Syracuse, New York
This is the article about the city in New York State. For the city in Sicily, see Syracuse, Sicily, for all other meanings, see Syracuse (disambiguation).
Syracuse (
IPA: , locally ) is a city in
Central New York,
USA. According to the
U.S. Census, in 2000 the
city population was 147,306, and its
metropolitan area had a population of 732,117. It is the
county seat of
Onondaga County and the economical and educational hub of Central New York, a region with over a million inhabitants. Syracuse is also well provided with convention sites, with a downtown convention complex and the
Empire Expo Center directly west of the city, which hosts the annual
Great New York State Fair. Syracuse was named after the original
Syracuse, a city on the eastern coast of
Sicily,
Italy, with which it shares some similarities, including a formerly-important salt industry and a neighboring town of
Salina.
The city has functioned as a major
crossroads over the last two centuries, first between the
Erie Canal and its branch canals, then of the
railway network. Today, Syracuse is located by the intersection of
Upstate New York's two major
interstate highways, and
its airport is the largest in the region.
Internationally, the city today is best known as the home of
Syracuse University.
Syracuse is also home to many regional offices of the United States Government, such as the main office of the
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.
The Syracuse area was first seen by Europeans when
French missionaries came to the area in the 1600s. A group of
Jesuit priests, soldiers, and
coureurs des bois (including
Pierre Esprit Radisson) set up a mission, known as Saint Marie Among the Iroquois or Ste. Marie de Gannentaha, on the northeast shore of
Onondaga Lake, at the invitation of the
Onondaga Nation, one of the five constituent members of the
Iroquois confederacy.
The mission was short lived, as the
Mohawk Nation hinted to the Onondaga that they should sever their ties to the French, or the Onondaga's guests would suffer some horrible fate. The men in the mission caught wind of this and left under cover of a cold night in March. Their entire stay was less than two years. The remains of the mission have been located underneath a restaurant in nearby
Liverpool. There is now a living history museum in Liverpool that recreates the mission.
After the
Revolutionary War, more settlers came to the area, mostly to trade with the Onondaga Nation.
Ephraim Webster left the Continental Army to settle in the area in 1784, and
Asa Danforth, another revolutionary war hero, arrived afterward.
Salt was discovered in several swamps in Syracuse, which brought more settlers to the area, and eventually gave the city the nickname "Salt City".
The original settlement went through several name changes until 1824, first being called Salt Point (1780), then Webster's Landing (1786), Bogardus Corners (1796), Milan (1809), South Salina (1812), Cossits' Corners (1814), and Corinth (1817). The
U.S. Postal Service rejected the name Corinth upon its application for a post office, stating there was already a post office by this name in New York. Due to similarities such as a salt industry and a neighboring
village named Salina, the name Syracuse was chosen, after Syracuse, Italy.
In 1825, the Village of Syracuse was officially incorporated. Five years later, the
Erie Canal, which ran through the village, was completed. In 1848, Syracuse merged with nearby Salina to become the City of Syracuse. The opening of the canal caused a steep increase in the sale of salt, not simply due to the improved and lower cost of transportation, but because the canal caused New York farms to change from wheat to pork, and curing pork required salt. As salt production climbed, the processing became increasingly mechanized, and local industry became more generalized; population grew to 5,000 by 1850, from 250 in 1820, making it the twelfth largest city in the Union.
|
A continuing struggle Syracuse faces is renovating former industrial areas into usable space today. One successful example is Franklin Square. |
As Syracuse grew in wealth and sophistication, it became a hot spot for the growing
abolitionist movement. On
October 1,
1851, a freed slave known only as Jerry was arrested under the
Fugitive Slave Law. The anti-slavery
Liberty Party was holding its state convention in the city, and when word of the arrest spread, several hundred
abolitionists broke into the city jail and freed Jerry. The event came to be known as the Jerry Rescue. During the
Civil War, Syracuse was also a stop on the
Underground Railroad.
The salt industry declined after the
Civil War, but a new manufacturing industry arose in its place. Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, numerous businesses and stores were established, including the Franklin Automobile Company, which produced the first air-cooled engine in the world, and the Craftsman Workshops, the center of
Gustav Stickley's handmade furniture empire.
