Update to last June's June 30, 1949 entry:
I received an email from the Onondaga Historical Association's Dennis Connors on Friday that the time capsule has been found!
Dennis said that although they did not have luck finding it before demolition of 321 South Warren Street started, it was spotted on Friday by a demolition backhoe operator, when the building was about 80% demolished. Apparently the capsule is still sealed and the OHA is going to ask the public via a Post-Standard opinion poll whether it should be opened now or if the original intent should be honored and wait until 2050.
While I suppose there may be some honor in waiting until 2050, I frankly don't see it. The capsule was buried with the intent that it would be opened on the 100th anniversary of the bank. The bank itself was gone less than a decade later due to mergers, and now, the city has demolished the building as well. What exactly would be celebrated upon its opening in 2050? A structurally sound building that was destroyed 41 years earlier for a parking lot? It would be like holding on to a time capsule buried in one of the urban renewal casualties and opening it today.
Of greater concern is that according to the original list of items put in the capsule (as printed in the Post-Standard, January 22, 1950), there are "special films donated by WSYR and WHEN showing the progress of local television and local news highlights of 1949." Another article (Syracuse Herald-Journal, January 17, 1950) states the WSYR film is "several hundred feet of a 15mm movie film showing progress of WSYR-TV's construction to date." Shouldn't these be removed now, so they can be digitized? The capsule was (and apparently still is) sealed, but it was in a basement, and it's possible that the films may have degraded already. I would hate to think the city is losing valuable resources just to keep a nostalgic promise (especially considering the many others that have been broken).
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
April 9, 1967
Last I heard, Syracuse needed a job. Tens of thousands of them, in fact. This being the case, has Syracuse taken a look at its resumé recently?
First, if Syracuse wants to be the cutting-edge green technology "Emerald City," (and it doesn't, according to this webpage, but rather "A City for All Seasons"), why is its web site design exactly the same as it was five years ago? Even five years ago, it looks like something that had been created five years earlier. Script typeface? And three different ones, at that? What, was Comic Sans not available?
There are approximately three dozen significant community and neighborhood parks in Syracuse. Perhaps we should not allow just one of them to own a whole department. Or just hope that not knowing how to correctly use apostrophes doesn't reflect badly upon the city school system.
And the "Community Videos" page:
Really? It took more than two dozen business sponsors, seemingly upchucked on the page, to fund this series of videos, which YouTube or Vimeo could host for free? Certainly it couldn't be the production costs, as it appears that the same dozen or so clips are used in every video. (Not to mention the exact same series of videos—with Rochester images—are on the Rochester, NY website, except their "Welcome Message" is "Coming Soon.") And about those pictures: you might want to go a little less literal and more metaphorical when discussing Syracuse as "the crossroads of New York." Aerial photographs of elevated highways bisecting a downtown in six different directions haven't been a selling point for cities since the Cold War.
Speaking of cold, eleven videos about the Syracuse community and not a snowflake in sight? Besides the need to play to one's strengths, honesty is important, Syracuse—you don't want to be hired and get caught in a lie.
Despite 172 municipally owned and maintained parks, fields, inactive cemeteries and medians/traffic islands, Syracuse has frequently missed the forest for the trees. A bizarre rebranding campaign that seems to celebrate the literary pride of Chittenango instead of picking up a copy of Ithaca's own Strunk & White. 1.5 million dollars to install new benches downtown, to sit among litter that still lines the streets. And in 1967, when Syracuse was preoccupied with tearing down historic buildings in hopes of revitalizing downtown, city leaders not only missed, but openly mocked, a simple opportunity to promote Syracuse during a six-month period of time when over fifty million people drove right by their doorstep.
In April 1967, the city of Montreal was about to open the doors to Expo '67, the first World's Fair following the 1964 New York World's Fair. Much like the New York fair, Expo '67 featured an emphasis on future technology, centered around the theme "Man and His World." Buckminster Fuller built the geodesic dome that served as home for the US pavilion (similar to what he later designed for Disneyworld's EPCOT center). Syracuse University Industrial Design students were personally invited to the Expo to show the full scale model of the all-electric car they had designed for the "neighborhood of tomorrow." The car, named "Shuttle 1984," carried two to four passengers and was powered by a fuel cell, designed by students "to eliminate pollution...work[ing] on the assumption that by 1984, this type of car might be the only one allowed in certain communities." (Post-Standard, April 1, 1967). Crucible Steel was used in the creation of Montreal's subway system: "look for it when you ride the Metro—it's in the escalators, the turnstiles, the trains, and even the signposts." (Post-Standard, April 26, 1967).
Early estimates assumed that over 30 million visitors would make the trip to Montreal between April and October 1967. Needless to say, cities along the driving route—and especially within a day's driving distance—were thrilled about the potential marketing and tourism opportunities. Plattsburgh, as the nearest American city to Montreal, kept their Chamber of Commerce open 16 hours a day, and offered "courtesy nickels" to cars parked overtime at meters, stressing this is Plattsburgh's "first — and perhaps the last — opportunity to meet five million persons in such a short time, and to impress them so that they will want to see [the city] again" (Post-Standard, April 19, 1967). St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce launched "Expo-sure," a series of courtesy workshops and orientation programs for all county employers, as "the county can not afford to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity." (Post-Standard, April 29, 1967) Vermont went all out, placing full-page ads in newspapers such as the Syracuse Herald-American (February 26, 1967):
Syracuse, located a five-hour drive from Montreal, and directly along the route of any Expo visitors traveling from the South, had its own tourism campaign:
Rochester—a full day's drive away from Montreal—tied in its Lilac Festival with Expo '67, Cortland appointed a special committee to see how they could attract Expo visitors, and Syracuse, apparently too busy with razing the Wood Hotel, one of the first poured concrete structures in the city and headquarters for many of the vaudeville actors who played at Keith's and Loew's (Syracuse Herald-American, April 9, 1967), didn't really see the point in taking advantage of gaining the attention of any of the 50 million visitors that eventually attended Expo '67. According to an April 9, 1967 article in the Syracuse Herald-American, the Syracuse Chamber of Commerce had done little to lure Expo visitors to stay in the city's hotels, shop at its stores, or enjoy any local attractions. How little?
