Walkable Eastwood » Businesses

Mayoral candidate forum a huge success/dismal failure

Lonnie — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:10:29 +0000

The successful aspect:

There was standing room only at the mayoral candidate forum on urban planning and sustainability. Since six of seven candidates were able to come, we heard a helpful variety of ideas.
VIDEO FROM NEWS 10

People are really, really interested in this topic.

The not-so-good aspects were well outlined in Sean Kirst’s column. Not enough specifics from the candidates, questions may have been too broad. Some of the candidates talked a lot but had little to say about the topic. We suspect a lack of knowledge about urban planning and design.

But here are some positive statements we heard:

Stephanie Miner: “I will appoint an office of sustainability with a director.”

Joe Nicoletti: “I met with Neil Seldman president of the Institute for Local Self Reliance about Deconstruction as a strategy to bring Syracuse back.”

Steve Kimatian: “I want sustainability to be an integral part of the mindset of my administration. It has to be systemic.”

Otis Jennings: “Department heads will go to TNT in order to make the city accountable to the people.”

What kind of signage do WE want?

Lonnie — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:15:11 +0000

Although we were assured in 2005 that there would be no scrolling LED sign at the Walgreens that now graces the gateway to our “village,” this type of sign is likely to rear its ugly head again. If you care about what kind of “look and feel” our traditional village streetscape has, you may want to attend the public hearing (details below).

Following is one of the more benign Walgreens designs. We can already see the metal “awnings” on the building, and windows that are not transparent to the interior. Does this design blend well with the Palace, Pomco’s recent improvements, or the facades of the two independent bookstores we have?

View from James Street looking east:

View from Grant Blvd. looking toward James St.:

Any one of the following Walgreens signs could be your gateway to Eastwood. Which one works best with the character of the street?
(Use your browser’s “back” button to return here.)

View 1 … View 2 … View 3 … View 4 … View 5

View 6 … View 7 … View 8 … View 9

This is where you want to be if you’re concerned about what they’re proposing:

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that a public hearing will be held Tuesday, March 17, 2009, at 6:00 p.m. in the Common Council Chambers, City Hall, Syracuse, New York to consider in full or in part the following applications:

7) Application No. AS-08-33, for a Sign Waiver of area, type, and number, on property situated at 2327 James Street, owned by Five Point Development Grant, zoned Local Business, Class A, pursuant to Part C, Section X, of the City of Syracuse Zoning Rules and Regulations, as amended.

NOTE that this is on a Tuesday, not the usual Monday meeting.

The James Street Overlay District Guidelines, which are a part of the Syracuse Comprehensive Plan (both available on the home page of this website) states the following about signs:

g. Signs:
(1) Each business shall be permitted to have one wall or projecting sign on each façade facing a street. The maximum area of each sign (including both faces of a projecting sign) shall be one (1) square foot for each linear foot of the façade width. No signs shall be permitted on facades not facing a street. Projecting signs shall have a minimum clearance above finished grade of at least seven (7) feet and shall project no more than six (6) feet beyond the face of the building. Ground signs and signs above the first floor shall not be permitted. Animated signs and roof signs shall be prohibited and shall not be subject to review as Exceptions. All illuminated signs shall be turned off when the businesses being identified are closed.

When the public shows up at planning commission meetings, they can have an effect on the outcome. If you own property or pay rent in Eastwood, your voice is especially vital at this time.

Whatever is decided about Walgreens will set a precedent for the corner of James and Midler.

Later addition to post:

Councilor for District 5 Lance Denno would like us to know the following:

I will be attending the Planning Commission Public Hearing on Tuesday, 17th. It is, as Lonnie says, best to have plenty of warm bodies there. But if anyone wants to submit a statement and is not able to attend, I would be willing to take those statements with me and submit them for the record – reading as many as time permits.

