Top Posts of 2019

With the new year upon us, I've been cranking up the thinking and planning sections of my brain, as I'm sure many of you have. For me, that included some penciled in 'wish I could do better on...' things. Not resolutions per se, but intentions I hope to be mindful of this year.  

And it also included my annual look at the blog, updates to the Pages, considerations on changing the layout (none this year, or at least none now), and I also looked at last year's posts. In the course of that, I identified the five posts that appeared to spark your interest the most. Let's take a look. 

The top post was news in January from The Update Desk about the Allyn Family Foundation (AFF) and a new, mixed-use property it's developing in the city of Syracuse, which will house a food hall and market, office space for not-for-profit organizations, and residential units. A public name-the-market contest was held, and that's where our story picks up.

I vaguely remember the social media post where we could vote, and the overwhelming number of comments asking why it didn't mention Syracuse or the Salt City...

And it turns out, the AFF listened to what people wanted, and the name has been chosen: the Salt City Market. It's perfect, and it's a perfect example of ensuring the kind of community buy-in that the organization is looking for. Maarten Jacobs, one of the AFF folks, said

We want this to be a space that people feel they have ownership of the minute it opens.

The post was about a foundation, and a building, and a name - but it was more about the value of listening and responding to constituents, something that we often wish happened more - and something the majority of us can learn to do better. 

Number two was a TGIF post, also from January, dealing with the Covington Catholic High School kids and their interaction with a Native American Vietnam-era veteran, and the media reaction to it. But the post also included someone else who had a bad week: the president. Among other things, 

• five former DHS secretaries, including his own former Chief of Staff General John Kelly, admonished him to get the government reopened;

• he tried to bully his way into delivering performing his State of the Union address as originally scheduled, saying he was going to show up at the appointed time, until

• Nancy Pelosi let him have it with both sides of her gavel, telling him in no uncertain terms that she would not allow that to happen; 

And my favorite part?  

• he threatened to find an alternate location, finally caving in a tweet around midnight (presumably after talking with Sean Hannity) that he would accept Pelosi's decision

In November, the third most popular post also involved the president; this time, it was his proclamations which attracted the attention of the Irony Board. 

This year, in addition to celebrating our Native American heritage, we are celebrating several other things, including National Veterans and Military Families Month, with a proclamation noting (in part - ed)

...Together, we remain committed to fostering a national community of support for these brave heroes and their families.

This president signed this proclamation? This president, the guy who mocked a Gold Star family for speaking out against him; who assaulted the life and memory of John McCain; who deports  immigrant veterans despite the promise of citizenship for their patriotic service or the immigrant families of our veterans and soldiers; and who most recently has turned his "eternal gratitude" on Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman? 

But that wasn't all. Similar ironies were rampant related to his proclamation on our first-ever celebration of  National American History and Founders Month. It's mind-boggling, it really is. 

Coming in at number four? News in March from  The Update Desk, again, on our grand experiment here in New York with commercial casino gambling.

As has consistently been the case, the news is not good for our Vegas-style casinos in the Finger Lakes area, the Southern Tier, the Capital region, and the Catskills.  Leading the way, again, is the del Lago Resort and Casino down the Thruway a bit from Syracuse.

We're told of another downgrade in their credit rating and a likely continued 'negative' outlook.

If the two-year-old del Lago Resort and Casino in the Finger Lakes is to survive, it's going to need new cash investment or face a difficult restructuring of its debts and finances.

The issue? Lower than expected revenue growth and, oh yeah -- too many other opportunities for throwing your money away. The same issues confound the other three, which are not meeting their revenue estimates, either. del Lago was about 57% short of projections...

The financial issues for del Lago and the other casinos have only continued since then; I'm confident I'll have multiple updates on this subject again this year. 

And rounding out the top five was a Poll Watch entry from April, with information gleaned from a Fox News poll taken in March. As did many polls back then (and more current ones as well), it referenced the president's negative approval rating and the even more negative gap between strongly approving and strongly disapproving respondents. 

It also talked about a handful of key issues that have been part of the president's plan, and noted that on three of the four issues, he was under water with respondents.

Questioned on Trump's handling of four key issues - the economy, taxes, immigration, and health care, only on the economy, at +8, did he have a net positive. On taxes (-7), immigration (-13) and healthcare (-15), his approves were below his disapproves. Even worse, the numbers on his signature piece of legislation, the Christmas tax cut, are down from a year ago.

Of course, the only polls that matter are the ones that show him in a positive light, that show him to be the president he thinks he is.  That, too, will continue this year, I'm sure. 

In to 2020 we go - not knowing what will catch your eye this year, but intending to do just that. I hope you stick around.

The Update Desk: One Corner at a Time (Again)

It's been a while since I last talked about the new Salt City Market that's coming to downtown Syracuse.

