Hometown News

The Southside Community Coalition met Thursday, May 5, at the New Covenant Baptist Church, 107 E. Beard Ave. to discuss with residents their vision of bringing a Food Coop to the South Side of the city. About 50 residents and members of the group listened as members of the Food Coop committee shared their plans to bring fresh produce and …

Community members and transportation officials examine I-81’s role in Syracuse Years before President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System spread across American cities and eventually through Syracuse, the city’s 15th Ward was a vibrant, diverse community. Within it were high- and low-income residents, white and black neighbors and the city’s first black dentist.

More than one hundred Syracuse University student volunteers spent Saturday, April 16, cleaning up parks, revitalizing streetscapes and restoring landmark buildings on the South Side. The project, called The Big Event, was the year-end project for SU’s OrangeSeeds organization, a leadership-training program for first-year students.

Local group works to restore church, make it a national historic place Central New York historians want to give the oldest African-American church building in Syracuse a second life — through a permanent place on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Dunbar Association serves catfish sandwiches to raise funds for after school programs The Dunbar Association, 1453 S. State St., sold catfish po-boy sandwiches with sweet potato pie to raise money for the organization’s after school programs on Friday, April 8.

Local public libraries reduce services, limit events while trying to meet people’s needs In April, the Beauchamp Branch Library, at 2111 S. Salina St., will host a series of “First Movement of the Heart: Poetry and Interpretive Dance Classes for Teens.” Jackie Warren-Moore, a local poet, and Cheryl Williams Mitchell, a dance instructor, will teach five afternoon sessions in which …

When Mary Nelson held her first anti-violence community meeting, it was a large rally of residents voicing their opinions and calling the community to action. She has since stuck to her promise of organizing meetings on the first Saturday of every month, but they’ve taken on a more organized, relaxed tone.

Air Force Airman Ryan M. Cusano graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.

Corcoran High School’s halls hummed on two successive nights last week, as local residents jammed the cafeteria to meet the final two candidates for the job of Syracuse City School Superintendent. The school board may vote as early as Wednesday, March 9, to fill the position from which Dan Lowengard will retire in June.

Dunbar Association’s archival display documents its social advocacy Though unknown to many in the Syracuse community, the Dunbar Association, Inc., 1453 S. State St., has more than 1,000 items in its archive that chronicles the rich history of African-Americans in Syracuse. The archive contains everything from newspaper clippings on the organization to letters from civil rights leaders, such as Martin …