Now 5 30.

We're gonna start our meeting.

That's what we're gonna have for you.

Yes, yes, yes.

Oh, this is perfect.

Good afternoon.

We're gonna start our meeting.

Okay.

So thank you for joining us, everybody.

And thank you to our stenographer, Christin for joining us.

Thank you for the cards.

So we're gonna jump right.

Oh, wait, do we need to read the short title?

Yes, madam president.

This is uh relative to the application to the U.S.

Department of Housing and Urban Development for the 2026-2027 year 52, second annual action plan, community development block grant, CDBG and the amount of 4,795,536, home investment partnership grant for 1,278,000 six hundred twenty-four dollars, and the emergency solutions grant for 431,431 dollars as it relates to the attached draft exhibit A.

Thank you.

All right, so we're gonna jump right into it.

You have a letter that we want to ask.

Yes, we have a direction with we have a written submission from uh Sarah LaFay, the executive direct director of Blueprint 15.

Um the continued funding of their faith program.

Okay.

So for our first speaker, we're gonna have John Tomino.

How long do you want me to put the time out?

Good evening, madam president, counselors.

Thank you.

John, can you hold one minute?

I I forgot to add a we're gonna have a three minutes to each of the people at on that to come in front of us.

Once you hear the bells here, that's time to stop because otherwise we we're just gonna lower the mic.

You won't be able to speak.

So we will give you time at the end if you still need to have have something else to say.

Okay.

Go.

Thank you, John.

Thank you.

Okay, Madam President, thank you, counselors.

Thank you so much.

I'm John Tamino, executive uh director and co-founder of In My Father's Kitchen.

I have a prepared statement I'd like to read.

Oh, over the past year.

Uh, we are deeply grateful for the partnership made possible through the emergency solutions grant and the collaboration between the city of Syracuse and in my father's kitchen.

Together, this partnership has continued to bring hope, dignity, and practical support to our neighbors experiencing homeless in our community.

Through consistent street outreach, relationship building and coordinated support services.

We have engaged 265 individuals through this past year that we're in right now, living outdoors over the course of this past year.

Each interaction represents more than a number or represents a person being seen, heard, and offered a pathway towards stability.

One of the the most encouraging outcomes of the work is that 46 individuals has successfully come indoors this year.

These trans uh these uh transitions represent lives moving towards safety, shelter, and supportive services because of the combined efforts of outreach community partners and the resources made available through the ESG program.

In addition to outreach, in my father's kitchen has served more than 1,150 meals this year to individuals living on the streets.

These meals are often the first step in building trust and opening the door to deeper conversations about housing, health services, and long-term support.

While we celebrate these meaningful successes, we also pause and remember that we have lost uh 16 individuals from our streets community tragically passing away this year due to harsh realities of living outdoors.

Their loss reminds us why this work matters and why continuing to strengthen outreach and housing pathways are so critical.

We want to sincerely thank the common council and all the community partners for their continued support of the emergency solutions grant and the collaborative efforts that make this work possible.

Together, we are not only providing services, we are restoring hope, building relationships, and creating real opportunities for people to move from the streets, towards stability and dignity.

We look forward to continuing this important work together in the year ahead.

So I just want to thank you again from the bottom of our heart and in my father's kitchen.

God bless you guys.

Um next we have Brian Fay.

Good afternoon.

Uh Brian Fay, Executive Director of Syracuse Northeast Community Center, and Nita.

And on behalf of the neighbors served by SNCC and Nita, I'm grateful for common counsel support of our mission to engage, grow, and connect neighbors, supporting them in moving from emergency to self-sufficiency, health and well-being across the full range of social determinants of health.

It's tough to say.

Syracuse Northeast Community Center and Nita impact the lives of 8,000 neighbors annually all the way across Syracuse.

We do this efficiently, effectively, and compassionately.

CDBG funding provides flexibility so that we can support nearly all aspects of operations, and it allows us to respond, not to react to situations as they develop.

