Really nice entry. I think you've covered all the basics of why Youngstown has the basic template for a really cool, hip, communal little city. It's exciting to see it being realized, little by little, with each passing year. In another five to ten years, Boardman and the suburbs around Youngstown will be nothing but the sleepy little burbs they were intended to be before the mills collapsed. The suburban sprawl thing is totally gross and inefficient. Hasn't anyone realized two or three or even four or five story buildings in concentrated shopping districts are better, rather than these Kafka-like corridors of wastefulness that force us to stay in our cars, pumping more and more filth into the air as we putter from place to place, rather than being able to get everything done in a smaller commercial district?

"Hasn't anyone realized two or three or even four or five story buildings in concentrated shopping districts are better, rather than these Kafka-like corridors of wastefulness that force us to stay in our cars..."

They have but at the same time they don't have guys chasing each other with guns down the streets. I kid you not, I saw this in downtown Youngstown three months ago. The bottom line is until people feel safe they will not go downtown to shop.

2005 in Youngstown there were 34 murders and 60 rapes compared to Canfield's 0 murders and 1 rape on record. Until these numbers change, the business status and growth and development of Youngstown will suffer. I did not find Boardman stats but I am assuming they are also relatively low.

Boardman and Canfield will not become sleepy little burbs. Yes, I agree that Downtown is laid out nice. The streets are wide, there is adequate parking, but that is not enough. Hopefully with the Chevy center being placed Downtown other business will develop as well.

I am proud to say that I have been working in the downtown area for ten years...and I haven't seen a single rape or murder. I haven't committed one either...which I guess goes without saying because if I committed a rape or murder I would most definitely have seen it...unless maybe I had my eyes closed...which would be hard because...have you ever tried doing even the most remedial chores with your eyes closed? It's hard. I can't even pour a cup of tea...or tpye this setnence. But even if that were the case...even if I did commit a crime with a blindfold on...I probably still would have heard something suspicious that my hands were doing, possibly without my knowledge if I was hypnotized or something, and I guess that would still make me a witness...like this movie I saw once on LIFETIME about this victim who was blind but who ALSO had a great sense of hearing and she was able to identify her attacker in court by the sound his designer shoes made when he walked...which is just silly really because who wears expensive fancy noisy shoes to a murder? But anyway...I think the movie starred Sally Fields or Sally Struthers or some other Sally?...I get my Sallies crossed sometimes... and it was pretty scary.

You know what is not scary? Downtown Youngstown. Seriously. The most ferocious enemy...is parking

Why is that? How much do they charge for parking? It can't be worse than downtown Pittsburgh..lol

This is silly seeing as though you spent years of your life working at the Crapplebees in Boardman.

Will, thanks for you thoughts. I am aware that there is danger in Youngstown. But I do think the fear of it is heightened from the actual threat.

I also think some of it just has to do with the fact that it is a city. I have been in cities all over the country, and there is always a bad part of town. Youngstown is no different.

Dennick, lol. I can type with my eyes closed, though! High school freshman typing changed my life. And I do agree, downtown Youngstown is not scary. I have felt safe there. I don't go walking alone, however - that'd just be foolish of me. Thanks for your comments.

Oh, and I agree, parking in Youngstown is cake compared to downtown Cleveland. At least on the weekends.

The_Vindy_Kid,

It's silly for you to make a comment like that, when I've seen you in there eating!

Sincerely,

Alicia

lol good stuff. Any chance I can write music reviews for the site?

But Alicia, seeing as though I dont claim to be a white knight, galavanting
on some self-righteous quest to save Youngstown though blogging, I can eat at whatever lame place I choose, especially if they have half price appetizers and drinks.

The fact that you claim moral superiority in your role limits your actions, less you tread into the realm of hypocracy.

The_Vindy_Bob,

I'm not trying to save Youngstown through a blog.

I'm trying to save it through lolcatz.

http://icanhascheezburger.com

And I'm pretty sure I'm morally superior to anyone who spends time antagonizing people over the internet for a cheap thrill.

You're not any kind of knight.

