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FOOTBALL Yankee Stadium to host 2022 Cortaca Jug Game

The annual Cortaca Jug game will take place at another storied venue next fall as the Ithaca College Bombers and SUNY Cortland Red Dragons play out the next chapter of their rivalry at Yankee Stadium.

The announcement of the venue for the 2022 game was made at a press conference at the Peggy Ryan Williams Center at Ithaca College on Sept. 21. Coaches and administrators from both colleges, as well as executives from the New York Yankees, were present to share the news.

Mark Holtzman, vice president of non-baseball sports events for the New York Yankees, recalled some of the iconic sporting events that occurred at the stadium, such as football games between Army and Notre Dame during the 1930s and ‘40s, the 1958 NFL championship game played between the then-Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants, or boxing bouts like Joe Louis versus Max Schmeling in 1938 and Muhammad Ali vs Ken Norton in 1976.

“While Yankee Stadium is best known as the home of the record 27-time world champion New York Yankees, it’s also seen its fair share of memorable sporting events dating back to 1923 when the first Yankee Stadium opened,” Holtzman said at the press conference. “Just think, in a little over 14 months, the young men from both of your schools will be gracing the same field that these men of history have graced in the last hundred years.”

This year’s Cortaca Jug game will be held at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex at noon on Nov. 13. The last game took place in 2019 when both squads played at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, where Ithaca defeated Cortland 32–20 and a new Division III record was set for attendance at a football game (45,161).

“It was the stunning success of the 2019 Cortaca Jug game at the Meadowlands that inspired not only our organization, but me personally to officially extend today an invitation to Ithaca College and SUNY Cortland to play the 2022 rivalry match in our home in none other than then Bronx, NY,” Holtzman said.

“We truly believe that the game will sell out and set yet another Division III attendance record,” he said. “We’re intent on creating an epic experience for the team and for their passionate fans, students, families and alumni alike.”

According to Susan Bassett, director of intercollegiate athletics and recreational sports at Ithaca College, both schools will receive 5,000 tickets to set aside for sale next fall for students, faculty and staff, and will be priced at $24.50 each. Another 32,000 tickets will go on sale for the general public at noon on Nov. 16, and will be priced between $24.50 to $69.50

SUNY Cortland head football coach Curt Fitzpatrick said he is looking forward to the opportunity to play at Yankee Stadium.

“This is such an unreal [opportunity] for me as the relatively new head football coach at Cortland,” Fitzpatrick said. “To think about taking my football team to play in an iconic venue, in a rivalry game on this stage, is just an awesome thought.”

Ithaca College head football coach Dan Swanstrom recalled memories related to baseball and the Yankees from growing up in his home state Texas and said having next year’s game at Yankee Stadium will give individuals the chance to create memorable moments of their own.

“Imagine how many people have so much more [stories] and so much more depth to the connections of being and playing at Yankee Stadium” Swanstrom said. “When I think about that and the impact, and now Ithaca gets to join that story tradition and we get to add and submit our own memories and our own time in that stadium is just amazing.” -Andrew Sullivan

Caption: Mark Holtzman, vice president of non-baseball sports events for Yankees. Photo: Andrew Sullivan

T a k e N o t e

▶ Rabies clinic - The Tompkins County Health Department (TCHD) will hold a drive-through rabies clinic for dogs, cats and ferrets from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m, on Oct. 2, at the TCAT Bus Garage, 737 Willow Avenue, Ithaca. Pre-registration is required from 10–11:30 a.m., and recommended for appointments 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Pre-register by calling the Health Department at 607-274-6688 or through the website://tompkinscountyny.gov/ health/eh/rabies#clinics. TCHD sponsored fall clinics typically held in the towns of Newfield, Groton, Caroline, or Trumansburg will not take place in 2021. Appointments will fill quickly. Call the Health Department to be placed on a wait list if all appointments are full. Proof of prior vaccination is required to receive a three year certificate for cats and dogs. If there is no proof of prior vaccination, a one year certificate will be issued. Ferrets must be vaccinated annually. More information can be found at: http://www. tompkinscountyny.gov/health/ eh/neighborhood/rabies#clinics

VOL.XLII / NO. 5 / September 22, 2021 Serving 47,125 readers weekly

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INQUIRING PHOTOGRAPHER

By Casey Martin

“ALMOST QUEEN” JUST PLAYED THE STATE THEATRE. IF YOU COULD CHOOSE, WHAT TRIBUTE BAND WOULD YOU BE IN?

