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They have been talking about this for years. I wouldn't get my hopes up, especially considering the NYS DOT is responsible for the holdup. The state could care less about Syracuse. Mark my words: there will be no resolution! Not only is that property a blight to the entire area, it is symbolic of the local politics. I'm sure if this dilapidated property was in Albany, Buffalo, or Rochester, the DOT would do everything in their power to expedite redevelopment. An article yesterday in the Post-Standard highlighted the vacant Cinema North complex in Mattydale. The current owners and neighboring businesses have complained that the brush and weeds that the state has allowed to collect between I-81 and the property is hampering efforts to clean it up. Although I won't put blame squarely on the state as the current owners have done nothing to clean up the eyesore, the DOT's mantra that they don't have money thanks to the economy and their depleted budget is nonsense considering in relatively good economic years the state has badly neglected landscaping on Metro Syracuse roadways. Whenever I visit CNY I drive through the Albany area and am always amazed at how impeccable the local highways are maintained in the Capital District.
They have been talking about this for years. I wouldn't get my hopes up, especially considering the NYS DOT is responsible for the holdup. The state could care less about Syracuse. Mark my words: there will be no resolution! Not only is that property a blight to the entire area, it is symbolic of the local politics. I'm sure if this dilapidated property was in Albany, Buffalo, or Rochester, the DOT would do everything in their power to expedite redevelopment. An article yesterday in the Post-Standard highlighted the vacant Cinema North complex in Mattydale. The current owners and neighboring businesses have complained that the brush and weeds that the state has allowed to collect between I-81 and the property is hampering efforts to clean it up. Although I won't put blame squarely on the state as the current owners have done nothing to clean up the eyesore, the DOT's mantra that they don't have money thanks to the economy and their depleted budget is nonsense considering in relatively good economic years the state has badly neglected landscaping on Metro Syracuse roadways. Whenever I visit CNY I drive through the Albany area and am always amazed at how impeccable the local highways are maintained in the Capital District.
Lately the Post-Standard has been having people report eyesores to them. Hopefully, it will work in terms of having them dealt with properly.
I'm going to start a petition to save this historic Howard Johnson motel. We can't let so called progress destroy one of our precious old structures. New development can never recreate the past. LOL. Just kidding
This is great news!
RollsRoyce, you are so right. If this was Rochester or Albany, the State would act in a timely manner. The fact that the DOT refuses to trim the overgrown weeds along Interstate 81 doesn't surprise me one bit. Syracuse has been treated like a red headed step child by New York State for at least the last 15 years. Always ignored, overlooked, and forgotten.
The Cinema North complex in Mattydale is a disgrace. A hotel should have been built on that property years ago. Outsider developers must not understand the Syracuse market at all.
Lately the Post-Standard has been having people report eyesores to them. Hopefully, it will work in terms of having them dealt with properly.
They did the "Clean Sweep" series a couple of years ago and then discontinued it probably because it occupied too much newsprint. I'm glad they have reinstated this feature, particularly in light of recent cutbacks to newspaper coverage and pages dedicated to local news. A couple months back when Syracuse.com requested Clean Sweep story ideas, I suggested the Steak and Sundae Building in Eastwood, the former Howard Johnsons on Carrier Circle, and the former Cinema North in Mattydale. Ironically all of the ones I suggested were subsequently covered. All three of these eyesores are major blemishes to the communities in which they are located. Unfortunately they are also highly visible to outsiders and local residents. According to the story on WSYR-TV last night Officials working to get rid of Carrier Circle eyesore - NewsChannel 9 WSYR it appears some progress has been made.
The Cinema North complex in Mattydale is a disgrace. A hotel should have been built on that property years ago. Outsider developers must not understand the Syracuse market at all.
The biggest problem with the Cinema North complex and the whole plaza in general is the awkward accesses to that part of the plaza. Heck, with the exception of light poles and potholes, that whole parking lot is pretty much a free-for-all. In order to put a hotel back there, something'd have to get done about that.
[quote=bellafinzi;8176875]I'm going to start a petition to save this historic Howard Johnson motel. We can't let so called progress destroy one of our precious old structures. New development can never recreate the past. LOL. Just kidding
I'm sure Sean Kirst or Dick Case will beat you to it on the historic nature of the Cinema North theater. Sean will probably go on a diatribe on how the Cinema North was his first experience with CNY when he moved here from dumpy Niagara Falls 25 years ago. Dick Case will mention the 1970s popcorn machine which may still be in the building was a relic made in beautiful Flint, MI by a distant relative. SU will send a team of their esteemed professors representing a multitude of disciplines to determine the history behind the graffiti and see if it reflected any social, religious, or political grievances. All information obtained from this fact finding mission will be covered extensively in the Post-Standard and a cogent argument will be formulated by none other than Stephanie Miner to keep this amazing piece of industrial trash preserved. Even though the property is outside the city limits in the town of Salina, Ms. Miner Kennedy will use her magic powers to seize this property through eminent domain and add it the City of Syracuse's suburban property roster which also includes Hancock Airport.
I'm going to start a petition to save this historic Howard Johnson motel. We can't let so called progress destroy one of our precious old structures. New development can never recreate the past. LOL. Just kidding
I'm sure Sean Kirst or Dick Case will beat you to it on the historic nature of the Cinema North theater. Sean will probably go on a diatribe on how the Cinema North was his first experience with CNY when he moved here from dumpy Niagara Falls 25 years ago. Dick Case will mention the 1970s popcorn machine which may still be in the building was a relic made in beautiful Flint, MI by a distant relative. SU will send a team of their esteemed professors representing a multitude of disciplines to determine the history behind the graffiti and see if it reflected any social, religious, or political grievances. All information obtained from this fact finding mission will be covered extensively in the Post-Standard and a cogent argument will be formulated by none other than Stephanie Miner to keep this amazing piece of industrial trash preserved. Even though the property is outside the city limits in the town of Salina, Ms. Miner Kennedy will use her magic powers to seize this property through eminent domain and add it the City of Syracuse's suburban property roster which also includes Hancock Airport.
LOL!
I'm all for saving significantly important historic buildings, but sometimes it goes too far. Rather than wanting the best for the Syracuse area, it seems like most people around here hold on to the status quo without regard to the consequences.
The Cinema North complex in Mattydale is a disgrace. A hotel should have been built on that property years ago. Outsider developers must not understand the Syracuse market at all.
The problem with putting an airport there is the only people it could really market itself to is the traveler with its close proximity to the airport, and the airport doesnt have enough traffic to garner another hotel. Not saying its not accessible to the city but its too far removed from the city to establish itself for the NCAA, convention, etc markets
But I agree, that eyesore really must go. Thats one of the first things the wife and I noticed when we first moved back here while driving on 81
Regarding the Carrier Circle eyesore, according to the website of extended stay hotel chain Country Inn & Suites, a "Syracuse East" location at 6527 Thompson Road is scheduled to open in June 2009. Interestingly enough, this is the same address of the vacant HoJo's. Given that we are now in April, it's doubtful that demolition and construction of this new property would be completed in time. This is a respectable hotel chain and would certainly be a major improvement from what occupies the area now. If this development fails to materialize because of the DOT's multi-year feud with the developer and the town of DeWitt's obstructionist mentality, all parties should be exposed by the media for their incompetence. I can only imagine the reaction from thousands of out-of-town fans coming to Syracuse next year for the NCAA regionals that have the good fortune of driving through the Carrier Circle area.
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Just kidding 
