Syracuse Construction Update (New York, Buffalo, Rochester: suburbs, car, electric)

[ckhthankgod]

Great points CUPlanner and I've noticed an increased desire by regular folks to get involved in some way terms of education, government and development. So, that is occurring to some degree. For instance, I saw a building on the South Side between Brighton and the Exit 17 ramps that has been turned into apartments or are in the process of becoming apartments. Hopefully, similar buildings around the city can do the same thing.

[Cleveland Park]

Originally Posted by CUPlanner

Secondly, and going along with that, cities like Portland, NYC, Boston, and wherever else you want to give as an example didn’t become the way they are just because of a top-down, administrative push to create a walkable, "vibrant" (a word that is so ridiculously overused in planning and associated academia it’s unbelievable), distinctive model city. A large part of that, no matter which way you look at it, came about as the result of bottom-up, grass roots efforts on both large and small scales, with individual tenants and residents all the way up to large scale real estate developers doing a lot of the work. People pushed, on their own, to develop those sorts environments and identities.

Spot on.

Trouble is, even with my urging, local officials simply won't respond to some of the simple things over which I have no control. Stephanie Miner came into office promising that she would not make a priority of having the police enforce quality of life crimes (speeding cars, crosswalk violations, littering), and she's kept her word.

I e-mail my councilman or DPW about broken pedestrian crossing signals on University Hill (police often switch the signals to manual control during Dome events, then don't switch them back afterward, leaving intersections without a pedestrian walk phase) and get no reply. E-mailing about illegal dumping (a big problem in midtown, with a good number of medical buildings that keep 9:00-5:00 hours and don't really monitor their property outside of that time) is met with similar silence.

The trouble is twofold: one, the quality of life is lower than it ought to be; two, we cannot justify keeping such a large budget item as our current police force if they will not attempt to pay for themselves by enforcing these laws that are accompanied by fines. And, really, getting after illegal dumpers, speeders, people who run stop signs is the low-hanging fruit of governance. It's a shame that the city always cries poverty but then chooses not to take advantage of the one revenue stream that technically it is sworn to do - enforcing the law.

Throw in the fact that adherence to the broken windows theory has proven to turn around other cities, and I just don't feel we're getting the cooperation from City Hall that we pay for and sorely need.

[CUPlanner]

Having said all that, I do agree with Cleveland and others on here that the vision for Syracuse should be to offer an alternative atmosphere or environment to the major East Coast cities, to be a "Portland Lite" or "Portland of East." I just think that sometimes the criticism of those in charge doesn't take into account the current realities and politics that they have to deal with when trying to implement a vision. In an ideal world, they wouldn't have to deal with all of that stupid bs, but thats the way it is right now.

Anyway, Cuse doesn't have the geographic advantages of say Hartford, Providence, or even Baltimore to keep it relevant. But it is within a manageable distance of that "Wash-Bos" cooridor by car and train, and I think it could appeal to people from that region that are looking for a change of pace. Methods aside, I think that means revitalizing downtown and getting it to be a more self-sustaining entity, creating and enhancing transit systems and car-free means of getting around (more bike lanes and facilities, ehmm), and really marketing and incorporating the beautiful natural environment of CNY into city life and everyday life. I think these things are beginning to permeate the thinking of many people in the city, but it is going to take more people like all of us on here to really push for it.

[phaelon56]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Great points CUPlanner and I've noticed an increased desire by regular folks to get involved in some way terms of education, government and development. So, that is occurring to some degree. For instance, I saw a building on the South Side between Brighton and the Exit 17 ramps that has been turned into apartments or are in the process of becoming apartments. Hopefully, similar buildings around the city can do the same thing.

I believe that is the building at the northeast corner of Lafayette Ave and Salina - and it has special meaning for me. My parents had their first apartment there in the early to mid 1950's. My late brother lived there with them until he was two years old and I was conceived in that apartment. The building was a bombed out boarded up wreck for a number of years and now appears to be nicely renovated and ready for tenants again. That is still a tough area but these small bits of incremental progress are indeed encouraging.

[RollsRoyce]

Originally Posted by CUPlanner

Having said all that, I do agree with Cleveland and others on here that the vision for Syracuse should be to offer an alternative atmosphere or environment to the major East Coast cities, to be a "Portland Lite" or "Portland of East." I just think that sometimes the criticism of those in charge doesn't take into account the current realities and politics that they have to deal with when trying to implement a vision. In an ideal world, they wouldn't have to deal with all of that stupid bs, but thats the way it is right now.

Anyway, Cuse doesn't have the geographic advantages of say Hartford, Providence, or even Baltimore to keep it relevant. But it is within a manageable distance of that "Wash-Bos" cooridor by car and train, and I think it could appeal to people from that region that are looking for a change of pace. Methods aside, I think that means revitalizing downtown and getting it to be a more self-sustaining entity, creating and enhancing transit systems and car-free means of getting around (more bike lanes and facilities, ehmm), and really marketing and incorporating the beautiful natural environment of CNY into city life and everyday life. I think these things are beginning to permeate the thinking of many people in the city, but it is going to take more people like all of us on here to really push for it.