Syracuse University was chartered in 1870 as a Methodist-Episcopal institution; it has grown from a few classrooms located in downtown Syracuse into a major research institution.
World War II sparked significant industrial expansion in the area: specialty steel, fasteners, custom machining. After the war, the Big Three auto companies had major operations in the area, Syracuse was headquarters for Carrier Air Conditioning and Crouse-Hinds traffic signal manufacturing, and General Electric had its main television manufacturing plant at Electronics Parkway in Syracuse.
Many of Syracuse's landmark buildings were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s, and several new museums and government buildings were built. Syracuse's population peaked at 221,000 in 1950. In the 1980s, many
immigrants from
Africa and
Central America moved to Syracuse, under the auspices of several religious charities. However, these new Syracusans could not make up for the flow of residents out of Syracuse to either its
suburbs or out of state due to job loss. The city's population slowly decreases every year.
The manufacturing industry in Syracuse began to falter in the 1970s. Many small businesses failed during this time, which contributed to an already increasing
unemployment rate. General Electric moved its manufacturing operations to Singapore. The
Carrier Corporation moved its headquarters out of Syracuse and outsourced manufacturing to Asian locations. Nevertheless, the Syracuse metropolitan area population has remained stable, even growing by 2.5 percent since 1970. This growth rate is far below the national average during that period, however.
Geography
Syracuse is located at (43.046899, -76.144423).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 66.4
km² (25.6
mi²). 65.0 km² (25.1 mi²) of it is land and 1.4 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (2.15%) is water.
The city is seen as the northeast gateway to the
Finger Lakes Region. The city has many neighborhoods which were originally various villages that joined the city over the years. Although the central part of Syracuse is flat, many of its neighborhoods are located on small hills such as University Hill and Tipperary Hill. Land to the north of Syracuse is generally flat while land to the south is hilly.
About 27 percent of Syracuse's land area is covered by 890,000 trees â€" a higher percentage than in Albany, Rochester or Buffalo. This is despite the
Labor Day Storm of 1998, a
derecho which destroyed approximately 30,000 trees. The
sugar maple accounts for 14.2 percent of Syracuse's trees, followed by the
Northern white cedar (9.8 percent) and the
European buckthorn (6.8 percent).The most common street tree is the
Norway maple (24.3 percent) followed by the
honeylocust (9.3 percent).The densest tree cover in Syracuse is in the two Valley neighborhoods, with 46.6 percent of their land covered by trees. The lowest tree cover percentage is found
downtown, which consists of only 4.6 percent trees.
[Weiner, Mark: "Census of trees sees healthy population - Syracuse, one of Upstate's leafiest cities, is coming back after the devastating 1998 Labor Day Storm", Post-Standard, 27 April 2001]Syracuse's main water source is
Skaneateles Lake, one of the country's cleanest lakes, located about 20 miles (30 km) southwest of the city. Incoming water is left unfiltered, and only a trivial amount of chlorine is added to prevent bacterial growth. For periods of draught, there is also a backup line which uses water from
Lake Ontario.
[City of Syracuse - Executive Summary (2003)] Onondaga Lake's water is not drinkable due to industrial pollution and inadequate sewage systems which spanned many decades.
Climate
 |
Some of Syracuse's statistical weather averages |
Syracuse is known for its snowfall. With 115.6 inches (293.6 cm) average,
["Snowfall - Average Total In Inches", NOAA, 23 June 2004] the Syracuse metro area receives more snow on average than any other large city in the United States.
[Cappella, Chris: "Answers: 10 snowiest 'cities' aren't all in New York", USA Today, 3 October 2003] Research has even shown that Syracuse is the snowiest large city in the world.
[Kirst, Sean: "We won't buckle under the Snowbelt's blows", Post-Standard, 14 March 2005] Syracuse continually wins the
Golden Snowball Award, among Upstate cities. Its record so far is 192.1 inches (487.9 cm). The high snowfall is a result of the fact that the city receives both
lake effect and
nor'easter snow. Snow most often falls in small (about 1-3 inches/2-8 cm), almost daily doses, over a period of several days. Larger snowfalls do occur from time-to-time, and even more so in the northern suburbs.
