Northside Urban Partnership

Small businesses in Syracuse can apply for free energy audits
Program, administered by OCC, aims to help local small businesses

Thursday, February 26, 2009
By Tim Knauss

Small businesses on the North Side and elsewhere around Syracuse can apply for free energy audits under a new program coordinated by the Small Business Development Center of Onondaga Community College.
 

The program has enough funding to pay for roughly 100 building assessments, said Frank Raymond Cetera, coordinator of the program and green business adviser at the Small Business Development Center.
Business owners who decide to make improvements based on their assessments can then apply for financial assistance through two state programs. Low-interest loans also are available from Cooperative Federal Credit Union.

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The 2009 Northside Hall of Fame Selection Committee is accepting nominations for the annual community recognition induction.  The Northside Hall of Fame was established in 2001 to publicly acknowledge those persons who have lived or worked on Syracuse’s north/northeast side.  The Committee is looking for individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the north side community, and who act as positive role models for youth, families, and seniors.  Those persons selected will be inducted at the Northside Hall of Fame Celebration on October 26, 2009. Deadline for nominations is May 1, 2009.   

To request a nomination form mail or e-mail: 
Syracuse Northeast Community Center
attn: Pamela Baker Gratton 
716 Hawley Ave.
Syracuse, NY 13203
or PBGratton@snccsyr.org.  
 
For further information please contact: 
Pamela Baker Gratton
PBGratton@snccsyr.org  (315) 472-6343 
Tom Bazydlo
TBazydlo@snccsyr.org (315) 472-6343

           
After many months of planning, ground was broken to begin the construction of the Freedom Garden on Friday, August 7, 2009. The Northside Collaboratory intends to photodocument the construction progress. Please check back regularly to see the transformation of the site into a community gathering space.

The Northside of Syracuse has long been a site for the convergence of immigrants and refugees hailing from a diverse array of many nations and cultures.

Yet despite the uniquely abundant resources in this neighborhood, it lacks a common gathering place. There are few parks or private corners to sit and talk with friends, and few playgrounds or shady places to picnic or read a book on a hot summer’s day.

Where once stood dilapidated houses, there now rests a garden celebrating the diverse and rich heritage and culture of the community, fully planned with active community member participation. The Freedom Garden stands to be a community owned space, whose existence and meaning will reach far into the future. Its impacts are obvious, and even though there are still finishing touches to come, it has proven to be a powerful impetus for community-wide dialogue, engagement and collaboration.

The Freedom Garden contains an arced patio encircled by trees, bushes, and flowers; on one side rests a refurbished retaining wall, which currently displays the Freedom Garden logo and a dedication to Friar Phil Kelly and Fernando Ortiz. The garden already hosts the Farm Fresh Mobile Market on Thursday afternoons from 1pm to 3pm. In the future, the garden will be further utilized for community events, dinners, cultural celebrations, as well as a clean and beautiful place to stop and sit for a while.

Future potential plantings have been chosen to adapt and flourish in Syracuse’s difficult growing conditions, and may include shamrock inkberry, green luster holly, snowmound spirea, gold mound or gold flame spirea, miss kim lilac. As documented in the slide show above, the initial plantings included bulbs and perennials planted by community residents.

If you would like to get involved please call Jonathan Logan at 315-473-0952 or e-mail jonathan@assisicenter.org. A full-color brochure for the project is available here.

St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center today announced it has been designated a “Baby-Friendly” hospital by the World Health Organization through its Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. It is the only Central New York hospital to receive the designation and one of only 77 in the country. New York State has just two other hospitals with the distinction.

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to encourage and recognize hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for lactation. The BFHI assists hospitals in giving breastfeeding mothers the information, confidence, and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies and gives special recognition to hospitals that have done so.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, research shows that what happens in the hospital or birth center plays a crucial role in establishing breastfeeding and helping mothers to continue breastfeeding after leaving the birth facility.

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Cheryl Darby

A Northside resident and community  volunteer, dubbed by some as the Mayor of Northside, due to her constant involvement in the neighborhood. Cheryl takes some time to talk with us about her favorite thing about the Northside, the people.

So how long have you lived on the Northside?

Well, I moved here from the South side about 13 years ago.

What is it about the neighborhood  that keeps you here?

I like the people that live here. There are a lot of caring neighbors in this place. Despite what some people say I think it’s pretty clean around here too, especially in Little Italy.

So we all know you are the unofficial mayor of the Northside. What would your plan be to improve the area?

I’d like to see more programs for the youth, to keep them occupied and out of trouble. When kids get bored it can lead to all sorts bad things.  Especially during the winter break, kids just don’t know what to do with themselves.

Well you have my vote. How about attracting new residents, what’s a neighborhood shop you would recommend to a Northside newbie?

I don’t really eat out much, but I would have to say  Donze’s, they have great food.  They are also really welcoming. When my kids were growing up Sam, who I think is retired now, knew all of them by name. Come to think of it, he even knew my grand kids too.

Finally, can you sum up the Northside in five words or less?

Hmm, that’s hard, but I think I would say good people.

Franciscan Northside Ministries’ food pantry and medical clinic on North Salina Street, was forced to close Monday due to flooding caused by a blocked sewer. It is estimated that it will take a week to sanitize and repair.