Syracuse City Council defeats two special-permit requests, endorses Harriet Tubman scenic byway

The Syracuse City Council on an otherwise routine agenda defeated two separate special-permit applications after councilors described long-running code and safety concerns, and approved a resolution supporting the Harriet Tubman Underground New York State Scenic Byway.

Councilors cited a long history of code enforcement and recent criminal activity in explaining their votes against the permits. An unnamed councilor read a statement into the record saying the property tied to one permit "has a history of code enforcement violations going back to nearly 10 years, including trash cleanups among 57 violations," that the owner had been denied a certificate of use in 2016, and that the owner had been arrested after a retail sting operation. The speaker concluded, "I am voting to deny the special permit because..." The clerk then conducted a roll call; the chair announced, "The item is defeated."

On the second special-permit matter, another councilor described repeated problems near the property, including loitering, drugs and violence, and noted "13 code violations since 02/2022," unpermitted electrical work and that the store had operated without proper authorization. That speaker also tied the decision to recent local violence,…