One notable blizzard was the
Blizzard of 1993, during which 42.9 inches (109 cm) fell on the city within 48 hours, with 35.6 inches (90.4 cm) falling within the first 24 hours. Syracuse received more snow than any other city in the country during this storm, which shattered a total of eight local records, including most the snow in a single snowstorm.
[Staff Reports: "A Storm for the records - Blizzard of 1993 brought 42.9 inches", Post-Standard, 31 December 2003] Ironically, virtually no snow fell during the Blizzard of 2006, where the Catskills and New York City saw over two feet (60 cm) of snow fall in about one day.
Syracuse's hottest month is historically July, with an average high temperature of 82 °F (28 °C), while its coldest month is historically January, with an average low temperature of 14 °F (-10 °C). Record highs and lows are 102 °F (39 °C) on
July 9,
1936 and -41 °F (-41 °C) on
March 3,
1938, respectively.
Syracuse's summers have also broken records in the first decade of the 21st Century. The summers of 2005 and 2002 were, respectively, the hottest and second-hottest summers on record.
[Weiner, Mark: "Season soars into record - Warmest summer may affect our winter", Post-Standard, 22 September 2005]Syracuse Compared
(monetary values in United States dollars) | | 2000 Census | Syracuse | NY State | U.S. |
| Total population | 147, 306 | 18,976,457 | 281,421,906 |
| Population, percent change, 1990 to 2000 | -10.4% | +5.5% | +13.1% |
| Population density | 5,871/mi² | 402/mi² | 80/mi² |
| Median household income (1999) | $25,000 | $43,393 | $41,994 |
| Per capita income | $15,168 | $23,389 | $21,587 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 23% | 27% | 24% |
| Foreign born | 8% | 20% | 11% |
| White | 64% | 62% | 69% |
| Black | 25% | 16% | 12% |
| Hispanic | 3% | 15% | 13% |
| Asian | 10% | 6% | 4% |
As of the
census of 2000, there were 147,306 people, 59,482 households, and 30,335 families residing in the city. The
population density was 2,266.8/km² (5,871.0/mi²). There were 68,192 housing units at an average density of 1,049.4/km² (2,717.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.26%
White, 25.35%
African American, 1.13%
Native American, 3.37%
Asian, 0.05%
Pacific Islander, 2.23% from
other races, and 3.61% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 5.27% of the population.
Syracuse has historically enjoyed a relatively diverse ethnic population, including sizable Italian-American, Polish-American and Irish-American communities. Currently the city has a growing Latino population, and is also a resettlement center for refugees from
Bosnia,
Sudan (the "
Lost Boys") as well as
Somali Bantu refugees.
There were 59,482 households out of which 30.46% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 12.65% were
married couples living together, 14.84% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.58% were non-families. 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.11.
|
Syracuse's racial makeup in 2000 |
In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 16.8% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,000, and the median income for a family was $33,026. Males had a median income of $30,312 versus $23,997 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $15,168. About 21.7% of families and 27.3% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 35.1% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.
 |
AXA is not one of the region's top ten employers, but the towers bearing its name are a prominent piece of the Syracuse skyline |
Syracuse's economy has faced challenges over the past decades as industrial jobs have left the area. The number of local and state government jobs also have been declining for several years. Syracuse's top employers are now primarily in
education and in the
service industry.
University Hill is Syracuse's fastest growing neighborhood, fueled by expansions by
Syracuse University and
Upstate Medical University, as well as dozens of small medical office complexes.
