Groups plan cleanup of neighborhood

By ELISE FRANCO

Local volunteers say they will continue cleaning up their neighborhood until it’s returned to its old self.

YOUNGSTOWN — Over the past several months, groups across Youngstown have done city- and neighborhood-wide cleanups. But not everyone has been as candid about the need as Abdul Harris.

Harris is a member of Difference Makers, a local nonprofit charity, and has lived on the city’s lower East Side for 50 years. He said conditions in his neighborhood have become unacceptable.

“Once upon a time there was no blight. There were no empty houses,” he said. “Now they are empty and red-tagged, and that attracts crime. So instead of complaining about it, we decided to clean it up ourselves.”

The cleanup will begin at 9:30 a.m. June 24 at the corner of Lansing Avenue and Bank Street. Harris expects participation from about 50 members of Difference Makers and Heart Reach Ministries of Youngstown.

Harris said he knows of at least six abandoned properties that have become nothing more than a trash dump or a place to conduct illegal activity. The groups plan to clean up those properties by removing trash, tires and brush. He said keeping up with these abandoned houses not only helps the neighborhood look better, but also keeps unwanted “two- and four-legged vermin” away.

“It looks bad right now, and we are disgusted, so we want to get out there and do something about it,” Harris said. “We’re hoping in year two of the project we finally get some results.”

He said they plan to continue the cleanup every year until they start to see their neighborhood return to its former self.

“We’ll keep going until people can sit back on their porch and hold their heads up high and walk tall through streets like they used to,” he said.

Harris said the volunteers do great work, but what they really need is help from within the city.

“We will keep doing this until leaders stop getting on TV and harping on things that have nothing to do with the overall quality of life here in Youngstown,” he said.

“All you hear is ‘downtown’ this and ‘downtown’ that. This isn’t the city of ‘downtown’ — it’s Youngstown.”

After the cleanup, volunteers and supporters are invited to a cook-out, and Harris hopes to see residents in attendance.

“Even if you just come down and give us a thumbs-up and tell us we’re doing a good job, that will make us feel good,” he said.

For more information about the cleanup, contact Abdul Harris at encouragedbeencouraged@yahoo.com.