A recent rash of arsons in the Wick Park neighborhood – a transitional historic neighborhood on the City of Youngstown’s North Side – has brought together neighborhood and community groups, residents and local institutions to establish stability for this high profile neighborhood located just north of Youngstown State University.
In addition to historic designation status, the Wick Park neighborhood is home to Stambaugh Auditorium, Park Vista retirement community, Burdman Group, YSU’s Cafaro & Lyden dormitories, Dorian Books , 4 churches, 5 student fraternities/sororities, 2 funeral homes and is centrally anchored by 34-acre Wick Park, the most utilized park in the city’s park system and which is currently organizing a renovation project (
www.wickparkproject.info ). The neighborhood is also home to the North Side Farmer’s Market and the annual Grey to Green Festival.
A high profile arson on October 20th at 259 Park Ave. – built in 1897 and one of the oldest structures in the neighborhood (see photo above) – followed by three more arsons on adjacent Pennsylvania Ave. prompted a standing-room-only public meeting with city officials at Wick Park Pavilion (overview and recap with video
here,
here and
here). Citizens learned of what they can do to prevent further instances of arson and received public confirmation by the City that the neighborhood would be designated a priority in regards to security as well as preservation and restoration efforts. More importantly, members attending the meeting decided that it was time for residents and groups to work together to organize revitalization efforts from the ground up.
Several neighborhood meetings have taken place since. Over 50 active participants and several local organization/institutions have merged to form the
Wick Park Neighborhood Association which includes citizen teams that handle communications, housing, community saftey, and project planning. With the assistance of the city and neighborhood stakeholders, over 10 homes have been secured and 4 property cleanups completed.
Wick Park Neighborhood Association members cleared and cleaned 4 properties on Broadway Ave. in late 2009. Pictured is a yard clean up of the Covington House (264 Broadway Ave.)