Top employers
The top employers in the Syracuse region and the size of their workforce, as of January 1, 2006:
*
Syracuse University: 7,371
*
State University of New York Upstate Medical University: 6,400
*
National Grid: 4,989
*
Wegmans Food Markets: 4,717
*
Oneida Nation and Oneida Nation Enterprises: 4,700
*
St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center: 3,307
*
Magna International: 3,000
*
Verizon Communications: 2,750
*
Penn Traffic Company: 2,700
*
Lockheed Martin Corp.: 2,350
*
Loretto: 2,204
(source:
Syracuse Post Standard)
The
Canadian Magna International bought the New Process Gear Division of New Venture Gear, saving it from being shut down by
Daimler-Chrysler. Several smaller companies in the area continue to add a small number of jobs. In June 2004 the
Bank of New York announced it would bring up to 800 jobs to
Downtown Syracuse. In August it was reported that the job growth rate of the area was 1.4%. In October
Lockheed Martin announced it would add up to 300 electrical, mechanical, and software engineering positions by 2007. In January 2005,
AXA, which had previously purchased
MONY, announced it was bringing 300 more jobs downtown, and
Sutherland Global Services said it would add 125. Other companies that continue to grow in the area include
Welch Allyn,
Anaren, and Sensis Corporation. Today the Syracuse area has no extremely large employers, but rather many smaller ones, which provides for a certain amount of stability. Additionally, eight of the area's top eleven employers are in
education or the
service industry, which tend to be much more stable than the
manufacturing industry.
The Syracuse area's unemployment rate of 5.0 percent is comparable to the national one of 4.8 (March, 2006). Throughout 2006, the area has continued to gain jobs over the previous year's figures. During February and March 2006, the area's job growth rate tied with
New York City for the highest in the state.
[Moriarty, Rick: "CNY Leads in Job Growth", Post-Standard, 21 April 2006]Destiny USA
Plans are underway for the current
Carousel Center to be expanded. The proposed "
Destiny USA" would be among the largest malls in the country and is expected to contain the present mall, hotels, and various attractions.
Pyramid Companies, the project's backer, claims that this will bring thousands of new jobs to the area and turn Syracuse into a huge
metropolis and tourist destination.
The Destiny Proposal has led to much discussion from citizens and politicians alike. During the
2005 mayoral election, it was raised as a huge issue, with both incumbent (and winner)
Matthew Driscoll and his opponent
Joanie Mahoney using smear tactics. Democrats accused Mahoney of "dirty dealings" with
Robert Congel, Pyramid's executive.
["State Democrats to Mahoney: Don't Let Congel Do to Syracuse Taxpayers What He Did in Poughkeepsie", New York State Democratic Committee, 3 November 2005]As of May 15, 2006, Mayor Matt Driscoll has formally agreed to grant Pyramid Co. the tax breaks that it has requested; pending approval by city and county lawmakers. In return, the city expects upwards of $100 million in sales tax revenues and guaranteed project fees.
However, on June 21, 2006, the Common Council of Syracuse, New York voted in a 6-3 measure to decline the settlement offer. Earlier that day, Mayor Driscoll, Destiny USA, and SIDA issued a statement stating that if the vote was in dissent of the settlement, all offers were off the table. It is likely that a long legal battle lies ahead before the Destiny USA project ever begins.
[ Syracuse Post-Standard article] On July 5 Mayor Matt Driscoll and Syracuse Industrial Development Agency convened an urgent meeting to create a new agreement with Pyramid which would not require Common Council approval. The Common Council hired a law firm as a result.
 |
The 26 Syracuse neighborhoods |
The City of Syracuse officially recognizes 26
neighborhoods within its boundaries. Some of these have small neighborhoods inside of them. In addition, Syracuse also owns and operates
Syracuse Hancock International Airport, located on the territory of four towns north of the city.
Syracuse's neighborhoods reflect the historically divided population. Traditionally, German- and Italian-Americans settled on its northside; Polish- and Irish-Americans on its westside; Jewish-Americans on the eastside; and African-Americans on its southside.
Business districts
Besides the dominant
Carousel Center shopping mall in the Syracuse's Lakefront neighborhood, many of the city's more traditional neighborhoods continue to have active business districts:
*
Downtown: Armory Square has replaced South Salina Street as the main retail and dining area of Downtown Syracuse. Armory Square has around 30 dining establishments, around 20 pubs, bars and clubs, and over 50 other retail stores. Similarly, but on a smaller scale, there is the
Hanover Square area as well.
