Group from Valley tells legislators what cities need

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U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles

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Charlie Wilson

Local community organizers and block-watch leaders went to the capital to raise awareness about a new bill.

STAFF REPORT

Youngstown and Warren have decreasing populations in need of assistance, and a local group went to Washington, D.C., to make that clear to federal lawmakers.

A group of organizers from the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative, along with Youngstown neighborhood block-watch leaders and members attended the National People’s Action conference in the nation’s capital over the weekend.

The MVOC aims to form groups that share the common goal of cleaning up urban neighborhoods in the two cities.

The conference was to help grass-roots organizations in cities across America meet with administration officials and members of Congress to discuss their needs.

The goals of the MVOC and community leaders were to promote and educate federal lawmakers about the Community Regeneration, Sustainability and Innovation Act of 2009, which was introduced to the Mahoning Valley by U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-17th, of Niles.

The bill would create new grant programs within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The grant money would be intended for cities suffering from widespread property vacancy and abandonment due to loss of employment and population, according to the MVOC.

“We were looking to let officials know where the vacant land in our area, in Youngstown, stands,” said Christine Silvestri of the 7th Ward Citizen’s Coalition.

The group met with legislative staffs of U.S. Reps. Charlie Wilson, D-6th, of St. Clairsville and Steven LaTourette, R-14th, of Bainbridge Township on Monday.

She said there are the mass amounts of vacant and abandoned property in the Youngstown area.

Youngstown and Warren would be eligible to apply for grants from the new HUD program because both have lost more than 20 percent of their population since 1970.

Youngstown lost 42 percent going from 139,788 to 82,026, and Warren lost 27 percent going from 63,494 to 46,832, according to the MVOC.

“Every single city that was represented at the National Peoples Action [conference] has the exact same problem,” Silvestri said.

“This trip was the beginning of us getting the bill out there. Even Charlie Wilson’s staff wasn’t aware of this bill,” she said.

The grant money, among other things, could be used for creating or expanding land banks; demolishing vacant and abandoned structures; and using open space for urban agriculture or maintaining structures with cultural and historic significance.

“I feel very positive about the trip; we hit the key players,” Silvestri said. “It shows that we care about our area and Northeast Ohio. The MVOC did the right work.”