Commentary: Welcome to Youngstown
By Edward P. Noga
The headline above was the title of a presentation I made to Youngstown City Council a little over a year ago. At that time, I mentioned that downtown has been my neighborhood for over five years and that I am very proud of my neighborhood.
As I approached City Council, I lamented that for over two years (now over three years), some of the entrances to downtown are lined with streetlights, and they have been out for over two years (now over three years).
City leaders engaged in a back-and-forth discussion with utility company representatives about who was dropping the ball. Most lamented the situation, and I was asked to attend a utility committee meeting to further the discussion. Sadly, that invitation never came.
As I left, I realized that all the audience heard were excuses, more excuses and a faint admission that the city and utility provider don’t communicate that much.
I applaud the current cataloguing of the city’s streetlights and the admission that such cataloguing should have happened years ago.
On a weeknight not too long ago, a nationally known comedian came to town and filled the Covelli Centre. The next day, the news media mentioned that the show drew the third-largest crowd at the arena, behind only a visit from Elton John and a professional fight card that featured our own Kelly Pavlik.
The next evening as I came home, I decided to revisit the dark sites that usually greet me. I did that because I realized the thousands of people the night before came and left town in the dark. As I circled around downtown that evening, I saw two more spots that I photographed. I have added some of these photos to this column, which I showed City Council over a year ago.
Then, not so long ago (Nov. 22) the Trans Siberian Orchestra was in town for afternoon and evening performances. The evening concertgoers were greeted with the same lights-out welcome that has plagued us for years. And on Dec 6, the largest holiday parade crowd in recent memory, with high school bands from the region, arrived and left in the dark.
Sometimes community leaders tell their constituents that a study is needed before they can solve a problem.
Save that money, please. Just talk to the hundreds who live downtown.
Thankfully, Youngstown State University deals with lighting its campus and staying on top of things.
I have decided not to address another council meeting on this topic because, quite frankly, there doesn’t seem a genuine effort to communicate with city residents and stakeholders.
I know that many university students and downtown workers don’t live downtown. That reality is everywhere. But when we tout the “rebooting” of our center and laud the jump-start that will happen with a DORA, it makes one wonder.
We need to first draw on the basics of “quality of life” issues that revolve around any neighborhood – namely, clean and paved streets, the presence of safety forces, engagement with stakeholders, usable sidewalks and streetlights that work and are maintained.
The Welcome to Youngstown invitation should be much more than the two signs beside Interstate 680, one from the south by Shirley Road and the other from the west near the Connecticut Avenue exit.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
