December 29, 2009 - 12:50am
This traditionally Irish pocket of Syracuse hosts more than a few pubs.

You don't have to cross the pond to get a taste of Ireland's green pastures.

Syracuse's own Tipperary Hill hosts a surplus of Irish pride mixed with a multicultural flare that is uniquely American. From Cashel House, an Irish imports store, to a pizzeria owned and operated by a man whose grandparents haled from Austria and Poland, Tipp Hill's private businesses add to its old-world charm.

December 26, 2009 - 4:28am
Although the Syracuse neighborhood is far less Italian than longtime locals remember, banners throughout the district carry the distinctive name.

When Antoinette DiScenna started working in the North side of Syracuse 50 years ago, the neighborhood was full of Italian immigrants.


They lived in the area surrounding St. Joseph's Hospital, worked at  Learbury Suits, Nettleton Shoes, and other North side factories, shopped in the cafes, bakeries, fuit vendors, shoemakers and grocery stores of North Salina Street, and worshipped at Our Lady of Pompeii Church.

December 11, 2009 - 9:37am
Rabbi Rapoport of the SU Chabad House teaches students how to balance college and religion.

If you've ever seen a man with a bushy beard walking around campus with a big plant and something that looks like a lemon, chances are it was Rabbi Yaakov Rapoport.

During Sukkot (a Jewish holiday in the fall), the Rabbi tries to get SU students to go into the sukkah (a temporary hut constructed to celebrate the harvest) and recite prayers with the lulav (plant) and the etrog (lemon).

Rabbi Rapoport, of the Chabad House, helps students relate to their Judaism in the whirlwind of college life.

November 4, 2009 - 1:06am
The first-ever woman mayor collects 50 percent of the vote to top two competitors.

For Syracuse mayor-elect Stephanie Miner, Tuesday night was one dreams are made of.

"To all of you who convince girls to believe in themselves and believe in their dreams, I want to tell you that you have somebody who has profound thanks for that,”  Miner told a crowd of of supporters in her victory speech.

Miner won 50 percent of the vote, becoming the first woman mayor of the city.

September 25, 2009 - 2:30pm
With rules varying by state, city and county, Syracuse area tattoo artists say they're ready for more stringent regulation of their industry.

The waiting room at Scarab Body Arts looks more like a doctor’s office than a tattoo and piercing studio – comfortable chairs stand between white walls decorated with tasteful wrought iron and tribal artwork.


That’s until you see the framed poster of a topless woman behind a case filled with gleaming studs, and John Joyce greets you with a smile accented by black nostril plugs and a small ring through his septum.

September 13, 2009 - 8:45pm
Hundreds flock to annual Westcott fair for its usual mix of live music, performances, crafts and great food.

Despite an overcast sky and a bit of rain, hundreds of Westcott area neighbors came out for the 18th annual Westcott Street Cultural Fair.

 

July 28, 2009 - 9:57am
The number of vacant houses in Syracuse continues to grow, despite falling prices and concerned community organizations.

Gangs. Drug dealers. Litter. These are some of the problems Carolyn Evans-Dean has dealt with, living in a neighborhood packed with vacant houses, she said.

“These are neighborhoods that have pretty much been abandoned,” Evans-Dean said. “They’ve been left to undesirables. Nobody has been policing these areas and they are places where people have just let things slide.”

July 27, 2009 - 1:24pm
Residents strive to maintain Thornden and Westminster parks as vital green spaces for SU's neighboring communities.

With her infant daughter in tow, Miranda Hine would walk the few blocks from her home on Maryland Avenue to Thornden Park in the early 1980s.

"It was after four or five months that I was talking to a friend and she said, 'You don't go into the park alone do you?' " Hine said. "And those are a lot of the conversations that you would have with people. 'You wouldn't as a female go into that park alone?' they'd say, and I have been, for the past 30 years, and it's absolutely fine. "

June 22, 2009 - 10:55pm
The downturn in the economy has challenged houses of faith in Central New York.

Pastor Mark Ferry of West Genesee Hills Baptist Church in Camillus, N.Y., discusses how the economic decline has affected his congregation, the church activities, and the distribution of donated money. The church remains one of only a few in their area that can still afford to pay and keep a pastor.

“We actually ended behind budget $19,000 this year,” said Ferry. “We actually cut $17,000 out of the budget last year, so to see us $19,000 behind this year is significant.”

June 18, 2009 - 3:37pm
Endicott, N.Y., is now a "toxic plume" after the old IBM plant spilled toxic chemicals into the ground in the 1970s.

Mark Bacon of Endicott lives at Ground Zero.

He lives across the street from IBM's former plant on North Street in Endicott, N.Y., a facility that during its manufacturing processes spilled toxic chemicals into the ground in the 1970s.

Years later, the vapors rising from the trichloroethylene (TCE) polluted grounds are allegedly making residents of the town sick.

It's also partly to blame for the town's economic decline.