Curb Appeal (Syracuse, Utica, Clay: crime rates, hotels, home)

[bellafinzi]

The Syracuse area will not get the respect it deserves until it has better curb appeal. It’s that simple.

For some reason, all the pretty and attractive parts of the Syracuse area are hidden away and out of view. Unfortunately, the ugly, unappealing areas are in full view…next to highways, on main thoroughfares, next to area hotels and malls.

Syracuse leaders can create job programs, give out tax breaks and create a great quality of life ….but if Syracuse doesn’t make a good first impression, outside investment will not make its way into this community.

It is natural for people to seek out the pretty and beautiful. Cities that have those qualities will always have a major advantage over the less attractive cities.

I find it odd that not one politician in the Syracuse area has made beatification a major issue locally. I’ve yet to hear even one leader in Syracuse even acknowledges the curb appeal problem that plagues this community. (Must be the lack of true passion on behalf of Syracuse area politicians.) For reasons beyond my comprehension local leaders are content with mediocrity and don’t have that inner drive to make the Syracuse area the greatest place to live and work in Upstate NY.

I have many ideas to make the Syracuse area more attractive, some more realistic than others. First I want to hear what outsiders, visitors or newcomers have to say on this issue. So what are some ways Syracuse leaders can improve the curb appeal of the area (city and suburbs)?

Ideally, the ideas should be maintenance free, since it is painfully clear that the Syracuse area has trouble maintaining anything that costs time and money.

[bellafinzi]

Not only does Syracuse have a curb appeal problem, but leaders in the Syracuse area listen to the wrong people. Instead of listening to people who do not like Syracuse… these leaders listen to people who already like living here. You’ll never learn how to improve the Syracuse area with that approach. Our leadership has to start listening to people that have no desire to live in the area or live here but don't like many aspects for various reasons. Those people will have the best ideas and suggestions… and in the end will help the Syracuse area the most!

Here is something for Syracuse leaders to ponder.....

I-690 from Downtown to East Syracuse looks like a big mess. There are weeds, brush, tall grass, chain linked fences, industrial junky buildings, billboards, junk cluttered around properties, run-down buildings all within clear view from the highway. IT IS SO DEPRESSING! I really do not understand how people can cope each day driving that stretch. Why hasn't one Syracuse leader come out with a plan to make the area next to our highways our front yard, not our dumping ground? It is mind-boggling to me. All the focus is on neighborhoods. Yet, the Syracuse leadership fails to realize that no one will be interested in the neighborhoods if the view of the city from the main roads and highways is so disgusting! First impressions matter. Driving down main roads everyday and seeing ugliness make people want to move away.

How to fix this? Well, I have a few ideas, but I'm holding back for now. Why? I do not want other cities to steal my ideas. Even if I told my idea, the chances of Syracuse leadership taking action on it is close to nil. And I'm sure environmentalists, who pretty much own Syracuse, will not like my plan.

Not only 690, but the view from I-81 is just as bad, but maybe harder to fix with all the steep embankments. Though not as bad... the area next to the Thruway in the northern suburbs needs a make-over also.

Bottom-line, people want to live in beautiful places. If Syracuse does not do all within its power to look beautiful to the next generation, the 20 and 30 something year olds will continue to bypass the Syracuse area for cities that are more upbeat, attractive and inspiring.

[bellafinzi]

Here is what michellebelle wrote to me in a Direct Message. (She gave me permission to post it.)


For me its the cleanliness, everything seems so much cleaner and sharper in the southern cities.

I find it interesting that you mention the architecture of the city. I was unaware of Syracuse having any buildings that are less then 30 years old. There is one building in Syracuse that I always notice when I am on 690, it is kind of pink and has very tall glass windows. It is the nicest looking building in the city and the only one that looks like it was built sometime in the last decade. Everything else is dank and depressing. Syracuse has the feel of a factory city that is in the stages of dying since the factories closed. I don't know anything about the history of the city, this is just the impression I get when I drive around the area. Like in ten or twenty more years, it will be another Utica.

