Wednesday, September 24, 2008
North Side residents need to hold officials accountable to reduce vacant properties, a South Side resident said.
By KATIE SEMINARA
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN — More than 50 concerned North Side residents attended a Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative meeting Tuesday to discuss vacant properties and the future of Forum Health Northside Medical Center.
Personal testimonies of homeowners and employees of Northside Medical Center were shared with a vocal audience and MVOC organizers.
Kevin Singleton, a North Side resident for more than 20 years, expressed his dismay over a vacant home next door that has been vandalized and stolen from like many other vacant homes in the area.
“What I would like to see is someone at least take a look at it. This is why we need a strategy for vacant property in Youngstown,” Singleton said about creating a coalition to lower the rate of vacant homes in the area.
City officials will come to at least look if you hold them accountable, said James London, president of the Idora Neighborhood Association.
“The MVOC helped us get organized,” said London of his group that started out with eight and now boasts more than 200 involved residents.
London expressed the urgency for neighborhood groups to get organized in order to see the changes they want to come to fruition.
Though London heads a team in the Idora Neighborhood, changing Youngstown as a whole is still the main goal, he said.
“Please let’s stick together and make this happen,” London said.
The attendees also discussed the future of North Side staple Forum Health Northside Medical Center. James Brown, who has worked there 33 years, said people should be concerned with protecting the care it provides.
“I can’t imagine Youngstown being revitalized without Northside Forum,” Brown said.
And the new CEO of Forum Health, Buzz Pishkur, said he didn’t take the CEO position with the intent of closing the hospital.
Pishkur said when future meetings are conducted with North Side residents, he will attend to share his plans and hear community plans.
“I believe if we have the right messages, they will be inspiring to employees and also community members,” said Pishkur about the community group’s goals, prompting positive reactions from others.
Councilwoman Annie Gillam, D-1st, said she also would be willing to meet with community groups.
“I do it all the time,” she said.
Gillam addressed the concerns of vacant property on the North Side and in other quadrants of the city, admitting that some of the demolition standards could be changed.
The city is expecting $1 million in federal funds for vacant-home demolition and about 350 homes could be demolished with that amount of money, Gillam said.
However, she added, “I would like to see some homes rehabilitated because they aren’t all in bad shape.”
The next step for the MVOC is to organize a group that is willing to survey those vacant homes, said Tammy Thomas, MVOC community organizer. Individuals who volunteer will be trained so that all vacant properties can be rated on the same scale, said Thomas.
Surveys will start on the North Side and eventually expand across the city, she said.
The meeting was beneficial for residents to hear from Pishkur and to share concerns about what residents can change, Thomas said.