Wondering, on Wednesday (v32)

Get your GPS out, I have a feeling one of the things I'll be wondering about, this Wednesday, is how to bring it all back home.

If you've ever spent any time reading comments, tweets or posts on social media, you've probably seen a barrage of  "This (town/city/state/country) sucks, can't wait to get out of here" or "This (politician/writer/athlete/actor) sucks, can't believe anyone (listens/watches/pays attention/votes for) him" or similar comments.  Have you ever wondered what it would be like if they all actually got up and left, or at least stopped pestering everyone with their negativity?

Speaking of negativity, there's been more than enough of that over the years as plans were announced and then dropped, and announced and then dropped, and then announced and then almost started but then stalled... Yep, I'm talking about the renovation of the Hotel Syracuse. Well, Negative Nellies, work has been going on in earnest for several weeks, and thanks to the relationship between hometown developer Ed Riley and the local media, we're getting updates on progress on a fairly regular basis. This week, we saw pics from inside the project, including how the lobby is being returned to its former glory, with windows uncovered and access to a balcony restored.  Say 'Nay' if you must, but please, don't be standing in line next March when she reopens - get out of the way and make room for the Yay sayers.

Speaking of making room, looks like both the Dems and the Reps will have to keep making room for more Presidential candidates. Hillary has company, with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee all mainstream declared candidates. Chafee, has been a mayor and US senator, in addition to being Governor, was once a Republican, became an independent, and a couple of years ago signed on to the Democratic side; he too may need a GPS to find his way home.

On the Republican side, we still don't have Jeb Bush or Scott Walker officially in the race, but we did add Empire Stater George Pataki and South Carolina's Lindsey Graham to the already crowded field.

What do all of these folks have in common? Red, white and blue websites for one, with an easy-to-find 'donate' button. Or, in Sanders' case, a 'contribute' button, which seems somehow more engaging and accessible, as if he wants not only my money but also my opinion. I wonder, does he really? I may have to test that.

Testing. That's what the Rabid Badger, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, is doing to my patience. I told you about his 'lovely' and 'cool' trans-vaginal ultrasounds comment.  This week, he's telling everyone that rape and incest only matter early in a woman's pregnancy.  Walker has announced he'll sign a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks, with no exceptions.  He can do that, if it crosses his desk - but can't his people get him to stop justifying what he's doing by talking about things in ways that show only his cluelessness and insensitivity?

And far be it from me, a middle aged white lady centrist Democrat to call out any of the R's for their lack of sensitivity and their treatment of people.  I'm going to let one of their own do that.  Enter Mary Cheney, daughter of Dubya's puppet master, who took Republicans to task (on their own media network, no less).  In a Fox News editorial, Cheney calls for real support for "individual liberty, personal responsibility, and the belief that strong families are the cornerstone of our society." I wonder if any of them will listen to her? She notes

For years I have listened while Republican candidates talked about the importance of family and the need for our country to support strong families. I wholeheartedly agree. We do need to support families, but that means supporting all families - regardless of which state they live in, how they look or how they are made.

So the next time a Republican presidential candidate wants to talk about the need for our society to support and protect families and children I hope he or she will include all families and all children in that protection - including the hundreds of thousands of children like my son and daughter who are growing up with same-sex parents. 

Oh my. I just happily quoted a Cheney, and I support what she says.  And she said it on Fox News. Where, oh where, I'm wondering, did I put my GPS?

The Hotel Syracuse: Looking Back, Looking Forward

There are times that it pays to pay attention.

Lobby ceiling detail

Back in December I got an email from the Onondaga Historical Association (OHA) letting me know there were still tickets available for a 'Ghostwalk' at the Hotel Syracuse. As many of you know, the Hotel Syracuse was a gem in Syracuse, dating back to the 1920s. Built by the firm that went on to do the Waldorf, she's getting ready to be restored to as much of her former glory as can be saved, and she should reopen, we learned today, on March 16, 2016.

The opportunity to get inside before the renovations kick in was too much to pass by, and I managed to get our tickets just in the nick of time.

The OHA doesn't look for ghosts on tours like this - it's not a seance or anything like that. Instead, they have actors portraying people who would have been around back in the day. Today it was folks who would have worked at the Hotel, including the concierge, the hotel detective, a bell captain, and a maid.  We also were thoroughly entertained by a singer who did a pretty good Al Jolson, Ole Blue Eyes and John Lennon.

