Eastwood – and Syracuse – first

Lonnie March 2nd, 2010

Do you know who in your neighborhood is running a business right here in Eastwood? Are they people who might also be hiring people who live in our neighborhood? Doesn’t it make sense to make our purchases from them instead of from an out-of-state chain?

I just culled this from the October newsletter sent out by Syracuse First, a non-profit organization promoting the development of a local living economy:

Studies have shown that for every $100 spent at a local-independent business $73 STAYS IN THE COMMUNITY versus $43 at a non locally-owned business.   If we were to commit a small 10% shift in spending in Onondaga County we could erase the debt, create over a 1000 new jobs, reduce our collective impact on the environment and generate $130 million in new economic activity.  All without a single taxpayer dollar or spending more then we already do.  It really is that simple.

Some fifteen years ago, I happened upon Roadside Magazine, which was then publishing a small review of diners. Their byline was so appealing, I started using it as a signature on my emails:

Recipe for an American Renaissance:
Eat in diners. Ride trains. Shop on Main Street. Put a porch on your house. Live in a walkable community.

I’d like to add: shop in locally-owned shops on Main Street. We’ll all be better for it.

Recipe for an American Renaissance:
Eat in diners. Ride trains. Shop on Main Street. Put a porch on your house. Live in a walkable community.

A gas station used to be there

Lonnie November 25th, 2009

“A gas station used to be there.” This is true of the corner of James and Midler. A gas station used to be on approximately every corner in Eastwood, based on some comments I heard at TNT Monday night. And that might have been true. But saying “a gas station used to be there” as justification for a new one being put in at the same location is like saying “An oil city used to be there” as justification for putting in even bigger, taller, brighter oil tanks at the northern entrance to Syracuse. Just because we used to do it doesn’t mean that it necessarily is or is not a good idea. Let’s debate this one on its own merits, not the merits of a period of cheap, plentiful oil, now fast waning. Continue Reading »

Demand safer streets!

Lonnie November 13th, 2009

I am always amazed at the sheer courage it takes people using wheelchairs to navigate the streets of Eastwood. In the summer, they have to work their way up and over or around broken or heaved sidewalks, sidewalks made narrow by encroaching grass and dirt, and cars parked over the sidewalks. And in the winter, just one house on a block with its sidewalk made impassible by snow means anyone trying to get from point A to point B must then walk in the street. Continue Reading »

Have you done your homework?

Lonnie August 24th, 2009

The city of Seattle has Transportation and Pedestrian Safety Committees and a Pedestrian Master Plan. “The plan (a summary you can find here) sets goals and performance measures for making Seattle a more walkable city and reducing the number of car-pedestrian accidents. The plan was developed with help from a citizens’ advisory group.” (see this blog post)

So do a bit of reading about walkability, urban design, and design guidelines and join the discussion. Then let’s debate the merits of what you have read. What specifically is wrong with Seattle’s plan or what do you like about it?

Our aim is to prevent in Eastwood the kind of disaster that happened at Lodi and Butternut.

How about Washington, DC? Did you know that the whole city is booming? Why? In large part it’s due to its walkability. Here’s another article whose points might be debated: Walkability = livability = billions.  Read that article – copyrighted by The Washington Post Writers Group – and find this assertion:

…(C)ities, competing, will likely keep heeding advice to lure creative young professionals; in fact, those that don’t offer true walkable urbanism, … are “probably destined” to lose out economically.

All across this country, cities are waking up the facts that European cities have known for decades: when mass transit is subsidized like highways are, when cities are valued, when a diversity of businesses that are easy to get to on foot are encouraged to develop, then cities are economically healthier, its residents are physically healthier, and communities are more cohesive.

Do your homework. Read the above articles, and more. And come back and share what you’ve read. Let’s educate ourselves, others, and in the process have some healthy discussion about walkability and its impact.

The challenge is to bring an article from a reputable source that is stating that walkability is not good for the economic health of communities. See if you can find any studies that show that single-use, suburban-style buildings set back in a big parking lot are good for urban neighborhoods. Please link (cite) your sources so the rest of us can read what you’ve found. It’s important to back claims with sources – that way our discussions remain focused.

- Lonnie and Jessica


Why complete streets?

