The State of Syracuse (Pt 2)

The second question I asked the mayoral candidates was about city neighborhoods, and the need we have to expand the tax base by growing our population base.  I wondered what their plans were to improve our neighborhoods and encourage people to move to the city, and whether they'd support requiring city employees to live here.

I also asked what specifically they'd do about crime.  While my immediate neighborhood is in pretty good shape from that perspective, my larger neighborhood -- my zip code -- does not fare as well. I wanted some specifics on what they'd do.

In her SOTC, Mayor Stephanie Miner touched on both of these issues.  On neighborhoods, she pointed to some successes, referring to "neighborhood commercial districts" such as James Street/ Eastwood, Genesee Street, Westcott Street, North Salina, and the Inner Harbor, while at the same time noting that

While some neighborhood business districts have shown positive movement in recent years, we know we still have much work to do. Many of these corridors still suffer from vacancy, deteriorated building stock and quality of life challenges. 

To address this, the City will be tapping into $400,000 in grant money to help grow small businesses, under the auspices of the Syracuse Main Street Program.  The grants require a not-unreasonable 25% matching funds from folks who want to participate -- which to me is a necessary component for any of these programs to be successful.  After all, the person with skin in the game acts differently than a person who just seeks (or has) a hand out. These efforts will be focused on one area on the south side and one on the north side.

She also talked about the Greater Syracuse Land Bank, something I'm going to have to learn more about, since they have recently acquired the property next to ours, one of 139 properties they've taken since October. Through the GSLB, property tax collections are up 69% in the last half of 2013 compared to the same time period in 2012; this can only help us all. Of the 139 properties, they've already sold six to new owners, which is one of the other goals.  Fingers crossed on this one.

Regarding crime, Miner was honest. Last year wasn't great; we had 22 homicides, the third highest number in the past 12 years. However, to combat that, she pointed to the following efforts:

• An expansion of the crime camera program from the Near West Side to other areas, including many in my zip code.
• The Syracuse TRUCE program, an initiative designed to help reduce the impact of gangs through education, community support, and interventions, which has helped lead to a 32% reduction in gang-related shootings and homicides; my zip code has historically had a high concentration of the gangs in the city. 
• Crackdowns on 'corner stores' to ensure they are operating with appropriate approvals from the city, including the codes office; close to 450 violations have been issued, most of which will likely be corrected. In addition, the city is undertaking a review of the ordinances related to these businesses, to ensure they are current and to allow for easier enforcement and accountability.
• Targeting of stores for selling stolen merchandise, and other quality of life issues.

She also cited statistics showing that may other crimes including burglaries, robberies, shots fired with injuries all decreased last year.

So - neighborhoods and crime. Two more questions asked, and many answers provided. I would give a medium thumbs up on these two issues.  The problems are complex, and the solutions must be as well.  I like the cameras; heck, I'd put them on every corner (even fake ones would probably do some good) just to make people think maybe one more time. I like efforts on the gang issue, and I like the efforts on the nuisance corner markets.

I'd like to see cops walking the beat, something I know the mayor is not fond of.  But I think it's worth a shot, maybe as a pilot program in a couple of  neighborhoods.  I suspect there will be a difference in how the police and neighbors interact, with the trust level, and hopefully, with a reduction in crime. Why not give it a shot?

And, I would have loved to see her come up with some kind of incentive plan for city residency for non-union employees. I would love it for everyone, but my guess is getting it through for the union workers would be next to impossible.  The benefits from a program like this, having people live in the city, next door to and across the street from the people who pay their salaries, having their kids attend city schools --  the benefits would go way beyond what we could do with the additional property tax revenue.  This is another one I wish we would try.

Next up: education.