I respectfully request the common council preserve or, if possible, increase the proposed program year 52 awards to that sustain SNCCs and Nita's work to lift up neighbors, neighborhoods, and the city of Syracuse.

I thank you all for what you do for all of us who call Syracuse home.

Thank you.

For our next next speaker, we're gonna have I think he said Tonya Forrio.

Oh yeah, okay.

Good evening, everyone.

I'm Tanya Fry Leonard from Jubilee Homes.

I'm the director of housing services.

First, I want to thank you for the funding that has already been allotted to us.

We have three of our five homes that we had stated to build almost completed.

Two will be done in the next 60 days.

We have two more to go.

We are in the process of in a collaboration with the land bank to build 40 additional homes in our designated area, 30 single family, three and four bedroom, and then 10 two-family homes.

So again, we appreciate everything that you've done for us, as well as the nine percent tax credit that we have an application in with HCR.

But any additional that could be pushed this way to help our neighborhoods would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Tonya.

Uh next speaker, Kerry Kwagia.

Thank you, members of the Common Council.

I'm Carrie Quaglia.

I'm the founder and CEO of Home Headquarters.

And these days you might perhaps know home headquarters best or better by the new homes that we're constructing for first-time home buyers or the substantial rehabilitations uh that we're doing uh for first-time home buyers as well.

But the programs that you have in the in the proposed plan that you have before you tonight really represent uh the safety net of programs to keep existing owner occupants in their homes.

I receive more calls from you all, the common council, uh, about people needing our urgent care assistance because your constituents call and say, I have a leaky roof or my my furnace went bad, or my sewer backed up, or I have an electrical emergency.

And as you should, you refer those calls to us, and uh odds are you know we can help them.

As we uh open up the Sharp program on or about May 1st, uh that is a program that provides a minor grant to prevent a little problem from turning into a big problem.

Those funds will be gone, they will evaporate uh within a week.

That's just how the the demand is.

It's uh it's unbelievable.

And finally, our uh down payment and closing cost assistance uh provides much needed help for first-time homebuy looking to purchase their first home uh in the city.

Uh, all of these are crucially important.

I know you you all know that.

Uh, and uh I would hope uh that you adopt uh the levels of funding requested.

Thanks so much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker would be Jaquar Sampson.

How are you guys doing today?

And thank you for your time.

Um, this is my first time speaking at something like this, so excuse me for being a little nervous.

Um I heard you guys are doing it for housing approval housing.

And um, my personal story is actually uh uh tied to that.

Um I was somebody who was just staying in the Catholic Charities Homeless Shelter.

I'm somebody who's in the Jubilee program with the heavy machinery operator course, and um it's changing my trajectory.

I'm someone who won the housing uh authority uh sweepstakes with the Ashley Arms and um God bless and thank God because that just to me that just saved my life.

Um what you guys do here affect people on a personal basis.

And um I personally I want to say thank you because I didn't even know this personally a committee existed, but it's because you guys are survived a winter here in Syracuse, New York.

It's because you guys are have a future to look forward to and excited for.

It's because of you guys, I'm someone who's who's looking to be a homeowner and uh contribute back to my city and uh my community, not only the place that I live in, but I dwell in um a community member in.

And um one more time, I want to say thank you and for the ability for me to actually change my own life and be who I want to be in the future.

I'll uh uh extremely look forward to that.

So thank you for your time.

Next speaker, Desi Ray Dixie.

Sure.

Uh good evening, everyone, counselors.

Um, wanna thank you for taking the time to listen to us today.

I wanna kind of tie in a few things.

You know, Jubilee Homes for those of who are not aware of what we do.

We started as housing development.

We do economic development, workforce development, working with small businesses, in addition to running a youth program in agriculture.

For years, we've been underfunded when it comes to housing.

We are doing the work in the community.

We have showed the success rates of our work.

And although we are appreciative of the 18,000, the 20,000 we're getting, it's not enough.

It's not enough.

