e: info@northsideup.org | ph: 315.299.8228

800 North Salina Street Syracuse, NY 13208

WHAT'S HAPPENING

Fri
May18
Launching Health Train

Written by admin  • May 18, 2012

Northside UP is very excited to announce the launch of our second job training program– Health Train!

This program is designed to identify and prepare Northside and Syracuse residents for entry level positions within St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center and throughout the local health care industry. Facilitated by the Northside Urban Partnership and Visions for Change, Health Train is based upon “Green Train”, the construction training program that we’ve piloted with CenterState CEO and other partners over the past three years.

The pilot Health Train program has been sponsored by St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center (SJHHC) and developed in collaboration with SJHHC human resources staff. The program will connect un-and-underemployed community members with entry level jobs and assist them in pursuing long-term career opportunities within the hospital. It’s been designed to create efficiencies within the hiring process for employers and reduce employee turnover.

This week, we held testing and tryouts and have selected 15 great candidates for the pilot program. The first day of class is Monday, May 21st. Stay tuned for lots of photos and updates on our first run!

Wed
May16
Tryouts for Green Train 10

Written by Ploy Chapman  • May 16, 2012

Editor’s Note: Ploy Chapman is our Workforce Development Intern. Originally from Thailand, she came to Syracuse to get her masters and stayed. This post is her first article for our website.

 

I joined the Northside Urban Partnership team about a month ago as an intern. I was here at the very end of Green Train 9 and watched the participants work hard on a project at Adam’s Eden Camp and, later, graduate. We had so much fun and everyone got along so well that I could not imagine what it must have been like at the beginning of this training.

Last week we began screening candidates for our 10th Green Train Class in Weatherization and Construction. This offered me the chance to watch the program develop from the very beginning.

On the first day of tryouts, we had applicants come to the West Side Learning Center at 9 AM. After a short introduction and orientation to the program, we kicked off the process with academic testing. Due to the large volume of applicants, we had to split the group into two testing rooms. This testing is designed to identify ideal candidates for our program, ones who are able to comprehend and apply basic English and math skills. This can be scary for participants, as English may not be their first language and it has been a long time since they’ve been evaluated in these areas. I understand how nervous the applicants must be, because my native language is not English. However, academic test scores are not everything. Following the test, applicants come in for an interview where we look for sincere personalities and ambition. The next component, held during the second day of tryouts, is the construction assessment, where we test people’s skills for working in the construction field. After this, we make a selection of candidates we want to test further and hold a teambuilding workshop for them on the third and final day of tryouts. During this session, we watch how each applicant follows direction, takes the lead and interacts with team members. Last, the Green Train instruction team and Northside UP staff meet to discuss each applicant. It is very difficult to make the final cut, because you realize how significant this program is for someone who wants to better their life for their family.

After three long days of competitive tryouts, we made our final selections. Seventy individuals from all over the city applied for the training; after some difficult decisions, only twelve made the final cut. Those whom we did not accept are invited to try again for the next program, scheduled for winter of 2013. As for this 10th Green Train class, I am looking forward to spending time, sharing laughs and joys, and working with you all! Congratulations on your acceptance! We believe we’ve got a great class, which will start on Monday, May 21st.

 

 

 

 

Tue
May15
Clean-Up Photos

Written by Stasya Erickson  • May 15, 2012

Last week’s park clean-up was a great success! Huge thanks to St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center and Holmes, King, Kallquist & Associates for joining us in these efforts.

As always, more photos from the day can be found on our facebook page!

 

 

Sat
May12
Painted Collections at Craft Chemistry

Written by Stasya Erickson  • May 12, 2012

Craft Chemistry
745 N. Salina Street
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Elody Gyekis, resident artist at the Green Drake Gallery and Arts Center in Pennsylvania, will be exhibiting her latest series of paintings at C2 tonight.

The show, entitled “Living Collections”, explores the human impulse to collect and focuses on what “adults collect and keep from their past and how these objects create our sense of place, home and identity.”

The work is large, lively and colorful. Little trinkets and toys cover the wooden shelves that line the walls. Don’t miss the opening, taking place from 7-9 p.m. tonight!

Read more about Elody – her work, creative influences and passions at C2′s Under the Microscope Series.

 

Fri
May11
Celebrating Earth Day

Written by Sarah Pallo  • May 11, 2012

St. Joseph’s Hospital and Northside UP will be celebrating Earth Day a little late this year.

A group of volunteers from St. Joseph’s Hospital; Holmes, King, Kallquist & Associates; and Northside UP are coming together today to clean-up and maintain our Northside community parks. This clean-up represents the many efforts being made to revitalize the Northside neighborhood and is a great way for St. Joseph employees to connect to the diverse community that surrounds them. We were incredibly happy to act as hosts for this activity! Stay tuned for photographs of the clean-up.

 

 

 

 

 

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Thu
May10
We’re on Facebook

Written by Stasya Erickson  • May 10, 2012

Love our website content? Than you’re sure to like our facebook page!

 

Tue
May08
Request for Innovative Community Project Ideas

Written by Stasya Erickson  • May 8, 2012

This summer, Salt City DISHES goes on the road! And they’d like to take your ideas with them. This time, instead of pitching your project at a community dinner, they’ll be setting up shop at events around Syracuse. The Funky Flea, the Downtown Farmer’s Market, Art on the Porches….they’ll be there, selling ballots for fifty cents a pop. At the end of the summer, the project with the most votes will win the money they’ve collected all summer long. That winner will also present their project at the next DISHES dinner, which is scheduled for October 2012.