Lonnie August 17th, 2009

This little slide show explains the whys and hows of “complete streets” – streets that are designed for all users, not just drivers. It’s best seen in full-screen mode. To get that, just click on the “full” icon in the taskbar at the bottom of this little screen. When you’re done watching it, hit the “Esc” button on your keyboard (usually upper left corner of keyboard).

Where, in or near Eastwood, do we have incomplete streets that are a hazard to walkers and cyclists?

Other cities series: Buffalo’s Elmwood Village

Lonnie August 11th, 2009

Dave and I just got back from a visit to Buffalo, another much-maligned city in upstate New York that has, nevertheless, managed to move forward in its thinking about sustainable urban development. While the addition of one more national chain in Eastwood has caused much furor, Buffalo’s Elmwood Village is just a step or three ahead of us. They’ve lived through the installation of a Kentucky Fried Chicken and its demise. Now take a look at what’s replacing it – photo taken directly from this article in Buffalo Rising:

"Elmwood Village" project

Looks pretty much like the kind of buildings that used to be built in cities where people walked. There are many reasons for this design choice, and a quick search on “walkable” in your favorite search engine will provide them. But a quick review:

  • Density (numbers of people living in the buildings above shops) creates walkability – the people want to walk to businesses nearby so businesses get built for them.
  • Transparency from the street and sidewalk to the interior and also back out creates safety for the same reason the elevators are made of glass in malls: you can see what’s going on outside and people outside can see what’s happening inside.
  • Natural surveillance from the upper floors where people live 24/7 keeps eyes on the street at just about all hours.
  • Parking is located in such a way as to make quick getaways difficult, resulting in lower crime rates.

There’s a lot more to it than that, but let’s take a look at one more fascinating aspect of a densely populated urban community: real estate value. Buried in the comments of the above article is something we might want to pay attention to:

If you want to buy anything within .5 mile east or west of Elmwood you will pay through the nose.

Elmwood does not have a lot of the kind of gorgeous buildings we see in Skaneateles, Geneva or Canandaigua. It’s quite similar to Eastwood’s James Street business district, and I’d be willing to bet that it wasn’t all that long ago that it looked much the same, struggling to shift from the downward spiral to becoming the interesting and walkable destination district that makes it the most desirable neighborhood in Buffalo.

Now look at the home values. Two-family homes  near this project, similar to the many we have within blocks of James, are going for $160,000 to $206,000 (according to zillow.com). By national standards that’s still wildly inexpensive. But it’s about 25-50% greater than what we have in Eastwood.

How does this kind of good development happen?  In part, help from enlightened government. From yesterdays’ Buffalo Business First site (bolding mine):

Plans to demolish a vacant Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet along Elmwood Avenue and replace it with a mixed-use building have cleared another hurdle.

The Erie County Industrial Development Agency’s directors, Monday, unanimously approved an inducement package that will help the development trio of Orchard Park’s Krog Corp., Buffalo architect Karl Frizlen and lawyer Michael Ferdman construct a three story, nearly 20,000-square-foot building at 448 Elmwood Ave.

… The building will house a Coffee Culture outlet on its first floor and upscale apartments on the its second and third floors.

So how do we entice a developer like Krog Corp to build correctly on James and Midler?

All mayoral and Common Council candidates may now weigh in. :-)

Reasons to be cheerful

Lonnie July 27th, 2009

When you stack Syracuse up against other cities, you actually end up with a lot of reasons to be cheerful about living here. Yeah, we get into our scraps about what’s the best way to improve it. But at least people really care! Listening to people who have lived elsewhere is often enlightening:

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Egregious egress = tragic accident

Lonnie July 14th, 2009

I’m not the only one who hopes they get this exit straightened out before we have to read in the paper that a tragic “accident” has taken place at the intersection of James St. and Grant Blvd. Call it an accident and it seems the hand of God is in play. But even mere mortals can tell this exit at Walgreens isn’t going to work. Fact is, we knew it back on December 14, 2005, when I first put this on the Walkable Eastwood website:

From plans dating back to 2005

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Sunday Evening Strolls

Lonnie June 14th, 2009

Here in Eastwood we like to walk… as if you couldn’t tell. Given that, and in order to more easily meet our neighbors, we’re proposing folks take a walk at a particular time each week: Sunday evenings between 6:30 and 7:30.

