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THURSDAY
sept. 14, 2017 high 74°, low 59°
t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r of s y r a c u s e , n e w yor k |
N • One year later
P • In a day’s work
Former Whitman Dean Kenneth Kavajecz was arrested on charges related to prostitution one year ago. Since then, his case has not moved forward significantly. Page 3
dailyorange.com
Tere Paniagua, director of La Casita and Punto de Contacto art gallery, strives to create bonds between Syracuse Univeristy and local Latinx community. Page 11
S • Up to 11
Meet freshman Elite 11 quarterback Tommy DeVito, who arrives on campus as Syracuse’s most heralded recruit since Donovan McNabb. Page 16
city
Shared services approved By Sam Ogozalek asst. news editor
A controversial shared services plan mandated by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was approved Wednesday by a group of local mayors, town supervisors and school district representatives. “We all did what we were asked to do,” said Joanie Mahoney, Onondaga County executive, who also voted. Other officials took a sharper tone. Village of Fayetteville Mayor Mark Olson said “we had no choice” in the matter. illustration by ari dinero contributing illustrator
Along for the ride By Sam Ogozalek asst. news editor
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double major. Most students interviewed by The D.O. have not used Lyft in Syracuse. Only six students said they prefer Lyft over Uber. A few had never heard of Lyft. More than one-third of the interviewed students plan to use ride-hailing services in downtown Syracuse to go to restaurants and explore Armory Square. Karyn Korteling, owner of Pastabilities off Franklin Street, said kids are constantly getting out of Ubers downtown. In addition to Frankel, a handful of mostly freshmen and sophomores said they might use ride-hailing services to get to class, if running late. Frankel lives a block from Main Campus at Walnut Hall. A few students, frustrated with the South Campus bus, have used Uber to get to Main Campus. Some students also said they use ridehailing for trips to the Syracuse Hancock International Airport or William F. Walsh
Students explain how Uber and Lyft have transformed getting around Syracuse
arah Frankel stepped out of a Chevrolet Equinox holding an iced coffee. It was sunny and surprisingly hot after days of chilly weather. The car quickly reversed and sped off toward Hendricks Chapel. “I’m late for a meeting,” Frankel said as she stepped on the curb. The sophomore child and family studies major had just taken an Uber from Marshall Street’s Starbucks to the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. She needed to see an adviser. The trip from the coffee shop was not even half a mile. But Frankel had no intention of walking up the hill near Crouse College. “It was $7.35,” she said. “You order it and it’s here in two, three minutes.” For years, popular ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft have operated in the greater New York City area. Until this summer,
though, they were banned upstate. Now, as the transportation apps expand into central New York, ride-hailing companies are changing how Syracuse University students travel both on- and off-campus. Frankel is just one example. In the last two weeks, The Daily Orange has interviewed more than 100 SU students about Uber and Lyft in Syracuse. Based off those interviews, a few key findings on ride-hailing services’ impact on SU students are already apparent: Dozens of students use or plan to use Uber to go out to bars and fraternities. “You don’t even anticipate needing to drive ‘cause Uber’s there,” said Courtney Darling, a sophomore biology and neurology
see ride-hailing page 8
Ride-hailing services have little effect on area traffic By Katelyn Faubel staff writer
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ide-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, recently introduced to Syracuse, have resulted in few traffic issues across the area, city officials said. The transportation apps started operating in Syracuse this summer. Sgt. Richard Helterline, a Syracuse Police Department spokesman, said there has not been many traffic issues connected to the services. “We haven’t seen a specific increase per se,” Helterline said.
Because the services are private businesses, Helterline said SPD has no way to track if car accidents are related to the companies. Helterline also said SPD supports people using ride-hailing services to avoid driving drunk. “If people take a few too many to drink and use (ride-hailing services), it’s definitely a safer option than getting behind the wheel,” Helterline said. Currently, there is no specific parking spot near Armory Square for ride-hailing pedestrian pickups. Heterline said it would be up to city government officials to decide
whether some parking should be phased out to make room for a pickup location. Steven Thompson, an at-large Syracuse Common Councilor, said he has not heard of any negative issues due to ride-hailing services operating in Syracuse, except for some concerns raised by taxi drivers. “They feel they’ve been muscled out a little bit,” Thompson said. Common Council members have discussed how ride-hailing services could affect traffic near Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome, Thompson said. see spd page 6
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million Estimated amount of money the Onondaga County plan is expected to save per year
Cuomo’s County-Wide Shared Services Initiative, announced earlier this year, forced county governments to find ways to reduce spending by consolidating overlapping services in their jurisdictions. Wednesday was the state-imposed voting deadline for mandatory savings plans. Onondaga County’s plan was approved 35-to-1 in a vote at The Oncenter in downtown Syracuse. Only Wayne Amato, Otisco town supervisor, dissented. Some Shared Services Panel representatives, including Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, were absent. Miner is on a trip in Israel. “This process … was rushed. That is nobody’s fault in this room. That was the Legislature and the governor,” Olson said. The plan, proposed by Mahoney, is expected to save an estimated $5 million each year. The state will match those savings, if towns and villages follow through with the plan, Mahoney said. Most of the plan’s $5 million in savings will come from an agreement between the Syracuse City School District, city of Syracuse and Onondaga County to buy supplemental Medicare benefits for area retirees, Mahoney said. That agreement is projected to save at least $2.2 million in 2018, but could create savings as high as $4.4 million, according to the plan. Other cost-saving measures in the plan include new municipal agreements between suburban villages and towns to share code enforcement operations. In a press conference after the vote, the county executive said the
see services page 8