Syracuse will tackle gun violence with new government office, mayor says

Syracuse, N.Y. – The city will create a new office specifically to fight gun violence in Syracuse, Mayor Ben Walsh announced during his annual State of the City address on Thursday.

The Mayor’s Office to Reduce Gun Violence will be tasked with identifying the root causes of gun crime in the city and creating solutions to the problem. The city saw a near record number of homicides last year, and 78% of those 32 homicides were gun related.

The administration will hire a new full-time director to lead the coordination effort.

“I believe the fight against gun crime is a war that can be won,” Walsh said. “We will save precious lives, and Syracuse will show the nation how a city successfully turns back gun violence.”

From the production floor of a new wireless manufacturing facility on the city’s South Side, Walsh promised progress on gun violence and more in the year to come: A push for more tech-focused businesses, more programs for families and a complete overhaul of public housing among them.

The manufacturing facility itself, at the old Coyne Textile site, was meant to represent that promised progress, part of the mayor’s Syracuse Surge initiative to bring more high-tech manufacturing jobs to the city. JMA Wireless plans to hire 200 people to manufacture electronic components for 5G mobile networks.

The Syracuse Developmental Center, another high-profile, long-abandoned property, may also become a tech manufacturing center, Walsh said. The city is working with CenterState CEO to find a high-tech company to anchor a manufacturing facility on that property.

The state announced in December that a drone company, Fotokite, hoped to become a tenant when the site is redeveloped.

The city seized the Developmental Center land in 2019 after its owner failed to pay more than $880,000 in back taxes. Under the mayor’s plan, the existing 629,000-square-foot building would be demolished and replaced with a new facility.

A mixed-income housing development is also expected for that property in the coming years. The city, CenterState CEO and developer the Albanese Organization have signed a letter of intent to develop the 48-acre site.

Walsh also formally announced an $800 million plan to replace public housing projects in the East Adams area with a mixed-income neighborhood. To kickstart that project, the city is applying for a competitive $50 million Choice Neighborhoods grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“We will repay a long overdue debt to a neighborhood that has given far more than it has gotten from this community,” Walsh said of the neighborhood, often called the 15th Ward.

He vowed that current residents wouldn’t be displaced and that their requests – for more parks, better retail options, a grocery store and access to public transportation – would be integrated into the neighborhood design.

Walsh gave his State of the City address to a smaller-than-usual crowd thanks to Covid precautions. He joked earlier this month that he couldn’t stand the idea of delivering the speech straight into a camera again, which was necessary last year, when no crowd was allowed in the room.

The mayor is required by the city charter to deliver a State of the City address to the Syracuse Common Council each year. Seven of the 10 councilors attended in person; Council President Helen Hudson was on a long-scheduled trip out of town. In attendance were Councilors Amir Gethers, Pat Hogan, Chol Majok, Joe Driscoll, Jen Schultz, Michael Greene and Rita Paniagua.

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