I don't know if it can come from another pot of money, but we're servicing over 200 people, 200 people in this community.

And we're in with little to none CDBG funding or home funding.

So we're just asking you guys to look at our track record for building over a hundred homes on the southwest side, putting over 723 people through our workforce and economic development programs.

We have a success rate.

We don't just put people in programs, we place them in jobs.

We give them opportunity.

And the young gentleman you just heard from is one of our success stories in our program.

So I want you to take the time.

I feel like sometimes things get personal.

We have to really look at the ultimate goal of what we're all trying to do.

We all have the same goals, we all have the same heart.

We want to help this community, but we need to help the people that are actually doing the work.

Thank you.

Um, our next speaker, Caroline Brown.

Thank you.

And um, to the gentleman who said it was your first time speaking, you did a great job.

This is always an important night for the community to come together.

We know what a crisis housing is.

So thanks to everybody for coming here to try to work on solutions.

Um, I'm going to read up just a short portion of a letter.

I'm Carolyn Brown from Peace Incorporated.

Um, on behalf of Peace, I'd first like to thank the City of Syracuse Department of Neighborhood and Business Development and the Common Council for considering our requests for community development black rent funding to support 2026 Let Me Be Great, a summer youth development program for middle school girls, and our free tax prep program.

I'll tell you a little bit about free tax prep.

That is a partnership that will provide no cost, high-quality tax prep services to low and moderate income city households who will receive the full refunds and tax credits to which they are entitled, and will help them avoid the highest high fees associated with commercial tax prep services.

The impact of the program is substantial.

In 2024, the program secured an average of $1,300 in tax returns for each of the 2,500 Onadaga County household serves.

The increase in income was important for these families.

The average household income was approximately $23,000.

70% of free tax prep clients were Syracuse City residents.

38% lived at or below the federal poverty level.

Through free tax prep families, increase their income and build greater financial security.

Many of these families use their returns to uh save for a down payment on a house or move into higher quality housing.

So thank you.

Thank you for listening.

Thank you.

Our next speaker, Sal Kurren.

Good evening, Common Council, and thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to speak.

My name is Sal Kern.

I'm the executive director of the Volunteer Lawyers Project of Central New York.

And our mission is to provide access to justice through engaging the legal community and volunteer service to those in need.

First, I just want to thank the whole MBD team.

They do such amazing work to support us throughout the year.

And I'm here to request that the common council accept the plan with regard to volunteer lawyers project as it's written.

We currently have two allocations in this plan.

The first is through the ESG program to prevent homelessness.

The second is through C D BG to assist low-income homeowners in preparing wills and powers of attorney to ensure the assets are and are protected and intergenerational wealth can be preserved and passed on.

So I'll be speaking to the CDBG funding right now.

For many families in our community, their home is their largest asset and possibly their only asset.

But without proper legal planning, that home can become vulnerable to legal complications, probate issues, and as I'm sure so many of you have heard fall into sort of this cycle where they fall behind on taxes and eventually end up being seized and are not maintained.

With our program, we prepare wills, powers of attorney, advanced directives, and these documents help our low-income community members determine who's going to inherit their home, who can manage their finances if they become ill and end up in the hospital, and who's going to help make their health care decisions on top of that.

So for example, we started this program this past year and this past fall.

A homeowner contacted us because she wanted to draft a will.

Her biggest concern was making sure that her home passed to her children.

She had two sons, an adult and a minor child.

And the minor child's father was incarcerated, so it was particularly important to her that things are very clearly laid out, both for the home and the child.

We were able to draft the will that addressed how the home would pass on to her children, and it included a guardianship provision to ensure that her minor son would be cared for by a loved one if anything were to happen to her.

And she told us what peace of mind this gave her, knowing that everything would go smoothly if she passed.

So we thank you for the opportunity to continue to provide these services to homeowners who otherwise would not be able to afford them.

So we can help families protect their homes, maintain homing uh housing stability, and make sure that their wealth is passed on to the next generation.

