Make City Livable
MARILYN HALLIDAY,70, of 305 Ferndale Drive, looks out the living room picture window of the house where she and her husband have lived for 42 years. Most Syracuse residents probably would scratch their heads when told there's a neighborhood called "North Valley." As City Hall defines it, it's the section that stretches south from Matson Avenue to Seneca Turnpike, between Interstate 81 and the western city limit, an area typically lumped together with the part south of Seneca and called "The Valley." Houses range from historic to almost new, and from cozy to king size.
Ferndale Drive, in the heart of the neighborhood, is a row of tidy homes and lawns. Contractors were siding one house and re-roofing another the day we knocked on Ferndale doors, asking: "What's the one thing the next mayor of Syracuse should do to improve life in the North Valley?" Here's what four neighbors told us.
Marilyn Halliday, 70, of 305 Ferndale Drive, said she couldnÂ’t think of any improvements the next mayor could make on the street where she and her husband, Joseph, have lived all their lives. "They keep things up. If we call the city for something they come up, whether itÂ’s the Water Department or the DPW," she said. "We donÂ’t feel afraid here," she added. "That could change tomorrow, but that could change anyplace."
Matt Driscoll (D): "As a former small-business person, I know the importance of customer service. I instituted performance- based government with regard to efficiency and accountability to put city services on track in a cost-effective way. We raised the bar on productivity, and the city work force showed they were up to the task. We will continue with this model."
Joanie Mahoney (R-C-Ind): "As a Valley resident like the Hallidays, I, too, am pleased by the work of our city laborer work force. As mayor, I'll continue to use the 448-CITY line to take requests, create a new way to make requests online, and also provide residents with self-addressed comment cards to improve upon our delivery."
Howie Hawkins (Green): "I would institutionalize responsive city government by empowering neighborhood assemblies in each of the 25 or so real city neighborhoods. Assembly meetings open to all neighborhood residents would elect an officer for each relevant city department to guide it in delivering services to their neighborhood."
Things generally are OK in the neighborhood, but lately
Julio Colon has been plagued by petty thefts, said Colon, 32, of 211 Ferndale Drive. "I've had my car broken into two times in the past couple of weeks, and I had a ladder stolen out of my backyard," Colon said. He said he hopes the next mayor can do something about small- time crime. "There's not much you can do about it," he conceded. "It's hard to patrol every street in the city."
Allen W. Johnson,44, of 224 Ferndale Drive, also said the neighborhood was all right, but said Ferndale Drive could use curbs. City officials cited the lack of curbs when they refused his wife's request a few years ago to put up odd/even parking signs on the street, Johnson said. He said he thinks that's also the reason why Ferndale doesn't seem to get swept or plowed as often as bigger streets.
"I don't know exactly how to put it. There are a lot of teens that run around at night," said
Carol Clancy, "a senior" at 313 Ferndale Drive. The kids on Ferndale are great, she said; it's the children from outside the area that she's talking about. "I don't know if there needs to be better supervision of what's going on," Clancy said. There seem to be ample recreation opportunities available, she said. "That, I think, is great, with parent involvement” coming along and cheering the kids on."
© 2005 The Post-Standard. Used with permission.
Posted by syracusegreens at October 24, 2005 02:57 AM