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A new $500,000 planning grant will go toward reconnecting the Southside neighborhood to the rest of the city as part of the federal Restoring Communities program, Sen. Chuck Schumer announced in a Monday news release with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

Syracuse will be one of the first cities to gain access to the program’s funding, which according to the program’s website is intended for communities that have been divided by highway construction. Once the I-81 viaduct comes down as part of the state’s I-81 project, the grant will fund expanded access to public transportation, healthcare, employers and schools between the Southside neighborhood with the rest of downtown Syracuse, according to the release.

“Working with residents, we will develop creative ideas to overcome the east-west barriers that Interstate 81 and the elevated railroad tracks across downtown have created for decades,” Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said in the release. “The work will align with the Community Grid final design and the City’s actions to become a Vision Zero traffic safety city.”

The Restoring Communities program, which works under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, began this year as an attempt to remediate segregation by connecting neighborhoods to public resources. Mayor Ben Walsh applied to receive funding from the program, which the Syracuse Common Council approved in November 2022.

When I-81 was built in 1958, it cut through the city, destroying the predominantly Black former 15th Ward. Resources allocated by the grant are set up to support the Southside area once the viaduct barrier is removed. The planned alternative to the viaduct is a street-level community grid, which will work to redirect traffic and enable increased access to businesses and community resources.

The I-81 plan was halted in November 2022 by New York State Supreme Court justice, Gerard Neri, after the group Renew 81 For All filed suit to prevent the community grid, claiming “environmental racism.” Syracuse’s funding from the grant will be contingent on the demolition of I-81, according to the press release.

On Tuesday, Neri ruled construction projects could continue, excluding the demolition of the highway. Neri also ruled the demolition could only move forward after the city conducted more environmental impact studies and incorporated projected changes to population and traffic resulting from Micron’s planned semiconductor manufacturing plant in Clay, NY.

In addition to local housing and transportation authorities, Syracuse will work with SUNY ESF to establish plans for the grant’s use to reconnect Syracuse neighborhoods.

“This $500,000 will help Syracuse work toward reversing decades of disinvestment and exclusionary federal policies, revitalize the area surrounding I-81, and connect workers to good-paying jobs,” Gillibrand said in the release. “I’m committed to seeing this project through and getting Syracuse the federal resources it needs to thrive.”

Published on February 20, 2023 at 11:21 pm

Contact Stephanie: spwright@syr.edu