“Pink Floyd.” -Joshua W.

“Lady Gaga!” -Braden W & Alli H.

“Ozzy Osbourne! Not even Sabbath…just Ozzy Solo!” -Matt D.

“Chili Peppers…NO…INCUBIS! They were my JAM!” - Francesca D.

“The correct answer is, and will always be: BLUE ÖYSTER CULT!” -Jil L.

TENANTS PEDC aims to protect most vulnerable with Right to Renew legislation

The Right to Renew legislation was back in front of the Planning and Economic Development Committee on Sept. 15 after the group decided it needed more work at last month’s meeting. Taylor Moon and Genevieve Rand from the Ithaca Tenants Union were also on hand to give data and anecdotal evidence from their experience working with the city’s most vulnerable tenants. Right to Renew legislation aims to protect tenants from losing their homes by guaranteeing them the option to renew their lease except under specific circumstances such as non-payment of rent. It also protects tenants from retaliation by landlords due to things like demanding repairs or organizing with other tenants.

According to Moon, displacement is the most common reason tenants reach out to the Tenants Union for help. He said that 72% of displacement cases are explicitly related to non-renewal in one form or another.

“It’s very much a real threat for people in Ithaca right now,” Moon said. “I think it’s easy to get caught up in hypotheticals of whether legislation like this would create some potential for abuse, but I would challenge everyone to focus on what is being supported by the data, which is that it’s a prevalent problem happening to people in Ithaca.”

Rand added that this fear of non-renewal causes tenants to forgo asserting their rights to things like repairs because they’re afraid they’ll be labeled as a problem tenant. She added that while there is theoretically defense for retaliation by landlords, the burden of proof falls on the tenant and requires legal representation, something that is often outside of people’s financial means.

Moon said he had recently spoken to one tenant at Chestnut Hill who received a non-renewal notice due to upcoming renovations.

“Because of a disability he can’t drive and is dependent on public transportation,” he said. “He cannot afford anything more than Chestnut Hill. He’s never done anything to provoke eviction — he’s paid rent on time, been respectful of his neighbors and never done damage to the unit.”

There is some discussion about prohibiting non-renewal or eviction for redevelopment. A concern, particularly in Ithaca, is the housing market is so tight and so expensive, there often aren’t any other options for a lot of tenants. Rand said she worked with an elderly woman with a disability whose landlord decided they weren’t going to renew her lease. Rand said the landlord shut off her water and electricity, stole her cat and banged on her doors at all hours of the night. It took her three months to find a place that would take her section 8 housing voucher.

Moon added that many of the tenants he’s spoken to are elderly people and disabled people.

“A lot of these people are incredibly vulnerable and at high risk of becoming homeless,” he said.

Rand explained the Right to Renew legislation as a redistribution of power from landlords to tenants.

“While there can be ruffled feathers whenever tenants get more power, it’s ultimately better for us as a class of people,” she said. “We should never give up the opportunity for more power over our circumstances. Our lives will never be worse off for it.”

The legislation in front of the PEDC removes sale of property and improvement of property as “good causes” for eviction, it establishes protection against eviction through dramatic rent increases and requires landlords to provide tenants with a renewal lease at least two times.

Committee member Donna Fleming said she can’t support the bill for “theoretical reasons.”

“We can’t force people to renew a contract that has come to its legally and mutually agreed upon termination date,” she said.

However, committee member Laura Lewis said the goal of the bill is to protect people with the least amount of resources from unscrupulous landlords.

Committee chair Seph Murtagh said he doesn’t see it as stepping in about a contract, he views it as the state laying out the ways that a landlord can revoke tenancy, and saying that as long as those things aren’t happening the tenant has the right to renew.

“It’s getting after [the scenarios] where you have a tenant in a home for 20 years and out of the blue they have to uproot their entire lives because the landlord decided to sell or renovate and rent for a much higher cost,” Murtagh said. “It happens all the time. I do think if we pass this not everyone will understand it, but at the very least it will give tenants the knowledge of their rights and give them the ability to pursue them in court.”

