DEAR EDITOR:

As an independent candidate for 5th-ward council this past November, my primary goals were to bring a grocery store back to the Mahoning Avenue corridor, along with remediation and development of the former gas station at the corner of Bears Den Road and Schenley that had old storage tanks in the ground.

Naysayers told me that a new grocery store wasn’t feasible due to crime, and the old gas station property would be too expensive to clean up, even though it is a prime business location. Now city leaders think eliminating dollar stores, old gas stations and car lots is going to fix the problem and help bring quality food to residents. It’s odd that no other council candidate even mentioned these things back in November. I wonder if they thought this up all on their own?

RICH YASLIK

Youngstown