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Bike Repair Clinic Heals Near West Side Neighborhood, Teaches Larger Life Lessons

Scott Willis
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WAER News

  A pop-up bicycle repair clinic in Syracuse’s Skiddy Park is proving to be more than a place where kids can learn how to repair a flat tire or fix their brakes.  The small effort seems to be going a long way to bring some positive energy to the park and a neighborhood with a history of crime and violence.

On a hot summer evening, two children pull up to a shady spot on the edge of Skiddy Park where volunteers armed with tools and surrounded by bins of bike parts stand ready to help.  This is the tenth year of the Bikes 4 Peace program organized by the Syracuse Peace Council.  Coordinator Ursula Rozum knows the Father’s Day shootout still looms over the neighborhood.

"We were already planning on coming to Skiddy Park anyway," Rozum said.  "Bikes 4 Peace started as a way to do positive activities in the parks and to really reclaim our public spaces.  The more people are out doing stuff together, the safer they are."

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
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WAER News
Volunteers Jenna Lacey, middle, and Zaqueline Baldwin, right, try to detect a leak in a tire tube.

Maurice Crawley is one of the OG’s, or old gangsters against violence, who didn’t hesitate to join the effort.  He interacts with kids who pull up to the clinic or just pass through the park, making it clear someone’s watching. 

"This is the reason why it's important to get them involved in stuff like this right here," Crawley said.  "Fixing bikes, early, at an early age before some other kids introduce them to drugs and guns.   So if they introduce them to working on bikes,  excellent idea, excellent program."

Corcoran high school seniors Zacqueline Baldwin and Jenna Lacey are volunteering their services after a crash course in bike repair. Baldwin says she’s always been community minded.

"This is our first clinic, and I think it went well," Baldwin said.  "We got to help two people ride off with their bikes today."

The peace council’s Ursula Rozum says the shared effort to repair a bike can be a larger lesson in patience and self-sufficiency.

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
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WAER News
Volunteer Dave Kashmer makes sure a child's bike is in working order.

"It can be really empowering when you have something that's broken and you take the time to fix it with tools," Rozum said.  "It can be really satisfying.  It takes a little bit of focus.  We have a really distracting culture.  Kids and adults can be really  intimidated.  This encourages them to slow down, look at the problem, and try to resolve it."

In the end, longtime volunteer Dave Kashmer sums it up this way.

"We're here for the kids and for the neighborhood," Kashmer said.  "I don't live in the neighborhood...I'm in a suburb.  But we have to show these kids we care."

The Bikes 4 Peace clinic returns to Skiddy Park the next two Wednesdays July 13 and 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. on the corner of Otisco and Tioga Streets.  The clinic moves to the Brady Faith Center  at 404 South Ave. Wednesdays August 3, 10, and 17.  

More information about the clinic and volunteer opportunities is at peacecouncil.net or 472-5478.

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
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WAER News

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.