*
Eastwood: Calling itself "the village within the city", this former village still has a retail corridor along James Street.
*
Little Italy: A neighborhood with Italian origins, Little Italy (part of the
Near Northeast neighborhood) has several blocks of bakeries, restaurants, pizzerias, shops, and services.
*
University Hill: Marshall Street, along with its terminus South Crouse Avenue, is lined with stores, bars, and restaurants, primarily to cater the student population on "The Hill", as well as the over 25,000 people who work there daily. Additionally, East Genesee Street at the northwestern corner of the neighborhood has several retail establishments as well.
*
Westcott: This neighborhood, located east of University Hill, is also inhabited by many students. Westcott Street offers small stores and restaurants for their needs.
Image:Eastwood Syracuse.jpg|EastwoodImage:SyracuseTipperaryLight.jpg|Tipperary HillImage:SyracuseStrathmoreHouse.jpg|StrathmoreImage:Clinton_Square.JPG|Clinton SquareImage:HannoverSquareSyracuse.jpg|Hanover SquareImage:Syracuse Westcott.jpg|WestcottImage:FranklinSquare2.jpg|Franklin SquareImage:SyracuseLittleItalyColumbusDay.jpg|Little ItalySyracuse's major research university, and its largest employer, is
Syracuse University, located on
University Hill. It had an enrollment of 18,734 students (12,905 undergraduates, 5,829 graduates and law students) for the 2005-2006 academic year.
Surrounding Syracuse University are two
State University (SUNY) schools, the
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and
SUNY Upstate Medical University.
Also in Syracuse are
Le Moyne College on the city's eastern border, and
Onondaga Community College, which has its main campus in the city's
Elmwood neighborhood, along with two smaller campuses downtown and in
Liverpool. A branch of SUNY's
Empire State College is located in downtown Syracuse, along with a campus of the nationwide
Bryant & Stratton College.
Other colleges and universities in the area include
Cornell University and
Ithaca College in
Ithaca,
Hamilton College in
Clinton,
Oswego State University in
Oswego,
SUNY Cortland in
Cortland,
Morrisville State College in
Morrisville,
Colgate University in
Hamilton,
Cazenovia College in
Cazenovia,
Wells College in
Aurora, and both
Utica College and
SUNY Institute of Technology in
Utica.
An up-to-date directory and events calendar covering all of the visual and performing arts in Syracuse is available at
SyracuseArts.net.
Performing arts
Syracuse is home to the
Syracuse Symphony Orchestra (SSO), founded in 1961. The SSO has 75 musicians and is under direction of Daniel Hege. The orchestra performs over 200 concerts annually for an audience of over 250,000.
The
Clinton String Quartet has been a New York String Quartet for over 15 years and is based in the Syracuse, New York area. All four members are also members of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. In addition to concert performances, they perform corporate events, black tie functions, commmunity events and weddings.
The
Syracuse Opera Company is a professional
opera company that generally performs three pieces each season. It was founded in 1963 as the Opera Chorus of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and became independent in 1973. During the 2005/2006 season it will perform
Tosca,
HMS Pinafore and
The Marriage of Figaro. In addition to its full performances, there are also several free outdoor concerts annually in
Armory Square,
Thornden Park, and elsewhere. The company has an annual budget of
$1 million and is the only professional opera company in
Upstate New York.
Syracuse Stage, with its many world premieres and productions that have moved to Broadway, creates often experimental and creative theater. The venue was designed by its most famous former artistic director
Arthur Storch. Offering eight plays during its 31st Season (2005-2006), it is now in its tenth season under current artistic director
Robert Moss.
The Redhouse is Syracuse's newest venture into professional theatre. Opened in 2004, The Redhouse is a small theatre housed in a converted hotel, that not only performs pieces of stage work, but also holds performances by national recording artists, as well as screening
independent films.
Museums & art galleries
The
Everson Museum of Art, which opened in 1968 in a building designed by
I.M. Pei, features one of the most extensive pottery collections in the United States along with works of American art, dating from the 18th century to the present. This collection includes paintings, sculptures, drawings, photography, and video.
