Hometown News

Community members rally to overcome challenges as the Dunbar Center loses funding Adalsa Latty points out the window of his ground-floor office at the Dunbar Center. A snow-speckled South State Street outside is cracked and rundown, cutting through a struggling neighborhood. He drops his hands in despair. He sighs with the force of someone exhausted after a long battle.

Latest Community Forum on Youth Violence Addresses Small Crowd The enduring question of how to find solutions to Syracuse’s social problems dominated a three-hour discussion by members of Mary Nelson’s Parent Teen Community Support Group meeting at Nottingham High School Saturday, Feb. 5.

South Side youth say they’re unfairly judged; police are looking for trust, cooperation in city Tyquan Cannon and his brother, Tyrell, say they were walking from their YouthBuild orientation — their books under their arms — when they found themselves thrown against the side of a car by two detectives from the Syracuse Police Department. “Personally, I think it was …

After four years of hard work and the collaboration of multiple organizations including the South Side Initiative, the South Side Communication Center opened its doors Wednesday, Jan. 26, afternoon. Four years ago, 2331 South Salina St. was a vacant residential building. Today, it is a crisp, remodeled structure with wood floors and windows that let in plenty of natural light. …

Story and photos by Olivia Harrison There was nothing but good times, happiness, and feelings of pure fabulousness to be held at Payton Memorial Church during the Miss Payton Memorial Temple Pageant held Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010 in the church located on Midland Avenue. Three beautiful young ladies participated in the event, and all three were well deserving of the …

Each Christmas season, Tony Wade uses donations, annual “Bowl-a-thon” to help families in need When postal officer Tony Wade ventures out into his neighborhoods in mid-December, he might not always be delivering mail, and he might not always be recognizable. That’s because once a year, the 33-year veteran of the United States Postal Service trades his uniform for a different …

Fiery String of Speakers Advocates for Changes In Their Communities Derrick Thomas, 22, stood on the shadowy stage in The Gravity on Pearl Street, and told the adult community members in the room, “You are the parents; make your kids listen.”

The Syracuse Housing Authority aims to increase homeownership with 50 new homes This upcoming spring, the Syracuse Housing Authority will begin yearlong construction of 50 homes for low-income families on the South Side. The program aims to increase homeownership in the city while also filling its many vacant lots.

Chief of Police Frank Fowler arrived at City Hall Monday, Nov. 15, night armed with numbers, statistics, and the results of his own racial profiling study to construct a passionate defense of his police department from accusations of racial profiling. Nearly 50 members from the community, Syracuse Police Department and the Syracuse Common Council gathered to hear researchers present their …

Urban Renewal Agency looks for residents to revitalize empty houses Sometimes having no neighbors makes for the worst kind of neighbors. That’s the case for Khreltz Vest, who lives a couple of blocks east of McKinley-Brighton Elementary School on Pleasant Avenue with her husband, three children and dogs. Both houses next to her home are vacant.