5 Wishes For Syracuse / Central New York In 2012
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Jan 3, 2012
I love Central New York and the Syracuse area. I love the lake and I love the life and I love the air and I love the size. I wouldn’t mind it being a bit larger because it’s possible that then it could sustain some things that we’ve had issues with, regardless of state issues.
Since the state saw fit to ignore my 5 ideas to address the financial crisis I figure that our politicians really aren’t the way to go. Trying to get real things completed is beyond me, and pretty much beyond them as well. Therefore, it’s probably time for some pipe dreams, some that might come to fruition by sheer luck. Hey, nothing wrong with dreaming big, right? So here we go:
1. Syracuse basketball wins the NCAA championship and not a single network mentions “BF”. You know who BF is, and luckily we haven’t heard anything about it or him in the last couple of weeks. But it’s coming. Instead, let’s pull for our local Orange team to run the gamut, maybe lose only 2 games all year if they must, and make that mad dash to the championship game. If a team this talented that plays 10 players can’t get it done, we’ll have to go back to the “one top guy with lots of help” mode again.
2. The Syracuse Symphony comes back and is totally self sustaining. Last February I called the closing of the symphony and I wasn’t happy about it. They started their fund raising too late, by about 3 years. What do we have now? I’m not actually sure to tell you the truth, but I think we still at least have the Syracuse Opera. We had a world class symphony, and I hope we get one back, and soon.
3. DestinyNY actually opens and someone decides to make it look less like a prison. I took my first walk through the upgraded facility last week and I’m less than impressed. It needs to be more than just bigger; it needs to be inviting. If I’m going to be doing all that walking, I need something to keep my attention more than a bunch of stores I’m not going into. The outside… ugh. And while I’m shooting for the moon, can’t we get a Ruth Chris Steakhouse in there?
4. Expand the Empire Zone program to help more small businesses get their start. One of the concerns people keep having about DestinyNY is that Carousel Center seems to have lots of empty store fronts. Have y’all taken a look at strip malls across our area?
Here in the Liverpool/Clay area even thriving businesses have had problems staying open for one reason or another. This kind of blight needs some attention. The way I see it, having small businesses open with consumers helps the tax base a heck of a lot more than leaving those spaces empty trying to collect too much tax from them. If you don’t believe that one ask the city of Syracuse how it feels now that there’s finally some real positive activity on the Near West Side.
Yeah, Empire Zone is done, but it needs to be brought back and revamped in some fashion and expanded beyond the types of businesses and locations allowed before.
5. This one is more personal. We as a collective group needs to start networking better with each other if we’re going to make this entire area as great as I feel it already is for real. There can’t be a divide between folks that work at Syracuse University and the rest of the city. There can’t be a divide between Syracuse and the surrounding suburbs.
Things like Syracuse First, tweetups, 40 Below and Prime Over 40 and the like really needs to find ways to not only sustain themselves but interact from time to time. More local chambers of commerce need to get together to network, and Centerstate CEO needs to embrace local chambers more, as well as small businesses like it did back in the early 2000’s.
Whew, I’m tired. I know others will have their wish list, but these are my top 5; I think I’ve covered a lot. Come on y’all, let’s get this done. And, of course, go Orange!
1) The state enacted one of my reform suggestions that i mentioned in the comments section of your post: bringing forth a new and more broadly progressive tax structure–four new brackets for upper income folks. The fight over the rates within each bracket will have to come later, as the only way to get the R’s to agree to the structural change was to make almost every bracket pay less. They are starting to futz around w/ jobs–but no real progress there yet.
2) The symphony situation is even more screwed up than before. The musicians union wants to move fast, get a working symphony back up and running–so as to retain as many of the former SSO musicians as possible. They’ve staged a couple of small performances. That’s the Symphony Syracuse group. The old money folks and Syracuse U. inherited all the assets of the former symphony (when M & T graciously donated all the real assets it received as the only paid creditor in bankruptcy) and created the Syracuse Philharmonic. They are proposing a five year plan to gradually restore the symphony–at a much smaller size and payroll. So there you go–it’s essentially another labor/management fight.
At least you got one through, Phil. I think out of my 5 above the one I have the best shot at seeing come true is the SU basketball team winning the national championship, and knowing how long those odds usually go, that’s a shame. I hadn’t realized SU got all the symphony stuff; were they the original benefactor in some fashion? Nope, that doesn’t bode well for anything good coming for a long time.
I think that SU has to be part of any future symphony here–it just makes sense with the assets of the Setnor School of Music and the criminally underused Crouse College. That being said, this thing is turning into an NBA lockout situation. The Syr. Phil. people want to straight-arm the union to bring down the cost structure. They lose nothing by waiting. The musicians with other ties to the area will still be here, the high-priced (and talented) players w/ no other ties are probably gone already. When the pressure builds to have a symphony after a year of two of periodic performances, the union will have to accept what they can get.
By the way–its a nice set of wishes. and the Orange is lookin’ good!
Mitch, I want you to run for office! This wish list was fabulous..excellent choices and I totally enjoyed the rhetoric that went with it. You’re my choice!!
Thanks Marcia, but I’m not sure I have the demeanor to run for office, let alone stay in office if I actually ever won. But I’d certainly give it my best shot. 🙂