The
Erie Canal Museum is a museum dedicated to preserving the history of the
Erie Canal and its role in Syracuse's growth.
The
International Mask and Puppet Museum is a museum in
Little Italy focusing on masks and puppets, the later of which are also used in educational performances for children.
The
Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology is a museum located in the
Armory Square neighborhood that features exhibits in science and technology and also houses the city's only
IMAX theater.
The
Onondaga Historical Association Museum & Research Center, located at 321 Montgomery Street
downtown, features exhibits on the past of the Syracuse region, and contains historical archives relating to the area's history.
The Warehouse Gallery is located at 350 West Fayette Street in
The Warehouse. It is a part of the Coalition of Museum And Art Centers (CMAC). This new contemporary art center exhibits, commissions, and promotes work by emerging and accomplished artists in a variety of media. The programming attempts to engage the community in a dialogue regarding the role the arts can play in illuminating the critical issues of our times.
The City of Syracuse maintains over 170 parks, fields, and recreation areas, totaling over 1000 acres.
[City of Syracuse Department of Parks] Burnet Park includes the first public golf course in the United States (1901) and
Rosamond Gifford Zoo. Other major parks include
Thornden Park, Schiller Park, Sunnycrest Park, and the joined Onondaga and Kirk Parks. There are 12 public pools, three public ice rinks, and two public nine-hole golf courses in the city.
Right outside the city proper, along
Onondaga Lake, is Onondaga Lake Park, a park that surrounds most of the lake itself. The adjacent Onondaga Lake Parkways is closed to vehicular traffic several hours on Sundays during the summer months, so it can be used for walking, running, biking, and rollerblading. During the holiday season, the park hosts Lights on the Lake, a two-mile drive-through light show.
Public transportation
Syracuse is served by the
Central New York Regional Transportation Authority, or CNYRTA. The CNYRTA administers a bus service called CENTRO which runs more than a hundred bus lines around Syracuse and into its
suburbs, as well as to outlying metropolitan area cities such as
Auburn,
Fulton, and
Oswego. CENTRO one-way fare is still $1, with an additional 25¢ charge for travel to and from the outermost suburbs, generally more than 5-6 miles from downtown. Further trips have additional fare zones. The CENTRO service is free for Syracuse University Students within a specified zone on display of a valid SUID card.
OnTrack is the Syracuse
commuter train line. The line runs from Colvin Street on the city's South Side via
Syracuse University and
Armory Square to the
Carousel Center. Financing was finally approved in April 2004 to build a bridge over Park Street that would allow OnTrack to reach the
William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center, Regional Market, and
Alliance Bank Stadium. This service sees roughly 60 riders a day,
[Smith, Kristin: "OnTrack is lacking passengers in Syracuse" News 10 Now, 24 May 2004] and is used mostly by Syracuse University students. OnTrack was launched in 1994, and has experienced periods of growth and decline. As of December 2005, the Park Street Bridge has not been built. A direct link to the transportation center might profit the line as a result of passengers arriving without cars. OnTrack's already-completed platform is adjacent to
Amtrak's.
The Pyramid Companies have also proposed a
monorail linking the university to the airport via downtown, their proposed
DestiNY Resort, the transportation center, and their proposed DestiNY Technology Park. The cost of such a line has been estimated at $750 million.
Local millionaire Tom McDonald has also proposed a
aerial tramway system, called Salt City Aerial Transit (S.C.A.T.), to link the university to the transportation center using a similar route. The first segment from SU to Downtown has been estimated to cost $5 million, which McDonald plans to raise the money himself. Due to the perceived low operating costs, the system could run continuously.
Commute
According to the
2000 Census, this is how people aged 16 and over commute to work:
* 65.9% drive alone
* 13.7%
carpool* 10.1% walk
* 6.8% use public buses (CENTRO)
* 0.6% bike
* 0.2% use a
taxicab* 0.013% use elevated rail (OnTrack)
Syracuse currently ranks 50th in the United States for
high transit ridership and 12th for
most pedestrian commuters.
Rail
The city lies on
Amtrak's Empire Service,
Lake Shore Limited, and
Maple Leaf lines.
