West Side residents asked for assets, priorities at 1st neighborhood meeting

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and the city of Youngstown solicited input from West Side residents at the first of what’s intended to be a series of meetings.

“The most important thing we’re doing here tonight is obtaining your feedback,” Ian Beniston, YNDC deputy director, told the residents filling the community room of Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted on Wednesday.

Beniston briefly discussed the YNDC’s recently released neighborhood conditions report, which contains information about Youngstown neighborhoods’ populations, socioeconomic conditions, housing, transportation and health/environment.

The meeting focused on the portion of the West Side from the Wick Recreation Area to north of Mahoning Avenue, known as the Rocky Ridge neighborhood.

“We’re not presenting a plan to you tonight,” Beniston said. “We’re here to solicit feedback.”

To do that, residents were asked to list what they considered the neighborhood’s top three assets and the top three priorities.

For more on the meeting, read Thursday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.