Common Council approves Jim Boeheim street sign on corner of Irving and East Raynor Avenues

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The Syracuse City Common Council approved the installation of a new street sign in honor of Jim Boeheim, which will be installed on the corner of Irving and East Raynor Avenues, during its Monday meeting.

The sign will be visible to drivers and pedestrians approaching the JMA Wireless Dome from the south. The resolution, introduced by Common Councilor Corey Williams, aims to honor Boeheim’s accomplishments in coaching as well as his philanthropic contributions to the city of Syracuse, syracuse.com reported.

“Coach Boeheim is a true legend in the Syracuse community for his impressive run as head coach at his alma mater, Syracuse University, serving for 47 years,” the council’s meeting agenda reads. “Boeheim led the Syracuse Orange to 35 trips to the NCAA Tournament, including Final Four appearances in 1987, 1996, 2003, 2013, and 2016. His strong leadership landed the Orange the National Championship in 2003.”

Boeheim’s coaching career ended in the spring of 2023. The new head coach of SU men’s basketball is Adrian Autry, who was named as one of 16 finalists for the 2024 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year last Wednesday.

“I’ve been here for 47 years. I got to coach my sons. I’ve just been lucky to be able to coach this long,” Boeheim said when Syracuse Athletics announced his retirement.

Boeheim also served as assistant coach of the United States Men’s Olympic team, which won gold medals under his tenure in 2008, 2012 and 2016, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.

Boeheim and his wife, Juli, founded the Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation in 2009, which is a local nonprofit “enriching the lives of kids in CNY, as well as providing support for eliminating cancer through research and advocacy,” according to Monday’s agenda.

The Common Council also authorized the sale of 44 premises — the locations of which span the city’s five districts — during Monday’s meeting. The city of Syracuse is selling the premises to the Greater Syracuse Land Bank. The premises — which the council’s meeting agenda lists as either a wood house, a wood house and garage, a wood house and barn, a wood house unfinished, or a wood house and garage unfinished — were all sold for $326 each.

“The primary purpose of the Greater Syracuse Land Bank is to return vacant, abandoned, underutilized, and tax-delinquent properties to productive use in ways that support the community’s long-range vision for its future,” its website reads.

The city will also construct downtown’s first public playground. The council applied — in support of the Downtown Committee of Syracuse — for funding from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation’s Environmental Protection fund in July 2023, and the OPRHP later granted the committee $500,000 in funds.

At its Monday meeting, the council accepted the transfer of these funds from the Downtown Committee to the city, allocating them toward building the playground, which will make downtown “more kid-friendly.”

The city is currently in agreement with Blueprint 15 to build a new multipurpose “Children Rising Center” on South State Street and East Taylor Street. The center will include an early learning center, parent and child play center and a YMCA for wellness programming, according to the meeting agenda.

The city has allocated $2 million to the construction of the center using American Rescue Plan Act funds, but this funding “is contingent upon Blueprint 15 securing the necessary funding sources for development of the project by March 31, 2024,” according to the meeting agenda.

The Allynn Family Foundation and Onondaga County have committed $10 million to the project, but Blueprint 15 is currently seeking additional grant funding and tax credit financing.

The council amended its agreement with the development company to extend the March 31 deadline to June 30, so Blueprint 15 has more time to secure the “necessary funding,” according to the meeting agenda.

Other business

• The council reached an agreement with the New York State Department of Public Transportation to reimburse the local jurisdictions who assisted with the December 2022 city of Buffalo blizzard. Mayor Ben Walsh deployed snow removal equipment and crews to help “dig out from” the Buffalo blizzard, according to a December 2022 Mayor’s Office news release. The total reimbursement amount is not to exceed $68,650.54.
• The council authorized the 2023/2024 Parks Capital Improvement Project, as well as $1 million in funding for the project to improve the city’s greenhouses and $50,000 for the Eastwood Skatepark Phase II expansion.
• The council accepted $85,000 worth of pet food and supplies from Cuse Pit Crew — a nonprofit organization that is “on a mission to ‘Refuel the Human-Animal Connection’ in the Syracuse area,” according to its website. The donation will be used to support Syracuse residents and their “beloved pets,” the meeting agenda reads.