Category Archives: News

Syracuse, NY – F.O.C.U.S. Greater Syracuse is pleased to announce Marilyn Higgins, vice president of Community Engagement and Economic Development at Syracuse University; Linda Dickerson Hartsock, director of the Connective Corridor; and Maarten Jacobs, director of the Near Westside Initiative, will present “Creative Placemaking: Changing the Face of Syracuse” on Friday, May 17, 2013. The event will run from 7:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. at the City Hall Commons Atrium at 201 E. Washington St. in Syracuse.

Taking a look at the evolution of the Connective Corridor and Near West Side, they will focus on the vision and unlikely coalitions that are transforming these districts, touching on the past, present and future plans.  Higgins, Hartsock and Jacobs will offer not only a progress update, but insight into trends, opportunities and challenges looking ahead over the horizon line, and lead a discussion on the factors and forces that go into creative placemaking, and how they can produce transformative change. The event is free to the public and all are welcome.

F.O.C.U.S.’s Core Group meetings cover a variety of topics of interest to the citizens of Onondaga County and Central New York. They are open to the public, are free of charge, and are held from 7.30 a.m. to 8.45 a.m. on the third Friday of every month in the Atrium at 201 E. Washington St. in downtown Syracuse.

F.O.C.U.S. Greater Syracuse, Inc., a nonprofit organization at 201 E. Washington St. in Syracuse, engages in research, public policy and public education, enabling citizens to work with governments, businesses and other nonprofits to make sustainable, fact-based decisions that improve the quality of life and economic future for all residents of Central New York.

The award recipients for 2013 have been announced and will be honored at our annual  awards celebration. The event will take place on Sunday, May 19th at 2pm at Temple Concord in Syracuse. For the full list of recipients and much more information, please see the Awards page in this site.

Last month PACNY President, Murray Gould, joined 15 colleagues from across NYS in our nation’s capital to meet with members of Congress. Annual Lobby Day, sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Preservation Action, provides an opportunity for U.S. preservation leaders and advocates to discuss a number of important historic preservation regulatory and legislative issues and to exchange ideas that will help preserve and shape historic preservation policies.

“We’ve all heard the phrase that ‘politics are local.’ It’s important that we communicate directly with our elected officials to let them know how the decisions they make impact us here in Central New York,” says Gould. “It is critical that they hear about the effectiveness of the federal rehabilitation tax credit program, and how that program provides the sorely needed economic incentive for catalytic projects such as the Landmark Theatre, Dey Brothers, St. Patrick’s Lofts and the Pike Block. Nothing works better than a success story.”

PACNY participated in meetings with the staff for Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, as well as six members of the House of Representatives from New York State. The representatives were presented with studies and materials that support a series of proposed improvements and enhancements to the tax credit program, anticipating that legislation will be introduced shortly in both the House and Senate.