Syracuse Housing Authority to request $145 million grant targeting the 15th ward

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The Syracuse Housing Authority passed a resolution during its meeting Wednesday to request a grant from the New York State Department of Transportation along with the Syracuse Common Council’s application. Of the $145 million grant, $20 to $30 million will be used to rebuild and add new infrastructure to the 15th Ward.

The historic 15th Ward — a predominantly-Black neighborhood bordering Interstate 81 — has dealt with inadequate healthcare resources and extreme poverty. By approving the resolution, SHA’s goal is to address these conditions and reunite the people of the community with the rest of the city.

William Simmons, SHA’s executive director, said that investing in the 15th ward would make the neighborhood more unified.

“That’s the main difference, adding in some streets to make them more safer and walkable neighborhoods … and providing this new vision for this community,” Simmons said.

The intersecting streets will also serve as a convenience for the residents, said Christopher Montgomery, chairperson of SHA’s board of commissions. Closed streets will be reopened and the once separated community will be able to come back together, he said.

“We’ll open up our blocks and connect our streets and make it more accessible to neighbors that currently live here when the new development is built,” Montgomery said.

The 15th ward, once an economically thriving Black neighborhood, was redlined and partially demolished by the construction of I-81 in the 1950s, according to the Onondaga Historical Association. The process displaced over 1,300 families since the city of Syracuse began construction in 1958.

In addition to mitigating safety and connectivity concerns, the transformation plan aims to address health and educational needs in the neighborhood.

Other changes to the neighborhood would include an early childhood center and a YMCA, Simmons said, as well as a new football field for the Syracuse City School District in Roesler Park. Some of the money will also go toward new sewer lines and lighting on Townsend Street and East Adams Street, he said.

Simmons said these improvements would add to the sense of community by prioritizing and supporting children who live there.

“Any opportunity for young people to get a head start academically is going to be a good thing … and YMCA, which talks about health and wellness and family activities, will be a good service in this community,” Simmons said.

Patricia McBride, Syracuse city clerk and commissioner for SHA, said she’s excited for the unification the project could provide. Although the Common Council hasn’t yet voted to approve the grant application, members want to help in reviving the neighborhood, McBride said.

“The council definitely wants something done with the devastation of I-81,” McBride said. “(They) definitely want the city and SHA and whomever else to come together and rebuild that community.”

Simmons said SHA has been working on plans for the grant with Onondaga County, the city of Syracuse, the Common Council and Blueprint 15, a nonprofit looking to rebuild the 15th Ward.

Not all residents are on board with Blueprint 15, however, due to concerns about housing demolition and subsequent redevelopment. Residents in the area have pushed to keep current public housing in order to protect a sense of community that they’ve already established.

If NYSDOT approves the grant, Simmons said, it would reaffirm the city government’s commitment to rebuild the community.

Simmons said that with the upcoming general elections, he anticipates SHA will receive strong support for the project along with support the organization already has from the state and federal government.

SHA will hold another board meeting next Thursday to present and discuss the resolution with the Common Council, Simmons said.

“This goes a long way towards providing the kinds of services and amenities in a community that help uplift people and help uplift children,” Simmons said.