If you don’t want to walk, you can just sit out on your porch or front steps or in your front yard at that time so we can meet each other. Got some baked goods or fresh veggies from your garden to share? Bring ‘em on out!

If we focus on including a certain couple of blocks in our walks, we’re more likely to bump into some of our neighbors. So here’s the line-up for this summer.

Update: All walks indicating two street names include James Street between those two streets.

June 14: Teall to Peck/Cook
June 21: Hillsdale to Midler (Laci’s Burger Joint and Cafe)
June 28: top-o-the-hill in Sunnycrest Park
July 5: Homecroft to Plymouth
July 12: Plymouth to Eastwood Plaza (OIP)
July 19: Sheridan Park (Nichols near Burnet)
July 26: Peck/Cook to Grant
August 2: Forest Hill to S. Collingwood (Laci’s)
August 9: Midler to Homecroft (Golden Crown Chicken)
August 16: Grant to Forest Hill
August 23: top-o-the-hill at the old Eastwood High (Sunnycrest and Mosley)

If you’re looking for a more serious work-out, just try this walking route through Sunnycrest Park. The basic idea is to walk up and down every set of stairs you find, then walk on to the next one.

Let’s talk about coffee!

Lonnie April 18th, 2009

I’ll admit it. I’m a coffee nut. So I emailed my neighborhood coffee roaster to see what was going to be available this week. The answer: the usual great selection, plus a Kenya Chania Estate organic. This one is roasted to a full city roast, which works well in my antique vacuum pot. The label on the bag tells me what’s inside. The aroma: lemon, berry. Taste: papaya, spice. Body: medium. Aftertaste: milk chocolate.

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Letter from Joe Nastri

Lonnie April 8th, 2009

Joe Nastri is a long-time Eastwood businessman who was involved in the original Eastwood Review Board that was disbanded by the City.

I too hope that the city does the right thing and upholds the zoning Overlay standards. Assertions have been made time and again that Eastwood looks the way it does because of neighbors and or the Zoning Overlay Guidelines. This is false. The reason why Eastwood has some problems with appearance is firstly because property owners, such as the owner of the old Steak and Sundae building and Byrne Dairy properties have made a conscious decision to allow these properties to fall into disrepair. The plan is for neighbors to get so fed up that we will accept what ever they decide is appropriate.

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Post by Councilor Kathleen Joy

Lonnie April 5th, 2009

For many years, Kathleen Joy has supported smart, sustainable development in Eastwood. She has been a tireless researcher, an effective communicator, and a source of information that might otherwise have been difficult for the average resident. Some time ago, she started her own blog. As is her habit, when she has something of import to let the city know, she uses her blog as well as other means of communication to get her thoughts across.

So, without further ado, I take you to her thoughts, written on March 24, 2009:

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

The meaning of “animated” is…

Lonnie April 1st, 2009

What is a sign? What is an animated sign? What is an “indoors” sign? And what is an “outdoors” sign?  When I look at the kinds of signs the planning commission will be deciding on this coming Monday, I have to wonder if they’re going to have to figure out what the meaning of “is” is.

Continue Reading »

A 10-minute primer

Lonnie March 23rd, 2009

If 100 people in Eastwood were to read this through – it takes less time than watching just the ads in “Dancing With the Stars” – and if each were to educate just one other person about the effect on Eastwood of the proposed Walgreens sign, then we’d have a great turn-out at the April 6 Planning Commission meeting. That’s when a decision will be made about what they want: a 10-foot LED stand-alone ground sign. It violates the overlay district guidelines in four ways: sign square footage, total number of signs, prohibition against ground signs, and prohibition against animated signs.

But here’s what you want to read first, an email reprinted here with permission from our neighbor and retired professor of architecture, Sig Snyder:

Continue Reading »

How to design a walkable neighborhood

Lonnie March 16th, 2009

While looking around for examples that might instruct us on how development in Eastwood should be designed, I came across an excellent about.com article, Stop Sprawl: How to Design a Walkable Neighborhood. It’s a quick read but better than that, it has great photos illustrating the points made.