All statements must include the writer’s name and address. They may be submitted to me at ldenno@ci.syracuse.ny.us

Lance Denno, District Councilor

Human-scaled Walgreens sign

Note to planning commission: You are not alone. Schenectady is also facing precisely the same issues.

January 8, 2009

SCHENECTADY — The Board of Zoning Appeals stuck to its guns Wednesday night and rejected the Walgreens application as virtually identical to the State Street plan it had previously denied.

“What’s different about this plan?” asked BZA Chairman James Gleason.

The board voted 5-0, with two members absent, to require Walgreens to file a new application if it wants to try again.

The pharmacy has been waging a war against the city’s new comprehensive plan for almost a year now, in hopes of getting the city to waive its new rules that ban suburban-style designs. The city’s new comprehensive plan calls for a pedestrian-friendly city, with buildings placed near the sidewalk, parking lots behind buildings and far fewer drive-throughs.

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Kingsley-True: it’s not a done deal. Action needed immediately!

Lonnie — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:19:33 +0000

I have been incensed ever since a lopsided vote in the Common Council allowed the Kingsley-True House to be slated for demolition, despite the overwhelming public and professional support for preservation. How could this have happened?

This was all explained to us in March in this Post-Standard article. Remember? Six of the Common Councilors voted for historic designation while only three, Michael Heagerty, Patrick Hogan and Ryan McMahon, voted against it. But in our broken system, the resolution required 7 “yes” votes to pass. I have to ask, what was our dear Mike Heagerty thinking? He, of all people, as owner of Eastwood’s beloved Palace Theater, should understand the importance of historic buildings to their communities.

It is vitally important that the perception of an either-or situation be turned around. It is patently false that this city must choose between caring for sick kids and protecting its history. Albany didn’t have to make that choice. Philadelphia didn’t have to make that choice. What is it about Syracuse that leaves us vulnerable to three people who somehow ended up with this much power?

“…(T)he votes of city officials on the Landmark Preservation Board (9-0); the Syracuse Planning Commission (5-0); and the Syracuse Common Council (6-3), the votes of city officials were overwhelmingly in favor of historic designation (20-3).” (Post-Standard article)

This is what has been proposed for an expansion of the Kingsley-True house for Syracuse’s Ronald McDonald House – a place that looks like a home, not a hospital:

This is what Philadelphia got in their expansion:

And here is what Albany is doing with a previous expansion in which two mansions were connected:

Mike Stanton of PACNY asked Albany architect John Meyers “…if the Albany RMH board had ever considered demolishing the two houses and building a new facility. He said that possibility had never been raised.” Jeff Yule of the Ronald McDonald House of Albany wrote me to say, “We connected the 2 homes in 1990…. Our current project, which you have a photo of is not an expansion it is a renovation of our facility. John Meyers helped with this project as well. We will not do anything to the Ronald House without his loving input and historical perspective. He is an incredible person and one of our founding members as well as a remarkable resource for the people of Albany. ”

It’s up to you.

TELL the Planning Commission Members to follow through on the Mayor’s commitment to preserving our historic assets. Syracuse was recently named a Preserve America Community. Our first act as such must not be the demolition of this building.

SEND an email to zoning@ci.syracuse.ny.us in which you state clearly that you are against the demolition of this historic building and in favor of the expansion that makes kids and their families feel at home.

YOU MAY ALSO DROP OFF COMMENTS HERE:

City Planning Commission
201 E. Washington St, Rm 211
Syracuse, NY 13202

PLEASE ATTEND the Planning Commission meeting this Monday, July 21 at 6:00 p.m. in City Hall. Be vocal. Tell them that you support the expansion, not the demolition, of the Kingsley-True house.

The City of Syracuse thanks you!

Editor’s note:

Since posting this blog, I have received a few suggestions and corrections. I will add them as they come in. So far, the spelling of the Kingsley-True house has been updated, and I have just received further clarification on exactly what has been done at the Albany RMH (above).

