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Rep. John Katko reflected on his tenure in public service, bipartisanship in Congress in a conversation held by the Maxwell School on Thursday. Page 3
SUNY-ESF sophomore Paul Sausville has been growing his clothing company called The Pits Vintage since its inception in 2019. Page 6
Saam Olexo developed a unique toughness after growing up the youngest of three brothers, helping him become a physical player for SU. Page 12
crime
Moving ahead An environmental impact statement from the state revealed that the community grid’s construction will take six years
SPD involved in Westcott standoff By Danny Amron and Kyle Chouinard the daily orange
The community grid plan was approved by NYSDOT in 2019 and has garnered widespread support from community leaders across the city and state. meghan hendricks photo editor
By Richard Perrins
T news editor
he community grid alternative of the Interstate 81 viaduct project will take six years to construct, according to the project’s environmental impact statement. The report, which was released on Friday, detailed the environmental and economic impact the viaduct removal and its alternatives would have on the surrounding community. The community grid was identified by the report as the “preferred alternative” for the project by the New York State Department of Transportation. The six years of construction would follow two phases, according to the statement. The first involves all work necessary to re-designate Interstate 481, which runs through Syracuse’s eastern suburbs, as I-81. The designation would mean directing traffic usually traveling along I-81 onto I-481. The two intersect in north Syracuse. The second phase involves closing segments of the eastbound Interstate 690 and using a local street detour between West Street and Crouse Avenue for the disrupted traffic. Afterwards, the phase would see I-690 reconstructed, the viaduct demolished and local streets,
including Almond Street, reconstructed into the community grid. The NYSDOT announced its approval of the community grid option to replace the viaduct in 2019. The plan has been widely endorsed by members of the community, including Mayor Ben Walsh and Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud. Gov. Kathy Hochul has also spoken in favor of the community grid. New York’s state budget, released on April 7, included $1.1 billion for the viaduct project. Local residents have also expressed their support for the return of the community that was lost with the initial construction of the viaduct. While the community grid has garnered widespread support within Syracuse, residents have been working to ensure the project doesn’t further displace people in the area, as well as to create more local hiring opportunities in the construction. The construction of I-81 in the 1950s and 1960s devastated the historical 15th Ward, a predominantly Black neighborhood. Blueprint 15 is a local nonprofit that has been collaborating with Purpose Built Communities, an organization that deals with community revitalization, to see
i-81 page 4
A man barricaded himself inside a convenience store on the 500 block of Westcott Street on Sunday night. The street has been blocked off by police, and officers with guns and shields were reportedly called to the scene. Dispatches have said that two other people were in Pop Shop and the man appeared to be armed, SPD said. Officers were huddling behind two cars as they yelled at the man to come out, syracuse.com reported. An ambulance was reportedly dispatched to the area, and helicopters have been flying overhead. Three police negotiators arrived on the scene at around 9:45 p.m., syracuse.com said. Two people left the store shortly after 10 p.m., and a SWAT team has since arrived on the scene. Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety asked students to stay away from the area at this time in a campus-wide email at around 9 p.m. At 11:04 p.m., DPS reported in a campus-wide email that SPD had taken a suspect into custody following the brief standoff, but police activity will continue in the area. According to an email from SPD at 11:29 p.m., the department responded just after 8:47 p.m. to the area of South Beech Street to reports of a suspicious person. A man was walking around waving a handgun with a woman and two dogs. When police arrived at the scene on Westcott Street, the man, along with the woman and two dogs, retreated. He then barricaded himself in the corner store, according to the email. The only other person in the store was a clerk. Officers surrounded the building and the Emergency Response Team arrived to assist. The suspect, who is a 45-yearold man, emerged from the store and was taken into custody without an incident after a little more than an hour. The weapon was later recovered and no injuries were reported, the email wrote. Sergeant Thomas Blake told The Daily Orange that the woman and the store clerk were questioned by SPD’s Criminal Investigations Division as of 12:13 a.m. news@dailyorange.com