To better understand the options we have if the city’s comprehensive plan is taken into account when designing one of the corners of James and Midler, take a look at the following:

Continue Reading »

Nine wishes for 2009

Lonnie January 19th, 2009

Wow! It’s been over a month since I last posted here. That’s because we were out of town – went to Philadelphia for the semester break at the insistance of former Eastwood resident Kate Clark. But during that time, a lovely email was sent to the Walkable Eastwood email group, and its author has given me permission to share it with you. So the rest of this post comes to you care of “Matthew” from Eastwood. Please feel free to answer his ending question in the comments section.

Here are Nine Wishes for Eastwood for 2009:

9. (Earnestly) pro-neighborhood mayoral candidate(s) Continue Reading »

“Save The Planet: Live In a City”

Lonnie May 28th, 2008

Here in Walkable Eastwood, we’ve known for about 150 years that it’s easy and quick to get from here to just about any place in the Syracuse metropolitan area. We have the lush green of a suburban setting but the proximity to all the necessities and many of the joys of life. This “village within the city” was developed at a time when there was no gasoline and no cars. Just feet and public transportation, unless you happened to have a horse. This is old urbanism at its finest, residential and business development on a human scale. Continue Reading »

“Advocacy Begins at Home”

Lonnie May 30th, 2007

I’m lifting this directly from the Pedestrians Educating Drivers on Safety (PEDS) website from Atlanta, Georgia:

Common courtesies on the part of residents help make our communities walkable.

  • Locate sprinklers so they don’t spray the sidewalks.
  • Place garbage cans close to the curb or in a parking space to avoid blocking sidewalks or sidewalk areas.
  • Trim plants, bushes, and vines that encroach on sidewalk space.
  • Never park on sidewalks or on the sidewalk area of driveways.
  • Rake your leaves instead of using a noisy leaf blower that pollutes the air and piles leaves on the sidewalk and the street. If you do use a leaf blower, bag the leaves.

And, I might add, get your sidewalk repaired if it is a hazard to pedestrians. If you have the City do it, they’ll provide you with a 10-year loan that is paid off with your property taxes. If you sell the house, that loan stays with the house. In any case, you contribute to the values in your neighborhood and protect yourself from slip-and-fall lawsuits.

Huffstir’s opens in Eastwood

Lonnie March 13th, 2007

A website reader has sent me this email:

Huffstir’s just opened on Tuesday, 3/13, at 2700 James Street, corner of Hillsdale. The owner/chef is Dave Huff (formerly with the popular New York Roast). Phone number: 431-HUFF

It’s open Mon – Sat, 10 AM to 9 PM. Delivery is free. But it’s in the heart of walkable Eastwood – you can stroll on over for a relaxing meal on the patio.

The menu is amazing and features great salads (including Gyro and Taco), appetizers, grilled or cold sandwiches/wraps (such as hot pastrami, reubens, and big burgers), pasta, seafood, sauteed dishes with sauce, and grilled steaks, pork and chicken.

I tried the Chicken Parm dinner for $9.95 (a standard by which I initially judge diners) and the cheesecake. Everything was great, the sauce was superb, and the portions are generous. Prices and service are exceptional, too.

Huffstir’s is take-out at this point, but as soon as the weather is reliably good, we’ll be able to dine al fresco on their patio. What a delightful way to support a business in our neighborhood!

Café Kubal opens at Eastwood Plaza

Lonnie March 10th, 2007

Walk into Cafe Kubal, just three blocks from the corner of James and Midler, and you immediately know where you are. There is no other cafe like it, for where else will you find not only precisely these beans being roasted in this particular antique roaster, but also the work of The Craftsman, Ron Cosser, who carries on the artistry of Gustav Stickley, fronting the counter that holds your just- made cup of cappuccino? In addition to coffee drinks and teas at reasonable prices, you’ll also find Austrian- style pastries made with butter that’s flown in from Austria! Cafe Kubal is located in what’s commonly known as Sacred Melody Plaza, but the plaza recently got a new lease on life and is now officially the Eastwood Plaza.

cafekubalmattrachel.jpg
Matt and Rachel Godard

It’s businesses like these that create a sense of place, that foster a sense of authentic human attachment and belonging. We welcome businesses to Eastwood that are, whenever possible, locally owned and operated, for it’s the people from here who understand the needs of the people who live here.

SLIDE SHOW

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