By Ashley M. Casey
Associate Editor
The gymnasium at St. Matthew’s School in East Syracuse was packed to capacity Feb. 9 for Congressman John Katko’s town hall meeting to gather public input on a replacement plan for the aging Interstate 81.
While the congressman has not yet stated a preference for a solution for I-81, he assured his constituents that the issue is a priority for him, and said it was the reason he wanted to join the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Katko said he is waiting for the state Department of Transportation’s draft environmental impact statement (DEIS), which will lay out the options for replacing 1.2 miles of highway through the city of Syracuse.
That report will also detail the cost of each proposal, which already have been estimated at $1.7 billion to replace the existing viaduct, $1.3 billion for a street-level community grid that would disperse traffic through city streets and $3.6 billion for a tunnel.
“The cost obviously is very important, but the vast majority of the cost will be funded by the federal government. Money should not be the only factor,” Katko said.
Securing that funding could be difficult, as Katko noted that Upstate New York only gets “table scraps” of highway funding allotted to New York State. The federal Highway Trust Fund provided the state with $1.8 billion between 2016 and 2018, and another $1.8 billion for 2019 and 2020. Between 2016 and 2020, the greater Syracuse area’s share of that funding is only about $277 million.
Despite that, Katko noted that New York is spending $8 billion on renovations to LaGuardia Airport in New York City and $13 billion for John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Katko, who often touts his record of bipartisanship, said he was optimistic about working with House Democrats to secure funding for I-81.
“Now that the Democrats are back in charge of Congress, we have a better chance of getting an infrastructure bill uphill,” he said. When the crowd applauded, he added, “I hope you’re clapping for the bill and not just the Democrats.”
Poverty and public transportation
Katko said his objectives for the forum were to hear his constituents’ points of view and also for citizens to hear each other’s perspectives. When members of the audience booed him and some of the citizens speaking, Katko admonished them to keep a civil tone.
One such moment came when Katko said he was familiar with the area of Syracuse that had been cleaved in half by the highway’s construction “because [he] prosecuted all the gangs there.” Community activists say 81 destroyed the vibrant, diverse neighborhood of the 15th Ward, leaving in its wake poverty and violence. In 2015, Rutgers University determined Syracuse is the U.S. city with the highest concentration of minorities in poverty.
Jackie Lasonde, who lives on South Salina Street in the city, said Syracuse still has not recovered from the economic damage caused by the construction of 81.
“[Interstate] 81 is in my backyard,” she said. “We don’t even have a supermarket. It’s almost a tale of two cities.”
Katko urged citizens to come to a consensus on I-81, warning that if NYSDOT and New Yorkers could not choose a solution, Gov. Andrew Cuomo would.
“The governor could easily say, ‘You guys can’t come to a consensus? Here’s what we’re going to do: fix what we have,’” Katko said, eliciting boos.
Yusuf Abdul-Qadir, director of the Central New York chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the idea of a consensus on 81 is disingenuous because while the state DOT is required to accept comments from the public, it does not have to base its decision on whether the public agrees on a certain solution.
Abdul-Qadir also said planners should seek to mitigate the economic and social damage caused by the original footprint of I-81. He recognized that suburban residents were concerned about increased pollution on Route 481 or in their neighborhoods, but he reminded them, “Pollution affects people with 81 in their backyard most directly.”
Missing from the I-81 conversation, Abdul-Qadir added, is a discussion about public transportation.
“We are in the 21st century. We are going into an industrial revolution where transportation won’t look the same,” he said.
Road construction and development should bring jobs, but the people who need those jobs might not even have cars to get there.
“They don’t have access to transportation to get them to where the jobs are,” he said. “There hasn’t been conversation about multiple traffic options, especially public transportation.”
Katko noted that 20 percent of federal highway funding goes to mass transit.
Grid, viaduct or tunnel?
Speakers at the forum were split somewhat evenly between community grid proponents and opponents, the latter of whom tended to favor the tunnel option.
Comments from community grid supporters included:
• Andy Major, a local environmental activist, said whatever option the state chooses to repair I-81 cannot undo the wounds of the past, but it would be “a starting point for a discussion to heal” the problems in the city.
