Improving neighborhoods key to Newark's development

• Newark has neighborhoods marked by poverty, aging housing stock and property maintenance issues.
• The city's poverty rate and median household income have not changed since the recession.
• Licking County Coalition for Housing executive director said it seems homelessness has increased.
• Twenty-one percent of Newark residents were living below the poverty line in 2013. It was 20.4 in 2010.

NEWARK — The Licking County economy has made great improvements since the depths of the Great Recession six years ago, but for many Newark residents, little has changed and the struggle continues.

The county seat, like most urban centers, has neighborhoods marked by poverty, aging housing stock and property maintenance issues frequently involving rental units.

Licking County has seen dramatic decreases in unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcy filings since 2009 and 2010. Surges in county sales tax collections, home sales and new car sales show the Licking County economy has bounced back from one of the worst periods in its history.

The recovery seems to have missed parts of Newark, however. The city's poverty rate and median household income were unchanged from 2010 to 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Also unchanged, 46 percent of Newark households earned less than $35,000 in both 2010 and 2013.

One alarming statistic is the number of people paying at least 35 percent of their household income on rent. Five years ago, 39.7 percent of Newark renters fell into that category. In 2013, it was 45.1 percent. The city's percentage of renter-occupied housing has increased to 45 percent.

Restoring Newark's neighborhoods was one of five critical community needs The Advocate identified for this year's Five To Thrive series on the future of Newark and Licking County.

People are struggling

Debbie Tegtmeyer, executive director of the Licking County Coalition for Housing, said it seems as if many Newark residents have not shared in the economic recovery.

“What we’re seeing is, it’s feeling like there's an increase in homeless adults and families, certainly in our lobby," Tegtmeyer said.

The Salvation Army and St. Vincent Haven shelters have been virtually full for months, Tegtmeyer said.

“Rental housing costs have been going up, adding to the pressure for folks with jobs at $9 to $10 an hour, particularly if they're not getting 40 hours a week," Tegtmeyer said. "Wages are not keeping up with housing costs.”

Some jobs do not provide a consistent 40-hour work week, with hours cut significantly and randomly, Tegtmeyer said. So while the rent remains the same or increases, pay decreases.

Some low-income Newark residents can't get to the new jobs that have been created in New Albany, Pataskala, Hebron and Heath, Tegtmeyer said.

“Our community’s challenge is we don’t have reliable transportation at a reasonable cost to get there," Tegtmeyer said.

Old homes need maintenance

Low-income residents often rent older homes that require more upkeep. More than one-quarter of Newark homes were built before 1940, and almost half were built before 1960. Countywide, 17 percent were built before 1940 and 31 percent before 1960.

City Councilman Jeremy Blake, D-2nd Ward, said, “My ward, the south end, and any neighborhood around the Courthouse, are the older areas of the city. Those areas are going to have more (property maintenance) complaints and issues. We have more aging housing stock.”

The 2nd Ward, with a population of 5,982 and 2,815 households, has a median household income of $30,312 and more than one-quarter of the residents live below the poverty level. There are 318 vacant homes, or 11 percent.

The city's recent list of property maintenance fines and fees, placed as liens on the owner's property taxes, included 19 in the city's South End, defined as south of the Panhandle Railroad tracks, east of Ohio 79 and west of the river. There were 59 properties cited: 17 in the east, 12 in the north, 10 in the west and one downtown.

Most of the 59 violations were near the central part of the city, with just two west of North 21st Street, one north of Deo Drive and one east of O'Bannon Avenue.

“This is a complaint-driven process, and we’ve been encouraging people to call and email," Blake said. "I see it as a good thing because it will be addressed.”

City Councilwoman Dee Hall, D-1st Ward, said she will file a complaint if she sees a rundown property in her East End territory.

"Nothing’s going to improve overnight, but I hope we’re working on the east side," Hall said. "I drive down alleys and side streets. Some front yards look decent, but there's junk and crap in the backyards. It’s a health hazard, disgusting and uncalled for.”

The city used grant funds to pay for demolition of more than 50 dilapidated homes and employs a property maintenance code official to follow up on complaints about deteriorating structures in the city.

School boosts neighborhood

Blake credits Ben Franklin Elementary School Principal Dena Cable-Miller for using school resources to help the community, showing the importance of a school to improving a neighborhood.

The school, Blake said, is like a community center, and has "the only playground in the area."

The South Newark Civic Association, Habitat for Humanity and a block watch group have all used the school for evening meetings.

“We really do try to get basketball teams in here to practice, and softball here," Cable-Miller said. "We contract out field space and teams sign up for baseball and football practice.

“I think our school is for the community. We’re here to serve the community. The stronger we are as a community, it makes us a stronger school.”

A shelter house is planned for the school grounds, Cable-Miller said, to be used for school or community use.

"During the day, we can use it for outdoor science experiments or a writing lab," Cable-Miller said. "We’ll be able to have anybody in the neighborhood use it for family gatherings in the evening.”

kmallett@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8545

Twitter: @kmallett1958

What are the five needs?

This package is part of our year-long look into the five most pressing issues for Licking County.

• Closing the skills gap
• Creating drug-free workplaces
• Maintaining local control
• Restoring Newark's neighborhoods
• Capitalizing on Licking County's location

Find all of our content for this series at NewarkAdvocate.com/future.