We're focused on telling stories of the Northland neighborhood. Here's what we've learned so far.
If Columbus' Northland neighborhood was its own incorporated city, it would be the seventh largest in Ohio.
The approximately 25 square-mile neighborhood, situated east of I-71 between the I-270 outerbelt and Morse Road, boasts 97,000 residents and an incredibly diverse community, according to the Northland Community Council. Once a mostly working-class neighborhood, Northland is home to one of the city's largest populations of New American citizens, including thousands of Somali and Bhutanese Nepali refugees.
Northland has seen its share of economic downturns, especially after the now-defunct Northland Mall closed in 2003. But immigrant-owned businesses now fill the once-vacant storefronts, and residents are hopeful about the neighborhood's future.
These are just some of the reasons Northland is the first stop in the Dispatch's Mobile Newsroom initiative.
What is the Mobile Newsroom?
Instead of going to our Downtown office to work each day, reporters Micah Walker and Holly Zachariah will work from the Columbus Metropolitan Library Karl Road branch for about a month.
The purpose of the Mobile Newsroom is to position journalists in an underserved area so that we can get to know residents, organizations, religious groups, business owners and the entire neighborhood better. This is part of our initiative to be more intentional about representing the entire community and the rich diversity of this city in our coverage.
In short, we seek to build relationships and tell good stories. Here's what we've learned so far:
Beechcroft students help their Northland neighborhood by volunteering at church free store
Standing in the back of the sanctuary at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Alese McNair grabbed the pink measuring tape that she had draped over her shoulders and stretched it around the torso of the woman standing in front of her.
“We’re just gonna figure out your size,” the 17-year-old told Patience Dohnwana with a smile. “We’ve got you.”
And after the measuring was finished, McNair and Saraia Fisher — both seniors at Beechcroft High School, which sits just across the street from the United Methodist Church at 6176 Sharon Woods Blvd. — walked Dohnwana through the space that had been transformed into a pop-up boutique of sorts and helped her sort through some of the plastic bins that held more than 400 bras.
Thanksgiving 2021: Northland kids offer up what they are thankful for this Thanksgiving
Delaney Bornheim didn't have to even stop and think about what she's grateful for this Thanksgiving because, well, let's face it, last year's just wasn't so good.
Per the usual for most of us, Delaney is thankful for her family and friends.
But let's just get real: When you're 12, other things matter, too. Like the fact that she just finished her rugby season, a sport she didn't get to play last year because of the pandemic. And she is playing percussion in the band at Calumet Christian School, an opportunity that COVID stole from her last year, too.
"There's a lot to be thankful for," Delaney told The Dispatch when we asked as she and her mom and sister visited the Karl Road branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library last week.
Five authentic international dishes you can find in Northland, Columbus' most diverse neighborhood
Columbus' Northland neighborhood is home to thousands of immigrants, and the diversity of backgrounds brings a cornucopia of ethnic varieties to its markets and restaurants.
Mexican, Somali, Ethiopian and Chinese are just a few of the options for a meal. With names like Little Dragons, African Paradise and Xochimilco Taqueria, the eateries serve all manner of authentic cuisine.
With the winter holidays approaching and the American Thanksgiving table full of familiar eats, we're highlighting five dishes from the traditions of other nations — and you can find them all in the Northland neighborhood.
How Northland's Global Mall became a landmark for Columbus' Somali community
Upon first glance, Global Market looks like any other grocery store in Columbus.
Boxes of Cheerios, Froot Loops and pancake mix line the shelves of one aisle. Another features Colgate toothpaste and Dove soap.
But there also are international brands sprinkled throughout — Al Khaleej dates, Baraka melon seeds and Jango mango juice.
The market is part of the Global Mall in the Northland neighborhood, and it has become a destination for the city's Somali and immigrant communities since opening in 2002.
"We're all family here": Columbus community center pilots program to connect with students
Damari Parker-Morris slouched in his chair and fiddled with the strings of his hoodie as he stared at the English lesson on the computer screen in front of him.
