Development in and Around Syracuse Discussion | Page 116 | Syracusefan.com

Development in and Around Syracuse Discussion

I'm skeptical most of the time when it comes to Syracuse.com editorials but this one published today is worth a read. Once they figured out their pricing model I subscribed to the digital format, it's not always worth the $100 per year but it is worth supporting local journalism.

 
I don't know who Michael J. Gallagher is but he's read my mind. This is all really good, here are the first two paragraphs.


"With regard to the April 20 article, “After a decade of talk, suburban leaders say their worries remain ignored,” the truth is that the suburban leaders’ arguments against the Interstate 81 community grid have been heard. How could they not? They have held press conferences. They have passed nonbinding resolutions in their town boards opposing the grid and sent them to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In the winter of 2018-2019, they went to Albany to make their case in person to governor. The town supervisors just didn’t get the answer they (and the parties who send them campaign contributions) wanted.

Grid opponents have pushed for a tunnel or a depressed highway as a way to maintain high-speed access through Syracuse. The New York State Department of Transportation rejected those ideas, mainly because there is a swamp under Almond Street. Still, grid opponents prevailed on the governor to have the DOT take another look at tunnels. They and depressed highways were rejected again, and by the time that happened, the project had been held up for two years. (Grid opponents have also complained about delays, ignoring the fact that they have caused them.) Yet still the town supervisors want their tunnel or depressed highway. Incidentally, a depressed highway was also rejected when I-81 was first built 60 years ago. That’s why there’s a viaduct. Yet the town supervisors cannot let go of this idea that was so bad, it was rejected three times."
 
a tunnel solves the viaduct issue/ community grid, as both parties get to eat cake... but it costs a butt load. Depressed highway is like throwing another Teflon roof on the dome, very expensive Band-Aid approach.
 
I don't know who Michael J. Gallagher is but he's read my mind. This is all really good, here are the first two paragraphs.


"With regard to the April 20 article, “After a decade of talk, suburban leaders say their worries remain ignored,” the truth is that the suburban leaders’ arguments against the Interstate 81 community grid have been heard. How could they not? They have held press conferences. They have passed nonbinding resolutions in their town boards opposing the grid and sent them to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In the winter of 2018-2019, they went to Albany to make their case in person to governor. The town supervisors just didn’t get the answer they (and the parties who send them campaign contributions) wanted.

Grid opponents have pushed for a tunnel or a depressed highway as a way to maintain high-speed access through Syracuse. The New York State Department of Transportation rejected those ideas, mainly because there is a swamp under Almond Street. Still, grid opponents prevailed on the governor to have the DOT take another look at tunnels. They and depressed highways were rejected again, and by the time that happened, the project had been held up for two years. (Grid opponents have also complained about delays, ignoring the fact that they have caused them.) Yet still the town supervisors want their tunnel or depressed highway. Incidentally, a depressed highway was also rejected when I-81 was first built 60 years ago. That’s why there’s a viaduct. Yet the town supervisors cannot let go of this idea that was so bad, it was rejected three times."
Yes, a lot of people don't realize that the valley Syracuse is in used to be a large wetland complex from the south end of Onondaga Lake towards present-day downtown and east. It looks nothing like it did pre-colonization. I have found species records for plants that used to grow in the area that are no longer present anywhere in the region. It was a very unique place, and it's no wonder that the location was revered by the indigenous peoples.

Good luck building a tunnel in that area; even the surrounding hills are limestone karst riddled with voids and odd hydrology. Where I grew up- Limeledge Road (aka The Alps to Marcellus folks)- is aptly named.
 
Yes, a lot of people don't realize that the valley Syracuse is in used to be a large wetland complex from the south end of Onondaga Lake towards present-day downtown and east. It looks nothing like it did pre-colonization. I have found species records for plants that used to grow in the area that are no longer present anywhere in the region. It was a very unique place, and it's no wonder that the location was revered by the indigenous peoples.

