Saturday, July 16, 2011 ~ Post Standard ~ Syracuse, NY
Every time I say it, the truer it becomes: the Syracuse of today is not the Syracuse I moved to in 2004. I marvel at the positive changes that have taken place in this city since my husband and I packed up our Oakland, Calif., apartment and rolled into Syracuse seven years ago this week. We relocated here for work and were lured by the promise of “amazing things on the horizon” as Syracuse University welcomed its new chancellor, Nancy Cantor. In places like Berkeley or New York City (where I was raised), a new leader of an educational institution would hardly be news. But here in Syracuse there was a deep desire for reconnecting Syracuse University to its namesake city and, perhaps, connecting neighborhoods and people one to another.
It sounded exciting at the time. Our friends thought we were crazy — who would leave the San Francisco Bay area with its perfect weather, world-class restaurants, and endless opportunities for cultural enrichment for Syracuse? My new colleagues at Hendricks Chapel reassured me that I was coming in on the ground floor of something big. Syracuse was where Portland, Ore., was 30 years ago. And I love Portland.
The summer of 2004 found us explaining and justifying our move to everyone — including Syracusans. Looking back on it I can see why our judgment would be questioned. This was before a downtown apartment was the hottest ticket. This was before we had small neighborhood farmers’ markets selling delicious local produce, cheeses and sustainably-raised meats nearly every day of the week. This was before The Warehouse expanded our downtown view westward. This was before Syracuse became a destination for major sporting events like the half Ironman triathlon and the national women’s bowling tournament. Five years ago the idea of having your choice of artisanal, local coffee roasters on the West Side would have been laughable. Not today.
I used to worry that the changes I witnessed were just the icing on the cake. All the attention going to the aesthetics that would make Syracuse a desirable place to live for the young urban professionals or creative class that the city seemed so desperate to attract and retain — while the cake itself failed to rise. Meaning, the large and growing underclass that couldn’t get out of the cycle of poverty and inadequate education to be part of the “eds and meds” and biotechnology boom that was becoming the new foundation of our economy.
Initiatives like Say Yes to Education, targeted recruitment in underrepresented communities by University Hospital’s education and training programs, and deep investments in our poorest neighborhoods on the south and west sides give me hope. There is so much work to be done, but no one can say we’re not trying — not anymore.
In a world where the smart phone you buy today is outdated tomorrow, seven years is still an incredibly brief time to see the changes our city has undergone. The only problem with such rapid change is that now I have expectations. It is impossible for me to stroll the undulating Creek Walk through downtown and not dream about the day when an elevated interstate highway will no longer bisect our city. The Creek Walk was a long time coming too, and though it isn’t perfect or complete, it is certainly worth the wait. I hope and trust that I will be able to say the same about the Connective Corridor street improvements now under construction.
I have come to love my adopted home with no sign of the dreaded seven-year itch. And no, I don’t think it is overreaching to dream of the day when people will call Portland the Syracuse of the west. That day may be closer than we think.
By Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, Contributing writer for the Post Standard
Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows is rector of Grace Episcopal Church and Episcopal chaplain at Syracuse University. She is also the creator of the food blog, Cookin’ in the ’Cuse. She is an occasional guest columnist for The Post-Standard.
Photo by Dick Blume, Post Standard
