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What's Happening
Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation seeks to help restore decaying neighborhoods in the city
Many Mahoning Valley residents fondly remember Idora Park and are quick to share stories of their rides on the Wildcat rollercoaster, dances they attended in the ballroom or boat trips down the lost river. For decades, however, much of the public dialog about Idora Park has been limited to remembrances of what was and how sad it is that the amusement park left. Since 1984 when the amusement park closed, the neighborhood surrounding it has suffered steady decline. Crime. Abandoned homes. Residents who fear leaving their homes. The once vibrant Idora neighborhood has become a living laboratory for neighborhood decay and an ideal first project for a new organization that seeks to improve Youngstown neighborhoods. The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) has adopted the Idora Park neighborhood as one of its first demonstration projects. YNDC, formed in 2009, plans to reclaim and rehabilitate vacant properties, preserve existing homes, increase neighborhood pride, create a commercial corridor on Glenwood and work to ensure that the neighborhood is a safe place to live. The YNDC has staked out big plans. But its new director, Presley Gillespie, said the goals are achievable. “YNDC is a multi-faceted community development corporation that will fundamentally change the way the community addresses neighborhood challenges and our work will transform vulnerable and transitional neighborhoods into neighborhoods of choice where people invest time, money and energy into their homes; where neighbors have the capacity to manage day-to-day issues; and where neighbors feel confident about the future of their neighborhood,” Gillespie said. YNDC, funded by The Raymond John Wean Foundation, the City of Youngstown, along with federal and private funding, intends to build numerous alliances and partnerships, including engaging what Gillespie called the nation’s “finest urban thinkers.” Gillespie said YNDC seeks to capitalize in the area’s strengths and assets to try to address some of its weaknesses and challenges. “The Mahoning Valley has tremendous energy and has exhibited a renewed sense of collaboration that has not existed at this level in our valley’s history. With a true high functioning organizing strategy, coupled with a high capacity community development corporation, we are developing the tools to make sustainable change in our neighborhoods,” Gillespie said. Presley’s predictions are already materializing in the Idora Neighborhood. Residents have come together to form the Idora Neighborhood Association, which has grown to more than 240 members. The Idora Neighborhood Association works with the city and the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative to target decaying houses that need to be torn down. Residents are working to clean up their neighborhood by working together to clean up and cut the grass at vacant properties, repairing rusted poles and fire hydrants. They are also engaging with each other through block parties and youth groups. At the 2009 Canfield Fair, for instance, the Idora Wildcats 4-H group won an award. Ian Beniston, assistant director at YNDC, and former policy director at the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative said, “Now neighbors on opposite ends of the street know each other and are talking. It seems to feel as if the neighborhood is getting its future back.” And the residents aren’t stopping with each other. They are trying to engage businesses to help as well and have already had public meetings with area business owners and city officials to discuss issues plaguing the Glenwood Avenue area, including crime, deteriorated storefronts, graffiti, rundown buildings and abandoned store fronts. Some business owners have already responded and have cleaned up their properties. Those who did not have been targeted by members of the Idora Neighborhood Association, who have lobbied city officials to take enforcement action. And the results can already be measured. The Youngstown Police Department reports that burglaries in the neighborhood have dropped 4 percent, and robberies were down 42 percent in 2008 from 2007. The Idora Neighborhood Association plans to create a fenced in children’s garden on Glenwood Avenue where they will showcase area children’s artwork. Other plans for the neighborhood include identifying where streetlights are needed and replacing block watch signs with different signs that identify the neighborhood’s new mission. The YNDC will be working to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to the neighborhood. The YNDC plans to use vacant land to create community gardens or small farms that area residents can use. The neighborhood association has a website, http://idoraneighborhoodassociation.weebly.com/index.html, where it seeks to communicate important information about events and the overall mission of the organization. READ RECENT MEDIA COVERAGE ABOUT THE YNDC: IDORA REVIVAL - The Vindicator YNDC HIRES NEW DIRECTOR - The Vindicator
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