Hotel Syracuse Lobby

Back in the 1980's I worked the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce; at the time, the offices were on the street level of the Hotel on the Onondaga Street side. There were several Chamber events held in the Hotel itself.  Between those meetings, and holidays parties, and the piano bar, 'prom-watching' from the MONY Plaza, I have lots of fond memories of the hotel, but my personal history of her pales in comparison to what we learned on yesterday's trip.

According to the concierge, the Edward Joy Company (the same one you drive by on I-690 heading east out of the city) did all of the electrical work, including the sprinkler system, and there was some Stickley furniture too. All of the furnishings, including the Stickley pieces, were supplied by the E. W. Edwards department store on Salina Street. Bedding and other linens, miles of carpeting, all of the china (locally sourced from the Iroquois and Onondaga pottery companies, which eventually became our beloved Syracuse China), silverware and furniture and chandeliers and sconces (like the one in the Persian Terrace pictured here), and pretty much everything else you could see or touch in a grand hotel was delivered from just up the block.

If you're interested, there's a store directory from Edwards on the Department Store Museum blog, as well as some additional history from folks who remember it. It notes that 'our' Edwards dated to 1889, with expansion into other upstate cities (Rochester, Buffalo, Camillus and Dewitt!) happening later.

We learned from the entertainer ghost that the hotel was wired so that music played anywhere - in the ballrooms or the clubs - could be heard everywhere: the 1920's version of whole-house audio. The room he performed in eventually became the Library disco (one of only four in the country), the home for Wise Guys comedy club (recently closed in its third or fourth location) and then Viva Debris (comedy and magic).

Persian Terrace

I think the most fascinating part of the trip for me was the time we spent in the Persian Ballroom. I had no idea that there were fashion shows broadcast live from that beautiful room, while the fashionable ladies of Syracuse lunched. We learned this from two delightful performers, one the host of the show, and one the fashion director who fabulously ad-libbed as tour members modeled hats of the day.

The drapes and paint (a peach/pink/salmon color scheme), the crystal chandeliers and sconces, beautiful stone columns and white-veined black marble under the giant windows, the soaring ceiling, and the faded carpet, are as they were when the hotel closed for good back in 2004. So too is the obligatory parquet floor on which thousands of couples danced.

And now, it's the hint of what's to come for the Hotel Syracuse that has me excited.  We've previously been made aware that the original entrance, on Onondaga Street, will become the primary entrance once again.

Original lobby ceiling

And today, we learned that some of the giant arched windows that have long been covered up or painted over will become functional windows once again; that the lobby will be returned to her original glory, including the gorgeous mural that was recently uncovered, and removing a wall to give us back a balcony. We were told that the ceiling will be restored to its darker, more luxurious hue.

We learned that, underneath the paint in the Persian Terrace, there's a mural that hopefully can be restored. A small section of it is visible, including what someone said was part of an elephant's trunk.

There's so much to look back at, and so much to look forward to, as our grand Hotel Syracuse is restored. She may have a new name then and fewer rooms then she did in the 1920's, but we'll still have her history, thanks to the OHA, and hopefully there will be decades more history to be made there.  I know that I'm not the only one who will be following the progress of her restoration/renovation - and that we're not the only ones already planning on spending the night there come 2016 when she opens once again.

Hotel Syracuse: Another Step Forward

Hotel developer Ed Riley got more good news this week, and so did the City of Syracuse, when the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency (SIDA) approved a PILOT agreement for Riley's project to redevelop the empty and aging Hotel Syracuse, a cornerstone of 'south downtown' and Warren Street.

The deal approved by SIDA gives Riley's project a tax break of roughly $4.7 million over 14 years, and according to reports, requires him to create at least 100 jobs within three years, use all local labor on the project, and make a significant financial contribution. He still needs to secure additional financing on top of the state grants that he's already received to get the project going. The projected reopening is about two years out, but Riley has promised to make some incremental repairs to prevent further degradation of the structure this winter.

This is just one more stop along the way in the move to rehabilitate and reopen the hotel, which has been closed for a decade. Riley's company, the aptly-named Syracuse Community Hotel Restoration Co., was named the preferred developer back in February, and eminent domain proceedings  in July finally freed the hotel from our years-long waiting for or fighting with the foreign investors who owned her. Another step yet to be completed includes an agreement with the county for a guaranteed number of rooms to be available for conventions.

Regular readers may wonder why I'm not complaining about yet another corporate welfare handout; they know that I'm not a fan of many economic development practices, nor of overly-generous tax deals like the 30-year package offered to a developer to build Syracuse University a new bookstore.

And I'll admit to a hint of confliction on this one -- but just a hint.

