Syracuse law department outlines stepped-up code enforcement, store enforcement and records staffing changes

The Syracuse City Law Department told the City Council at a meeting (date not specified) that it has increased code-enforcement actions, filed lawsuits against several property owners and is reallocating staffing to manage a surge of public-records requests.

The update from the Law Department matters because it affects tenant safety, neighborhood conditions and the city's ability to respond to illegal retail activity while its legal and administrative resources are stretched.

Law Department attorney (name not specified) told councilors the office has pushed inspection warrant activity into "the hundreds" to ensure rental properties meet fire and egress standards, and has pursued emergency demolition orders where properties posed immediate hazards. "We have spent an enormous amount of energy focusing on code enforcement," the attorney said. The attorney identified several property-focused lawsuits by owner name or property: an action in Supreme Court against a property owner identified as Kletsky, an action against the new owners of the Skyline, and a recent action against Nob Hill. The attorney said a separate lender-initiated receiver process is underway in the case referred to as Valentine.

The office said it is also pursuing enforcement against retail outlets. The law department described a pipeline with the County Health Department that flags stores selling tobacco to minors; the city then brings enforcement actions under local tobacco and related laws. "We now have a pipeline with them. They notify us when they find a location that is selling to a minor, and then we bring an action to enforce our local tobacco law," the attorney said. The department also reported cases against stores illegally selling cannabis and said it is working with Syracuse Police Department to address outlets selling a product referred to in the meeting as "Spike." The attorney said the city is prepared to seek criminal charges when businesses remain open after a lawful closure order.

Councilors pressed on geographic concentrations of corner/convenience stores and liquor outlets. Councilor Caldwell said concentrated retail such as corner stores can worsen neighborhood conditions and asked whether the city could "go after New York State" to seek legal changes. The law department attorney responded that state law preempts municipalities from treating liquor stores differently than other retail, but that cities may regulate all retail uniformly or pursue state legislative changes. "State law says that municipalities, all municipalities, not just us, all municipalities are prohibited from regulating liquor stores any differently than you regulate any other retail establishment," the attorney said. The attorney added that the State Liquor Authority evaluates licenses and that the city and police provide comments to the state during the licensing notice process.

On records and budget, the law office said it expects to handle more than 3,200 FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) requests this year and has reallocated positions so a records-access role will lead the FOIL team. The attorney described the change as a personnel reallocation rather than a net increase in headcount: the records position was funded by abolishing another vacant paralegal line, a change described by the attorney as a "net neutral" to the office's authorized positions.

Councilors also asked about revenue from judgments. The law office told the council it expects judgment collections to fall from about $341,000 in the prior estimate to roughly $225,000, explaining collections are declining as the office moves from recent, easier-to-collect judgments into older accounts that are harder to collect. The attorney said the office is exploring tools to collect and to roll some charges into tax assessments.

Other items: the attorney said the office has handled numerous labor and arbitration hearings and remains mindful of increased costs tied to more aggressive enforcement (service, postage, filing copies). The office also noted an upcoming hearing on seized property funds, saying "our first hearing is coming up next week." Council business closed with the presiding official asking for a motion to adjourn; a motion was entertained but no recorded vote or mover/second was given in the transcript.

The law department urged councilors to refer properties of concern directly to the office for investigation and indicated willingness to pursue difficult petitions in court. The office also offered to provide maps of corner-store and tobacco/licensed retail concentrations at councilors' requests so elected officials can visually assess concentration patterns.

Looking ahead, the attorney encouraged councilors to coordinate with State representatives if they want statutory changes that would limit liquor or convenience-store locations; the office said it can explore local regulatory options but key restrictions on liquor licensing remain with the state.