Syracuse Is Planning Its Future - Be Part of It
I joined the Syracuse Comprehensive Plan 2050 committee last month, and I want to be honest: I walked into that first meeting as someone who loves this city deeply but has never called himself an urban planner. What I found was a process that genuinely needs people exactly like that - neighbors who notice things, who have opinions about what's missing, and who want to see Syracuse grow in a way that actually works for everyone who lives here - including the LGBTQIA+ community.
The city is now taking that process to the public. Mayor Owens has announced four in-person public meetings this summer, starting this week, and I want to make sure our community shows up.
The meetings:
Thursday, June 25 | Petit Branch Library, 105 Victoria Pl (tonight, 5:30–6:30pm)
Tuesday, June 30 | Northeast Community Center, 716 Hawley Ave (5:30–6:30pm)
Thursday, July 9 | Hazard Branch Library, 1620 W Genesee St (5:30–6:30pm)
Tuesday, July 14 | Southwest Community Center, 401 South Ave (5:30–6:30pm)
You can also take the survey and learn more at syr.gov/Comprehensive-Plan.
Why does this matter?
The Comprehensive Plan 2050 is the city's long-range roadmap, covering land use, housing, transportation, equity, arts, sustainability, and quality of life. It's the document that shapes what gets built, where it gets built, and who it gets built for. Plans like this tend to reflect the voices that show up. I'd like our community's voices to be in that room.
From my seat on the committee, a few things are already on my mind:
The I-81 redevelopment corridor is one of the biggest planning opportunities Syracuse has seen in generations. That reclaimed land could become something genuinely great: walkable, mixed-use, connected to neighborhoods that the highway isolated for decades. It could also become the next Erie Boulevard, if we're not deliberate about it. I don't want to see that happen.
Downtown needs more people living in it - not just visiting. That means more housing options at market rate alongside the affordable units we already have, and the kind of everyday retail (a pharmacy, a grocery option, places to grab coffee on a late Tuesday afternoon) that signals to someone: this is a real neighborhood, not just a destination.
And with Micron bringing thousands of jobs to our region, the city has a narrow window to position itself as a place those workers actually want to live. That means investing in arts, culture, and nightlife as seriously as we invest in infrastructure. These are not amenities. They are economic strategy.
As someone who has spent years building community for LGBTQ+ folks in CNY, I also know there are populations whose specific needs rarely make it into planning documents unless someone advocates for them explicitly. I'm going to keep doing that. But I need more voices in the room alongside me.
If you've ever had a thought that started with "why doesn't Syracuse have..." then this is where you say it out loud, and have it count. Come out tonight if you can, or make it to one of the later meetings. The plan is only as good as the people who helped shape it.