Volunteers pitch in to clean up North Side

Wick Park clean-up

Video

By Sean Barron

Beautiful homes, friendly residents and a lot of activism convinced at least one participant that this work is important.

YOUNGSTOWN — Ken Krantz knows that spending a few hours removing litter won’t by itself eradicate all of the city’s blight.

He also knows, however, that such grass-roots efforts often have a way of catching on.

“We’re out today trying to help the neighborhoods,” said Krantz, who owns about eight homes or rental properties on Bryson Street and Broadway on the city’s North Side. “It’s a small spark, but it could start a fire.”

It wasn’t exactly a fire that was visible in and around Wick Park on Saturday, but an estimated 50 people fanned through the North Side park and surrounding areas as part of the Wick Neighbors Cleanup Day.

The three-hour effort began at Unitarian Universalist Church, 1105 Elm St. It also was hosted by Resettle Youngstown and in conjunction with Earth Day, which is Wednesday.

Krantz, a lifelong area resident, said that common, everyday steps such as keeping lawns cut and not allowing trash to pile up can go a long way toward erasing blight and eyesores in and around the park.

“Just do your part — that’s all we’re asking. Have some pride in yourself,” he added.

Some participants used rakes and shears to remove leaves, dead branches and other debris from yards while others opted for pruning overgrown foliage. Other attendees donned gloves and plastic bags to collect discarded tires, beer bottles, cigarette butts, milk crates and other trash from the park and nearby streets; one participant’s finds included two videocassette recorders someone apparently had left behind.

Accompanying Krantz was his 12-year-old grandson, Jordan Kelley of Youngstown, a student at Reed Middle School in Hubbard.

“[Youngstown’s] beautiful, but garbage makes it worse,” he said.

Jordan added that he wishes more young people felt comfortable coming to the city. Youngstown has a lot to offer, even though “there are some bad people,” he continued.

A pair of old tires and several beer bottles were among the artifacts Nick Celio brought back to the church after having spent a few hours walking through nearby neighborhoods.

Celio, a Youngstown State University political science major and Resettle Youngstown member, said he was trying to get rid of trash around abandoned homes. It’s important to spruce up the outside of area structures and have them reflect what it’s really like to live in the neighborhoods, he noted.

“The homes are unparalleled, residents are friendly and there’s a lot of activism,” Celio said of the park and surrounding areas.

Resettle Youngstown began last October with goals that include getting more people to move back to Youngstown, reducing urban sprawl and working with the city and banks to secure funding to rehabilitate city homes, many of which were built between 1910 and 1920, noted Mark Hoelzel and Jim Converse, both Resettle Youngstown members.

It’s common to need investments between $50,000 and $60,000 for rehabilitative efforts, Converse explained. Only two residences surrounding the park are occupied by homeowners; the rest are rental units or used as group homes, he pointed out.

Another priority is to find more landlords who are committed to and will take pride in city properties they own, Hoelzel said.

For more information about Resettle Youngstown, go to its Web site, www.resettleyoungstown.org.