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Syracuse City councilors hold multiple agenda items; housing director advances several foreclosure actions
Summary
At a Syracuse City Council study session, councilors held dozens of agenda items for later consideration while the director of housing and neighborhood planning said staff have made contact with owners and will move several foreclosure and tax-trust cases forward.
Syracuse City Councilors on Tuesday reviewed the study-session agenda, holding several items for further work while the city’s housing director said staff have contacted property owners and would advance a number of foreclosure and tax-trust matters.
The session opened with procedural updates about the agenda. Matt Ojek, Commissioner of Assessment, told the council that a draft local law involving an easement required revision and asked that the related item be moved to the next voting cycle. “I’m gonna submit a revised letter to the clerk, William, to get this on for the next voting cycle,” Ojek said, adding there is an existing license agreement but not a finalized lease.
Mary Robinson, the city engineer, asked that one item be held but said a developer later indicated willingness to pay a required fee. “I did send an email asking that it be held, but then the developer, does not want it held and he’s willing to pay the fee, so it’s now ready to be voted on,” Robinson said.
Housing and neighborhood planning director Kimon Jordan reported on a cluster of property cases under the department’s review. “We made contact with the family and they’re actually ready to proceed with the foreclosure,” Jordan said about one property listed as item 43. He said the family’s intent is for a family member living in the property to work with the land bank to buy the property after foreclosure: “Their goal is to have the current, family member living in the property work with the land bank to buy the property, once the foreclosure is complete.”
Jordan said the department received a Tax Trust application for 647 East Division and that finance had left a message to schedule a closing. He also listed a series of items the department marked as either “ready” to move forward or held for further contact or discussion. For some properties staff reported difficulty reaching owners; Jordan said staff and community ambassadors would vary outreach times to improve contact. “So that’s something we can certainly, connect with our community ambassadors to do,” Jordan said, noting ambassadors typically do outreach to owners with shorter delinquencies but can be directed to other cases.
Councilors confirmed a mix of outcomes across the agenda: several items were held for committee review or further information, while others were marked ready for the next voting cycle or for follow-up by finance or staff. Councilors also scheduled a public hearing for one item that will be heard at 5:30 p.m. later the same day.
The study session ended with no votes recorded on the items discussed; councilors either held items for later committee consideration or left them on the calendar as ready for a future vote.
What happens next: Items marked “ready” will appear on the next voting cycle unless a councilor requests a hold. Items held will return to committee or be refiled after staff completes the requested follow-up, including revised legislation for the easement matter Ojek described and additional owner outreach by the housing department.
