Community

An observer of population trends and urban issues says Syracuse appears to be on the right path toward making its downtown a more thriving place.

Matt Carmichael is editor of livability.com, and was the keynote speaker at Wednesday’s annual meeting of the Downtown Committee. 

Downtown Committee Executive Director Merike Treier says downtown's growth seems to be spreading or strenghening nearby neighborhoods previously disconnected from the city's core, like the Inner Harbor and Franklin Square. 

  The story I read Saturday by Post-Standard reporter James T. Mulder  told of how an investigation by the state's Attorney General found that black students in the Syracuse city school district are twice as likely to be disciplined as white students.

Dozens gathered in front of Syracuse City Hall Monday to mark the start of CNY Pride Week with the raising of the rainbow flag.  The annual event gives the LGBT community and its supporters a chance to reflect on progress made on equal rights and the challenges remaining.  

Locally, Syracuse has been a leader in recognizing gay rights with others following suit.  The city adopted a  law in 1990 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, public accommodations, and housing.

  African Americans in and around Syracuse will once again recall the time when the last of the slaves finally found out about their freedom after the civil war.  The City’s celebration of Juneteenth got underway Friday. 

Those who visit this year’s parade of homes in Clay might walk away inspired by the smallest or largest concepts, according to one of the event organizers:

“We’ve had a great crowd so far, and the nice thing is when people leave, they’re so happy, they really have gotten ideas, whether it be something as simple as new cabinets and door pulls, or they’ve found a dream house that they like the floor plan and they’re planning to build. So it’s the simple things all the way to the big things. People have been really happy with these twelve homes.”