Fulton: several thousand brochures telling about Oswego County were placed for free distribution at the state pavilion at Expo 67 (Post-Standard, April 28, 1967)
Syracuse: According to Spencer Wallace, president of the local Hotel-Motel Association, the group put up "a new bulletin board at the Thousand Islands side of the international bridge which invit[ed] people to come to Syracuse."
Auburn: The Auburn Chamber of Commerce pooled its resources with several other local Chambers, including Canandaigua and Seneca Falls, to hire a man to visit places where they think Expo travelers will stop and distribute information about the Finger Lakes Region
Syracuse: According to Leslie Parnell, executive director of the Syracuse Automobile Association, "We are not doing anything but our overall organization is routing some traffic through here...[we are] taking care of [our] members by booking travelers into trailer parks in Canada."
Buffalo: Buffalo Area and Convention Bureau's mailing envelopes printed with information about the Expo and reminding travelers of Buffalo's proximity to Canada
Syracuse: According to Chris Paskalides, Syracuse Convention Bureau manager, Syracuse had "advertise[d] in several Canadian magazines"
Ithaca, Oswego, Auburn, Massena, Malone and Utica: set up special information booths along their thruway and/or highway exits providing visitors with materials on Expo as well as what to do and where to stay in each city
Syracuse: According to Syracuse Chamber of Commerce Publicity Director Richard Grimshaw, when asked about what the Chamber is doing to attract visitors in Syracuse: "well, we are not running an advertising campaign in Ohio saying while on your way, stop in Syracuse."
In fact, the only Expo related signage in Syracuse in 1967 was taken down after Governor Nelson Rockefeller signed a bill changing the name of the Exposition (itself an officially abbreviated version of New York State Agricultural and Industrial Exposition) back to the New York State Fair (Syracuse Herald-Journal, April 12, 1967).
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While discussing how to "sell" Oswego County to Expo visitors, the Oswego County Tourism Council came to an important realization:
Syracuse had no idea where these roads led to in 1967, and forty-two years later, we are still trying to escape the maze. Just as the remnants of the US Pavilion at Expo '67 are still visible in Montreal, with the framework of the geodesic dome serving as a environmental sciences museum called Biosphère, the remnants of Syracuse '67 can be seen in a focus group formed to critique a draft agenda created by another focus group formed to discuss downtown revitalization. Although we missed an opportunity to promote Syracuse at Expo '67, let's not miss an opportunity to use Expo '67 when figuring out how to promote Syracuse:
While I appreciate the idea behind CNY Speaks, the reality is that focus groups on how to fix Syracuse will always result in a list of opinions as random and distracting as the city's website. Is Syracuse white collar or blue collar? High tech or manufacturing? Town or gown? The current Syracuse promotional videos apparently want to avoid any of these conflicts, and therefore present a city with "something for everyone" (or, as the city website states, a "city for all seasons"). Problem is, by presenting itself as a city with all things for all people, Syracuse has lost focus on what makes it unique.
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In four years, Montreal built artificial islands to serve as the Expo site, constructed 850 pavilions and buildings, and completed the Metro system (as well as the Expo Express, the first fully-automated rapid transit system in North America, and the monorail that ran within the Expo site's parameters). In four decades, Syracuse has built endless wish lists, such as build a permanent bus transfer station:
A city center teeming with arts and culture will help attract new businesses and visitors:
Find strategies that would make other forms of public transportation feasible in Syracuse:
Perhaps it is time for Syracuse to focus on projects that will have an immediate and tangible impact on revitalizing Syracuse. For example:
Did anyone think to take some pictures and post them on the city's website?
First, if Syracuse wants to be the cutting-edge green technology "Emerald City," (and it doesn't, according to this webpage, but rather "A City for All Seasons"), why is its web site design exactly the same as it was five years ago? Even five years ago, it looks like something that had been created five years earlier. Script typeface? And three different ones, at that? What, was Comic Sans not available?
There are approximately three dozen significant community and neighborhood parks in Syracuse. Perhaps we should not allow just one of them to own a whole department. Or just hope that not knowing how to correctly use apostrophes doesn't reflect badly upon the city school system.
And the "Community Videos" page:
Really? It took more than two dozen business sponsors, seemingly upchucked on the page, to fund this series of videos, which YouTube or Vimeo could host for free? Certainly it couldn't be the production costs, as it appears that the same dozen or so clips are used in every video. (Not to mention the exact same series of videos—with Rochester images—are on the Rochester, NY website, except their "Welcome Message" is "Coming Soon.") And about those pictures: you might want to go a little less literal and more metaphorical when discussing Syracuse as "the crossroads of New York." Aerial photographs of elevated highways bisecting a downtown in six different directions haven't been a selling point for cities since the Cold War.
Speaking of cold, eleven videos about the Syracuse community and not a snowflake in sight? Besides the need to play to one's strengths, honesty is important, Syracuse—you don't want to be hired and get caught in a lie.
Despite 172 municipally owned and maintained parks, fields, inactive cemeteries and medians/traffic islands, Syracuse has frequently missed the forest for the trees. A bizarre rebranding campaign that seems to celebrate the literary pride of Chittenango instead of picking up a copy of Ithaca's own Strunk & White. 1.5 million dollars to install new benches downtown, to sit among litter that still lines the streets. And in 1967, when Syracuse was preoccupied with tearing down historic buildings in hopes of revitalizing downtown, city leaders not only missed, but openly mocked, a simple opportunity to promote Syracuse during a six-month period of time when over fifty million people drove right by their doorstep.
In April 1967, the city of Montreal was about to open the doors to Expo '67, the first World's Fair following the 1964 New York World's Fair. Much like the New York fair, Expo '67 featured an emphasis on future technology, centered around the theme "Man and His World." Buckminster Fuller built the geodesic dome that served as home for the US pavilion (similar to what he later designed for Disneyworld's EPCOT center). Syracuse University Industrial Design students were personally invited to the Expo to show the full scale model of the all-electric car they had designed for the "neighborhood of tomorrow." The car, named "Shuttle 1984," carried two to four passengers and was powered by a fuel cell, designed by students "to eliminate pollution...work[ing] on the assumption that by 1984, this type of car might be the only one allowed in certain communities." (Post-Standard, April 1, 1967). Crucible Steel was used in the creation of Montreal's subway system: "look for it when you ride the Metro—it's in the escalators, the turnstiles, the trains, and even the signposts." (Post-Standard, April 26, 1967).