• Olivia Green, director of water programs at Atlantic States Legal Foundation, called the viaduct a “big concrete umbrella” that overshadows the city and contributes to environmental issues. She said contaminated water runs over the highway into Syracuse’s waterways, causing flooding in Onondaga Creek during heavy rains. She suggested a community grid framed by greenery would beautify the area and help filter pollution.
• Cheryl Matt, Fayetteville resident, said she grew up in the city and was a little child when I-81 was built. “It’s ruined the city,” she said. Matt advocated for the community grid because 88 percent of drivers who use I-81 through Syracuse get off within the city, while only 12 percent of drivers account for through traffic. She said it makes more sense for through traffic to re-route to Route 481, which will need improvements to accommodate increased traffic.
• Syracuse Common Councilor Joe Driscoll said he supported the community grid proposal and noted that there have been few details about a tunnel plan.
“It seems strange that we were talking about the tunnel with the grid on top, but we haven’t seen anything,” he said. “Why are we still talking about a tunnel/grid option when there’s been no plan?
Speaking in favor of a tunnel, or hybrid option with a community grid built on top of a tunnel, were:
• Damian Ulatowski, Clay town supervisor, said a hybrid tunnel/grid could alleviate traffic problems and help repair the community in I-81’s footprint. “If 81 did indeed alienate populations of our city, I say take that viaduct down,” he said. “We have a chance now to do it right.”
Ulatowski said a tunnel would allow the 70,000 to 80,000 commuters that use I-81 each day to “go where they’re going as expeditiously as possible” and a hybrid option “respects all of us and disenfranchises none of us.”
Of the community grid option, Ulatowski said, “I have never seen an interstate with intersections on it.”
• Ann Marie Taliercio, president of the Central New York Area Labor Federation, said the CNY Labor Federation supports the hybrid tunnel option. Taliercio also said area first responders are against the community grid because it would add to response time in emergencies,
“It’s very little to ask the community to drive 7 or 8 minutes, but when you’re the one having the heart attack, it’s not very little,” she said.
Among the viaduct supporters were:
• Pam Dooling, DeWitt resident, warned that the I-81-Route 481 interchange is a dangerous “wind tunnel” and expressed concern about pollution drifting into the suburbs.
• David Appleton, Northside city resident, did not speak at the forum but displayed an array of signs with newspaper clippings and pro-viaduct messages. He said the community grid coalition is funded by builders who stand to profit from development opportunities and that people who use I-81 to travel to and from areas outside the city are being ignored.
“They can drive through my neighborhood to get to their jobs in the city. Why can’t I drive through the city to get where I’m going?” he said.
• Charles Johnson, a local veteran whom Katko introduced by name, said he worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He said he is concerned ground conditions and the aquifer and doubted the area would be suitable for a tunnel. He said existing traffic is too heavy for a community grid to support.
“I know there has to be some changes made, but I really think we should stick with what we have with the viaduct over the city of Syracuse,” Johnson said.
What’s next?
Katko has not yet taken a position on the solution for I-81. He said he is waiting for the NYSDOT report so he can “compare apples to apples” for the three major options.
After the forum, Driscoll spoke in support of the community grid with the group Syracuse Suburbs for the Grid. “It is not a city versus the suburbs thing. We all want to see the most responsible option: environmentally responsible, traffic-responsible,” he said.
Coran Klaver, founder of Syracuse Suburbs for the Grid, urged residents to make their opinions known. Once the NYSDOT releases the draft environmental impact statement, the public will have 45 days to comment. (For more information, visit dot.ny.gov/i81opportunities/environmental.)
“These are not Facebook comments. These are state DOT comments and letters to the editor. By law, they have to respond,” Klaver said.
Syracuse resident Jackie Lasonde also voiced her reservations about a tunnel option. She said she is from New York City, where traffic tunnels are often congested and require constant upkeep.
Abdul-Qadir shared Lasonde’s concerns about a tunnel. He, too, is from New York City.
“The reason why there’s traffic is the tunnel. When you can’t get into a tunnel, you can’t leave,” he said.
Regardless of what state officials decide, Katko reminded them, the Federal Highway Administration must sign off on the plan.
“This is going to be transformative no matter what we do,” Katko said.
