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In his Thursday night State of the City address at Corcoran High School, Mayor Ben Walsh to an audience of about 200 announced new policies to reduce gun violence in 2023 and introduced workforce development efforts amid historic investments in central New York industry.

“I am proud to report that the state of our city is strong,” Walsh said in the opening of the sixth-annual address.

Walsh, along with Common Councilor At-Large Rasheada Caldwell, expressed optimism for the future of Syracuse amid local and federal investments in the city’s long-term and “next level” growth. Caldwell said these efforts, such as the $1 billion investment from Micron and the $1 million grant New York state awarded to CenterState CEO for workforce training, would attract industries, companies, workers and students to the city.

“With our city employees and people in the room, this city is going to the next level, but the next level doesn’t work if we don’t give our youth what they need to be great,” Caldwell said.

Walsh focused on the continued growth and challenges to the city of Syracuse, mainly in the areas of community infrastructure, job development, safety and housing. Over the course of the speech, Walsh spoke to the past year’s progress in these areas, as well as to plans for new policies in 2023 and areas where the city can improve.

Syracuse City School District students – including the Corcoran High School choral ensemble and drumline – joined SCSD Board President Tamica Barnett and Superintendent of Schools Anthony Davis. As he went about setting goals for 2023, Walsh said conversations with SCSD high school students regarding infrastructure, mental health, homelessness and violence informed the year’s policy updates.

Walsh said he organized objectives in these policy updates into five sections of priorities which include: preparing youth, making thriving neighborhoods, creating accessible and safe streets, investing in infrastructure readiness and resilience and ensuring a smart, sustainable government. He said the updates prioritize a need for immediate action and agency.

“For the students here at Corcoran and children across our city, we must act urgently and in the best interest of our next generation,” Walsh said.

Walsh pointed to the Joint Schools Construction Board project, which Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York state legislature have already approved and will receive $300 million in funding for renovation work to SCSD schools including Corcoran High School. The project will continue into its third phase in 2023, Walsh said.

Barnett said that while she fully supports the partnership between SCSD and the mayor’s office, the upcoming renovations are long overdue. When the JSC Board was established in 2006, its mission to “expedite the reconstruction of existing public schools” included that “the primary purpose of public school facilities shall be educational,” according to the resolution.

“It all starts and ends with the kids, so I think it’s a great partnership,” Barnett said.

Walsh also announced that the new STEAM school, first introduced in May 2021, will accept its first class of students in September 2025. Upcoming community education and apprenticeship programs – such as a partnership with the Syracuse Fire Department to train high schoolers in emergency response – are training students to enter the workforce and more specifically for jobs the Micron plant will bring to central New York.

In his discussion of public safety, Walsh also highlighted the work of the Syracuse Police Department, pointing to increased gun-related arrests. Still, Walsh acknowledged the high crime rate in Syracuse, with the city’s 2022 murder rate reaching 19.85 per 100,000 and increasing by 10% at the end of 2022, according to the event’s press release. Walsh also pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic’s exacerbation of underlying causes of crime like poverty and mental health-related issues.

Both Walsh and Well of Hope Church Pastor Lateef Johnson-Kinsey, who gave an invocation prayer before the address, spoke of eleven-year-old Brexialee Torres-Ortiz, who was killed in a drive-by shooting outside of Dr. King Elementary School on Jan. 16. Walsh addressed the shooting’s demonstration of a need for gun violence prevention, and pointed to efforts like the Community Violence Intervention Plan.

The plan, which Walsh said the Mayor’s Office to Reduce Gun Violence completed 2022, will move to implementing policies in 2023 that address gang activity and conflicts that drive shootings. The office will focus this year on school absenteeism, lack of job opportunities, mental health support and mitigating poverty to reduce gang-related shootings, he said.

In Syracuse’s goal to become a “Vision Zero” city, or a city where no traffic-related deaths and injuries occur, Walsh announced other public safety measures like prospective safety cameras in school zones aimed at targeting young drivers.

Walsh also addressed infrastructure efforts, announcing an upcoming Common Council vote to overhaul the city’s zoning laws. In a summary of efforts to revitalize properties and roads in the city, he pointed to the ongoing Restore Neighborhoods Initiative and also announced expansion of the Onondaga Creekwalk and plans for a new park in the Lakeside region.

Walsh commended the Department of Public Works, saying that updates to its snow removal fleet enabled the department to send workers to aid blizzard recovery efforts in Buffalo following historic blizzards in December.

As it goes about economic investments in the city, Walsh said Syracuse will prioritize aiding marginalized communities that previous legislation has overlooked.

“Far too many residents are starved of opportunities which fuel the agonizing consequences of poverty and violence,” Walsh said. “Tonight, we’ve charted plans for a better future…We are, for the first time in decades, experiencing growth. Our prospects for the future are even brighter. Syracuse is, undoubtedly, a rising city.”

Published on January 29, 2023 at 4:46 pm

Contact Stephanie: [email protected]