2010 MEETING West Side voices issues

More recreation, speeding enforcement and property issues were topics.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Shari Behun wonders why the small park with organized activities near her lifelong home on South Lakeview Avenue ever closed.
Other West Side residents want a return to such parks in their neighborhoods, too.
Children and future recreational opportunities were on the minds of many of the roughly 50 residents who gathered Tuesday at Chaney High School. The residents, from neighborhoods flanking Mahoning Avenue, came to talk about the Youngstown 2010 plan for their neighborhood.
Residents' concerns
There are many children in the neighborhood, said Behun's next-door neighbor, Tesha Parker. Kids often play in the street despite the traffic, she said. The neighborhood needs a park with structured activities to get kids off the street and keep them out of trouble, Parker said.
"My street could definitely use one," she said.
Indeed, population shifts seem to demand relocating some neighborhood parks, said Jay Williams, director of the city Community Development Agency and 2010 moderator.
Such parks need to be maintained, which hasn't always been done, said Bob Schulick of Old Furnace Road, who has lived next to a city park.
Speeding needs to be enforced near parks, said the Rev. James Daprile of St. Brendan Church.
Several residents talked about speeding cars on Oakwood and Connecticut avenues, which are one-way streets. The city needs to slow cars down, said Alicia Lawrence of Manchester Avenue, or return the streets to two-way traffic.
Homes of departing elderly residents are turning into rentals and becoming drug houses, said Janette Koewacich of North Bon Air Avenue. The city must hold the owners accountable because her three kids shouldn't be subjected to that, she said.
"I'd like to stay where I am. Because of this, I'm thinking of moving," she said.
Neglected areas
Dan Janosik of Ridgelawn Avenue said the city needs to press the owners of empty properties, either banks or residents, on their condition. Such neglect leads to more blight, he said.
"It looks worse and it attracts low-budget rentals," he said.
The city's dormant landlord registration program would help address such problems, and it has been an issue in other neighborhoods, Williams said.
Dianna Liggitt of Ridgelawn Avenue is concerned about neighborhoods surrounding Chaney when the other city high schools soon are consolidated.
Youths without a connection to the neighborhood are more likely to cause trouble, she said. She pointed to problems around Woodrow Wilson High School when South High School closed. Bob Spencer, Chaney principal, said transition plans already are in place. The change will be far different from the closure of South, he said.
Anthony Catale of Winchester Avenue reminded the audience that residents will need to show and maintain their interest to make 2010 work.
The next 2010 neighborhood meeting is 7 p.m. Aug. 10 at Sheridan Elementary School, 3321 Hudson Ave., on the South Side. The meeting is particularly for residents who live south of Indianola Avenue, between South Avenue and Mill Creek Park to the city line.
rgsmith@vindy.com