This is the proposed new building that would replace a demolished Kingsley-True house:

Where food comes from

Lonnie — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 18:48:45 +0000

We’re avid readers of Anthony Bourdain’s books. Two of them have impacted our family somewhat dramatically. The first was Kitchen Confidential. Aside from being just a great read, it was also the third book our then-early-adolescent son read. He read it cover to cover, but it was at the third chapter that he came running to announce that he wanted to be a chef. Why? He pointed to the title of Chapter 3: “Food is Sex”. That did it. A couple culinary degrees under his belt, he’s now in charge of the mignardises in a restaurant in New York.

But the book that continues to inspire me is A Cook’s Tour, and specifically the chapter, “Where Food Comes From“. Read it, and you’ll understand why he says that where our food comes from is not always pretty. But it’s the larger concept behind that chapter that makes me think a lot and sometimes do strange things.

Strange thing #1: I make coffee in a 70-year-old vacuum coffee pot.

This little honey requires that I take 12 minutes every morning to heat the water, grind the beans bought from Cafe Kubal, pour the grinds into the top part of the pot, stir the grinds into the hot water once it’s risen to the top, time it for two minutes and thirty seconds, and remove it from the heat when that time is up. I pour some of the coffee for us and put the rest in an old glass thermos (metal containers make the coffee taste bad). What we get is some of the best-tasting coffee you can make at home. What it gives me is a reassuring ritual with which to start my day and some quiet, meditative time watching the magic of physics as the coffee magically gets sucked back down into the lower chamber.

I like buying from Matt Godard at the cafe because he has a close connection to where coffee beans come from. His latest offering is an Indian Narali bean, roasted dark, that is truly stunning. But it’s the fact that he can email the grower and get that bean behaving the way the grower wants it to behave in the cup that has me feeling somehow connected to the earth on the other side of the world. (More on this bean in a later posting.) Here’s a cup at the cafe:

Strange thing #2: I dry my clothes on the line.

Where do dry clothes come from? Some of us in Eastwood still dry most of our clothes on the line. There’s no shame in that here! In fact, many today might consider it a badge of coolness, an awareness of the grave danger our planet is in, and an attempt to do our part. Call it what you may, hanging clothes on the line is one of my favorite activities. It satisfies my Protestant work ethic while I’m thoroughly enjoying the outdoors. It’s not even hard work, like gardening. It’s just pleasant. Your neighbors say hello to you as they walk by. You might even have a conversation with someone and pick up on some of the latest gossip. Networking at its finest. I save a few bucks in energy costs, I get that righteous feeling that allows me to blog my attempts at minimizing my carbon footprint, and my clothes smell great! What’s not to like?

How about you, my neighbors near and far?

What strange things do you do?

Do you pick your own strawberries? Do you fill jugs from a local spring? Do you buy eggs directly from a local farm that you’ve visited? Maybe you make your own clothes? What do you do that reminds you and/or your kids where things come from?

Who will fill your prescription at Walgreens?

Lonnie — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 04:39:43 +0000

I watched a pretty shocking “20/20″ segment this evening. It showed the results of an error made by a teenage “pharmacy assistant” in a Walgreens in Florida. A mother of three was given ten times the amount of medication she should have had which resulted in a stroke and and end to her chemotherapy. She died before she could testify. According to the ABC article, “As big chain drug stores have rapidly expanded, thousands of pharmacy technicians have been hired…. In a majority of states all that is required is that the student be actively working for a GED or high school diploma.” You can watch the video here. And take a look at this article: U.S. Pharmacy Errors: Unreported Epidemic?

I’ll take my local businesses over the big chains any day. Too bad there are so few local pharmacies left! Local businesses know they have to earn your patronage every day. And that means having trained, experienced people handing you your new blow torch (True Value Hardware), your freshly repaired car (Fehlman Brothers) and even your cup of coffee (Cafe Kubal and Laci’s Cafe at the Palace). Think globally, shop locally. It’s good for the environment and, goodness knows, it’s probably good for you, too!