Near Westside

December 16, 2017 - 8:22pm
How the closing of a local grocery store in Syracuse highlights the need for healthy food access in low-income communities across the United States.

On a chilly, wet November afternoon, residents of Syracuse’s Near Westside wait in a vacant parking lot to receive a box a free food from the Central New York Food Bank. Murmurs in Spanish, English, and other languages fill the air as residents trickle in from one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Many of those waiting demonstrate the struggles they’ve endured. Some are missing limbs. Others lack teeth. Some make their way to the front in wheelchairs and with canes. Others shield their children from the bitter winds under blankets.

April 5, 2017 - 10:42pm
When an impoverished, run-down neighborhood in Syracuse needs improvement, who gets to decide what to do?

The Near Westside neighborhood needs a name; that’s one thing people who live and work in the area can agree on.

December 29, 2016 - 2:03pm
A Catholic church in Syracuse's Near Westside is challenging conventional religious traditions.

As Father Jim Matthews begins the 9 a.m. service at Saint Lucy’s Church near Syracuse’s Westside, all is far from quiet. Although Matthews speaks into a microphone, he can barely be heard over the sound of church members greeting old friends.

Two men say hello over a special handshake, one that has clearly been repeated over many Sundays. Another woman approaches a member of the church who is in a wheelchair, asking if he’ll need a ride home.

June 12, 2010 - 9:41pm
A look at OrangeSeeds' "Big Event" and two ongoing projects in Syracuse's Near Westside neighborhood.

Students in Syracuse University’s OrangeSeeds program chose to focus on the Westside community downtown for their annual “Big Event” on April 24, bringing a group of 150 to 200 volunteers to clean up the area and help out with a variety of projects taking place there.

June 12, 2010 - 8:09pm
SU professor Marion Wilson leads volunteers from OrangeSeeds in rethinking and shaping up a Near Westside house.

Less than a year ago Marion Wilson bought a house on the Near Westside through Syracuse University's Scholarship in Action. The house had been run down and used as a drug headquarters among some area residents.

June 12, 2010 - 7:33pm
Artists, students and volunteers combine forces to create art, vegetation out of a neglected space in downtown Syracuse.

A collection of Syracuse University students and local volunteers gathered in Lipe Art Park in April to clean up and prepare the area for gardening and art projects taking place there. Brendan Rose, a masters degree student in architecture at SU, used volunteers to mix cement for an art installation he is creating for the city. The installation is located in the center of the park and will serve as both a graffiti wall and shade canopy for the residents. 

By Amy Su
January 6, 2010 - 1:19am
As Stephanie Miner takes office, community leaders expect her to do more to address the environment and development.

For a better and greener Syracuse, people expect the new mayor Stephanie Miner to make important decisions in projects related to sustainability and the environment during her term.

“I think the character of her leadership will be very different than the past few mayors,” said Deb Warner, vice president for public policy and government relations in Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce.