Urban CNY News is pleased to bring you Part 4 of a 5 Part Interview with Syracuse Mayor, Ben Walsh; American Rescue Plan ‘How are we spending the ARP Funds? ‘
There were several questions asked during our meeting, regarding the appropriation of funds from the American Rescue Plan aka ARP funds. In addition, we asked; What are we doing about Youth Employment and Housing? The city’s Justice Agenda; The Construction Boom in Syracuse; and there’s a conclusion regarding “Challenges” moving forward.
In Part 1, Mayor Walsh detailed American Rescue Act Plan funding and how the disbursement of these funds developed in partnership with the Syracuse Common Council.
Part 2 Mayor Walsh – What are we doing about Youth Employment and Housing?
Part 3 Mayor Walsh Topic: Could you tell us about the Justice Agenda and progress towards that goal?
Part 4 New Construction in Syracuse, What’s Going On?
“We are seeing a significant amount of new construction throughout the city of Syracuse. In fact, in March of this year 2022 we saw the highest amount of permitted construction activity in the history of our record keeping, which only goes back about 20 years. But just again, to give some context shows how much investment, so we track it by the total amount of construction value associated with the permits we issue and again in March 2022; we had the highest month over the course of those 20 years.
And what you’re seeing is investments in all sorts of different types of projects similar to what you’ve seen in downtown in the center city for the past 10 to 15 years. some significant housing development projects also some businesses making significant investments, car dealers, other institutions so, there’s a lot of construction activity going on.
We’re trying to make sure that it’s done in a way that again, is true to our vision that creates opportunity for all. Maximizing the community benefit of these projects, maximizing the amount of local and specifically city residents that are working on these projects, and we have a number of policies and programs and in place to ensure that. But really, what we’re trying to accomplish now as we have continued to see investment in our Center City, we’re trying to draw that investment out from the urban core, into our neighborhoods along our neighborhood business districts.” Mayor Ben Walsh
The following links are to the various tools put in place by the city to be “transparent” about where these funds are being allocated.”
- American Rescue Plan Overview
- What is ARPA?
- Syracuse Mayoral Funding Priority Areas
- Investing in Jobs and Economic Recovery
- Supporting Children, Families, and Neighborhoods
- Enhancing Government Response and Resilience
- Transforming Infrastructure and Public Spaces
NEXT: Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh Urban CNY News Video Interview – Part 5: Challenges Moving Forward.