And for the new counselors, um it's very nice to have you serving our community.

Thank you for your service.

And just so you're aware, we provide a broad range of services, um, immigration work, family um LGBT rights, veterans' works, and in addition to housing and our elder law program.

We also do debt.

So thank you very much, and I look forward to meeting all of you more.

Thank you.

Uh, our next speaker, Gabriela Hirona.

Good afternoon, uh, councilwoman and counselors.

This is my first time uh appearing before uh this council, and I'm very grateful to be here.

I am Gabriela uh Hirona with Volunteer Lawyers Project, and I am the uh new housing director or director of the eviction defense and tenants' rights program.

Um I just want to follow up on Stable's comments when they express gratitude for the funds that we receive uh to do the great work that we do.

Um in the housing program, we specifically provide legal representation to introduce clients who need assistance in landlord tenant court in Syracuse City court.

Um we also have just branched out to some of the counties in the North Country, and that's very exciting.

We're still getting that program off the ground.

Um we'll see what happens up there.

But as far as uh what's happening here, the ESG funding just makes what we do possible.

We wouldn't be able to do the work that we do without the funds that we are provided here.

Um with rents climbing at unsustainable rates, with income staying stagnant.

The housing crisis in this city has reached a boiling point, especially in light of uh recent events.

And we are able to help folks avoid evictions or get landlords to make the repairs that they should have some time ago using what's called our 7D actions.

So we have both staff attorneys and volunteer attorneys that do this work and we help hundreds of clients every year.

As I'm sure you know, um, several thousand cases usually go through the um Syracuse City Landlord Tenant Court, um, and we are able to help a significant number of those people.

Um we wouldn't be able to do that without you.

Um eviction, of course, has a lot of um negative effects on on folks on families, job loss, um health issues.

Um I have a client that um lost custody of her children because she didn't have any place to live.

Um I also have a client who, because lead was found in the apartment, her children were taken by CPS because of the health risk.

So the work that we do is critical, and um we're grateful for the funds, but um, as you know, for any organization for any city, it's just never enough.

Um so we also asked uh that common counsel will um focus on advocating for the full right to counsel in eviction cases uh to help folks navigate their way through the legal system.

Uh we also ask that the issue of lead be prioritized to help our clients in our 7D habitability cases, um, and also put to put good cause eviction back uh on the discussion board, as that will also help in ways that we wouldn't be able to even imagine at this point.

So thank you very much.

I appreciate your time.

Thank you.

Our next speaker to EBLU.

Good evening, everyone.

I want to thank you all for being here and for serving in the roles that you all serve.

It's appreciated, it's noted, and um the time that you all give to the citizenship is amazing.

So I want to thank you.

I want to start by um, as you all heard from one of our heavy equipment operator training program um participants.

You're gonna hear from some more after I speak.

But I want to invite and challenge all of you all that have never been to Jubilee to see what we do to come on down.

I don't think that you get a fair representation of who we are if you've never been on our campus, if you've never been in our footprint to see what we do.

So I'm gonna extend that invitation out, and you all can get my number 3952644 and schedule it so you can come and meet the amazing people that thrive in the neighborhood.

And I say thrive because we are able to provide programming and to provide um aspects of economic development that the people have said they wanted, right?

I know you've all heard the story about price right.

That took 12 years of hearing the people say they needed a grocery store before it actually came.

What you have over here are young men that have been through a genre of situations that um aren't kind in some areas, but they have made it a prerequisite for themselves to make sure that they develop themselves professionally, make sure that they change their own circumstances because truly no one can change my circumstance unless I'm willing to let my circumstance change.

The other thing I want to note is that what we're doing with heavy construct heavy equipment operator directly ties into our housing, not just our housing, but housing throughout the city of Syracuse.

We have a workforce needs crisis in our ser in our city.

You all notice it at the aquarium, you notice it at I-81, you notice it in other places because you don't see city representation on those jobs.

But have we really taken the time to upskill our workforce to be able to do that?

