2023 Annual Report - Neighborhood Stability

Neighborhood and Business Development Growing 
The Department of Neighborhood and Business Development created new roles to improve services and address quality of life concerns: 

• Director of Data role to expand departmental data/spatial analysis capacity. 

• Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Coordinator position to assist New American communities in reaching resources necessary for resettlement in Syracuse, as well as ensuring that housing and business engagement initiatives are designed in ways that serve their unique needs. 

• Director of East Adams Neighborhood Redevelopment, who will work closely with the City’s Interstate 81 Project Director as well as the City’s  Housing Initiatives Project Manager to ensure a community-driven and equity-based approach to planning and redeveloping the East Adams neighborhood. 

Syracuse Lead Ordinance 
2023 marked the first full year of the Syracuse Lead Ordinance developed in coordination with the Syracuse Common Council. The ordinance allows for proactive testing of both the interior and exterior of pre-1978 residential structures and the exterior of pre-1978 nonresidential structures. It also allows for any inspections performed as part of an application for a certificate of compliance, or for a rental registry certificate, to include a visual assessment for deteriorated paint and bare soil violations. Since implementing the program, Code Enforcement inspectors have issued lead paint violations at nearly 2,200 properties. In nearly half of those cases, the landlords have already addressed the condition. 

Tobacco Ordinance 
Mayor Walsh signed a new licensing requirement into law in 2023 aimed at stopping the sale of tobacco to minors and reducing the number of individuals of all ages who use tobacco products and electronic smoking devices. The ordinance restricts the placement of new tobacco retail locations near schools, parks and existing tobacco retailers in the city of Syracuse. The Tobacco ordinance also capped the number of available tobacco retail licenses and sets a licensing approval policy that reduces tobacco retail locations in the city in the future.  

Zoning, Preservation, Planning and Sustainability 
The offices of Zoning Administration and Planning and Sustainability became part of City government in 2023 after moving from the Syracuse-Onondaga County Planning Agency (SOCPA) to the City’s Department of Neighborhood and Business Development (NBD). The change is part of a planned transition between the City and the County to improve constituent and customer service and better manage growth in city and county neighborhoods.  

Zoning and Preservation Administration 
Zoning and preservation administration, including the Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals and Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board, is now managed in the same department as permitting, licensing and code enforcement under the leadership of a newly created position, Deputy Commissioner of Code Enforcement and Zoning Administration. 

Division of Planning & Sustainability 
The new Division of Planning & Sustainability was developed to focus on short and long-term planning projects and develop new sustainability initiatives to improve the livability and quality of life for City residents and visitors. It is overseen by the newly created position of Deputy Commissioner of Planning and Sustainability.  

New Zoning Ordinance 
The City adopted a new zoning ordinance and map for the first time in decades. The multi-year project, Rezone Syracuse, included over 100 public engagement meetings and created a user-friendly ordinance, modernized land uses, and streamlined the development review process. 

Le Moyne Area Neighborhood Plan 
The City began implementation of the Le Moyne Area Neighborhood Plan. The Plan includes new sidewalk, lighting, bike lanes and other initiatives to improve quality of life and safety of neighborhood residents. In 2023, the City installed new sidewalks, pedestrian beacons and bike lanes along Salt Springs and Springfield Roads to improve pedestrian safety, updated and installed more lighting along Springfield Road, and repaired existing lights to ensure proper illumination for all users.

Elevating Erie Award 
The City was proud to receive a planning award from the American Planning Association: The Upstate New York Award for Implementation of the Elevating Erie Project.  

Parks Facilities Upgrades 

At Huntington Park in Eastwood, a Hexagonal Basketball Court -- a six-sided court ideally suited to smaller games and shooting practice for multiple users at once – was opened to residents.  

At the Syracuse Inner Harbor, a kayak/canoe launch was opened, connecting to the Onondaga Creekwalk and including an operating ADA compliant floating aluminum dock with access ramp for walkers and chair users, and a ramp to slide watercraft to the dock. 

At the Southwest Community Center, Parks and the Department of Public Works Skilled Trades teams rebuilt the roof of the pool house.  

At indoor pools across the city, ADA compliant lifts were installed, making all pools more accessible.  

Tree Canopy 
The Forestry team planted a total of 3,000 trees on public and private lands. 70% of trees were planted in the city’s lowest canopy neighborhoods, and 75% of trees were planted by young people from disadvantaged communities through the programs of Onondaga Earth Corps. Over 560 people participated in tree walks, planting and pruning events through Parks Forestry programs. 

New Dog Shelter in Jamesville 
Parks worked with the County and multiple community partners to reestablish a canine shelter and adoption facility at the former Second Chance facility in Jamesville. It will help serve the overflow of stray city dogs that can’t be housed at the City’s primary shelter facility. 

Syracuse Surge 
Syracuse Surge is the City’s strategy for inclusive growth in the new economy. The city of Syracuse and CenterState CEO, with support from SUNY EOC, OCM BOCES, Le Moyne College and Onondaga Community College, have aligned with local employers to launch several Syracuse Surge job training programs to prepare a local workforce with tech skills for today's economy. 

Syracuse SEAM High School 
The City, Onondaga County and the Syracuse City School District broke ground on the $74M Syracuse STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) High School in December. The STEAM School will be the first of its kind in the region. 