Kevin Kennedy noticed that Damari and the other teens and tweens sitting around the folding tables in one of the classrooms at the Woodward Park Community Center seemed restless. So the team leader with the local nonprofit Actions that Matter for Youth decided homework time was over.
Damari is one of 15 seventh- and eighth-graders from the middle school who spend three hours after class four nights a week at the community center as part of a pilot program aimed at keeping them focused, engaged and on track.
Northland Performing Arts Center attracts people from across Columbus to neighborhood
Twins Sheila and Selene Carpenter lined up impatiently in the lobby that had been transformed into a dance studio, and — once the music finally started — bounced their bodies, shimmied their shoulders and jazz-handed their hearts out until the choreographer eventually called, “Cut.”
The 53-year-old sisters were breathless but overjoyed to be at the first full-cast rehearsal for the big song-and-dance number “Sparklejollytwinklejingley” for the Vaud-Villities Christmas show, "Santa's Workshop," that will be staged Dec. 3-5.
Here, on this early November evening inside the Northland Performing Arts Center on Tamarack Boulevard, Christmas already was in full swing.
City of Columbus hosts groundbreaking for affordable apartments at Alrosa Villa site
The former site of a rock music venue with a tragic history in Columbus' Northland neighborhood will soon get a major makeover.
The city of Columbus, along with the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), state representatives and others, hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Monday morning for the forthcoming Sinclair Apartments. The complex will be located at 5055 Sinclair Road, which was the former site of the Alrosa Villa music venue. The project is expected to be completed sometime next year.
The $45-million affordable housing project will consist of 180 units in three, four-story buildings. One-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments will be available for residents at a variety of income levels.
COVID increases immigrants' mental health needs. How a Northland agency is trying to help
As he climbed the stairs to the community room at his organization’s offices one day last week, Sudarshan Pyakurel noticed how quiet the building was, how empty.
He swept his hand toward the open and spacious second-floor of Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio (BCCO), a nonprofit whose building sits in the middle of an apartment complex on Tamarack Boulevard in the Northland neighborhood. And he reminisced about the days when the room would have been packed with friends from his community.
“COVID shredded the last string everyone was holding onto,” said Pyakurel, the organization’s 39-year-old executive director.
In-person activities resume at Karl Road branch library in Northland as pandemic eases
At her first Ready for Kindergarten Baby Laptime class Thursday morning, Alina Dubad just could not sit still.
Her mother, Amina Mohamed, kept the 2-year-old on her lap at first, but Alina was unable to contain her energy. She moved to another seat to stretch out on before running down an aisle of books at the Karl Road branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
"She never sits still unless she's asleep," Mohamed said.
Northland residents celebrate Beggars Night despite soggy weather
"Are you a good witch or a bad witch?"
Jim Tobin just had to ask the little girl wearing a witch's costume as she walked up to the candy bowl on the his front porch Thursday during trick-or-treat. "I don't want you to put a spell on me!"
The 67-year-old is a longtime Northland resident and enjoys passing out candy to kids every year. And on this installment of Beggars Night in the Woodland Park community of Northland, the streets were filled with young people dressed as Spider-Man, unicorns, witches and Stormtroopers.
Elevate Northland appoints longtime neighborhood resident as first executive director
Judith Cockrell isn't just the new executive director of Elevate Northland, a community development organization in northeast Columbus – she's also an unofficial tour guide.
During a recent drive around Northland with a Dispatch reporter, she gave a personal history of the Sharon Woods community, where she grew up.
"This is my childhood home," she said, pointing out a brick house on Sharon Woods Boulevard, which she is now living in again.
Dispatch initiative to focus on diverse neighborhoods begins in Northland
Once you pull open the door at Drelyse African Restaurant, the smell of the spices hits you before you even sit down.
The small, Northland eatery is set up like a formal restaurant, with cream-colored tablecloths spread over long tables and cloth napkins placed neatly on placemats and inside glasses.
Right away, Micah Walker and I were hooked.
Contact our Northland Mobile Newsroom Reporters
hzachariah@dispatch.com
@hollyzachariah
mwalker@dispatch.com
@Micah_walker701
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Stories of Northland: Dispatch focuses on Columbus neighborhood
