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Syracuse’s Common Council voted Tuesday to continue sharing sales tax revenue with Onondaga County. The move will bring more than $800 million to the city. Page 3
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Andrew Lunetta, a Syracuse University alum, created A Tiny Home for Good to help build affordable housing for people in Syracuse facing homelessness. Page 7
dailyorange.com
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Guzal Yusupova was originally passed on by SU tennis due to poor test scores. But after two years at Washington State, Yusupova has settled in Syracuse. Page 12
city
‘Natural fit’
Residents call for I-81 grid option By Jishnu Nair staff writer
JOANIE MAHONEY resigned in the middle of her third term as Onondaga County executive in late September 2018 to take a job at SUNY-ESF and SUNY Upstate Medical University. She is SUNY-ESF’s first chief operating officer. molly gibbs photo editor
Joanie Mahoney utilizes her experience as county executive in new role at SUNY-ESF tizes strategic areas of investment by SUNY leadership. She also acts in a supporting role to ESF Interim President David Amberg. Amberg said Mahoney’s involvement in the ESF Discovery Chaloanie Mahoney resigned as Onondaga County executive to lenge will allow her to help pave a financial path for the future of the colbecome chief operating officer at SUNY-ESF. She never worked at lege — a goal Amberg previously set for his term as interim president. a college before, but the job was already familiar. Part of Mahoney’s former job was managing the Onondaga County “I was responsible for operating government. I was respon- budget, which was estimated to be $91,476,000 for last year, according sible for making sure that the streets get paved and plowed, and to the county government. that the parks are taken care of, and that social services are delivered in an “We are also empowering her to help deal with other operational issues efficient and effective way,” Mahoney said. “So, the operaat the college,” Amberg said. “It’s sort of like having a strike tions role was a natural fit for me.” force of one to deal with certain issues.” Mahoney took the new role of chief operating officer The state disclosed in November that Mahoney would It’s sort of like be paid $209,000 for her job at the college and $15,000 for at SUNY-ESF, as well as an advisory position at SUNY Upstate Medical University in September. She resigned in having a strike the advisory role, according to Syracuse.com. the middle of her third term as county executive. In a COO role that’s new and evolving to SUNY-ESF, force of one Mahoney said she decided to join SUNY-ESF because Amberg said Mahoney has been helpful in introducing she thought the Syracuse community deserved “a fresh the college’s vice president for strategic initiatives and to deal with set of eyes” in the county executive’s office, which she relations to connections across the state. certain issues. government held since 2007. Republican Ryan McMahon took office James Quinn, president of SUNY-ESF’s Undergraduate after Mahoney. Student Association, said he is hopeful that a high-profile David Amberg In her position she could assist as an advisor with special suny-esf interim president state politician in the chief operating role will bring new projects and collaborations with SUNY-ESF, as well as opportunities and connections beneficial for the college. advising broader community engagement, SUNY Upstate Interim PresiThe connections Mahoney has made during her political career allowed dent Mantosh Dewan said in an emailed statement to The Daily Orange. her to bypass a steep learning curve in the COO role, she said, because she “Her experience in government, especially running a municipality was already aware of which policy makers and agencies to contact in order with a $1.3 billion budget, and her interests in special areas, such as sus- to advocate for the college’s needs. tainability, can be helpful to any organization,” Dewan said. “Just simply by virtue of the fact that I have been in public service As COO, Mahoney said she co-chairs the Ways and Means Advisory since the 1990s, I have developed relationships, and I think most people group of the “ESF Discovery Challenge,” a planning initiative that priorisee mahoney page 4 By Mary Catalfamo senior staff writer
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Syracuse residents and community leaders discussed the possible construction of a community grid to replace Syracuse’s Interstate 81 viaduct Tuesday night at Temple Concord. “Community for the Grid” is an organization that advocates for the grid option, which is one of three potential replacements for Syracuse’s crumbling I-81 viaduct. The other options are a redesign of the existing viaduct that would build it taller and wider and a tunnel underneath the city. Discussions on how to replace the viaduct have been ongoing for more than 10 years. Common Councilor Joe Driscoll, of the 5th district, led the meeting along with Barry Lentz, a former policy chair for the Urban Jobs Task Force. “(The grid) is part of a larger scheme to improve the community, but … if we don’t get to that first piece of the puzzle, we continue to divide communities,” Driscoll said. He began the meeting by outlining information from the New York State Department of Transportation on the potential replacements. NYSDOT is creating a Draft Environmental Impact Statement that will detail the impact of the various options on the surrounding community. After the Draft Environmental Impact Statement is released, there will be a community hearing followed by a period of at least 45 days for public comments. Driscoll said the report needs to be released before a decision is made, but until then he said he plans to raise awareness of the community grid option through methods like postcards and fundraisers. The construction of the grid would result in only five buildings being demolished, while 24 buildings would need to be destroyed to create a new viaduct, Driscoll said. Bob Haley, a representative of the American Institute of Architects present at the meeting, said the community grid will generate $5 million in tax revenue and up to seven acres returned to Syracuse’s tax rolls. No taxable land would be returned to Syracuse through the viaduct option, according to NYSDOT. “(The grid will) give tax money back to the schools, and it’ll give tax money back to the county. I don’t think county residents know that,” Haley said. see i-81 page 4