Press Releases

On Monday, December 19th, MVOC leaders held a press conference to release a report with the New Bottom Line coalition. It shows the Obama Administration a win/win solution to fix the housing crisis and create jobs. If the President follows the recommendations in Ohio Underwater, over $36 million dollars would enter our local economy and an estimated 545 jobs would be created. Most importantly, homeowners who are underwater in their mortgages - over 20% in Youngstown alone - would pay a fair market price for their loan, rather than the inflated one they currently pay as a result of the Wall Street financed speculative bubble that crashed the economy,

Read the report here: "Ohio Underwater: How President Obama Can Fix the Housing Crisis and Create Jobs."

From the report:

In Ohio, the effects of the crisis have been severe.  More than 315,000 Ohioans lost their jobs since the start of 2008, and 282,000 are expected to lose their homes by the end of 2012...

But the Obama Administration and the banks can do something right now to change all that.  Requiring banks to write down all underwater mortgages to market value could:

• Pump $1.64 billion into Ohio’s economy every year;

• Create more than 24,000 jobs in Ohio;

• Save Ohio families an average of $284 per month on their mortgage payments;

• Decisively fix the foreclosure crisis 

...underwater mortgage debt is one of the primary drags on economic recovery.

The report calls on the President to:

• Conduct a full investigation into the fraudulent and illegal activities of the Wall Street banks that caused the foreclosure crisis and economic meltdown;
• Ensure that the big banks are not let off the hook for their crimes. There cannot be a broad release of claims in any current or future settlement talks with the big banks;

• Require a minimum of $200 - $300 billion from the big banks in principal reduction for underwater homeowners and restitution for foreclosed-on families in State and nationwide; and
• Target principal reduction and restitution to the families hardest hit by the banks’ predatory lending and illegal activities, including communities of color and regions of the country with the highest percentage of foreclosures.

MVOC’s ongoing campaigns to address vacant properties, health equity and human trafficking are designed to systematically address structural problems in our society. The Mahoning Valley’s tax base has shrunk, jobs are scarce and home values have plummeted. To fight four decades of housing, economic and infrastructure policy that has furthered racial and economic segregation, MVOC is launching a Good Jobs and Strong Communities platform. Join more than 500 fellow engaged residents and voice your concerns on key issues that impact our cities and region. Join us if you believe it is time to stop the attack on our neighborhoods and call for a real jobs program that puts everyday people back to work.

On October 20th we will come together to:

- Celebrate our progress, and kick-off local campaign plans for 2012

- Rally Support to Vote No on Issue 2 (Repeal SB5)

- Introduce a Jobs Platform that will: Restore Cuts to vital programs serving the Ohio’s most vulnerable, Create 70,000 New Jobs in Ohio, Give a Second Chance to persons with criminal records, and Make Wall Street Pay for the economic crisis that they created

- Launch the MVOC Get Out the Vote program

MVOC’s 81 participating organizations, including churches, neighborhood groups, nonprofit and social service agencies, are working together to bring hundreds of people to this event.  This is your opportunity to have your voice heard. It is your opportunity to assure that the issues that impact you, your family and your neighborhood are addressed in the 2011 election.

We hope that you will join us.

Members of the Youngstown Neighborhood Leadership Council's Vacant Property Committee met with new Youngstown Mayor Charles Sammarone Monday night at the Main Public Library to make three recommendations regarding how to combat vacant property.

In March 2011, the group conducted a press conference at the Covelli Centre to unveil the results of its 2010 property evaluation survey (in comparison to the 2008 survey). The results of the 2010 survey demonstrated continued disinvestment and abandonment of structures in Youngstown despite aggressive demolition in 2009 and 2010. Key comparisons from 2008 included: approximately 1,117 new structures identified as being vacant since 2008; a 25% increase in "F" rated structures (i.e. those that pose an immediate health and safety hazard); nearly 1,500 structures in foreclosure as of November 30, 2010 giving Youngstown a foreclosure rate of about 1 in 40 or 3.5 times the 2010 third quarter national average; and 15,309 active tax liens on Youngstown properties.

The group's primary recommendation was the implementation of the Mahoning County Land Bank, which is currently underway. However, Monday's three recomendations to the Mayor are:

1. Reform code enforcement by creating a Division of Inspection which would organize all inspectors (housing, health, fire, zoning)  under the one department / managment of a single supervisor who would develop proactive, neighborhood-wide sweeps rather than reacationary, individual complaint driven responses. Ideally, this would be coordinated with demolition. In time, a Division of Neighborhood Services should be created which would consolidate and coordinate inspection, demolition, planning, zoning and permits.

2. Pass and enforce the Vacant Property Registration Ordinance and enforce it. The ordinance was presented over a year ago and has been awaiting legal language changes. It's time to make the changes, pass the ordinance and develop an enforcement strategy. This ordinance should be coordinated with the new Rental Property Registration & Inspection Program. While it is not a silver bullet, if enforced, it would serve as another important weapon in the fight against vacant property and blight.

3. Create a public access option with the city's new housing software. It's the 21st centurty and with today's technology capabilities for housing software, there's no reason why there isn't better organzation of cases / communication with City Hall regarding housing issues that are reported. Having a public access option included in the city's new software system would allow residents to see and track cases just as any housing inspector would. This creates added transparency and accountablity andl as trust. It will also cut down on phone calls to City Hall allowing limited administrative personnel to focus more on housing issues rather than dealing with public information requests.

The Mayor agreed with the recommendations, stated that he would appoint at least 3 members from the group to his issue planning committee, and agreed to report back to the group at their next quarterly meeting.