Early estimates assumed that over 30 million visitors would make the trip to Montreal between April and October 1967. Needless to say, cities along the driving route—and especially within a day's driving distance—were thrilled about the potential marketing and tourism opportunities. Plattsburgh, as the nearest American city to Montreal, kept their Chamber of Commerce open 16 hours a day, and offered "courtesy nickels" to cars parked overtime at meters, stressing this is Plattsburgh's "first — and perhaps the last — opportunity to meet five million persons in such a short time, and to impress them so that they will want to see [the city] again" (Post-Standard, April 19, 1967). St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce launched "Expo-sure," a series of courtesy workshops and orientation programs for all county employers, as "the county can not afford to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity." (Post-Standard, April 29, 1967) Vermont went all out, placing full-page ads in newspapers such as the Syracuse Herald-American (February 26, 1967):
Syracuse, located a five-hour drive from Montreal, and directly along the route of any Expo visitors traveling from the South, had its own tourism campaign:
Rochester—a full day's drive away from Montreal—tied in its Lilac Festival with Expo '67, Cortland appointed a special committee to see how they could attract Expo visitors, and Syracuse, apparently too busy with razing the Wood Hotel, one of the first poured concrete structures in the city and headquarters for many of the vaudeville actors who played at Keith's and Loew's (Syracuse Herald-American, April 9, 1967), didn't really see the point in taking advantage of gaining the attention of any of the 50 million visitors that eventually attended Expo '67. According to an April 9, 1967 article in the Syracuse Herald-American, the Syracuse Chamber of Commerce had done little to lure Expo visitors to stay in the city's hotels, shop at its stores, or enjoy any local attractions. How little?
Fulton: several thousand brochures telling about Oswego County were placed for free distribution at the state pavilion at Expo 67 (Post-Standard, April 28, 1967)
Syracuse: According to Spencer Wallace, president of the local Hotel-Motel Association, the group put up "a new bulletin board at the Thousand Islands side of the international bridge which invit[ed] people to come to Syracuse."
Auburn: The Auburn Chamber of Commerce pooled its resources with several other local Chambers, including Canandaigua and Seneca Falls, to hire a man to visit places where they think Expo travelers will stop and distribute information about the Finger Lakes Region
Syracuse: According to Leslie Parnell, executive director of the Syracuse Automobile Association, "We are not doing anything but our overall organization is routing some traffic through here...[we are] taking care of [our] members by booking travelers into trailer parks in Canada."
Buffalo: Buffalo Area and Convention Bureau's mailing envelopes printed with information about the Expo and reminding travelers of Buffalo's proximity to Canada
Syracuse: According to Chris Paskalides, Syracuse Convention Bureau manager, Syracuse had "advertise[d] in several Canadian magazines"
Ithaca, Oswego, Auburn, Massena, Malone and Utica: set up special information booths along their thruway and/or highway exits providing visitors with materials on Expo as well as what to do and where to stay in each city
Syracuse: According to Syracuse Chamber of Commerce Publicity Director Richard Grimshaw, when asked about what the Chamber is doing to attract visitors in Syracuse: "well, we are not running an advertising campaign in Ohio saying while on your way, stop in Syracuse."
In fact, the only Expo related signage in Syracuse in 1967 was taken down after Governor Nelson Rockefeller signed a bill changing the name of the Exposition (itself an officially abbreviated version of New York State Agricultural and Industrial Exposition) back to the New York State Fair (Syracuse Herald-Journal, April 12, 1967).
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While discussing how to "sell" Oswego County to Expo visitors, the Oswego County Tourism Council came to an important realization:
Most of last night's discussion, however, centered around local promotion as the council's objectives—and ways and means of achieving them—began to crystallize. It was pointed out that before the county can be sold to tourists from outside, local inhabitants have to be made aware of the attractions in their own back yard. (Post-Standard, April 28, 1967)It should be no surprise that Syracuse did not promote itself during Expo '67, as 1967 Syracuse did not have a clue as to its identity. The landscapes of both downtown and suburban Syracuse were changing on a daily basis, with both seemingly fighting to control the destiny (no pun intended) of the city. The April 12, 1967 Syracuse Herald-Journal featured a half-page photo of the Onondaga Interchange under construction, titled—no joke—"Can of Worms":
The giant "can of worms," as it is called by construction workers, is rapidly changing from engineers' drawings into functional, fast-moving, complex highway system. Looking west from Syracuse's Catherine Street-Erie Boulevard West area, road at bottom of picture is Route 81 northbound. It will hook up with Route 690 eastbound. Directly above that span is Route 690 ramp connecting with Route 81 southbound. Curved steel at upper left is hookup from Route 81 to Route 690, and span going across top of picture is Route 690 east and west. All spans are part of the Onondaga Interchange.
Syracuse had no idea where these roads led to in 1967, and forty-two years later, we are still trying to escape the maze. Just as the remnants of the US Pavilion at Expo '67 are still visible in Montreal, with the framework of the geodesic dome serving as a environmental sciences museum called Biosphère, the remnants of Syracuse '67 can be seen in a focus group formed to critique a draft agenda created by another focus group formed to discuss downtown revitalization. Although we missed an opportunity to promote Syracuse at Expo '67, let's not miss an opportunity to use Expo '67 when figuring out how to promote Syracuse:
While attending Expo '67 and upon my return, I keep hearing remarks from people who attended the Expo to the effect that the United States exhibit was a big disappoinment and in the next breath praised the Russian exhibit to the high heavens.
The United States' building is beautiful in its structure and in the simplicity of the exhibit. We presented our folklore and our way of life with the displays of Indian lore, cowboy lore, political campaigns, Raggedy Anne dolls and so forth.
When you stop to analyze it, most everything that Russia displayed is something that most every nation has. They have tried to impress the world with the preponderance of their exhibit whereas the United States exhibit has gone to the lighter side and has tried desperately to present and follow the way of life in America.
This, to me, is the real purpose of the World's Fair, and I just could not sit back without voicing an opinion.
Needless to say, I am proud of our exhibit and whoever planned it should be congratulated.
