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Youngstown demolishes East Side home used as a dumping site
City focuses on removing, reducing locations known for illegal activity
YOUNGSTOWN
A city street department crew demolished a vacant house Wednesday that was falling down in sections and filled with debris.
This East Side property was filled with tires, old roof shingles, wood, concrete blocks, bricks and even old chairs.
The 1568 Forest Glen Ave. site had been a prominent dumping location in a largely abandoned section of the city.
“Vacant structures that are dumping sites are going to be torn down in the city,” said Mayor Jamael Tito Brown.
“There was a lot of dumping going on [at the Forest Glen property]. People get out of their car, dump and get back in their car and drive away.”
The Forest Glen house was vacant for about five years, but was in terrible condition, he said.
“We’re focusing on removing and reducing dumping sites in the neighborhoods,” Brown said. “Dumpers have found new locations to dump and we’re working to find them.”
The demolition of the Forest Glen property came a little over a month after Brown and city officials did the same thing at the former Moose Club, 1007 Glenmont Ave. on the North Side. That property too was a dumping site filled with debris and trash.
“Every side of town has illegal dumping issues,” said Jennifer Jones, coordinator of Green Youngstown, the city’s litter prevention and recycling program. “Dumpers go to places that aren’t well lit and easily hidden. We have it on all sides of town. We have habitual dumpers. They’re always looking for new places to dump.”
To report illegal dumping in Youngstown, call Green Youngstown at 330-744-7526.
The city also has a new partnership with Community Corrections Association to have a crew out on weekdays cleaning up litter on the corridors and neighborhood dump sites.