As I've noted before, I would love one of the old gargoyles for my garden, but I would much rather we had the Hotel Syracuse restored and reopened, not only for sentimental value, or for the bump this will give our convention business, but also because it's another move towards extending 'downtown' outside the boundaries of Armory Square.

Projects like this one and the new City Center project planned for the old Sibley's building, the Merchants Commons building and others that flex and stretch our center-city neighborhood just a little bit each time, and which offer more than just apartments and condos, are good for the city and the greater metro Syracuse area.

Why?  Because, through projects like these, Syracuse has more to offer, which leads to attracting more visitors, which could lead to new companies wanting to come here, which means more people working downtown who are exposed to what we have to offer, which maybe means more people wanting to live in the city, which gives us a chance to extend our vibrant boundaries even further...

Now, if could just get someone to jump on my Parade of Homes in the City project...

Hotel Syracuse Transferred to Developer

YES!  Whoo hoo!

AB Drummond photo, July 2013

Today, according to published reports, the City of Syracuse (through the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency) seized the abandoned Hotel Syracuse and transferred it to developer Ed Riley's Syracuse Community Restoration Company 1, LLC.

Why is that worthy of fireworks?

Well, SCRC1 is the company that's going to redevelop our grand old lady into a shining new old lady, in a $57 million project that was announced a while back.

I've preached about the need to get the Hotel out of foreign hands and back into the hands of  local folks who actually want to do something with it. In January, Syracuse's mayor Stephanie Miner made a point of calling out the Hotel Syracuse project as a priority in her State of the City speech.

In announcing the deal today, Miner noted that

Today is a major day for the Hotel Syracuse and the redevelopment of Downtown.  There is much work left to be done to make this long-held dream of may into a reality but this is a big step in a major transformation.

Today, I'm happy to give up my claim to one of the old gargoyles - I'd much rather have the Hotel, thanks very much. Let's hope that this truly is the start of something big!

The State of Syracuse (Pt 1)

Last September, during the primary election season, I posed a few questions to the three candidates running for mayor in Syracuse.  None of them answered me back then, even though I tagged their Twitter accounts in my post.  But I know they were busy.

Stephanie Miner won the primary, and went on to win the general election in a landslide, in part some said because there's no way a Republican can win the seat because of the voting demographic.  To those who think that all city voters will blindly color in the ballot circle of anyone with a picture of an ass on their campaign materials, well, let's just say if that was the case we'd have a lot of recount elections. But I digress.

Miner recently gave her State of the City (SOTC) address, outlining her administration's accomplishments and challenges; there are many of both.  You can get information, including links to a video of her speech, on the City's website.

I thought it might be time to revisit my questions and see whether the Mayor addressed them in her vision for Syracuse for the next four years.

My first question was about how the administration could harness the energy that has led to the development in Armory Square, and do two things -- expand the energy outward to the rest of the center city, and to include businesses, not just residential development.  Our enviable  99% residential occupancy rate downtown is great, but we don't come close to that when you look at storefronts and office buildings. According to Downtown Committee reports, for example, occupancy rates in Q2 2013 ranged from 71.36%  to 90.31%, depending on the type of property. Armory Square had the highest percentage, naturally.

In her speech, Miner noted that several projects have been completed, or are nearing completion, including amazing transformations of Pike Block  and Merchants Commons, along with several new restaurants including Gannon's, Jolime Cafe, Otro Cinco, and the looming return of an old friend, Clark's Ale House. And celebrating these projects is important in more ways than one:

While each of these project is heartening, what is perhaps more exciting is the collective impact on the core of our city.  Each investment builds on the last, and it is now clear that downtown revitalization is not confined to Armory Square.  New life is spreading to Salina Street, Warren Street and beyond. 

She's not blind to the challenges that still exist, most notably the Hotel Syracuse at the southern gateway to downtown. Here's what I said about it last September:

The Hotel Syracuse once helped us meet our civic challenge; it now presents a challenge for city and county officials. It's one of our 'gateway' properties; it's in an area -the Warren Street canyon - that needs attention.  Now's the time for Mayor Miner and her team to help us get this property back in local hands, so that willing local developers can proceed with their plans. 

sue drummond photo

Well, we have a new local developer, who wants to give it a go, and the mayor is on board.  Here's what she said about this "Syracuse gem" and Ed Riley (principal of the Syracuse Community Hotel Restoration Company) who asked they city to begin eminent domain proceedings to get the historic property out of the hands of its Israeli owners:

In response, SIDA (the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency) has authorized a Preferred Developer Agreement with Mr. Riley, declared its intent to act as Lead Agency for the project's environmental review, and authorized a public hearing to be held next month on this eminent domain action...We are excited to work with Mr. Riley and County Executive Mahoney and her team to make this project a reality. 

