Former Realty Building residents, explosion survivors gather for solemn toast

A simple toast.
It might not be something you'd think appropriate to mark one year since a deadly explosion.

But for these former Realty Tower residents and survivors of last May's blast...the celebration fits.

"We are still Youngstown strong," asserted former resident Tracey Winbush.

The small gathering remembered their sense of togetherness, their resilience through the adversity of the last year, and gratitude for what remains.
Not to mention a pause to honor the life of the Chase bank teller they knew and loved, Akil Drake.

"Obviously we all miss each other, we miss our downtown community, and today marks a somber day in all of our lives," said former resident Deanna Rossi.

The explosion also changed the Youngstown skyline forever, and left a gaping maw in the heart of downtown.

"We're here at (Casa Di) Canzonetta's, they were shut down for months, the (DoubleTree) hotel was shut down for months, and a lot of the employees really suffered for that loss of time they weren't able to work, so we really want to make sure that we support them," Rossi said.

As tragedies are wont to do, this one brought the roughly two dozen celebrants closer, and made them more conscientious.

"When you go through something like this, it makes you compassionate on a lot of other things," mused Winbush. "We are learning lessons that we never thought we would learn, and we made it...a lot of people didn't make it."

The hope is for that lesson to spur a better community with a renewed focus on the future.

"We live in a representative government and sometimes things have to shake you into getting back on your feet and getting back to work on the community that you want to live in, and that's where we are right now in downtown Youngstown," Winbush said.