Alicia

blogs: serious business

Name calling: how noble of you!

You better watch it. The Do-Gooder Squad might put you on probation and strip you of your Good Guy Badge.

But seriously, you were right; I am no knight. I'm a Prince. They have different rules and responsibilities.

So, go try to save the city. It's not all hopeless. There's a slim chance you may be lucky enough to fetch me the Grail.

I love your blogs! However, this:

"I have felt safe there. I don't go walking alone, however - that'd just be foolish of me"

conflicts with this:

"I am aware that there is danger in Youngstown. But I do think the fear of it is heightened from the actual threat."

Also, while i'd love to shop in a "down town" mainstream store, i wouldn't like the 20% more markup that they make. Low prices mean low overhead like cheap property which equals urban sprawl. I hate walmart, but i love that i've gotten things there WAY cheaper than what i would've if i bought from a "mom & pop" store on a downtown street.

And why crowd downtown for parking to eat in a restaurant that's small and homey and ineffecient and slow when i can stuff my face for cheaper right off a highway exit twice as fast and get on with my night?

how about you sacrifice a little money and time for some dignity? yes, it might be a little slower to not order a deep fried monstrosity at a roadsite obesity factory (you yourself said "stuff my face"), but eating at local restaurants and smaller eateries is always tastier, and often cheaper and better for you. we like to kid ourselves, but fast food solves a problem that doesn't exist.

"how about you sacrifice a little money and time for some dignity?"

So i lose dignity by eating at, say, the applebees mentioned above, or one of my favorites, panera, at a strip mall instead of a mom and pop grease spoon?

My money and time is mine to spend how i wish, and i feel it's better used out living life and not sitting still. I love great food, don't get me wrong, but eating for me is like changing oil in your car for you. I do it because I have to do be able to do the things i WANT to do, not because i particularly enjoy the act is self. (america=hedonistic rome?)

I don't feel i lose any dignity at all by excercising my right to choice, and i think it's wrong to insinuate that i do because i don't share this viewpoint with you.

"yes, it might be a little slower to not order a deep fried monstrosity at a roadsite obesity factory (you yourself said "stuff my face"), "
"but fast food solves a problem that doesn't exist."

I never said fast food. Just restaurants that aren't crowded around other businesses or areas that make parking or access difficult. Also, i feel as if you're insinuating that i'm unhealthy or fat. I'm in shape, active, with great blood pressure and health.

"but eating at local restaurants and smaller eateries is always tastier, and often cheaper and better for you"

I've worked in small time food joints. Well, only two, but a lot of them order their food from the same suppliers, usually sysco. Deep fried and grilled pre-prepared food most of the time, with the hamburgers maybe being fresh. Rarely is there a "small joint" that is healthier and tastier and better for you than the next place, comparison to fast food excluded. If there was, it'd be franchised and put next to applebees :)

That said, there is a small diner in a non-busy area i frequent that is owned mom and pop style that:
a) has a good location, easy to get to with little traffic
b) great parking, never full
c) good food, dirt cheap prices, a lot of homemade stuff instead of unzip the bag and drop into the frier.
d) fast friendly service
e) open 24 hours

Know what? I eat there all the time, and i usually tip 50%. Not because it's a small place that somehow adds to the community, but because for the money they charge the product and service they return is great.

I guess basically i'm saying that it's not enough that you're homelier and smaller than the big guys and bringing business back downtown, you need to beat them in service, quality, and pricing too. After all, that's how they took the business from downtown in the first place.

good job with your diner support. but your post i was responding to made it sound like you were eating old cheeseburgers out of the dumpster of sonic.

still, applebee's is bad and you should feel bad. fast food is bad enough, but overpriced middle-class sit down places are worse in their own unique ways.

There's a sonic with an unlocked dumpster? I'm in!

True, there's pro's and con's to everything, and i feel that when i do go out to eat, a place like that or panera or whatever serves my needs better than a small restaurant with a great atmosphere but food that takes twice as long or parking that takes forever to find. As long as i continue to be healthy, i'm not going to mind the downside to the middle class family joints.