(letter to the editor, sent to both Syracuse Herald-Journal, August 7, 1967 and Post-Standard, August 8, 1967)
While I appreciate the idea behind CNY Speaks, the reality is that focus groups on how to fix Syracuse will always result in a list of opinions as random and distracting as the city's website. Is Syracuse white collar or blue collar? High tech or manufacturing? Town or gown? The current Syracuse promotional videos apparently want to avoid any of these conflicts, and therefore present a city with "something for everyone" (or, as the city website states, a "city for all seasons"). Problem is, by presenting itself as a city with all things for all people, Syracuse has lost focus on what makes it unique.
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In four years, Montreal built artificial islands to serve as the Expo site, constructed 850 pavilions and buildings, and completed the Metro system (as well as the Expo Express, the first fully-automated rapid transit system in North America, and the monorail that ran within the Expo site's parameters). In four decades, Syracuse has built endless wish lists, such as build a permanent bus transfer station:
"The Central New York Regional Transporation Authority and the Urban Development Corps (UDC) are ironing out details for a study of a proposed transportation center in downtown Syracuse... The Authority and UDC currently are firming up an agreement to begin the study, according to an attorney for the authority. Each will kick in $15,000 to pay for it...Frank said the study will update a previous one done by the City-County Planning Commission two years ago...Exactly what the proposed center would include is not yet known. It could be a Greyhound or Trailways station, a downtown or suburban Centro center or a high-speed center to areas such as Syracuse University or Hancock Airport..." (Syracuse Herald Journal, September 16, 1974)
A city center teeming with arts and culture will help attract new businesses and visitors:
"A $3 million development of the pavilion area in the Community Plaza concept, coupled with similar development of Near East Side urban renewal project Sites 1-a and 1-b, yesterday was disclosed by Mayor Walsh...Included in the proposal for the plaza pavilion..are two restaurant facilities, while a theater-restaurant and a movie theater are planned for Sites 1-a and 1-b, immediately south of the plaza...[Commissioner of Urban Improvement George B.] Schuster said I.M. Pei, architect who designed the new Everson Museum of Art that is to be built at State and Harrison Streets adjacent to the plaza pavilion, is to be engaged as design consultant for the dual restaurant center....Schuster said Pei also will be engaged as design consultant for a prestige movie theater and theater-restaurant in Sites 1-a and 1-b of the urban renewal area under the revised plans. This would assure a continuity of design within the general area......first rights for the operation of the theater portion of the site redevelopment [will be offered] to RKO Keith's and ABC-Paramount. Both of these theaters on South Salina Street are to be removed to make way for Sibley's Department Store..." (Post-Standard, April 18, 1965)
Find strategies that would make other forms of public transportation feasible in Syracuse:
"Could the 96,000 people who commute into downtown Syracuse each day use a modern, comfortable and air conditioned monorail train? The monorail at the [New York] World's Fair is for sale at a bargain $1.1 million. It is estimated it would cost another million or more to install the train here. But the train cost $5.5 million when built. Total cost for a modern 21-mile-long mass transit system for Greater Syracuse: Perhaps $2.1 million." (Syracuse Herald-Journal, September 15, 1965)
Perhaps it is time for Syracuse to focus on projects that will have an immediate and tangible impact on revitalizing Syracuse. For example:
Beautiful weather. Kids out of school. Parents looking for something to keep them busy close to home...They all came together last week in Central New York, creating a crush at local parks...The parking lot was full every day at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park. But that didn't stop people...Some parked on the street and made the long walk. [emphasis added]...The Beaver Lake Nature Center had to use its overflow parking lot, said Bruce Stebbins, the park director...At Onondaga Lake Park, kids were lining up for turns in the skate park to bike, inline skate or skateboard, said Dale Grinolds, the park superintendent. (Post-Standard, April 20, 2009)
Did anyone think to take some pictures and post them on the city's website?
Sunday, April 12, 2009
April 6, 2009
Before the owners of Parkside Commons received 23 million dollars of federal stimulus money to be used for "energy efficiency measures throughout the buildings, which include new, more energy-efficient windows and heating equipment" and "working on the elevators, modernizing them" (Post-Standard, April 6, 2009),
before Interstate Management Company spent 2.6 million dollars for renovations such as "install[ing] new controls for energy savings" and "inspecting and repairing elevators" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, February 19, 1992),
before changing the name of the complex to "Rolling Green Estates" and "Sunset Terrace" in order to give a more "uplifting" image to the buildings (Post Standard, October 4, 1991),
before Hilltop housing was the first HUD project in the nation to go bankrupt,
before HUD officials criticized Hilltop for having too many administrative employees and too little supervision of contractors such as security and janitorial services (Syracuse Herald-American, February 18, 1990),
before Syracuse Housing Authority executive director Frederick Murphy stated the city's role with Hilltop was "more of an overseer and some kind of presence...making sure the books are kept reasonably, if not totally accurately," (Syracuse Herald-American, December 31, 1989)
before Murphy said Hilltop was one "of the dinosaurs that's still in the community. They're no longer marketable. Nobody wants to live in them. Nobody really wants to manage them. Really, quite honestly, everybody is struggling to find a peaceful way for them to die. You pull the plug and you let them die" (Syracuse Herald-American, December 31, 1989),
before State Senator Nancy Larraine Hoffman proclaimed "From my perspective, I think the management [at Hilltop] has done an excellent job at trying to create a secure environment" (Post-Standard, April 6, 1985),
before the Syracuse Common Council voted 6-2 in favor of refunding $183,000 to the MB Group--more than twenty percent of the purchase price from the city two years earlier-- because their renovations had run into "substantial cost overruns" of 1.1 million dollars (Post-Standard, June 29, 1982),
before Syracuse city councilors told the MB Group representatives that they had failed to demonstrate why it would be in the city's interest to return the money, with Common Councilor Joseph Nicoletti, the chairman of the Housing and Real Estate committee telling MB Group "You are a developer and come in and take chances that you will either make a profit or take a loss...Why should this council go on and reduce your price? What benefit is it to the city?" (Post-Standard, April 26, 1982),
before the MB Group went to the Common Council two years after it purchased Hilltop from the city of Syracuse and demanded a rebate of $183,000 or threatened that renovations would not be completed,
before the MB Group and Syracuse Police Department decided that the best way to combat crime at Hilltop would be to train 18 residents for eight weeks to work as civilian security guards and police the complex themselves (Syracuse Herald-American, December 7, 1980),