Committee member Cynthia Brock agreed with Murtagh and said it’s about providing housing stability and stability for families.

“The anxiety that goes through an individual when they’re uncertain if they can stay in their home is destabilizing,” she said. “75% of our population faces that uncertainty every single year […] So this is extending to individuals and ensuring them if you do things right and abide by lease terms, you can be assured you will be offered a lease renewal [and] the rent will increase at an affordable rate.”

The legislation was approved for circulation and public input and will be back in front of the committee next month. -Tanner Harding

DEVELOPMENT Planning Board approves 321-unit apartment complex on E State Street

It’s official — the Planning Board has approved the apartment building at 401 E State St. after calling a special meeting to vote on it on Sept. 14. The project received preliminary site plan approval at the July 27 meeting, but it stalled at the Aug. 24 meeting. Developer Jeff Githens had been anticipating final site plan approval last month, but the board was operating at a bare quorum of four, which meant the project would need unanimous approval to move forward. However, board member Elisabete Godden was clear that she didn’t think the concerns she had voiced from the beginning of the project a year ago had been properly addressed and that she would not be able to vote in favor of it.

The group decided not to take a formal vote that evening and instead push the approval to the next meeting when there could be more, or different, board members in attendance. However, Githens wasn’t happy as he said losing a month meant having to push the project back an entire year because construction wouldn’t be able to start until November, which would undoubtedly be hindered by the weather.

The project, originally a 340,000 square-foot apartment building with 267 parking spaces and 353 residential units, has had a slow-moving summer. The developers presented that project to the Board of Zoning Appeals seeking a height variance in June, as the building was proposed at 71 feet, nine feet higher than the 62 allowed by zoning laws. However, between vacancies on the Board of Zoning Appeals, the inability to attain a quorum for meetings and staunch disapproval from at least two of the board members, developers decided to forego the height variance.

Without the variance, developers presented a smaller building to the Planning Board at the Aug. 24 meeting. The building will now be 62 feet, which reduces it by a story, and will house 321 units and 235

COUNTY County Admin. presents $194M budget: 2.7% tax levy increase

Interim Tompkins County Administrator Lisa Holmes presented her recommended 2022 Tompkins County budget on Sept. 14, totaling $194 million. The budget is recommended with a proposed 2.7% tax levy increase that would increase the property taxes for the owner of a median-priced home ($205,000) by $42. The Tompkins County budget covers the work of the county’s government, including 27 departmental operating budgets and funding for several supported agencies; $53.8 million is the local dollar budget, not reimbursed by the state or federal governments, nor offset by earned program income, which increased by $4.23 million over 2021.

The legislature previously passed a target tax levy amounting to 1.89% in April of this year which would reflect a maintenance of the county’s current efforts. Subsequent approvals of critical staffing prior to the budget process increased the target needed for maintenance of effort to 2.7%.

Holmes presented on several local and national fiscal indicators impacting the recommended budget. Indicators included local data such as the local unemployment rate which is at 4.6% as of July 21 (compared to 5.4% in the Southern Tier Region and 7.4% across New York State) and local assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Safety Net data, showing caseloads generally declining over the past year. These indicators inform the county’s anticipation of program needs and the health of the local economy. Holmes’ sales tax projections continue a conservative approach for the remainder of 2021 and through 2022, anticipating a continued slow economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The presentation showed 1.8% of growth in the local property tax base leading into 2022, which can be attributed to changes in assessment rolls. Holmes reported that the assessment department anticipates this changing significantly next year as the real estate market has shifted dramatically during the pandemic.

The total recommended over target request amount is $7.7 million. The over-target requests would be funded by rollover, fund balance, and American Rescue Plan Act funds. Of the nearly $20 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding, $3.875 million is to be directed at one-time requests from departments and agencies.

Several over target requests related to the Reimagining Public Safety plans are included in the recommended budget, totaling $605,000. The numbers presented in the recommended budget represent the county’s share, with the City of Ithaca anticipated to contribute funding as well.

Significant one-time requests from agencies included $655,000 of support for the Tompkins County Tourism Program to support organizations reliant on room tax revenue, $250,000 to support the Alcohol and Drug Council’s open access detox and stabilization center (which would continue with a declining amount in 2023 and 2024), and $220,000 for services rendered during COVID-19 by REACH Medical.