But they need YOUR ideas! So go submit an application on their website by May 15th.

Mon
May07
Northside Projects Receive Preservation Awards

Written by Jonathan Logan  • May 7, 2012

Northside UP would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of those honored on Saturday at the Preservation Association of Central New York (PACNY) Awards Ceremony and give a special shout-out to the Northside winners. We hope you’ll take a moment to check out these amazing projects that pay homage to the rich history of our neighborhood while simultaneously looking forward to its vibrant future.

PACNY members and guests gathered at the Piercefield Estate in Solvay to recognize the efforts of individuals and organizations in maintaining and promoting the rich historic heritage of our region’s buildings and landscapes. The awards were presented to projects and individuals throughout Central New York. Three were presented to projects on the Northside – African & Caribbean Central Market, 717 North Mcbride Street, and Brennan’s Stained Glass Studios – indicative of the great wealth of historic character present in this neighborhood and the work being done to preserve it.

The African & Caribbean Central Market, located at 740 North Salina Street, was awarded a Preservation Merit Award, given in recognition of exceptional achievement in historic preservation. Proprietor Roselinda Abbey is an immigrant business and property owner who provides a valuable service to Syracuse’s vibrant refugee and immigrant community. The market sells ethnic food and supplies allowing new Americans to remain connected to their native cultures. Roselinda was awarded New York Main Street funding by Northside UP to make necessary improvements that helped address energy and aesthetic issues with this historic building. The City of Syracuse, Cooperative Federal Credit Union, Crawford & Sterns, and CNY Builders Services all supported this project.

Brennan’s Stained Glass Studios and 717 North McBride Street received Tender Loving Care awards. This award recognizes individuals, organizations or civic agencies that have maintained exceptionally high standards of care for historic properties or landscapes. Brennan’s was honored for their creative adaptive reuse of the former St. John the Evangelist Church at 215 North State Street.  The project provides an interesting example of the creative reuse possibilities for former churches, and keeps a key historic property on the Northside contributing to our neighborhood.

The 717 North McBride Street project award recognized the numerous organizations and individuals responsible for developing and constructing the new residence in the historic Prospect Hill neighborhood. This Home HeadQuarters project received support from the long-time Northside business Holmes, King, Kalquist, and Associates and the Urban Design Center, which developed the Syracuse Pattern Book with support from SUNY Environmental Science & Forestry’s Urban Design Studio.

The historic character of the Northside is one of the building blocks for the neighborhood’s continued regeneration. Northside UP will be applying for another round of New York Main Street funds in 2012 to help property owners make the improvements necessary to maintain the neighborhood’s historic buildings. Additionally, we will continue to work with our many partners to find creative ways  to preserve or replace buildings in ways that respect our past while promoting our neighborhood’s exciting future.

 

The African & Caribbean Market renovations, in process.

 

The African & Caribbean Market, Before and After!

Fri
May04
“Cuse Mob”: Shopping With Purpose

Written by Stephen Aguayo  • May 4, 2012

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Today’s shopper can conveniently purchase everything they need at one place, but it’s no surprise that buying from the “big box” store provides a luxury that negatively impacts the local economy.

The movement to support local businesses is giving our money a voice and a means to truly support our community. But how do we celebrate this idea? All over the nation, cash mobs are emerging as a creative way to get behind this movement. Here in our city, Syracuse First, an organization leading the charge for a vibrant local economy, is coordinating the very first “Cuse Mob”. Northside UP gets excited about any event that helps the local business community, but we are especially thrilled to announce that the first Syracuse cash mob will converge upon a Northside business! Craft Chemistry, a consignment art boutique & gallery that sells handmade goods from local designers, crafters and artists, has been declared the first “Cuse Mob” destination.

So, how do you join in?

This Saturday, at 12 p.m., meet the mob at 745 N. Salina St. Bring at least $10 cash, wear something orange (it’s a CUSE mob, after all!), and be ready to experience and shop at this one of a kind Syracuse treasure– Craft Chemistry! For more information check out the Syracuse First Blog and the Cuse Mob Facebook event page.

 

Copies courtesy of SyracuseFirst

Thu
May03
This Time, Puppets Mean Business

Written by Sarah Pallo • 2 Comments • May 3, 2012

Open Hand Theater
518 Prospect Avenue
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The Open Hand Theater and Puppet Museum was the perfect meeting place for the Biannual Elected Officials Reception, which took place Tuesday, May 1st. Newly renovated and showing off the beautiful woodwork, painted ceilings, and artistic stained glass windows, the Open Hand Theater radiates the potential of the many historic buildings that span the Northside neighborhood. The reception provided Northside businesses with the opportunity to meet our political officials and representatives, including Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle, Common Councilor Jake Barrett, along with representatives from The City of Syracuse and Sen. John DeFrancisco’s office. Several Northside businesses and organizations portrayed their active role in the community using presentation boards, flyers and slide shows, setting the theme for the engaging conversations that filled the room. Cathedral Academy of Pompei’s Imagine Syracuse Music Program, The Northeast Hawley Development Association’s (NEHDA) neighborhood sustainability efforts, and Northside Urban Partnership’s “Health Train” program with St. Joseph’s Hospital, expected to launch later this month, are just a few of the topics that highlighted the evening.

The event is co-sponsored biannually by the Northeast Hawley Development Association, the Northside Business Partnership, Open Hand Theater, St. Joseph’s Hopsital Health Care Center and Northside UP!

 

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