before City Councilor Nancy Larraine Hoffman said that the MB Group's rehabilitation of Salt City Homes and Eastview [formerly Fayette Arms] Apartments "will serve as an economic anchor to the entire lower Salt Springs neighborhood development" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, June 24, 1980),
before City Councilor Nancy Larraine Hoffman said Salt City Homes "is like a prison. It's a terrifying place" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, January 18, 1980),
before Mayor Lee Alexander proclaimed the sale of Salt City Homes and Eastview Apartments to the MB Group "will bring new life to one of the city's key residential areas and will make it a more attractive, inviting place to live" (Post-Standard, September 6, 1979),
before the MB Group was selected as the buyer of the complex (after interviews with 11 interested developers) because of the firm's "outstanding design plan and excellent track record in management of low- and middle-income housing developments throughout the northeast (Post-Standard, September 6, 1979),
before aide to Mayor Lee Alexander, Elliott Jacobson, toured Salt City Homes and stated tenant "complaints are exaggerated and the Syracuse Housing Authority is doing a good job as far as I am concerned," noting "Sure there was graffiti written on some walls, and black charred marks around an incinerator door, but I don't consider these emergency things in need of repair immediately" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, December 4, 1976),
before the Fayette Arms went into foreclosure and was taken over by HUD (Post-Standard, January 8, 1975),
before The Salt Springs-Fayette Merchants and Residents Association appealed to the City Council for a share of $11.8 million in federal community development funds "to help prevent an area from becoming a blighted, run-down, boarded-up area" (Post-Standard, December 17, 1974),
before near East Side residents voiced their concerns about the deterioration of the area, questioning why they would want to ask for some funds from an $11.8 million federal grant for neighborhood improvement when they felt "the best improvement that could be made in the Salt City area was tearing down as many of the public housing buildings as possible" (Post-Standard, October 30, 1974),
before the Fayette Arms Apartment complex, a low income housing project built by the Truck Drivers Local 317 Housing Corporation of Syracuse opened at the 1800 and 1900 blocks of East Fayette Street, on a site where the city once planned to built an additional 124 units of Salt City Homes (Syracuse Herald-Journal, November 7, 1967)
before Mrs. Clayton Dawson of Syracuse wrote to the Syracuse Herald-American stating she was "getting tired of reading that the Community in Action program is stirring up trouble in Salt City homes and elsewhere...Many neighborhoods in the city have neighborhood organizations to defend their interests. The fact that the neighborhoods being organized by the Community in Action personnel have not had organizations before now, with such a history of empty promises from city hall, is proof enough for me that outside help is needed" (Syracuse Herald-American, August 1, 1965),
before Syracuse Herald-Journal editorial writers declared "rents shouldn't be raised solely to supply a service that's usually available to apartment house dwellers whether the individual providing the service wears the attire of a doorman or a building superintendent or the uniform of a private security agency" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, June 20, 1965),
before the city of Syracuse decided it would hire one security guard to patrol Salt City Homes from 7pm to 4am daily, with the "tenants' rents... upped a hair to pay for it" (Post-Standard, June 29, 1965),
before W.J. Miller of Syracuse wrote the Post-Standard stating "this morning's editorial concerning the so-called "vigilante" group at the Salt City Homes housing project should be compared to earlier editorials of yours in the past year or so complaining of the inaction of citizens in the face of criminal activity in our cities...Having no other source of information but what I read in your newspaper, it looks to me like the men you call "vigilantes" simply did what every citizen is supposed to do in the face of a situation which appears to be a criminal act: they hold the apparent violators until the police could get to the scene and then let the police take over as is their duty...You can't have it both ways, Mr. Editor. Either citizens are supposed to pay attention to what goes on around them and do their part to stop crime, or they are supposed lo ignore it. Which do you support?" (Post-Standard, June 24, 1965),
before the Post-Standard editorial writers claimed "the vigilantes have not disbanded, and once more it is necessary to call attention to what is behind this situation: Public housing tenants under the prodding of Community Action Program administrators are carrying on a campaign of harassment against the Syracuse Housing Authority. The program is administered through Syracuse University's School of Social Work with $314,000 worth of federal anti-poverty funds...in other words, our tax dollars, to put it bluntly, is being used to enable disgruntled tenants in public housing projects to organize programs of protest...Why? That's a good question. Is it because housing conditions are so intolerable that people must rise up and agitate against the government? Nonsense! There isn't a single housing development, public or private, that doesn't have some problems and irritations, but by and large the situation in public units is satisfactory — and the price is right." (Post-Standard, June 18, 1965),
before Post-Standard editorial writers stated "No one argues with the merits of providing more of the good things in life to the poverty - stricken, but in Syracuse we have seen evidence that the war against poverty has been corrupted into class conflict—an unvarnished battle for power. The latest evidence seems to be this vigilante business...The vigilantes say that Salt City Homes should have two security guards.They complain there's only one. This is a pretty thin excuse for 10 men to usurp the prerogatives of the police. Let's have an end to this...And if any public funds—federal or otherwise—are being used for purposes of organized harassment and power disputes in the classic tradition of Marxism, let's have an end to this, too" (Post-Standard, June 16, 1965),
before a group of ten residents of Salt City Homes decided to patrol the grounds with nightsticks and helmets during evening hours because not only was there no security guard, but there was no building superintendent living in the housing project, unlike every other apartment complex in Syracuse (Post-Standard, June 15, 1965),
before a real estate broker said the selected site for the new 124 homes was ideal because it "had had "for sale" signs on it for many years without attracting any interest...much of the property, especially along E, Fayette St., has been tax delinquent and is not suited to construction of private homes because of the hilly terrain" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, June 6, 1957),
before another resident named Ruth Johnson wrote to the Post-Standard and said that she did not share the same opinions as the other Ruth Johnson, save for the "janitors being courteous" (Post-Standard, June 4, 1957),
before Ruth Johnson, resident of Salt City Homes, wrote a letter to the Post-Standard after she had "just read your article in the May 21 issue and certainly am disgusted. Talk about "biting the hand that feeds you!" Maybe these people complaining about having to keep their halls clean should move somewhere like the Skyline where they can be waited on hand and foot (Let them try paying that rent). I don't believe cleaning a hall ever hurt anyone. If they lived in a private home, would they just let the dirt accumulate?... I for one am very thankful to have such a good place to live as Salt City Homes. It's clean and light and has been a godsend to my children and myself, I would gladly clean four halls to live here...Please don't give all of us the reputation of being ungrateful just because of a few people who want everything for practically nothing. Most of us are clean and decent people" (Post-Standard, May 27, 1957),
