sustainability.

Now share it with everyone you know.

A fresh look through a new lens

Saturday morning the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, a newly formed non-profit CDC, toured the Idora Neighborhood with residents from the neighborhood, community organizers, and myself.

David Boehlke from New Orleans, LA and Joel Owens from Akron, two nationally recognized community development experts, joined the tour. It was interesting to get an outside perspective on the overall condition of the neighborhood. These two agreed that there are more opportunities in this neighborhood than challenges.

The modest and affordable housing offers a unique marketability for reestablishing homeownership. The neighborhood is comprised of approximately 750 housing units, of which 67 percent are owner-occupied.

NSP funds will be targeted in the neighborhood to remove 48 abandoned houses and conduct acquisition and rehabilitation of a minimum of six housing units. CDA has already completed 17 owner-occupied housing projects with $450,000 of HOME, CDBG, and Lead abatement funds. The Idora Neighborhood will be the first of the Youngstown 2010 “model of sustainability” projects.