So that's one of the things that we're investing in our people, and they're getting paid, and I'll let them tell you what they're earning to learn when they get up here.

But who is going to help us build this housing base that you all have so eloquently put down that we want to increase, right?

My mother is a victim of Knob Hill.

We have participants that have not missed a day, even though they went through that fire, but they don't have housing stock that they can pick from to readily move to right now.

And the only way to do that is to bring Jubilee homes to its full funding, to bring our workforce development program to full funding, and I would say any other any other housing legal services agency in here needs to be brought up at some time to the full funding because our city is in a crisis.

We're facing a number of opportunities coming up where our folks can get jobs, but they don't have the training to get them.

We're facing a housing crisis where we don't have houses to put people that need them.

My mother's 81 years old, and for the first time in her life, she's homeless.

Although she stays with me, she doesn't have an address.

So I'm asking that you all put your money where your heart is, please.

Thank you.

Okay.

Um Hassan Bloodworth.

Good afternoon, Council members, Council President.

Hope everybody's doing well.

Um, I'm here today to ask for a stay or an increase in uh Jubilee homes funding.

Um because a few simple reasons, they have been uh sense of new hope in our community.

Um new hope for people who look like me, people who wouldn't otherwise get a job or a certification um in heavy machine operating.

Um jobs coming up like Micron, um, jobs like um I-81 project, um, the need for heavy machine operators in the water department um to change all these lead pipes.

Um there's a big need for people um that look like me who is actually getting the chance, a new hope at these um certifications that they wouldn't even otherwise know about, but we're actually getting paid to take these classes.

Um you got people from um 33 percent of the class is women, and that's outstanding.

Um you got pregnant women in there, you got uh like Tuggy said, people that were victims of the fire in Knob Hill has hasn't missed a day in there.

You got uh, like Triggy said, people that were victims of the fire in Knob Hill, has hasn't missed a day in there.

So this is uh important part of their lives.

Uh, like I said, it's a new hope.

Um, you got ex-cons in there.

You got people who, like I said, wouldn't otherwise have a chance or a shot at these jobs instead of going out of state and bringing people in to do these same jobs.

Why can't we just, you know what I'm saying, copy what Jubilee is doing and continue to support what Jubilee is doing, you know what I'm saying, to ensure that those jobs stay here where it belongs.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh, next speaker, Renee Aguayo.

How are you doing, man?

How are you doing?

My name is Renee Aguilo.

I attend Jubilee Homes.

And um, I just want to thank them for giving me a second chance at life.

Because I grew up on Syracuse, the West, it's hard.

I had trouble reading, writing.

They taught me a lot.

My background, um, how Syracuse is, through you know, the drugs, the way people live, through Jubilee, they're uh doing the on um doing the heavy machinery, the old show.

I graduated my old show with them.

I'm just um put effort into Jubilee because they really doing a lot and put it back into the community and helping us.

Thank you.

Counselors.

Uh I apologize if I get along a little long-winded.

Um here to represent Jubilee Homes.

Um, I'm in their heavy equipment program.

I just recently got my OSHA.

Uh, been trying to get into the construction field.

And what I've learned from them is that even though it's a lot of sad stories, um, people going through the Knob Hill crisis, people going through our community that didn't have a lot.

Um, but I just try to take from what our Twiggy and uh Walt and everyone keeps telling us about it doesn't matter how good you're doing, you always can do better.

I work for the state of New York with OPWD.

Um I do a lot in healthcare.

Um, but that's in I've worked for the community and schooling, driving buses.

I have a CDL, but it's always been hard, no matter how much money you make to get where you want to get to buy a house.

Um I have four kids, me and my girlfriend, and we've stayed in our home for 15 years, and every year it just gets more and more harder to buy a house.

So dealing with Jubilee homes, I've learned more about housing that I didn't know.

I've had more opportunities.

I've been focused in a different light because coming into construction has been a little difficult coming from the medical field, or even though I have a CDL, it's just I want to drive heavy equipment.