before Syracuse Housing Authority Executive Director William McGarry said "that all public housing projects in Syracuse have a constant rodent control program, that the Housing Authority is not responsible for providing playground equipment and that the very nature of low rent public housing negates custodial services on a par 'with those of the Skyline' (Post-Standard, May 21, 1957),
before Salt City Homes resident John Tavern escorted a Post-Standard reporter and photographer of the grounds, pointing out deep holes at the entrance of the building he occupied, there because "the Syracuse Housing Authority doesn't provide any playground equipment here so the kids dig holes and play in them" (Post-Standard, May 21, 1957),
before residents of Salt City Homes questioned how the Syracuse Housing Authority could build an additional 124 units when they could not properly maintain the current apartments,
before the Syracuse Housing Authority announced its plans to construct 124 new units of public housing on a site bounded by Westmoreland Ave. on the east, and lying between Erie Boulevard East and East Fayette Street (Post-Standard, May 12, 1957),
before Syracuse Housing Authority Executive Director McGarry said the number of large rental units in the city had been shrinking for years because few two and three-family dwelling units had been constructed during the postwar period due to lack of profitability, "normal expansion of churches, schools, private businesses resulted in demolition of many old-style two and three family homes," and "sub-standard multiple units have been removed through demolition ordered by the city in its slum clearance and urban renewal program" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, August 12, 1956),
before city relocation director Robert Hale said "the lack, of large units in good or fair neighborhoods is forcing families with good social habits into accepting accommodations in sub-standard or blighted areas, thereby compounding slum conditions in the area and enhancing the possibilities for delinquency among children" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, August 12, 1956),
before Vice Chairman of the Syracuse Housing Authority Florence Kemp pleaded that no more construction of one-bedroom public housing apartments was necessary and that she had "had difficulty filling existing one-bedroom apartments in James Geddes Homes," then under construction (Post-Standard, October 5, 1955),
before the Syracuse Housing Authority came out publicly against the City Planning Commission's proposal to build more high rise housing at four "scattered sites" throughout the city to to deal with the "slum clearance program" of the 15th Ward (Post-Standard, October 5, 1955),
before Syracuse Housing Authority Executive Director McGarry declared "there is no need for another public housing project in Syracuse as public housing is now constituted...the 1,422 units in four projects here can take care of the normal turnover of low-income families" and then clarified "he meant any new housing project must be tied to a human rehabilitation program" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, December 17, 1954),
before Florence Kemp, vice chairman of the Housing Authority, stated "Managers of our existing projects [Salt City Homes] know that the present proposal will be a $6,500,000 tragedy and disappointment if we build a project of six or eight story structures in the hopes that it will solve the social problems of the 15th Ward" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, December 17, 1954),
before Richard H. Amberg, publisher of the Post-Standard, said he supported a 6.5 million dollar state-aided program to build more public housing for residents of the 15th Ward because "'These people have no alternative but to live in the 15th Ward. They can't go to places outside the city'...that it would not be possible to 'change the attitude of the people out there in your lifetime or mine. The best we can do is to improve what we have.'" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, December 17, 1954),
before Mrs. John Schannel, resident of Salt City Homes, wrote the Post-Standard and asked why there was no crossing guard provided for the 300-plus children who lived in Salt City Homes and crossed busy Westmoreland Avenue on their way to school (Post-Standard, November 3, 1954),
before residents of Salt City Homes signed a petition requesting for the city to please install a traffic light at the corner of Westmoreland Avenue and East Fayette Street, as well as a crossing guard for the fifty children who had to cross the street daily to school (Post-Standard, August 26, 1952),
before a Post-Standard editorial asked for the city to install a traffic light at the corner of East Fayette and Croly Street, as there had been a number of near accidents of children getting run over by cars as they left Salt City Homes (Post-Standard, June 2, 1950),
before cars lined the streets surrounding the Salt City Homes complex, because it was built without parking lots (Post-Standard, June 2, 1950),
before all the apartments in Salt City Homes were occupied (Post-Standard, January 14, 1950),
before the first twenty-nine families moved in and found "shiny new four-burner gas stoves and refrigerators" along with "deep sinks, since the building has no laundry room" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, October 9, 1949),
before more than 300 families and individuals applied for the 213 available Salt City Homes apartments on the first day applications could be made to the Syracuse Housing Authority (Syracuse Herald-Journal, September 7, 1949),
the Post-Standard published an editorial:
before Interstate Management Company spent 2.6 million dollars for renovations such as "install[ing] new controls for energy savings" and "inspecting and repairing elevators" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, February 19, 1992),
before changing the name of the complex to "Rolling Green Estates" and "Sunset Terrace" in order to give a more "uplifting" image to the buildings (Post Standard, October 4, 1991),
before Hilltop housing was the first HUD project in the nation to go bankrupt,
before HUD officials criticized Hilltop for having too many administrative employees and too little supervision of contractors such as security and janitorial services (Syracuse Herald-American, February 18, 1990),
before Syracuse Housing Authority executive director Frederick Murphy stated the city's role with Hilltop was "more of an overseer and some kind of presence...making sure the books are kept reasonably, if not totally accurately," (Syracuse Herald-American, December 31, 1989)
before Murphy said Hilltop was one "of the dinosaurs that's still in the community. They're no longer marketable. Nobody wants to live in them. Nobody really wants to manage them. Really, quite honestly, everybody is struggling to find a peaceful way for them to die. You pull the plug and you let them die" (Syracuse Herald-American, December 31, 1989),
before State Senator Nancy Larraine Hoffman proclaimed "From my perspective, I think the management [at Hilltop] has done an excellent job at trying to create a secure environment" (Post-Standard, April 6, 1985),
before the Syracuse Common Council voted 6-2 in favor of refunding $183,000 to the MB Group--more than twenty percent of the purchase price from the city two years earlier-- because their renovations had run into "substantial cost overruns" of 1.1 million dollars (Post-Standard, June 29, 1982),