Good luck building a tunnel in that area; even the surrounding hills are limestone karst riddled with voids and odd hydrology. Where I grew up- Limeledge Road (aka The Alps to Marcellus folks)- is aptly named.
I don't think a tunnel option was discussed with the original plans about 7-8 years ago. Wasn't it DeFrancisco that floated the idea when the suburban politicians wouldn't let it go? I know it was dismissed after the DOT had to do an analysis because of exactly what you described.

I think what I liked best about this opinion piece was how he pointed out why they're still complaining, it's all about the campaign contributions. It would be great if Syracuse.com could find out who is sending money to Ulatowski, McMahon and Mannion.

Any developer that wants to clear cut treed lots in the Town of Clay will get approval from Ulatowski no matter how it affects the neighborhood and the traffic. The White Pines business park near Rt31 and Caughednoy Rd., look at the size of what they want to put out there as compared to Onondaga Lake:

1620312199052.png
 
Not development related, but I was in Syracuse this weekend for Mother's Day. It was my wife's first Mother's Day, and all that she wanted to do was go out for a nice dinner - something that we haven't done since pre-pandemic. I ended up making reservations at Saint Urban Wine Bar and it was absolutely fantastic.

I enjoy unique dining experiences, and there is nothing else like it in the Syracuse area. I'd definitely recommend it, but be prepared to get dinged in the wallet a bit. It was worth it though, especially for a special occasion. As an added bonus, Jim and Juli Boeheim showed up at around 9 p.m. for dinner and sat at the table next to us. I was proud of my wife for recognizing them as soon as they walked in the door, since although she indulges in my love of SU athletics, she's not always the most into it.
 
Not development related, but I was in Syracuse this weekend for Mother's Day. It was my wife's first Mother's Day, and all that she wanted to do was go out for a nice dinner - something that we haven't done since pre-pandemic. I ended up making reservations at Saint Urban Wine Bar and it was absolutely fantastic.

I enjoy unique dining experiences, and there is nothing else like it in the Syracuse area. I'd definitely recommend it, but be prepared to get dinged in the wallet a bit. It was worth it though, especially for a special occasion. As an added bonus, Jim and Juli Boeheim showed up at around 9 p.m. for dinner and sat at the table next to us. I was proud of my wife for recognizing them as soon as they walked in the door, since although she indulges in my love of SU athletics, she's not always the most into it.
I absolutely loved that place when we visited. As good as any restaurant in NYC, and I have been to a lot.
 
I absolutely loved that place when we visited. As good as any restaurant in NYC, and I have been to a lot.

The Chef/Owner certainly seems to have an impressive background:

 
The Chef/Owner certainly seems to have an impressive background:

Yes...he has quite the background. I met a family member of his just before they opened and learned quite a bit about him. That is why we checked it out. It also seems that they were extremely creative during the pandemic based on their Instagram page.
 
Not development related, but I was in Syracuse this weekend for Mother's Day. It was my wife's first Mother's Day, and all that she wanted to do was go out for a nice dinner - something that we haven't done since pre-pandemic. I ended up making reservations at Saint Urban Wine Bar and it was absolutely fantastic.

I enjoy unique dining experiences, and there is nothing else like it in the Syracuse area. I'd definitely recommend it, but be prepared to get dinged in the wallet a bit. It was worth it though, especially for a special occasion. As an added bonus, Jim and Juli Boeheim showed up at around 9 p.m. for dinner and sat at the table next to us. I was proud of my wife for recognizing them as soon as they walked in the door, since although she indulges in my love of SU athletics, she's not always the most into it.

9:00 p.m. dinner? On a Sunday? You and the Boeheims are some fancy big-city people.
 
The rent is insane for that space. I'll never understand some of these moron landlords downtown that sit on empty commercial/retail space because of their outlandish rent demands. It's why the spot where Margaritas is sat vacant for so long.

You can blame the brokers, too. They are the ones trying to set an artificially high market rates. It seems that home prices are "trying" to go up by about $100,000 now that the pandemic seems over. Wait until the late fall and you'll get a much more reasonable price. It's not like anybody is making more money since the pandemic, except for Jeff Bezos.
 

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