I want to deal with bulldozers.

I want to get deal with uh excavators.

They're giving me that opportunity, like they said, to work on an aquarium, to work on these houses that's being built around here that they don't have enough workers for.

Um, so these are the opportunities that they're giving us.

Also, with my four kids, Jubilee Homes has programs for the children that I'm putting them in for they can learn financial stability, learn how to cook, learn how it's just a lot of programs that I've learned since dealing with Jubilee Homes that's gonna help our families.

I was born in 86.

My uncles, my family worked at Crucible, worked at Crier.

It was jobs in a time where they can go out there and work hard and get what they wanted, buying a house, taking care of their family, and it's a lot harder now.

We're in smaller homes.

The supply is not there.

It's being built, but it's still not there.

So I just wanted to come here today and represent Jubilee Homes and show that this is needed for the community.

This is needed for our people all over the city of Syracuse, especially being born here and living here my whole life.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um, so definitely the last name is Corridors.

You see, Greg?

Yes.

Yes.

Um, it's my first time doing this, also, so I took the time to like write a little something.

Uh good evening, counselors.

My name is Craig Quarters, and I am here to bring light to the beacon that is Jubilee Holmes.

I am a high school graduate, college attendee, born and raised in Syracuse, New York, and a father of six young men.

I've had trouble with securing adequate training and gainful employment over the years.

The opportunity that Jubilee has provided would not be readily accessible for me in most other capacities.

We are hoping more funding could be made available for the program, and if not, then at least not have funding removed.

There are so many determined individuals who are ready to put the work in if given the opportunity, but spaces are limited as of today.

Please consider how many lives can be changed if the financial access could be increased.

This is an opportunity for me to provide financial stability for my family and also help further provide my loved ones with a sense of pride in me and what I do.

Let the work that Jubilee Homes has done and is currently doing within the urban community be highlighted here today.

And please, I pray that you all can see the worth and continuing to provide Jubilee with the funding needed to expand his outreach even further into the community.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sharon Sherman.

My time doesn't start to like this.

Thank you.

And sometimes I don't get to the end of my presentation.

Also because uh I know there's a lot of new counselors, they may not know what the Greater Syracuse Tenants Network does.

I'm gonna start a little bit in what's not here and just speak about the funding.

Uh the council has been very kind to the Greater Syracuse Tenants Network, uh, realizing that we do a lot of work in a lot of places in the community.

So I hope that when you look at it this time, you also feel that we could use a little more money because with the money they're giving us now, we can't afford to pay the copier, the accountant, different things.

So we do need to be a little bit more higher.

Um the Greater Syracuse Tenants Network is focusing its attention and concern on the preservation of existing low-income housing in the city.

Right here is a list of the buildings just since the year began for CDBG, all the buildings that we have tenant groups in that are current because a lot of times there's a group, they have problems with the management, they get all gung-ho, they work for three years, and then nobody wants to be president.

But they can always come back and restart.

Um there's been a lot of talk about state support for building more affordable housing, but the state has shown little interest in preserving the housing we do have that is for very low-income people.

Um there are the type type of programs we work with, are primarily two types, and I'd love to sit down with people who want to know about the different types of HUD housing, et cetera.

The primary one is like Parkside Commons and McCarthy Manor, and all the older traditional buildings that were done years ago, they're the best because they have for every apartment, they have section eight that goes with the apartment.

And so you can have zero inter income and live in those properties.

The only thing being funded now by the state of New York, the federal government is tax credits.

Tax credits give developers a great financial advice uh advantage.

The developer gets money when they build it, the investors get money when they build it, but after that, the properties run by the rents.

The amount of the rent is set by the state of New York.

And if you want a rent increase, you go to the state of New York.

But there's no big money coming in from HUD for every Section Eight.

And that's okay, because you see that the rest of my statement is right here.

And please ask me any questions one-on-one about what's in here.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um I think I believe this is our last speaker, it's Alice and D'Angelo.