Riley's project? A $57 million plan for a 261-room Hyatt Hotel, retail on the ground floor, and a restored lobby, among other things.

So, all in all, did she answer my first question, about making downtown bigger than Armory Square?  I think she did.  She knows there's more that needs to be done, and that as a community we can't sit idly by, but  I agree with her, that

...this progress is something that we should all be proud of as a community. 

There will be more progress to come, I'm sure.

Coming up: city neighborhoods and crime.

Wanted: A New Hotel Syracuse (or an old gargoyle)

Three days a week, when I leave the Centro Hub and head off to the Murbro parking lot between  Salina and Clinton to meet My Sweet

Sue Drummond photo, July 2012

Baboo for the ride home, I stare at the empty Hotel Syracuse; the gargoyles on the roof glare back at me, wondering what the heck we're thinking leaving them sitting there ignored all these years. 

Across Onondaga from the original Hotel, the former Hilton Tower also sits empty, partially boarded up, the decorative brickwork in the sidewalk crumbling with neglect.

How is it that so many times over the years, bad owners have been able to keep the city of Syracuse and other developers from moving forward with renovations to the Hotel Syracuse?  And how much longer will the willing be held hostage by the unwilling?

I've lived in Syracuse long enough to remember the Hotel open for business; the Lobby bar and the piano man; the St. Patrick's Day and New Year's Eve parties; Zell's men's store and other retail establishments,restaurants and bars that populated the street level; our beloved Coach Mac and others living upstairs; seeing the local high school kids all duded up for their proms, and so on.

Years ago, I worked at the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, when the offices were on the first floor of the Hotel, on the Onondaga Street side. I remember the many meetings we sponsored in the conference rooms, breakfasts in the restaurant off the lobby, and parties on the bridge between the old Hotel and the Tower.

What I can't remember is how many times someone has bought the Hotel, and threatened to refurbish it, only to end up not paying their taxes, and letting the grand old Hotel slide a little further into disrepair each time, the few remaining businesses falling one at a time, like toy soldiers.

It was bad enough when it was local investors who were unable to complete the deal. It got much worse when, for some reason, Syracuse became the place for Israeli investors to dump their money.  (Anyone remember Eli Hadad?)

Plans along the way included apartment or condos, not only in the tower but also in the adjacent Addis building; reducing the number of rooms in the original hotel, to allow for larger rooms with more modern amenities; and of course there would be revitalized retail establishments and restaurants in that area of downtown.

A slide show in this article from The Post-Standard back in November 2010, one of many they've done over the years on the ups and downs of the Hotel, reflects both its promise and despair; on the one hand, there are pictures of the gorgeous lobby, one of the ballrooms, and folks working in the kitchen, but also damaged rooms, uncompleted renovations, and so on. That conflict of the "is now/could be" has been part of the Hotel's history from the beginning. 

Former P-S columnist Dick Case did a story a few years back with  "Mr. Hotel Syracuse", Spencer Wallace, who used to manage the Hotel.

Candle-maker Eric Will, who was president of the hotel at its 25th anniversary, wrote that the Hotel Syracuse had its beginning "early in the year 1921, when a small group of men, eager for opportunities to serve their city, undertook the building of a new hotel. There followed days of anxiety, months of privation and years of hard work."  The hotel corporation faced bankruptcy when the building was just a skeleton on the skyline of southern downtown. The corporation had to be reorganized with new money poured in to the project.

"Accomplishment was not simple," Eric Will wrote. "Obstructions were encountered, seemingly, at every turn.  Propaganda was rife. There were those who preferred that a new hotel should not succeed."

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Except for the fact that, of late, efforts to overcome the kind of obstacles that the Hotel faced from the beginning have been unsuccessful.  Earlier this year, there was some talk that the City of Syracuse would look into perhaps using eminent domain to get the Hotel away from the absentee owners, who completely ignore the property until someone else expresses interest in it. 

Let's listen again to Eric Will:

"Completely paid for - and modern in its appointments and equipment - Hotel Syracuse stands ready to meet anew the challenge of a greater Syracuse that must come with tomorrow."

The Hotel Syracuse once helped us meet our civic challenge; it now presents a challenge for city and county officials. It's one of our 'gateway' properties; it's in an area -- the Warren Street canyon -- that needs attention. Now's the time for Mayor Miner and her team to help get this property back in local hands, so that willing local developers can proceed with their plans. 

If not, can someone help me get the gargoyles down? They'd look great in my garden.