43
Youngstown woman works to get vacant houses demolished in Brier Hill
EDITOR’S NOTE — As 2014 winds down, The Vindicator is taking a daily look back at the people and events that made this year unforgettable. “The Vindicator Rewind” will highlight and update a memorable story from 2014.
YOUNGSTOWN
Patricia Coney loves her Norwood Avenue home, which her parents bought in 1955, but says she’s deeply concerned about the poor and dangerous condition of numerous nearby vacant buildings.
Rather than do nothing but complain about the deterioration of her Brier Hill neighborhood, Coney is a frequent caller to city hall when she sees a problem.
“I’ve seen the deterioration of the neighborhood,” she said. “I want to just live here in peace. Most of the neighbors are older and don’t want to get involved. They’re afraid to speak up, but I’m not. At times, it’s a one-person fight to save my neighborhood.”
Coney’s track record speaks for itself.
“I’ve been able to get the city to take seven houses down in my neighborhood,” she said.
The house next to her on Norwood, off of Wirt Street on the city’s North Side, was heavily damaged in a September fire. She got that one demolished.
In June 2013, she contacted The Vindicator about three vacant structures — including one that was partially demolished by a contractor hired by the city and left in that condition for three weeks — in her neighborhood.
Within a few weeks, all three were completely demolished.
And Coney has a new target: a long-vacant two-story brick building on the southwest corner of Wirt Street and Delaware Avenue, about a block from her house.
The building, which was a grocery store and a furniture store, is missing its doors and nearly all its windows.
Also, the floor on the back portion is gone, and a section of the roof has collapsed.
Inside, the building is filled with garbage, tires and liquor bottles.
The structure is used for prostitution and drug deals, Coney said.
Mayor John A. McNally said the city will demolish the building during the first three months of 2015.
“We know it’s an issue, and she’s rightfully concerned about it,” he said of Coney. “We’re going to take care of it.”
Over the years, Coney has thought of moving.
“I grew up here,” she said. “I have sentimental reasons to stay here. I love this old house. I’m trying my best to take care of it. It’s hard for me to let go. Instead, I’m fighting for my neighborhood. People don’t want to do anything. I tell them they shouldn’t be afraid. But they call me and I call city hall. Somebody’s got to do it.”