As someone who tends to be highly critical of local political and business leaders, I wholeheartedly agree with your statement. The current economic and fiscal environment make it very difficult to introduce new initiatives and be as hawkish in the enforcement of certain guidelines. Throw in a constituency that is blue collar, populist, eschews technological advancement, and is weary of big business and outsiders, the impetus to fundamentally change city and county government and attract higher caliber jobs and people is simply non-existent. That being said, I still believe the current economic realities are no excuse for good urban planning, a comphrehensive marketing strategy for site selectors and corporate decision makers as well as an aggressive push for new high tech businesses.

Perhaps one encouraging sign was yesteday's announcement that a Syracuse-based business called Brand-Yourself was the winner of a $200,000 grant from the annual business competition organized by CenterState CEO, the region's primary economic development organization. Since its inception more than five years ago, the business competition award has always been given to an Ithaca-based company. The geographic concentration of winning companies from Ithaca is a reflection of the high level of innovation, intellectual capital, and tech transfer available thanks in large part to the presence of Cornell. The entrepreneurs of downtown Syracuse-based Brand Yourself are precisely the kind of people this region tries and consistently fails to attract: young professionals who attended college in Syracuse and are not from the region. According to a Post-Standard article, the principals of Brand-Yourself want to grow their business in CNY and remain in the community.

Despite its shortcomings, I've always believed that Syracuse has tremendous potential and is blessed with amazing topography and bucolic surroundings, something that many rust belt cities to the west simply can't offer. For many years this region was at the pinnacle of cutting edge innovation and despite several decades of economic setbacks, the people in Central New York are resilient, and although many are incessant complainers (I'm guilty of this myself), I believe some of the invective and negativity directed at the city is simply frustration over years of failed promises. Deep down inside, I think some of these people know Syracuse deserves better. Although I may not live here, I visit family often and will always root for the success of this great region. I hope to someday participate in a long delayed Syracuse renaissance.

[ToeJam]

Originally Posted by RollsRoyce

Perhaps one encouraging sign was yesteday's announcement that a Syracuse-based business called Brand-Yourself was the winner of a $200,000 grant from the annual business competition organized by CenterState CEO, the region's primary economic development organization. Since its inception more than five years ago, the business competition award has always been given to an Ithaca-based company. The geographic concentration of winning companies from Ithaca is a reflection of the high level of innovation, intellectual capital, and tech transfer available thanks in large part to the presence of Cornell. The entrepreneurs of downtown Syracuse-based Brand Yourself are precisely the kind of people this region tries and consistently fails to attract: young professionals who attended college in Syracuse and are not from the region. According to a Post-Standard article, the principals of Brand-Yourself want to grow their business in CNY and remain in the community.

The fact that they are from Syracuse and from SU is pretty much the only reason they won. There were a lot of shocked faces at that ceremony yesterday because no one thought they had a chance. They had the home team advantage on this competition. There is no way they would have won based on their business idea alone.

[phaelon56]

From a cultural standpoint I think Ithaca already is "Portland-Lite" or the "Portland of the East," but it will never grow significantly beyond its current size (because Cornell owns or controls most of the undeveloped land in Tompkins County) and lacks the potential for large business development that Syracuse has.

[RollsRoyce]

Originally Posted by phaelon56

From a cultural standpoint I think Ithaca already is "Portland-Lite" or the "Portland of the East," but it will never grow significantly beyond its current size (because Cornell owns or controls most of the undeveloped land in Tompkins County) and lacks the potential for large business development that Syracuse has.

Agreed. It's even a bit of a stretch to call Ithaca, "Portland Lite". Madison (WI) Lite is more accurate. While the city of Madison is much larger than Ithaca and has many of the services offerred in Syracuse (and then some), both cities seem to attract a very similiar group of electic people such as outdoorsman and women, not-for-profit workers from major cities (Chicago and New York respectively), and people that often have political viewpoints that are far outside of the mainstream.

The lack of major highways, a legitimate airport that can accomodate a significant increase in flight capacity and available land certainly will constrain Ithaca's growth. Also, Portland has a large private sector while Ithaca is heavily concentrated in the not-for-profit, higher education, and health services sectors which do not experience substantial growth during an economic expansion like private sector firms do. The size of Ithaca labor force will limit the area's ability to effectively compete for larger job attraction projects. Ithaca is indeed a very interesting place that consistently ranks well in numerous publications for quality of life and a highly educated population.

[ckhthankgod]

This is why I feel there needs to be a regional outlook in terms of economic development. Within an hour of Syracuse, only Jefferson, Chenango and Wayne counties don't have a 4 year college and 2 of those have a 2 year college. So, there is a lot of brain power in the region.

Also, I think Syracuse's location is underestimated due to proximity to many bigger cities in the US and Canada, as well as many outdoors based opportunities. There's plenty of fresh water available and there could be a strategic aspect in terms of location too.

[Cleveland Park]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Also, I think Syracuse's location is underestimated due to proximity to many bigger cities in the US and Canada, as well as many outdoors based opportunities. There's plenty of fresh water available and there could be a strategic aspect in terms of location too.

Yeah, I agree. If there were one big-money, long-term infrastructure improvement I'd push for, it'd be a including a Syracuse-Ottawa-Montreal high-speed rail line in the DOT's national plan. A lot of Canadians already come to Central New York for cheaper airfare (crazy, huh?) and shopping; if they could have a one-seat ride to get them down here in a couple hours (or get us up there in a couple hours), it would be very good for our area.