No Man's Land

[AllanY2525]

It's not that we don't want neighborhood block watches, it's that no one can go back into the areas where the trouble seems to be.  Our neighbors are our own sort of block watch, calling each other and the police when need be.  The majority of our neighborhood are elderly without cars, single or widowed females, and divorced moms with small children.  We do the best we can but cracking down on the known hot spots would definitely be of help.

Mickey I understand where you're coming from - not a desirable situation, but even if the majority of
the folks in your neighborhood are elderly/don't drive, etc.... ll it takes is a FEW individuals who are
willing to participate, and who are tired enough of the criminal activity to have the motivation to do
something about it.

Who ever ends up volunteering for something like this (ie: Neighborhood watch, block patrol, etc)
will have the eternal gratitude of all those seniors and non-driving folks you mentioned above.
Someone has to be willing to pick up the ball and take the first steps towards making the neighborhood
better.

A neighborhood association could help to crack down on landlords who are renting to low-life individuals
by documenting the problems these people are causing, then take this info downtown to assert pressure on
the landlords when these folks mess up and disrespect their neighbors, etc.

There IS power in numbers,  and in the voices of those numbers as they are heard downtown.

[jay]

If the bad guys are in rental homes maybe there is a way to force the landlord to move them out of the house and hopefully out of the neighborhood.
It is too bad the city can't buy up these rental properties in your neighborhood and then make sure the homes are sold to people who will own them as well as occupy them.

[Micky]

It's not that we don't want neighborhood block watches, it's that no one can go back into the areas where the trouble seems to be.  Our neighbors are our own sort of block watch, calling each other and the police when need be.  The majority of our neighborhood are elderly without cars, single or widowed females, and divorced moms with small children.  We do the best we can but cracking down on the known hot spots would definitely be of help.

[AllanY2525]

Micky,

Youngstown has just over 80,000 people living in it.  On an average night, there are about twelve or so police cruisers
patrolling the streets in that part of town, from what I have been told by other local, Youngstown citizens.  How can
you expect twelve police cruisers to adequately address the needs of over 80,000 people without some help from
the citizens of Youngstown?

Getting neighborhood associatons and block watch programs togther is one of the ONLY means of helping the
over-worked and under-staffed Youngstown Police Department do its job.  The police cannot stand on every single
street corner, just waiting for a crime that may or may not happen there.

We would ALL like to see the city/county put more officers on the streets, but until that happens (and even afterwards)
WE - the private citizens of the city - must all do our part to help eliminate the crime problem.  The city and county cannot
be the total, end-to-end solultion for everything.

I went to court and sent two people to jail just last month for breaking and entering on the North Side - so I am "putting my
money where my mouth is" - quite literally.

As far as Jay's question regarding how many of the "riff-raff" are living in rental properties within the neighborhood we've
been discussing here - I honestly could not guess what the numbers are, sorry.  If someone had the time and energy to
do a survey, they could look up the owners of each property within this part of town, then get ahold of the owner(s) and
ask them if they occupy their property themselves - or rent it out.


Allan

[jay]

In your opinion, how many of these criminals and riff-raff live in rental properties?

[Micky]

While I agree that it would be a good thing to get neighborhood associations together, I believe that that's not practical anymore.  The majority of the residents are the criminals and riff-raff.  The good, hard working people are in the minority on that side of town with most being the elderly who, I'm afraid, will not leave their homes. 

We believe that it's up to the justice system, the police, the mayor, and others who should be taking the lead in getting back our city from the criminals.  The law abiding citizens who have paid taxes all of their lives deserve to have the respect and peace of mind knowing that if and when criminals are arrested they will be put in jail and stay there until they appear in court.  It is up to the court system to punish the criminals appropriately and throw the key away when necessary. 

Lock em' up and keep them there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AllanY2525]

The area between South Ave, Market St, Williamson and Midlothian is basically on its
way to hell - in a handbasket.  This was a really nice, middle-class neighborhood when
I was growing up in Youngstown.

Now that the lower South Side is totally trashed and home values in the above-mentioned
part of town have been greatly eroded, the riff-raff are moving up from the lower South Side
into the upper South Side.

It's sad, but inevitable, that this would happen - and is happening.  This part of the South
Side really needs to start getting some neighborhood associations together, and some
block watch programs - so that the citizens in this area of town can take back their
neighborhoods while there is still something worth saving in them.

[Oldmill]

Your not really surprised are you ? Open your eyes and look around !

[jay]

Some sections of the south side are considered a No Man's Land to certain businesses.  Many pizza shops will not deliver to dangerous areas.  One person told me that the only way they could get one pizza shop to deliver was to meet the driver at a relative's home that was located east of South Avenue.  Evidently the area west of South Avenue is in the No Man's Land.