The city skyline is another gripe I have about the area. It is very bland. There are no buildings that draw your eye. Nothing makes someone wonder what is going on inside that building. It just looks like a boring city. I don't know if this is because we live here or if it is the city itself.



I agree 100%. Very well said michellebelle!

[bellafinzi]

The Syracuse Post Standard (newspaper) likes to distinguish between the city economy and suburban economy. To me there is only one Syracuse area economy. The city and suburbs are one and the same “city”. The difference is the city looks like a junkyard and is therefore a depressing place to visit and live. (yes, there are pretty parts of the city but they are isolated, hidden and usually surrounded by decay, neglect, or unsightliness) The suburbs generally look decent so they are livable and desirable places to live.

-Yes, the city schools are bad, but young professionals do not care about that.
-Yes, the city has higher crime rates than the suburbs, but that doesn’t stop young people in other cities from living in the city.

The main difference between the City of Syracuse and Madison, WI, Austin, TX etc. is the way it looks. Not the schools, not the crime.

How do you improve the look of the city? Improve the city economy? No there is no such thing as a "city economy" and "suburb economy"….both make up the Syracuse area economy. So what are the answers:

1) Focus on improving the economy of the Syracuse area.
2) Beautification in the most visible neighborhoods or areas adjacent to highways/main roads

I’m surprised that the residents of the city are not outraged by the way the city looks from the highways. For example, if my Town of Clay looked that bad from I-481, I’d demand that the Town government enact a beautification plan that would make the Town of Clay look good to passersby. I’d demand all parts of Clay that can be seen from the highways are cleaned up or are hidden behind landscaped evergreen trees, bushes or attractive fencing. I do not want the Town of Clay to get a bad reputation. I m shocked that the City of Syracuse finds no problem with 1) the way it looks from the highways 2) the terrible looking skyline 3) the lack of landscaping in most of the city.

Not only does the disregard for beauty in the city affect the city but it hurts the suburbs and the whole Syracuse area too. Most people judge the region based on the central city. The problem is the central city refuses to make itself look presentable.

[bellafinzi]

I know this post is a little silly, but maybe it will help drive home my point.....

If Syracuse were a girl:

The city is like a girl that expects to find a husband even if she never wears any attractive clothing and never wears make up.

If Syracuse were a guy:

If Syracuse was a man, he wouldn't get much attention from girls. Why? He lacks confidence. How would he build more confidence?

Two ways:

1) Build muscle. How does a city build muscle? By building taller and more impressive looking structures.

2) Beautify the city with a total make over. When you look good you feel good. Therefore, if Syracuse started looking beautiful, it would have more confidence.

[bellafinzi]

Syracuse has a bunch of new projects that have the potential to change the image of Syracuse forever if done right.

Architecture shapes how a city looks and creates an image for the city...good or bad. Architecture can be used to inspire and uplift people. But if designed badly can also depress and turn people off.

Syracuse has a history of great architecture with all the old buildings built before 1950. The problem is that 80 percent of the architecture built between 1950 and today has been terrible....much of it "brutalism". All this recent poorly designed architecture has created the ugly looking, depressing built environment in Syracuse that outsiders make fun of and local residents disrespect. The lack of pride in Syracuse is a reflection of the ugly built environment. The fact that visitors often aren't impressed with Syracuse is a direct reflection on the recent architecture.

I urge all local developers to hire architects who will bring Syracuse in a new direction. Instead of the same old second rate designed buildings for a second rate city. Syracuse needs first-rate architecture for a second rate city so that one day Syracuse can become a first rate city.

Convention Center Hotel

Will Wilmorite build a tall, beautiful Westin Hotel using post-modern architecture? Or an ugly, short Westin Hotel that fits in with the brutalism or red brick buildings nearby?

Biotech Center

Will the developers of the Syracuse Biotechnology Center build a sleek, high-tech looking building or just another "blah" boring building that fits in with it's surroundings?

Pioneer development in Downtown

Will it just be a boring red building that fits in with Armory Square or will it add a sophistication and flare to this trendy urban neighborhood?

I'm sure there are more projects, but you get the point. Syracuse needs architecture that makes a statement, not just another building that fits in.