before Syracuse city councilors told the MB Group representatives that they had failed to demonstrate why it would be in the city's interest to return the money, with Common Councilor Joseph Nicoletti, the chairman of the Housing and Real Estate committee telling MB Group "You are a developer and come in and take chances that you will either make a profit or take a loss...Why should this council go on and reduce your price? What benefit is it to the city?" (Post-Standard, April 26, 1982),
before the MB Group went to the Common Council two years after it purchased Hilltop from the city of Syracuse and demanded a rebate of $183,000 or threatened that renovations would not be completed,
before the MB Group and Syracuse Police Department decided that the best way to combat crime at Hilltop would be to train 18 residents for eight weeks to work as civilian security guards and police the complex themselves (Syracuse Herald-American, December 7, 1980),
before City Councilor Nancy Larraine Hoffman said that the MB Group's rehabilitation of Salt City Homes and Eastview [formerly Fayette Arms] Apartments "will serve as an economic anchor to the entire lower Salt Springs neighborhood development" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, June 24, 1980),
before City Councilor Nancy Larraine Hoffman said Salt City Homes "is like a prison. It's a terrifying place" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, January 18, 1980),
before Mayor Lee Alexander proclaimed the sale of Salt City Homes and Eastview Apartments to the MB Group "will bring new life to one of the city's key residential areas and will make it a more attractive, inviting place to live" (Post-Standard, September 6, 1979),
before the MB Group was selected as the buyer of the complex (after interviews with 11 interested developers) because of the firm's "outstanding design plan and excellent track record in management of low- and middle-income housing developments throughout the northeast (Post-Standard, September 6, 1979),
before aide to Mayor Lee Alexander, Elliott Jacobson, toured Salt City Homes and stated tenant "complaints are exaggerated and the Syracuse Housing Authority is doing a good job as far as I am concerned," noting "Sure there was graffiti written on some walls, and black charred marks around an incinerator door, but I don't consider these emergency things in need of repair immediately" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, December 4, 1976),
before the Fayette Arms went into foreclosure and was taken over by HUD (Post-Standard, January 8, 1975),
before The Salt Springs-Fayette Merchants and Residents Association appealed to the City Council for a share of $11.8 million in federal community development funds "to help prevent an area from becoming a blighted, run-down, boarded-up area" (Post-Standard, December 17, 1974),
before near East Side residents voiced their concerns about the deterioration of the area, questioning why they would want to ask for some funds from an $11.8 million federal grant for neighborhood improvement when they felt "the best improvement that could be made in the Salt City area was tearing down as many of the public housing buildings as possible" (Post-Standard, October 30, 1974),
before the Fayette Arms Apartment complex, a low income housing project built by the Truck Drivers Local 317 Housing Corporation of Syracuse opened at the 1800 and 1900 blocks of East Fayette Street, on a site where the city once planned to built an additional 124 units of Salt City Homes (Syracuse Herald-Journal, November 7, 1967)
before Mrs. Clayton Dawson of Syracuse wrote to the Syracuse Herald-American stating she was "getting tired of reading that the Community in Action program is stirring up trouble in Salt City homes and elsewhere...Many neighborhoods in the city have neighborhood organizations to defend their interests. The fact that the neighborhoods being organized by the Community in Action personnel have not had organizations before now, with such a history of empty promises from city hall, is proof enough for me that outside help is needed" (Syracuse Herald-American, August 1, 1965),
before Syracuse Herald-Journal editorial writers declared "rents shouldn't be raised solely to supply a service that's usually available to apartment house dwellers whether the individual providing the service wears the attire of a doorman or a building superintendent or the uniform of a private security agency" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, June 20, 1965),
before the city of Syracuse decided it would hire one security guard to patrol Salt City Homes from 7pm to 4am daily, with the "tenants' rents... upped a hair to pay for it" (Post-Standard, June 29, 1965),
before W.J. Miller of Syracuse wrote the Post-Standard stating "this morning's editorial concerning the so-called "vigilante" group at the Salt City Homes housing project should be compared to earlier editorials of yours in the past year or so complaining of the inaction of citizens in the face of criminal activity in our cities...Having no other source of information but what I read in your newspaper, it looks to me like the men you call "vigilantes" simply did what every citizen is supposed to do in the face of a situation which appears to be a criminal act: they hold the apparent violators until the police could get to the scene and then let the police take over as is their duty...You can't have it both ways, Mr. Editor. Either citizens are supposed to pay attention to what goes on around them and do their part to stop crime, or they are supposed lo ignore it. Which do you support?" (Post-Standard, June 24, 1965),
before the Post-Standard editorial writers claimed "the vigilantes have not disbanded, and once more it is necessary to call attention to what is behind this situation: Public housing tenants under the prodding of Community Action Program administrators are carrying on a campaign of harassment against the Syracuse Housing Authority. The program is administered through Syracuse University's School of Social Work with $314,000 worth of federal anti-poverty funds...in other words, our tax dollars, to put it bluntly, is being used to enable disgruntled tenants in public housing projects to organize programs of protest...Why? That's a good question. Is it because housing conditions are so intolerable that people must rise up and agitate against the government? Nonsense! There isn't a single housing development, public or private, that doesn't have some problems and irritations, but by and large the situation in public units is satisfactory — and the price is right." (Post-Standard, June 18, 1965),
before Post-Standard editorial writers stated "No one argues with the merits of providing more of the good things in life to the poverty - stricken, but in Syracuse we have seen evidence that the war against poverty has been corrupted into class conflict—an unvarnished battle for power. The latest evidence seems to be this vigilante business...The vigilantes say that Salt City Homes should have two security guards.They complain there's only one. This is a pretty thin excuse for 10 men to usurp the prerogatives of the police. Let's have an end to this...And if any public funds—federal or otherwise—are being used for purposes of organized harassment and power disputes in the classic tradition of Marxism, let's have an end to this, too" (Post-Standard, June 16, 1965),
before a group of ten residents of Salt City Homes decided to patrol the grounds with nightsticks and helmets during evening hours because not only was there no security guard, but there was no building superintendent living in the housing project, unlike every other apartment complex in Syracuse (Post-Standard, June 15, 1965),
