Downtown Committee outlines special-assessment-funded services, grants and programming for Downtown Syracuse

The Downtown Committee of Syracuse presented an overview of the programs and budget supported by the downtown special assessment during a meeting of the Syracuse Common Council meeting, emphasizing maintenance, security, events, economic development and grant-funded projects.

The presentation, delivered by the Downtown Committee’s executive director, explained how the 82-block special assessment district (bounded roughly by I-690 to the north, the I-81 viaduct to the east, Adams Street to the south and Onondaga Creek to the west) funds staff and services while grants, sponsorships and event revenue supplement operations.

According to the executive director, the committee employs a professional staff of more than 20 people and is governed by a mayor-appointed board of directors. Eleven of 15 board seats must be paid assessment holders. The board oversees programming funded by the special assessment and makes budget recommendations to the mayor.

Most visible services funded wholly or in part by the assessment include environmental maintenance (litter pickup, graffiti removal, sidewalk flushing, seasonal snow assistance and summer landscaping), security patrols using retired law-enforcement officers who act as liaisons with Syracuse Police Department (SPD) and social-service providers, and marketing and events programming. The committee also operates two leased parking lots and runs signature events such as Downtown Dining Weeks, a farmers market and the Syracuse Arts and Crafts Festival.

The executive director said the committee has supplemented its assessment revenue with sponsorships, ticket and booth sales, parking revenue after expenses, fee-for-service contracts and grants secured by both the Downtown Committee (a 501(c)(4)) and the Downtown Syracuse Foundation (a related nonprofit established to pursue private contributions). ‘‘For every dollar of downtown special assessment dollars invested into the downtown committee, we generate an additional dollar and 38¢,’’ the executive director said.

The presentation listed specific program details: 335 hanging flower baskets installed each year with labor paid by donations, roughly 15–16 security cameras added via grant funding and neighborhood contributions and three seasonal laborers for floral maintenance funded through contributions. The committee also leases two parking lots from National Grid (one on Franklin Street near National Grid and another north of the former Post-Standard building); revenue after expenses for those lots is retained to support committee programs. One leased lot on Herald Place has 24 monthly-permit spaces.

On programming and economic development, staff maintain a downtown property database used for market reports, retail and office space matching and pop-up or ‘‘art in the windows’’ activation for vacant storefronts. The farmers market, the executive director said, generally breaks even; vendor fees are kept low (about $200–$250 per season for a booth) and the market participates in programs such as Double Up Food Bucks to stretch EBT dollars. Onondaga County provides funding for a market manager, the presentation said.

Grant activity cited in the presentation included a $500,000 New York State grant for what the committee called downtown’s first public playground (to be located at the Creek Walk trailhead) and repeated success in the New York State Main Street program. The committee reported it has invested about $1.5 million in grant funds that leveraged roughly $50 million in downtown property improvements and that grant-writing support in partnership with the city helped secure approximately $17 million or more in additional funds for the downtown area. The presentation also noted the Syracuse Common Council’s Syracuse Cultural Festivals Fund has supported 71 citywide events.

Board members and councilors asked about retail recruitment, grocery and pharmacy gaps and metrics for pedestrian and retail activity. The committee said it recently subscribed to Placer pedestrian-counting software to measure foot traffic and retail leakage and works with the city’s neighborhood and business development team and state representatives to pursue larger retail targets. The executive director said nearly 5,000 people now live downtown and noted the board is reviewing the holiday-decorations contract and seeking input on potential upgrades.

The presentation concluded with a request for questions from council members and acknowledgments of long-standing partnerships among the Downtown Committee, the Syracuse Police Department, Onondaga County and state representatives. A motion to adjourn followed later in the meeting.