Syracuse Suburban Sprawl, good or bad? (New York, Carmel: apartment, rental, hotels)

[proulxfamily]

So- who's going to step up to the plate and run for mayor? I'd like to nominate my 4th grade teacher, Mr. Seeloff at Kinne St. Elementary in the ES-M district... educated, tough, and wears his pride for central NY on his sleeve. There's not a chance that he'd let Syracuse fall to the wayside.

I'd be tempted if it wasn't for a somewhat colorful background. LOL - nothing bad but nothing I want *out there.* :P

[justflow1983]

It'll be tough to find someone to run against the currents in a sense. One of my best friends from high school wants to run someday, but he's living just outside of the city limits and can't run right now. Too bad, the guy is a really smart software engineer with a head for and interest in public policy. We have regular discussions of the type found in this thread. He's also saying that its impossible to break into city politics because the knuckleheads have it so locked down and make so much noise that they just drown you out.

[proulxfamily]

Whoever runs needs to appeal to modern communication, rather than lawn signage. People don't research the candidates so much as pick the person with the most or nicest signs or the most wholesome looking candidate.

Start a Facebook group and get people EXCITED to vote. That way, you have an energized, *informed* base and FANTASTIC turnout. Everyone will WANT a sign in their yards, with that kind of enthusiasm... just like the Obama-Biden ticket.

[RollsRoyce]

The ideal candidate would be one of the following:

1.) Someone not originally from Syracuse who relocated to the area and appreciates what CNY has to offer yet knows things must change for this region to prosper

2.) a native of CNY that has lived other places and sees what successful communities have done to revitalize themselves

3.) a suburbanite that relocated into the city


Unfortunately due to the entrenched setup of city politics its unlikely any of these 3 types of candidates will surface.

[bellafinzi]

Originally Posted by RollsRoyce

The ideal candidate would be one of the following:

1.) Someone not originally from Syracuse who relocated to the area and appreciates what CNY has to offer yet knows things must change for this region to prosper

2.) a native of CNY that has lived other places and sees what successful communities have done to revitalize themselves

3.) a suburbanite that relocated into the city


Unfortunately due to the entrenched setup of city politics its unlikely any of these 3 types of candidates will surface.

Excellent points! I completely agree.

RollsRoyce, you're only person I've ever come across that understands how to make the Syracuse area great again! You "get it".... unlike 99.9% of the rest of the population in CNY......

[proulxfamily]

Originally Posted by bellafinzi

You "get it".... unlike 99.9% of the rest of the population in CNY......

Or, others just don't have the same vision for Syracuse that you do. <shrug> Your ideas are only a matter of opinion, not fact. To minimalize the opinions of your forum posters is condescending, at best. We disagree- that's it. This isn't a pi$$ing contest. At least, it shouldn't be.

[bellafinzi]

No one ever answers my questions like...

What is your plan to control sprawl? Name it. If it is enacted, how would this plan affect other factors like housing costs etc?

All I'm saying is you need to look at the big picture. You're too narrow minded in the sprawl is evil mantra. Think rationally about this topic and you'll see how flawed your logic really is.

[justflow1983]

There have been a lot of other things mentioned in this thread that some "evil sprawl" mantra, including discussions of some urban regeneration projects. This was actually a very positive thread I thought except for the "hey you're stupid for thinking the way you do" commentary from bellafinzi.

[proulxfamily]

Bella- I'm pretty sure that your most recent post wasn't directed to me, specifically, but I feel the need to respond anyway.

Your "arguments" that the city of Syracuse needs a better skyline and more developments are SHALLOW. The very argument - not YOU, necessarily - is shallow. That's like saying that all we need are nice homes and beautiful people spending money on landscaping, dinners out, and consumer goods to have a strong economy- wait, isn't our national economy currently suffering because of ludicrous assumptions like that?

You keep stressing that what we need are the SYMPTOMS of a thriving area and what we're saying is that such a notion is folly - it's not sustainable. We need action to fix the ROOT of the problem... poverty within the city.

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. A nation is only as great as its poorest citizen. You've heard these metaphors before, surely.

Your ideas seem to sweep aside the true problem of poverty and a serious lack of moral character and pride within the most crime-ridden parts of the city. They're being ignored and you are one of those who do so. We need to find ways to help families feel connected and their homes lives be strengthened - they need to feel pride in their homes - in their and their children's appearances and cleanliness - in their own intelligence. They need to know that they have the ability to do all of this and that they are cared about...

When I was taking pictures on the north side the other day, I saw a little girl in a nightgown *I* also had 20 years ago - Strawberry Shortcake - standing on the street corner, waiting for a chance to join the children that had just run across the street. She couldn't have been more than 4 years old. It was around 2 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon. As I drove past her, she squatted down and started peeing on her nightgown. THIS is what we need to address. We need to find ways to help people in all the circumstances that would allow such a thing to happen.

So yes- when I see flippant suggestions like "We need more steel and glass towers for a better skyline, more beautiful people, and new construction for both commerical plazas and residential developments", it.is.maddening. What we *do* need to do is concentrate on helping our fellow man rise above poverty - and helping him know that he CAN do it, and well. When communities unite with that as a common goal - with the youth actually excited to become responsible citizens and neighbours, then you'll see growth in the city of Syracuse. Sure, you can fill out neighborhoods with professors and recent grads... for a while... until they find a better offer with a more vibrant community. People don't stay excited about blacktop driveways and beds of crocus plants for the long term - they want to be a PART of something... something more than a member of the local garden club.

We need to UNITE, not sprawl. This isn't about community aesthetics, it's about TRUE renewal.

[justflow1983]

And to add to that, when there is a proud, strong, economically vibrant and integrated community, all of the symptoms like tall new buildings, new housing developments, more chain stores (yea, screw it, a lot of people like them) will happen. It has to start though by building a community with a real identity, a new brand. Cities are an organic thing that need to be grown, not just built.