Discussion Groups: Stories

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The 2010 Plan is an accomplishment - no doubt. But the plan is only a plan. How will the city implement it? I belong to a block club and we had a representative of 2010 speak to our group about the plan. However, there is no money (or very limited money) to execute it. Our group came away disappointed. We have people willing to work, but the officials really couldn't articulate what they want residents to do. It seems that once the plan was printed, the rest was going to be left to the residents of the neighborhoods. That fine, but people that cannot make the improvements to their properties will need to be dealt with. My feelings are if any money would be available, it should go to areas that are engaged and willing to put forth a true neighborhood effort. The areas that don't want to participate should be left to wither. This may seem cruel, but neighborhood blight contributes to the destruction of an area and is a breeding ground for criminal activity.

Questions are:

1. What do the residents of the neighborhood clusters want to see done?
2. What support is the city willing to give (financial, labor etc)?
3. What assurances will there be for neighborhoods that want to make the effort. Will the city "walk the death throng" with them to see there vision materialize?
4. Will areas that are too far gone truly be abandoned by the city?

Neighborhood improvement is infectious, but the bad properties that are left need to be dealt with swiftly and harshly.

I am no authority, but here are some answers as I see them.
1. Each neighborhood cluster is different. Some may be in good shape, and only need a little cleanup. Other areas might need a lot of help.
2. I can provide an example of how the city might help. Our group decided we wanted to have a neighborhood cleanup. The city provided bags, gloves, and trucks to haul away the debris we picked up.
3. I'm not sure what you mean by "death throng." Are you asking if the city will put forth as much effort for the last holdout on a block where all the other houses are either gone of abandoned? If you're asking how committed the city will be, I guess we'll have to see.
4. As I understand the plan, the city really will cut infrastructure to blocks/parts of the city where people don't live anymore. But, if there are only one or two people still living on a street, will the city ask them to move, so that street can be shut down?

Good questions. Here is the plan:

[www.youngstown2010.com]