Good evening, counselors.

Um, thank you uh for your time tonight.

Um, thank you uh for your time tonight, and um, on behalf of our dedicated team, I want to thank you for your continued support of our work at CNY Fair Housing.

Um, I'm the executive director there.

Uh, I've been there for 14 years, but our organization has been providing fair housing services in this community for 35 years.

Uh, we now serve 17 counties of central and upstate New York.

We are the only fair housing organization in the region.

Um, and what we do, um, I want to make sure you know, since there are our new counselors, um, is we um investigate complaints of discrimination.

We provide counseling and advocacy for individual individuals who are facing um fair housing uh discrimination.

We provide legal representation when needed.

Uh, we do um education and outreach, and uh we do policy and technical assistance uh related to housing opportunity and improving housing opportunity.

Uh we do this with a staff of 11 on our fair housing team.

Um, as an example, uh, one of our cases this year uh in the city of Syracuse, we had a tenant who had flown a pride flag uh in her home outside of her home in Eastwood.

Uh landlord took the flag down uh when the tenant asked about uh taking the flag down, the landlord told them that they could just live somewhere else if they didn't like it.

Um and we brought a case against that landlord um to make sure that um those tenants, that tenant had the right to live where they chose and that their fair housing rights were being respected.

Um but I want to um talk tonight um a little more about another newer program that we've started over the last um year and a half to help support tenants and um provide uh support for collective advocacy among tenants to help hold landlords, um hold housing providers accountable to improve conditions at their properties.

Um that funding has supported our work at Knob Hill for the last year and a half, where we have been working with the tenant association, um, attending every uh every tenant association meeting, providing um information and education to tenants on filing 7D petitions, going to court, printing documents, supporting tenants through this whole process and in the last week and a half supporting the tenants um who have suffered um the loss of their homes in the fire.

I'm incredibly proud of that work.

Um we're supposed to be um actually providing support at five uh buildings, um five properties in the city of Syracuse, as well as providing education to landlords under this program.

Um, but most of our time has been consumed with Knob Hill, uh, as you can imagine.

Um it's um our team has been uh there over the last two weekends, um, and and we'll be there this weekend um to make sure that um management is is doing right by the tenants there, um, and we will continue that work.

Um but there's so much more we need to do.

Sharon is right.

We um need to preserve the housing that we have, and this program helps do it.

We do ask that you um keep funding for this program or consider increasing it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Sharon, do you want to finish your remarks?

We have a few minutes.

Um just a little bit further go through um so I gave you that long sheet of buildings.

No one is paying attention to what I call the Syracuse 11, the developer calls it.

Look at it, except for I think uh counselor Williams, I think most of the district counselors have properties in that uh group, that long sheet.

Um they're little apartment buildings that longly Jones, six of them, they own them, and the other six were called summit apartments, and they came under HUD and now they're falling apart.

And you know conditions at Martin Luther King, 132 and especially 245, are maybe not as many gangs as Parkside, but it is bad.

And for the state to say that we're giving money as much as it needs to fix Parkside, but have told this developer who's been trying to get money for these properties since 2023 that maybe we'd have enough money in 2027 because we can't spend much more money for Syracuse.

So I feel I want to bring attention to these buildings and to the need for the common council to strongly say to the state that, and they're in your neighborhoods and not just in my neighborhood.

Parkside is in my neighborhood, that you can't let these little buildings go.

And they brought their proposals up in 2023.

The last thing is the Brighton Tower stuff.

I'm just trying to show you what the tenant network does, which is not that dissimilar to what they're doing at Knob Hill.

You see that the tenants who um they wrote their own notes from a meeting we had about security, but where I come in is I'm put those notes into things you can demand, and then we'll go to the Rochester Management and then to the state of New York.

So that's just a little thing of what we do on the tenant network.

Thank you.

Thank you.

If nobody else, uh motion to adjourn.

Second.

Thank you.

Meeting adjourned.