Residents on both side of the Thruway are joining forces to register their opposition to plans for Meyer Manor, a 108-unit apartment complex proposed for their neighborhood.

Developer Cosimo Zavaglia wants to build the complex on Marvin Meyer’s property at 1225 Tulip St., just north of the Thruway and immediately south of Donald Place. Meyer’s parcel is located within the village.

Many of his neighbors’ homes, such as those in the Johnson Tract, are located outside village limits in the town of Salina, but Tulip Street residents south of the Thruway, such as Jan Quitzau, also think the project could negatively affect their quality of life.

They worry about increased traffic, increased density and decreased safety, complicated by sewer system and environmental concerns.

Petition drive underway

Quitzau has joined with the Johnson Tract Neighborhood Group led by Peg Salvatore to pass petitions to be delivered to the village and town governments. 

“We’ve already collected more than 200 signatures from homeowners on both sides of the Thruway opposing the development and zoning change,” he said.

A director of public relations for the Syracuse-based Bousquet Holstein law firm, Quitzau’s still educating his neighbors about the proposed apartment complex. Zavaglia hopes to build four buildings of 27 units each, along with 168 parking spaces.

“There are a lot of village residents that don’t know about this development and the adverse impacts it will have on residents on Tulip Street and intersection side streets,” Quitzau said, “so our volunteers will continue to reach out and collect signatures throughout the village and make sure people are informed.”

At its March 27 meeting the village of Liverpool Planning Board heard from Zavaglia’s engineer, Steve Calocerinos, who urged the board to hasten its decision about the project. The proposed development has been on the planning board agenda since December 2015.

Tour Maple Grove

The Liverpool School Maple Grove, which covers about 11 acres near the former Wetzel Road Elementary School and Liverpool High School, is one of the most significant natural areas in Onondaga County. 

You can check it out up-close-and-personal at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 29, when Clay Historical Association and military historian Tom Howard tour the Maple Grove. The tour is free and parking is available at the former Wetzel Road Elementary School. Don’t forget to wear sensible shoes.

The Maple Grove is an old-growth forest located on the property of the Liverpool Central School District. Extensive studies of this site by Community Forester Robert Henry, CHA public relations director Cindy Redhead and others have confirmed that the Liverpool School Maple Grove is the oldest forest in Syracuse’s northern suburbs. 

“This is an old-growth climax forest with the dominant sugar maple and beech trees in the canopy reproducing,” Redhead said. “More than 200 years ago most of Central New York was covered with maple-beech forests like this.”

For more information, visit sites.google.com/site/CHA.

Communications tower opposed

A Newport Beach, Calif. company called Mobilitie, the country’s largest privately-held telecommunications infrastructure company, has proposed building a 120-foot communications tower across the street from Liverpool Public Library. The Historical Association of Greater Liverpool has already objected to its construction; the village government is expected to follow suit.

In an April 22 letter to Mobilitie’s representatives at RESCOM Environmental Corp.in Michigan, the HAGL executive board stated, “We strenuously object to the construction of such a tower at the site. The village of Liverpool, incorporated in 1830, was a port on the Erie/Oswego Canal system. The business district of the village grew in its present location to serve bustling canal traffic, and the proposed tower would stand in the middle of a fabric of structures that date from that 19th-century era.”

Such a structure would hover over village landmarks such as Maurer Funeral Home, the Cobblestone Tavern, the Gleason Mansion and the Liverpool Willow Museum.

Dates to remember

• From May 12 to 14, the Village-wide Garage Sale will be conducted over Mother’s Day Weekend. Special permits will not be needed for such sales on those days.
• Clean-Up Day at Liverpool Village Cemetery is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon, May 13, with a rain date of May 20.
  The Liverpool Willow Museum next to the Gleason Mansion will open for the season at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 3.
• The Liverpool Is The Place Summer Concert Series opens at 7 p.m. June 5 with performances at Johnson Park by student jazz ensembles from the Liverpool Central School District.
• The JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge 3.5-mile race is scheduled for 6:25 p.m. on June 6, at Onondaga Lake Park.

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