The Empire Service runs several times daily from
Niagara Falls to
New York Penn Station, with major stops in
Buffalo,
Rochester, Syracuse,
Utica, and
Albany along the way.
The Lake Shore Limited connects Syracuse to the same cities as above (except Niagara Falls), but continues westward from Buffalo to
Chicago via
Cleveland and
Toledo. This train completes one roundtrip daily.
Also completing one roundtrip a day, the Maple Leaf follows the path of the Empire Service train, but continues to
Toronto.
Amtrak's station is part of the
William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center.
Bus
Greyhound Lines and
Trailways provide long-distance bus service. Both also use the William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center in the north of the city.
Air service
Syracuse is served by the
Syracuse Hancock International Airport in nearby
Salina, near
Mattydale. The airport is served by 17 airlines (9 major), which provide non-stop flights to destinations as far away as
Dallas-Fort Worth, as well as several daily flights to other important airline hubs and business centers such as
Atlanta,
Baltimore,
Boston,
Charlotte,
Chicago,
Cincinnati,
Cleveland,
Detroit,
New York City,
Orlando,
Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh, and
Washington, DC. Six cargo carriers also serve the airport.
Roads
|
Syracuse's four interstate highways link the city with its suburbs and other cities throughout the country. |
Interstate 81 (
Ontario Highway 401 in
Canada to
Knoxville) runs north-south through Syracuse, and provides access to Canada,
Pennsylvania and points south. Its
downtown portion is extremely narrow, only consisting of four lanes and essentially no onramps. It forms a physical and psychological border between downtown and
University Hill, an issue both
Syracuse University and local politicians are trying to address.
Interstate 90 (
Seattle to
Boston), also known as the
New York State Thruway runs east-west, just north of the city. It is a
toll highway that provides access to
Rochester,
Buffalo,
Albany, and the north-south (
Interstate 87) part of the Thruway which leads to
New York City.
Interstate 690 runs east-west through the city, and provides access to Interstate 90, as well as to Syracuse's northwestern and eastern suburbs. A spur off I-690 directly west of the city,
NY-695, provides
freeway access to the southwestern suburbs. It meets Interstate 81 in downtown Syracuse in a highly-complex and incomplete intersection. Most of its routing through the city directly replaced elevated rail lines, a fact quite notable by the city's former main rail terminal, where the freeway spans the width between the terminal and its outermost platform. In 1981 artist Duke Epolito erected sculptures of "passengers" on the far platform. The piece is entitled "Waiting for a Night Train."
Interstate 481 forms an eastern loop around the city and continues to the northwest as
NY-481 to
Fulton and
Oswego, on the shore of
Lake Ontario.
U.S. Highway 11 (
Quebec route 223 in
Canada to
New Orleans) passes through Syracuse, including downtown, and it follows the route of Salina and State Streets.
U.S. Highway 20 (Boston to
Newport, Oregon) passes south of Syracuse.
|
Matthew Driscoll, 52nd Mayor of Syracuse |
|
Courthouse at Columbus Circle |
Executive
The city is headed by an elected
mayor who is limited to two four-year terms. The incumbent is former Syracuse Common Council President
Matthew Driscoll, who first assumed the position in 2001 after the former mayor,
Roy Bernardi, resigned upon his appointment by
President George W. Bush to a position in the
Department of Housing and Urban Development. After serving the remaining term, Driscoll was re-elected that year, and again in 2005.
Legislative
The legislative branch of Syracuse is the Syracuse Common Council. It consists of a president and nine members, currently:
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* Hon. Bethaida González (D) - President
* Hon. Van B. Robinson (D) - Councilor at Large
* Hon. William M. Ryan (D) - Councilor at Large
* Hon. Kathleen Joy Callahan (D) - Councilor at Large
* Hon. Stephanie A. Miner (D) - Councilor at Large
* Hon. Jeff DeFrancisco (R) - 1st District
* Hon. Patrick J. Hogan (R) - 2nd District
* Hon. Ryan McMahon (R) - 3rd District
* Hon. Thomas M. Seals (D) - 4th District
* Hon. William J. Simmons (D) - 5th District | 