before a real estate broker said the selected site for the new 124 homes was ideal because it "had had "for sale" signs on it for many years without attracting any interest...much of the property, especially along E, Fayette St., has been tax delinquent and is not suited to construction of private homes because of the hilly terrain" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, June 6, 1957),
before another resident named Ruth Johnson wrote to the Post-Standard and said that she did not share the same opinions as the other Ruth Johnson, save for the "janitors being courteous" (Post-Standard, June 4, 1957),
before Ruth Johnson, resident of Salt City Homes, wrote a letter to the Post-Standard after she had "just read your article in the May 21 issue and certainly am disgusted. Talk about "biting the hand that feeds you!" Maybe these people complaining about having to keep their halls clean should move somewhere like the Skyline where they can be waited on hand and foot (Let them try paying that rent). I don't believe cleaning a hall ever hurt anyone. If they lived in a private home, would they just let the dirt accumulate?... I for one am very thankful to have such a good place to live as Salt City Homes. It's clean and light and has been a godsend to my children and myself, I would gladly clean four halls to live here...Please don't give all of us the reputation of being ungrateful just because of a few people who want everything for practically nothing. Most of us are clean and decent people" (Post-Standard, May 27, 1957),
before Syracuse Housing Authority Executive Director William McGarry said "that all public housing projects in Syracuse have a constant rodent control program, that the Housing Authority is not responsible for providing playground equipment and that the very nature of low rent public housing negates custodial services on a par 'with those of the Skyline' (Post-Standard, May 21, 1957),
before Salt City Homes resident John Tavern escorted a Post-Standard reporter and photographer of the grounds, pointing out deep holes at the entrance of the building he occupied, there because "the Syracuse Housing Authority doesn't provide any playground equipment here so the kids dig holes and play in them" (Post-Standard, May 21, 1957),
before residents of Salt City Homes questioned how the Syracuse Housing Authority could build an additional 124 units when they could not properly maintain the current apartments,
before the Syracuse Housing Authority announced its plans to construct 124 new units of public housing on a site bounded by Westmoreland Ave. on the east, and lying between Erie Boulevard East and East Fayette Street (Post-Standard, May 12, 1957),
before Syracuse Housing Authority Executive Director McGarry said the number of large rental units in the city had been shrinking for years because few two and three-family dwelling units had been constructed during the postwar period due to lack of profitability, "normal expansion of churches, schools, private businesses resulted in demolition of many old-style two and three family homes," and "sub-standard multiple units have been removed through demolition ordered by the city in its slum clearance and urban renewal program" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, August 12, 1956),
before city relocation director Robert Hale said "the lack, of large units in good or fair neighborhoods is forcing families with good social habits into accepting accommodations in sub-standard or blighted areas, thereby compounding slum conditions in the area and enhancing the possibilities for delinquency among children" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, August 12, 1956),
before Vice Chairman of the Syracuse Housing Authority Florence Kemp pleaded that no more construction of one-bedroom public housing apartments was necessary and that she had "had difficulty filling existing one-bedroom apartments in James Geddes Homes," then under construction (Post-Standard, October 5, 1955),
before the Syracuse Housing Authority came out publicly against the City Planning Commission's proposal to build more high rise housing at four "scattered sites" throughout the city to to deal with the "slum clearance program" of the 15th Ward (Post-Standard, October 5, 1955),
before Syracuse Housing Authority Executive Director McGarry declared "there is no need for another public housing project in Syracuse as public housing is now constituted...the 1,422 units in four projects here can take care of the normal turnover of low-income families" and then clarified "he meant any new housing project must be tied to a human rehabilitation program" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, December 17, 1954),
before Florence Kemp, vice chairman of the Housing Authority, stated "Managers of our existing projects [Salt City Homes] know that the present proposal will be a $6,500,000 tragedy and disappointment if we build a project of six or eight story structures in the hopes that it will solve the social problems of the 15th Ward" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, December 17, 1954),
before Richard H. Amberg, publisher of the Post-Standard, said he supported a 6.5 million dollar state-aided program to build more public housing for residents of the 15th Ward because "'These people have no alternative but to live in the 15th Ward. They can't go to places outside the city'...that it would not be possible to 'change the attitude of the people out there in your lifetime or mine. The best we can do is to improve what we have.'" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, December 17, 1954),
before Mrs. John Schannel, resident of Salt City Homes, wrote the Post-Standard and asked why there was no crossing guard provided for the 300-plus children who lived in Salt City Homes and crossed busy Westmoreland Avenue on their way to school (Post-Standard, November 3, 1954),
before residents of Salt City Homes signed a petition requesting for the city to please install a traffic light at the corner of Westmoreland Avenue and East Fayette Street, as well as a crossing guard for the fifty children who had to cross the street daily to school (Post-Standard, August 26, 1952),
before a Post-Standard editorial asked for the city to install a traffic light at the corner of East Fayette and Croly Street, as there had been a number of near accidents of children getting run over by cars as they left Salt City Homes (Post-Standard, June 2, 1950),
before cars lined the streets surrounding the Salt City Homes complex, because it was built without parking lots (Post-Standard, June 2, 1950),
before all the apartments in Salt City Homes were occupied (Post-Standard, January 14, 1950),
before the first twenty-nine families moved in and found "shiny new four-burner gas stoves and refrigerators" along with "deep sinks, since the building has no laundry room" (Syracuse Herald-Journal, October 9, 1949),
before more than 300 families and individuals applied for the 213 available Salt City Homes apartments on the first day applications could be made to the Syracuse Housing Authority (Syracuse Herald-Journal, September 7, 1949),
the Post-Standard published an editorial:
Housing Might Add to Values
We do not believe that placing the projected state housing on an E. Fayette St. site would depreciate other housing in the section.
In fact, from what we have seen of housing of the type, it ought to add to property values.
It will be remembered that Gov. Dewey, while here during the political campaign, promised that the housing would have, its own courts and playgrounds and would be developed to add to the beauty of the city, not detract from it.
The area picked for it is now a waste, with few houses on it and a garage or two scattered here and there in the area. It would seem that attractive steel and brick apartment housing units would be an acceptable addition to the neighborhood. The plans and specifications, when available, will tell us more about it. (November 30, 1946).
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