 As
most sports fans between Central New York and Kansas may know, Syracuse
University won this year’s NCAA basketball tournament after
the culmination of the nail biting March playoffs. At the same time,
Syracuse United Neighbors (SUN) had its own community version of
“March Madness.”
During this championship run, a squad of over 30 SUN leaders planned
and carried out an ambitious game plan. Using an aggressive mix
of public meetings, negotiation sessions and testimony in front
of its city council, SUN sprinted to several victories, both large
and small. If you toss in the 11 separate leadership meetings (practices)
to plan and role-play the action, SUN had 23 meetings during the
month.
Let’s go to the videotape...
As they do each month, SUN leaders ran neighborhood issue meetings
in March in the four areas that make up SUN’s turf. These
early round games had over 80 residents in attendance. The major
victory was a commitment by a member of the city council to fight
proposed cuts in the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) budget
for home repairs. $300,000 was put back into the budget as a result—enough
to help 25 families deal with serious damage to their homes and
avoid more vacant houses in our neighborhoods. SUN also took its
first steps toward youth organizing, working with a SUN leader to
develop a public mural team.
The next round of games saw SUN put on a full-court press during
three negotiation sessions. Two of these sessions were held by the
leaders working to stop Onondaga County from building a sewage treatment
plant in their neighborhood—destroying homes, wiping out green
space and using cancer-causing chlorine as the treatment agent.
Leaders such as Louise Poindexter, Joanne Stevens and Ann Reynolds
are clutch veterans of SUN’s squad, fighting for over three
years on this issue. During March Madness, SUN’s leaders met
with Congressman Jim Walsh (R-NY) to press for federal help to find
funding for an alternative to the treatment plant.
The big victory in this round of action was pulled off by the leaders
on SUN's Banking Committee. Led by the strong play of Claire McGrath,
Mary Graham and Amanda Pascall, SUN will be able to announce an
agreement with Fleet Bank this coming month to increase the number
of mortgage loans in SUN’s turf. Prior to this year, Fleet
had failed to make even a single mortgage loan in SUN's neighborhoods
for the past three years.
The regional finals featured SUN taking its game on the road and
testifying in front of the Syracuse City Council. In a big upset,
after four years of attempts, SUN was able to convince the council
to hold an oversight meeting on the scandal surrounding the city’s
use of HUD 108 loans. There was some hot shooting by SUN leaders
Maria Johnson, John Thomas and Sabrina Rautio. As a result, SUN
was able to publicize how the city had wasted nearly $30 million
in loans on fly-by-night economic development schemes and had cost
the city $4 million from the CDBG budget to help repay these loans.
Three long articles ran in the newspaper detailing the waste and
fraud in the program. In addition, the Syracuse Common Council is
considering a moratorium on all new loans.
The semi-finals featured SUN’s Crime Committee and Deputy
Police Chief Michael Heenan. Leaders Olga Podolak and Carolyn Stanley
took charge of a 50 person meeting that shot 100% from the floor.
Three demands, three victories. The police agreed to reinstate walking
patrols in neighborhoods with severe drug dealing this summer. The
police will also send a member of the gang task force to the four
monthly SUN meetings to report on activities during the summer.
The police also agreed to meet with SUN and work out a way to increase
public participation in the nuisance abatement (anti-drug house)
law. In addition, the police agreed to a follow up meeting with
SUN and Police Chief Dennis DuVal this July.
The finals were held on the last day of March. After four years
of letters, phone calls and hits at his office and home, Onandaga
County Executive Nick Pirro agreed to meet with SUN and try to defend
his decision to build the sewage treatment plant in our neighborhood.
Pirro was flanked at his head table by a bottle of chlorine and
a contaminated “devil ducky.” Over 150 angry neighborhood
residents packed the church hall. Pirro heard questions from 30
residents, members of both the county and city legislatures and
even a letter from the Bishop of the Syracuse Catholic Diocese,
whose home is within blocks of the proposed plant. All support alternative
plans to deal with the city’s outdated sewage system. The
battle continues—but Nick’s red face and stuttering
replies made it obvious who won this round. SUN finished March Madness
with a slam dunk.
What is the difference between Syracuse University’s team
and SUN? While the Orangemen relive their defeat of Kansas with
parades and dreams of NBA contracts, SUN started play again on April
1!
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