I first wrote about it in June 2018, when we learned that the Allyn Family Foundation (AFF) was planning to revitalize one of downtown's 'parking lot corners' into a mixed-use facility.  Here's an excerpt from that post:.

Early last month, the AFF announced the formation of a new nonprofit organization, the Syracuse Urban Partnership, which will develop our old parking lot into a mixed-use building with apartments, space for philanthropic agencies to collaborate (the AFF will have offices there), and a 'food hall' similar to those we get to see in larger cities like Philly's Reading Terminal Market. The market is designed to help make it possible for folks to get into the restaurant business, such as the ones who have been featured at the With Love project.

In January, I was happy to update that the AFF, in addition to having vision, also had ears. There was a contest to name the new food hall, but the choices that were presented for a community vote, well, they fell short of our expectations.  Here's an excerpt from the update post.

I vaguely remember the social media post where we could vote, and the overwhelming number of comments asking why it didn't mention Syracuse or the Salt City; I might have even given a 'like' to a suggestion with one of those in the name, if I remember correctly.

And it turns out, the AFF listened to what people wanted, and the name has been chosen: the Salt City Market. It's perfect, and it's a perfect example of ensuring the kind of community buy-in that the organization is looking for. Maarten Jacobs, one of the AFF folks, said

We want this to be a space that people feel they have ownership of the minute it opens.

That was a huge step for the project, I think - right from the get-go, the AFF cemented their commitment to having this really be a project that's both of and for the community. And now, where do things stand?

There's moving forward nicely, actually.

Throughout the summer, aspiring market food vendors have been able to test their items with community members; one vendor a week has been featured in the Salt City Market Takeout Friday program at the Westcott Community Center.

Even better, the groundbreaking for the $25M complex was held this past Monday. The Foundation's Executive Director Meg O'Connell noted

This project has been years in the making and it's really coming together today to acknowledge the diverse talents of our residents and also acknowledging that to be a prosperous city, we must with intention, work to provide opportunities that are inclusive for all. 

Continuing to stress the diversity aspects of the market, here's part of what project leader Maarten Jacobs said about the supportive nature of the space:

The idea is to create an environment all under one roof where all walks of life can come and experience the diverse flavors of Syracuse. We're intentionally with primarily entrepreneurs of color, both native born as well as new residents in our community.

I've been excited about this project from the beginning, and now that construction has started, I'm looking forward to seeing this vision come to fruition.

And speaking of vision, the photo above is a rendering of the building from SaltCityMarket.com  -- it's definitely something to look forward to.  Stay tuned!

The Update Desk: One Corner at a Time

Last June, I did a Grains of Salt post about changes coming to a highly visible corner in downtown Syracuse, where a new non-profit corporation had proposed putting up a city market/office/residential structure that would offer a number of opportunities:

• a 'food hall', along the lines of what we see in other cities like Philadelphia; here, there'll be spots for local chefs who were unable or not yet ready to open their own restaurants;
• office space for non-profit organizations, allowing for greater learning and collaboration between them, and
• housing for a mix of incomes, instead of everything being in the $2K/month range, as seems to be the case lately with our new downtown units. 

Last fall, the Allyn Family Foundation (AFF), which is running this project announced that things had been moving along and they'd come up with a couple of names for the market, and they asked for a community vote.

That's where things got interesting - and today we have an update.

Grains of Salt (v42): The State of the City (pt. 2)

Grains of Salt

In yesterday's post, I took things a little out of order and focused on what had been accomplished in Mayor Ben Walsh's first year in office.Today, it's all about the future, and the Syracuse Surge.

What's that, you might be wondering? The Syracuse Surge?  Well, here's how the mayor set the state:

As is customary in a State of the City address, I've prepared a report on the past year and information on plans ahead in 2019. Something exciting, though, happened earlier this week in Albany. In his 2019 State of the State, Governor Cuomo took special note of what is happening in our city. He reported on a "resurgence" occurring here. And he committed strong support for the Syracuse Surge, a new strategy to ignite growth and economic opportunity in Syracuse and the region. So, before going into what we accomplished in 2018, I'll begin with the story behind the Syracuse Surge and how we believe it will help us achieve our vision of being a growing city.

Walsh talked about technology, and how different things are generally ("the future promised in the Jetsons is finally here."), as well as specifically for Syracuse.

Change is hard, but we've risen to the task of embracing new technology before, and I'm certain we can do it again.

Those 'before' changes included the First and Second Industrial Revolutions, where Syracuse as a leader, Walsh said, but we lost ground in the Third Industrial Revolution as we "struggled to capture the progress offered by new technology" and that's had a decades-long impact on us. But it can be changed.

Today, Syracuse has a once in a generation opportunity to leap into the future, to avoid decades of further division, growing income inequality and declining quality of life. 

Enter the Syracuse Surge.

