EASTERN SUBURBS – The proposal for a waterfront aquarium at Syracuse’s Inner Harbor won narrow approval on Aug. 2, with a split of opinion among the Onondaga County legislators representing DeWitt and Manlius.
Projected to contain 600,000 combined gallons of freshwater and saltwater across 80,000 square feet, the new facility endorsed by a 9-8 majority is also expected to feature outdoor exhibits and event seating as well as an open-space cafe.
During the decisive Tuesday session, 16th District rep Charles Garland was the only Democrat to vote “yes” on the project. His backing was propelled by an agreement with County Executive Ryan McMahon to, in return, put $4.5 million toward affordable living on the South Side of Syracuse as part of a $10 million county-wide housing measure meant to use up several dozen vacant parcels. The incentive would also tie in money for the Restore New York Communities Initiative alongside assurance for a $1 million Main Street grant to help the South Side, the creation of a module in partnership with local contractors to provide city school district graduates with jobs in lead abatement, and the guarantee to bring in minority and veteran workers for jobs at the aquarium.
“This was never selling out,” said Garland, who ran his thought process by an advisory board comprised of community members. “I don’t make decisions in a vacuum…this is politics, which is all about compromise and negotiating.”
That pact didn’t sit well with Mary Kuhn, a fellow Democratic member of the legislature who believes that list of actions should have been undertaken independent of Garland’s green light.
“For a project of this magnitude to have that slim a margin and to have essentially bought a vote from a Democrat because of the district that he represents, I really think that’s unconscionable,” said Kuhn, who oversees the 7th District and within that a large portion of the Town of DeWitt.
She explained that she was at first indifferent to the aquarium concept but that her opposition grew and remained steady after hearing from local citizens and evaluating the specific plans laid out in the October 2021 feasibility study.
“I’m perplexed that the county executive continued to push on this,” Kuhn said. “It’s gonna be really interesting in the next year or so to see how much of what was promised will actually be delivered.”
She said she also opposes the handing over of responsibility to county taxpayers for the aquarium’s construction and ongoing maintenance without the support of private investment or state funding.
Linda Ervin, who serves the southwestern part of the Town of DeWitt as legislator for the 17th District, bemoaned what she perceived as a lack of transparency surrounding the planned municipally owned aquarium, which is set to be covered by an $85 million cash deal.
“I was saddened that it got approved because I don’t think we have enough information to make it suitable for what the public wants,” Ervin said.
In voting against the proposal, she said the surplus cash would be better spent on programs for seniors, upgrades to aging infrastructure and healthcare, while Kuhn suggested alternatives like botanical gardens.
District 10 Representative Mark Olson agreed that there should be a greater focus on social services, but he said such concerns as poverty, crime and lead pipes are also problems of the city, the state and the federal government, adding that the City of Syracuse received $123 million in American Rescue Plan funding last year—$34 million more than the package for Onondaga County.
“If we truly want to solve these issues, we need to share in the problem and stop blaming each other,” said Olson, also the mayor of Fayetteville.
Right up until the day of the aquarium vote, Olson was undecided, having chosen not to make any certainties until he gathered answers to his questions, fully weighed the pros and cons, and spoke to every constituent he could. Still, he relied on a personal tenet that those against a project will always be more vocal than those who favor it.
“It took me a while to make my decision because I just wanted to make sure that the data was sound, that this would work and that this will benefit the public,” he said. “At the end of the day, I think this is going to be a win for the county, a win for the city and a win for the residents.”
Olson said he feels confident that the building of the aquarium will both spur the announcement of more development projects and transform the area around the Inner Harbor into a bigger economic driver.
With aquariums already operating in Niagara Falls, Toronto and Schenectady and another potentially coming to Rochester, Ervin and Kuhn expressed skepticism about the estimation in the report assembled by ConsultEcon, Inc. with Behan Planning and Design that the Inner Harbor aquarium would sustain a mid-range yearly attendance level of 490,000 people, an amount predicted to be evenly divided between tourists and in-town residents. Olson said, however, that a few of those aquariums are known for being overly crowded, so much so that people would be inclined to seek out separate but similar destinations.
Now that the Inner Harbor attraction has been approved, Ervin said she hopes it will stick to its intended function as a science, research and educational facility while avoiding a reputation as a financial burden.
The ticket prices for the Syracuse aquarium are currently determined to be $21.95 for adults and $16 for children, but the establishment of a capital fund is in the works to allow a less expensive avenue of admittance for low-income visitors, seniors, military personnel and students on field trips.