Risks presented included the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its ramifications, unknown outcomes of inflation, and recycling and materials management industry concerns and anticipated operating losses that draw from the solid waste fund balance.

Holmes shared that her approach to the recommended budget included meeting the financial goal set by the legislature, restoring and supporting current county operations and sponsored agencies, supporting the capital program, and preserving fund balance for anticipated community pandemic recovery uses being discussed by the legislature.

Presentation of 2022-2026 Tompkins County Capital Plan

Holmes also presented the proposed 2022-26 capital plan, reflecting an investment in capital projects including a strategy to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2027. Holmes proposed that .5% of the new property tax levy ($6.37m) be allocated to support capital investment.

The legislature had previously determined that 75% of funds received through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, totaling $14.89 million, will go toward projects. The projects slated for use of the American Rescue Plan Act funds, which were selected via an analysis of the Act’s framework and reporting guidelines, include:

PROJECT FUNDING

Bridge NY 6 Culvert Projects $1,723,175 Facility Restoration Projects 2022 & 2024 $2,800,000 Public Safety Building Improvements $3,750,000 Road Maintenance Program 2022-2024 $5,000,000 Recycling Center Upgrades 2021-2025 $1,618,866 Total $14,892,041

Holmes outlined the green facilities plans designed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2027. The new goal of achieving this feat over six years reflects a significant shift from the previous goal of 2035. The project’s first phase includes changes and improvements to LED lighting, building envelope weatherization, water conservation, pipe and valve insulation, computer power management, controls optimization, window replacement, roof replacement, and geothermal installation. A $1.75 million commitment to electrifying 60 passenger vehicles and construction of charging locations was presented as a key element in meeting net-zero targets.

The recommended capital plan includes the eventual construction of a Tompkins County Center of Government to be located in Downtown Ithaca which would house several County departments and eliminate the need for leased space and improve facilities for those departments. The building is estimated to cost just over $30 million and would be funded through federal and state grants, county general funds, and bonds estimated at $14.6 million.

The Public Safety Building that houses the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office and the Tompkins County Jail is slated for improvements under this plan, estimated at $4 million. The recommendation to improve the current building rather than construct a new one follows bail and criminal justice reforms which have led to the local jail population (housed in the building) declining to unprecedented levels. The local jail’s population hovers between 20-40 individuals reported monthly at the legislature’s Public Safety Committee meetings. The improvements to facilities would start in 2022. Legislator Amanda Champion (D-Ithaca) sought more information on the decision to improve the current building rather than construct a new building. Holmes responded that with the change in the landscape with the aforementioned reforms and COVID-19 it would be very difficult to anticipate the size of the needed building, whereas this $4 million represents essential improvements for the health and safety of building users and inhabitants. Holmes indicated that further discussion on the improvements and other building concerns would happen in the Legislature’s Public Safety Committee.

Included in the plan is the continuation of the County’s 10-year highway rehabilitation, reconstruction, and maintenance plan. The highway plan includes eight bridge projects, six culvert replacements, facility improvements and the annual road maintenance program. The highway plan is funded by state, local, and American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Ups The Cornell Class of 2020 finally got to celebrate their graduation last weekend during homecoming. There were lots of proud graduates taking photos at Stewart Park with their families. Congrats! Downs As a reader pointed out in an email, the new construction of the Carpenter Park project will likely block the view of the lovely GreenStar mural. HEARD&SEEN

Heard Another reader wrote in to tell us how good “Blue Bayou,” currently playing at Cinemapolis, is. We believe her, so go check it out!

Seen If you look closely, leaves are changing and as of today, fall is officially here. Grab your PSL and your favorite cardigan — it’s time to pick apples.

IF YOU CARE TO RESPOND to something in this column, or suggest your own grievances or praise, write news@ithacatimes.com, with a subject head “U&D.”

QUESTION OF THE WEEK Pick the best Halloween Costume for 2021.

61.5% Sexy Delta variant

7.7% Insurrectionist zombie 11.5% Critical race theorist 19.2% Booster shot info pamphlet

Next Week’s QuestioN: Advice for dealing with the mosquitoes.

Visit ithaca.com to submit your response.