INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 138, No. 27
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021
n
8 Pages – Free
ITHACA, NEW YORK
Asteri Ithaca Expands Affordable Housing Downtown
HANNAH ROSENBERG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Signs of the Times | Students pass renting advertisements off campus in Collegetown. By FAITH FISHER Sun Staff Writer
The recently-demolished Green Street Garage in Downtown Ithaca is getting a major upgrade. The old site will soon boast the Asteri Ithaca: a 12-story mixed development building with 217 affordable new housing units, a 55,000 square foot conference center and 350 refurbished parking spots. The three-pronged project broke ground in September and is part of a larger
rebuilding effort offered by the Green Street Garage to respond to the acute need for affordable housing and spur new growth and development in Ithaca. According to Gary Ferguson, executive director of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, Ithaca is able to add affordable housing units annually thanks to the work carried out by the Vecino Group — which is developing the building — for-profit developers and the Community Investment Incentive Tax Abatement Program. Even so, there is a severe shortage of affordable housing in the Ithaca area, especially the downtown area. “There's definitely a need for more housing at every level in Ithaca, but particularly at lower income levels,” said Alderperson Seph Murtagh (D-2nd Ward). According to Murtagh, gentrification plays a major role in the shortage of affordable housing in Ithaca. Cornell draws students from all over the world who come from very different economic brackets that compete with local residents for housing. “When somebody is coming here from more expensive housing markets, they can easily afford to outcompete somebody who is a local trying to buy a house,” Murtagh said. “That is the biggest challenge we have.” Nels Bohen, director of community development for the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency, said the need for affordable housing in Ithaca is “enormous.” Ithaca has a cost-burdened population, with a majority of renters paying 30 percent or more of their income on rent and utilities. Limited land and lack of vacant development sites in the area also makes the affordable housing issue difficult to overcome. See HOUSING page 3
Climate Justice Cornell Shifts Focus
After years campaigning for divestment, CJC takes on local policies By ANGELA BUNAY Sun Assistant News Editor
Climate Justice Cornell, a student organization focused on climate action centering social justice, has narrowed their efforts to local political and environmental activism this semester. The group is back on campus since their successful campaign for the University to divest from fossil fuels last year. Now CJC has broadened its focus to Cornell and Ithaca this semester, according to Leila Reimanis ’24, a coordinator for CJC, and Siobhan Hull ’24, a member of CJC who assists with outreach and member retention. “We are seeking to strengthen our relationships with the Cornell and Ithaca community,” Hull said. CJC, originally named KyotoNOW!, started in 2001 in response to the U.S. rejection of the Kyoto Loud voice | A Protocol, an internation- student protests al pledge to reduce emis- on December 6th, sions. According to Hull, the original student leaders 2019, urging C.U. pushed the University to to divest. participate in the protocol despite the national rejection. During the 2016-2017 school year, the organization rebranded to CJC because the Paris Climate Accords, an international treaty that aimed to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, became more recognizable to students than the Kyoto Protocol. The name change also reflected a changing climate action movement according to Julia Gonzales ’23, previous trea-
surer of the organization and a member of CJC since her freshman year. She said that feeling like part of meaningful climate action is what draws her to the organization. “Historically, certain groups have benefited from the causes of climate change more than others, and in the future, the impacts of climate change will be unevenly distributed,” Gonzales said. “We think it’s important that the needs of marginalized groups are emphasized in future climate action.” As part of their move to focusing on local politics, the group promoted an Environmental Rights Rally hosted on the Ithaca Commons by the Environmental Advocates New York, an non-profit organization that fights for environmental protections and healthy, equitable communities on Oct. 12. The rally involved a number of local activists and elected officials expressing their support for Proposition Two, a bill in the New York state legislature that would add the human right to “clean water, clean air and a healthful environment” to the New York Constitution’s Bill of Rights. “The rally increased community awareness about the existence of the proposition,” Hull said, “Wore voters will now remember to flip their ballot over in November and vote YES on proposition two.” Beyond this rally, Gonnzales said that CJC has signed onto several letters to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) regarding state climate change policies, including the Climate and Community Investment Act. Recently, it called on Hochul to adopt a Building Electrification Equity Platform, which would BORIS prioritize the investment of funds TSANG / SUN FILE PHOTO
JULIA NAGEL / SUN ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Mealtime | Students enter Okenshields dining hall Saturday to grab a bite to eat in a lower level of Willard Straight Hall.
Okenshields Opens To Mixed Reviews Post-Renovations By AIMEE EICHER Sun Contributor
After closing due to a lack of traffic last fall and merging with the Ivy Room in the spring, Okenshields has finally reopened this semester — with several promised renovations missing. The original plans for renovation included expanded seating and improved traffic flow through the dining hall. They also promised more pizza toppings and an expansive Build Your Own Bowl station, which would offer mac and cheese, risotto, chili and mashed potato bowls. Alia Piccini ’25 and Sammy Shea ’25 said that they had not seen many of the proposed new food options in the dining hall this semester. Kelly Kong ’24 wished the dining hall had implemented more options at the Build Your Own Bowl station.
See CLIMATE page 3
See DINING page 3
News
Dining
Sports
Weather
Back to the Movies
Sweet Tooth
Scoreboard Letdown
Clear And Sunny
Cornell Cinema reopens with a full slate of fresh films after a year closed to COVID. | Page 3
Halloween candies can be as controversial as they are tasty. Here is a list of the best! | Page 4
Cornell fell to Brown at home on Saturday, in a last minute touchdown loss.
| Page 8
HIGH: 63° LOW: 37º