The Stand
South Side group asks you to be involved in neighborhood’s future
Back in 1999, the city of Syracuse established Tomorrow’s Neighborhoods Today, known as TNT, to allow more public input to the elected representatives of city government. Eight Neighborhood Planning Councils were formed that corresponded to the city’s eight planning areas and were named Downtown, West Side, South Side, Valley, East Side, Eastwood, North Side and Lakefront.
The mission of TNT is to create a comprehensive process for involving all neighborhood residents, businesses and organizations in planning for their neighborhoods that identifies and builds upon community assets and helps direct the city’s resources into priority areas in the most cost-effective way.
One of the main functions of each TNT Neighborhood Planning Council is to create an asset-driven, continuous five-year plan that would include a comprehensive vision for the diverse neighborhoods within the area, five-year goals and objectives, prioritized action plans, resource requests, budgets, recommendations to operating city departments and timelines for completion. Each of the city’s operating departments takes these plans into consideration in the creation of annual and capital work plans and budgets.
Although some believe these plans just collect dust, many neighborhoods are now updating their plans and crossing things off that were accomplished as a result of their long-term planning. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for the South Side. Ours is the only neighborhoodbased planning council that does not have a five-year neighborhood plan on record.
Each community with a plan has experienced a noticeable improvement. Now it’s time for the South Side to catch up.
The Southside TNT is calling on all of its residents, property owners, business owners, area employees, neighborhood organizations, social service agencies, faith-based organizations, schools and governmental operating units to participate in the process of creating a five-year neighborhood plan.
The purpose of this document is to act as a citizen-driven neighborhood action plan. This plan will serve as an advisory document for city of Syracuse staff and elected officials in their efforts to help the citizens of the South Side achieve their community goals and to mobilize the community to take action through grassroots initiatives.
The process for the South Side TNT Five-Year Neighborhood Plan begins with the TNT South Side Neighborhood Survey, followed by three planning workshops.
The Neighborhood Survey is available through TNT’s website and will provide a sense of the neighborhood’s feelings and attitudes.
The planning workshops will analyze the conditions of the neighborhood, identify our assets and challenges and then provide goals and recommendations — followed by an action plan. These workshops are designed to bring together members of the community to assess physical, economic, social and perceptual conditions, and to create a shared vision for the entire South Side.
We invite you to join the planning process. A new TNT coordinator and a recently formed citywide planning and zoning committee has been established to support and ensure TNT sectors have the capacity and ability to uphold their duties to keep city officials informed as to the needs of the neighborhoods that make up the city.
Together we can create the neighborhood we desire and become proactive instead of reactive to what happens on the South Side.
I hope we can count on you. Things get solved if you get involved.
— Column by Camille Coakley, who is an active participant in TNT Area 3 Planning Council — South Side — and is director of Real Estate and Development at APD Solutions
Upcoming Planning Workshops Include:
- Workshop 1 — May 31: What is “working” and what is “not working” on the South Side. To RSVP, click here
- Workshop 2 — June 27: Goals and objectives for the South Side’s future
- Workshop 3 — July 25: How to achieve the desired future for the South Side
Time: Each workshop runs from 6 to 8 p.m.
Location: South Side Innovation Center, 2610 S. Salina St.