Grains of Salt (v38): A Personal Touch

Question: If you received a letter from your local government, and the envelope included a personal note, would it inspire you to open the letter?

And if, instead of the garden-variety form letter, you had a personal note from the mayor, would you maybe pay your past-due taxes?

Seems that's exactly what happened right here in Syracuse when Mayor Ben Walsh and others staffers sent handwritten notes to folks with outstanding taxes -- which brought in $1.47M over a four month period, according to this article.

The idea to send the notes came from the folks at the X Lab, a think tank at SU's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The guys from the X Lab worked with the city on how to reduce foreclosures and increase tax collections, and came up with the idea trying a personal note after doing some research into how people respond to different types of communication.

Here's how it worked: around 1900 people got the standard government issue form letter, but another 3800 or so got a handwritten letter, some of which also included a note on the envelope. The purpose of the letters was the same: notify the property owner of the delinquency and try to get them to pay up.  The personal letters went further, explaining that if they didn't pay up they'd lose their homes, but the city didn't want that to happen. The letters also explained some of the city services that the taxes support.

The results were pretty impressive: people who received the note on the envelope paid 88% more than the control group, the ones who just got the form letter. Even the folks who got the letter without the note on the envelope paid 50% more than the control group.

Walsh, a Maxwell grad himself, noted

This partnership with X Lab helps both the City and our residents. It's the kind of positive outcomes that occur when you aren't afraid to innovate and try something new. By using evidence and data to improve government services, processes and initiatives, we are helping to balance the budget while at the same time improving the health and well being of our citizens. 

Delinquent taxes are a long-standing problem in the city, with some $30M outstanding on over 2700 seizable properties,where the owners are more than two years behind - before this project started. And, there's another $9.6M outstanding on this year's taxes.

Also long-standing problems? Housing instability and poverty. Which is why it's great that we're seeing innovative approaches to these problems, and that we're seeing collaboration between local governments, SU and other educational institutions, and organizations like the Allyn Foundation, which provided grants for X Lab collaborations.

And honestly, this is exactly why Ben Walsh was elected mayor - to find innovative ways to improve life in the city, to find and work with any willing partners to try and solve these long-standing problems, and to get us back on track financially. 

Kudos to everyone involved.

Grains of Salt (v34): One Corner at a Time

Grains of Salt

When My Sweet Baboo and I both worked in downtown Syracuse, we'd get to the center city in time for my 7AM start; I'd stick around until his 5PM end, and we'd meet at the car for the short ride home to The Valley.

We parked in two different lots back in the day - the Trolley Lot behind the Armory (before it was closed to put in a floatables collection station), and then the lot on the corner of Salina and Onondaga, across from the Hotel Syracuse, where we moved when the first lot closed.

The Trolley Lot reopened after three years or so of work, much nicer than it ever was before, but MSB continued to park at Salina/Onondaga until he retired a couple of years ago. Now, that lot is going to get an extreme makeover of its own, thanks in large part to the efforts of the Allyn Family Foundation, a local philanthropic organization.

Early last month, the AFF announced the formation of a new nonprofit organization, the Syracuse Urban Partnership, which will develop our old parking lot into a mixed-use building with apartments, space for philanthropic agencies to collaborate (the AFF will have offices there), and a 'food hall' similar to those we get to see in larger cities like Philly's Reading Terminal Market. The market is designed to help make it possible for folks to get into the restaurant business, such as the ones who have been featured at the With Love project.

The $22M project, which will break ground next year, also involved the City of Syracuse and CenterStateCEO, the local business development organization formed when the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce and the Metropolitan Development Agency merged a few years back.

Why the plans to repurpose the lot?  Meg O'Connell, the AFF's executive director, explained it in this interview with WVRO. She noted that "the idea of a downtown public market has been floating around for years" but no single organization had taken the lead.

It came to a tipping point where the board of the Allyn Foundation said, we could do this. We could leverage the funds that we have and we could bring all the partners in together and create this great new entity in downtown Syracuse...

You've seen so much great vibrancy going downtown. But this corner, that is really the nexus for where you enter the southeast side of the city, as well as the southwest side of the city, is just kind of crying out for some development. The are clearly challenges with that site, but we really felt that was part of our commitment to downtown to do it specifically on that site.

The challenges O'Connell mentioned? The lot, a couple of blocks from Armory Square, is not far from the Rescue Mission complex, and right down the street from the troubled Clinton Plaza Apartments. A young man was murdered near the lot a few years ago; there have also been reports of drug dealing, solicitation and the like not only during the time the lot was the used solely by folks working on the Hotel Syracuse project, but since.

These challenges are not insurmountable - or, I should say, we cannot consider them to be insurmountable. If we did, there would be no development anywhere other than in the suburbs. And, back to O'Connell,

We have to recognize that the core of the city is important. People ask  "Why this investment in downtown?"  You can't be a suburb of nothing. 

Indeed.