Syracuse Surge Workforce Training 
Syracuse Surge Workforce Training, which includes advanced manufacturing and coding and software programs, enrolled 1,421 participants in 7 training and upskilling programs this year. These programs include:  

• Surge Advanced Manufacturing, a short-term entry-level training programs, graduated 76 participants   

• Electromechanical Mechanical Technician, a short-term mid-level program, graduated 30 participants  

• Surge Defense, a long-term, mid-level and skill-specific training program, graduated its first cohort of 16 participants.  

• Le Moyne College ERIE21 – trained 1,500 city school students for tech-centered pathways to good careers 

Coding and software training included: 

• Surge Coding Apprenticeship: 10 graduates; 

• Digital Customer Service: 61 graduates; 

• Careers in Code: 71 graduates; 

• Lock 3 and Lock 4 Cyber Security and Computer Science Certificates: 138 graduates; 

• Digital Up-skilling in Healthcare Careers: 977 graduates. 

Surge Accelerator 
CenterState CEO in partnership with the City launched the first Syracuse Surge Accelerator Cohort. The program advances Black-Indigenous-Persons of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs and accelerates new or existing tech-related startups within the city of Syracuse. Five businesses were selected for the first cohort, which will graduate in 2024. 

NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub 
Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo jointly applied and were awarded as a federal Tech Hub, a designation created in the CHIPS & Science Act. The “NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub” designation positions the region as a global hub for workforce training, innovation, and manufacturing of semiconductor technology.  The NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub proposal will now compete for the next phase of the tech hubs program, which will invest $50-$75 million in up to 10 regions chosen from the 31. Ultimately, the program could grow up to $10 billion, meaning that successful tech hubs may have the opportunity for significant additional funding. 

Surge Link: Community Broadband Program  
The City launched a municipal broadband service for households whose income is at or below 200% of Federal Poverty Guidelines or participate in a federal assistance program. Surge Link provides high speed internet for eligible underserved residents in the Southside and Westside neighborhoods. Since launching, the program has already served over 400 families. 

Digital Empowerment Program 
The City launched the Digital Empowerment Program (DEP) in partnership with the Syracuse Community Center Collaborative. The program provides digital literacy and technical assistance services to Syracuse residents engaging them in safe and effective use of the internet and digital tools to achieve a higher quality of life. In 2023, the program served more than 500 residents and distributed about 200 Chromebooks to families without computers at home. 

Tech Garden Expansion 
The City of Syracuse and partners broke ground on The Tech Garden expansion. The $32M project will add 46,000 square-feet of space to the region’s key tech business incubator facility. The Tech Garden expansion advances CenterState CEO’s work in launching high-potential early-stage businesses and anchor Syracuse's City Center Innovation Hub. 

Syracuse Build 
Syracuse Build, the City’s paid construction and skilled trades workforce training program is currently in its sixth cohort of trainees for its flagship program Pathways to Apprenticeship. In 2023, Syracuse Build doubled its average class size to 30 participants per cohort. The program graduated 149 skilled participants across the following programs in 2023: 

• Pathways to Apprenticeship hosted 2 cohorts and graduated 42 participants 

• Build Ready hosted 3 classes and graduated 19 participants 

• Syracuse City School District CDL training in graduated 5 participants 

• National Tractor Trailer School CDL training program graduated 10 participants 

• BOCES HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) program 

• A new Electrical Maintenance Technician program was launched with BOCES  

Safer Streets Program 
The Mayor’s Office to Reduce Gun Violence advanced the Safer Streets Program in August of 2023 after it was passed by the Syracuse Common Council. With this program, the Mayor’s Office to Reduce Gun Violence has developed a strategy to resolve personal conflicts before violence occurs, using ‘credible messengers’, cognitive behavioral therapy to address trauma, anger and impulsiveness of participants, mentoring, and workforce experience training incentives for participants engaged in skills building training. 

Syracuse Police Department 
The Syracuse Police Department (SPD) graduated four classes, 25 officers in total, in 2023. To encourage interest in careers with SPD, the Department relaunched its Cadet Program in March, designed to be a steppingstone for prospective candidates. SPD has 13 cadets set to graduate in March 2024.  

New Schedule 
The department fully implemented a new work schedule, which allows for an overlap of staff during peak call times and puts more officers on the streets when they are needed most. It also allows more walking beats and bike patrols and is better for officer wellbeing. And the new schedule is improving response times. The average “minutes to dispatch” was reduced by nearly 30% after introducing the new schedule.   

Gun Buy Back 
In the third year of the Syracuse Gun Buyback Program in partnership with the NYS Attorney General’ Office, SPD recovered 751 guns. This is in addition to 259 firearms recovered while working in the field. The Syracuse Gun Buyback is cited as among the most successful in New York State.  

Representing a significant reduction in gun crime from 2022, Syracuse Police report that instances of shots fired were down 16%, shootings with injury were down 38%, shootings with injury or death down 36% and shooting victims who were injured or died were down 31%.  

Citizens Academy 
SPD continued its Citizens Academy, designed to educate community members about police training and tactics, rules and regulations. In 2023, Citizens Academy graduated 12 residents. 

Syracuse Police Activity/Athletics League 
The Syracuse Police Athletic/Activities League (PAL) introduced five new programs in 2023. Syracuse PAL created a Veterans Day Drawing Contest, hosted a Skills Win! Tournament to connect middle school students with professional development training, held a “The Police and Me” book tour with author Derrick Dotson to build positive relationships between officers and children in the classroom, and created rowing and dance programs.