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South Avenue Merchants Look to Revive Corridor
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Proponents of revitalizing the South Avenue corridor hope an upcoming cleanup effort will be a stepping stone to reforming the South Avenue Merchants Association and cause more change along the artery.
Representatives of South Avenue businesses along with residents of adjacent neighborhoods and guests gathered Friday afternoon for a business summit. The summit, hosted by the South Avenue Area Neighborhood Development Initiative, or Saandi, was held at Metro Assembly Church.
“We know the power of what can happen when the businesses come together in a community to try to effect some change,” said B.J. Duckworth, an account manager with Coca Cola Refreshment, on the South Avenue cross street of East Indianola Avenue.
As an example of that power, businesses are being asked to participate in “Clean Sweep,” set for noon until 2 p.m. Sept. 12. During those two hours, business owners and their employees along South Avenue have been asked to sweep their sidewalks, pull up weeds, pick up trash – in short, clean up and spruce up the fronts of their businesses as well as any adjacent vacant properties.
“At Coke, we’re going to make an effort to clean up our entire block,” Duckworth said.
In addition to Duckworth, Mayor John McNally, 7th Ward Councilman John Swierz and representatives of city departments addressed the merchants and guests.
Among them was Abigail Beniston, interim building and housing specialist for the city. Some time ago, the city’s code enforcement and demolition department swept the corridor to enforce residential and commercial codes, she related. “We issued notices to all the businesses and homes that were in violation,” Beniston recalled. The effort resulted in businesses improving their properties and in some cases structures were razed.
“It’s our plan to make another sweep through and try and tie up any loose ends,” she said.
McNally expects to use most, if not all, funds from the rebate due the city from the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation into demolition, including some “commercial eyesores,” he said.
“We are trying to focus those resources as they come up in targeted areas,” not just hit scattered properties throughout the city, he said. “We want to make a concerted effort to make a difference in certain areas right away.”
The mayor also said he plans to discuss ways with FirstEnergy that it the and the city can work together to provide manpower and possibly financial assistance to address lots near its building on South Avenue.
McNally’s administration is “committed to the corridors in the city of Youngstown,” Swierz said.
Among the administration speakers, Tom DeAngelo, economic development specialist, provided information on economic development programs that city officers and other partners, including the Small Business Development Center at Youngstown State University, offer.
The two city initiatives he discussed, the Youngstown Initiative and the façade-assistance programs, are idle for want of funding but funding might be available for projects launched later this year or in 2015, he said. The city economic development department can also provide advice for businesses, he said.
The group also heard from representatives of the police, health and public works departments.
Eager to see progress in the neighborhood, Bob Gray, treasurer of the 7th Ward Citizens Coalition, fiscal agent for Saandi, said he was “very encouraged that something like this is going on.”
Tony Ramunno, president of Allied Locksmith of Youngstown Inc., was disappointed that more than a dozen or so business representatives were absent from Friday’s meeting.
Ramunno, whose business has been on South Avenue since 1976 and at its address 31 years, was part of the group that formed the original South Avenue Merchants Association during the 1980s.It formed in response to inaction regarding reconstruction of the South Avenue Bridge. “It takes more involvement to do anything and hopefully it will start with this cleanup. Hopefully it will make a difference,” he remarked.
While he is pleased with the demolitions of dilapidated homes, he wanted to know what would be done with the vacant lots. “Can we get somebody there to start building again?” he asked. “I would like to see someone involved with getting people back to he city. Too many people have left the city, so I would like to see people come back.”
Pictured: South Avenue in Youngstown, Ohio.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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