21 minute read
Eastwood Neighborhood
Working to Make Eastwood a Better Place
Developer and real estate broker Stephen Skinner making his mark in Syracuse neighborhood
By Margaret McCormick
Last year, Syracuse developer and real estate broker Stephen Skinner, a Republican, challenged Democrat Peggy Chase in the race for 9th District Onondaga County legislator. It was his first run for public office.
The 9th district is made up of several parts of Syracuse, including sections of the North Side, Eastwood, East Side and the Syracuse University area. If elected, Skinner said at the time, he would advocate for more street lighting and security cameras, speed bumps to help deter chronic speeding, and more funding for youth recreation and after-school programs, among other things.
“I believe I am the best choice to serve as the 9th district legislator, not because of what I say, but because of what I am already doing,’’ Skinner told The Post-Standard.
In the end, Chase won another term. And Skinner returned to doing what he has been doing for the last 20-plus years: working to make the Eastwood neighborhood — his home base — a better place to live, work and play.
Eastwood, dubbed “The Village Within the City,’’ is about two miles east of downtown Syracuse and bordered roughly by Teall Avenue to the west, Thompson Road to the east, Burnet Avenue–Route 690 to the south and the jagged city limits line to the north. It has more than 6,000 homes, many dating to the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, according to the Eastwood Neighborhood Association. The streets are tree-lined and walkable, and the neighborhood is home to several parks and recreation spaces.
The neighborhood has a close-knit, small-town vibe and a community spirit that residents embrace. That includes a busy business district, especially on James Street, the neighborhood’s main corridor.
Even if you haven’t spent much time in Eastwood, per se, you might have attended a show at the Palace Theatre (which Skinner owns), checked out the titles at Books End Bookshop or Books and Melodies, or attempted the “Frittata Challenge’’ at Mother’s Cupboard, a hole-in-the-wall diner that’s been featured on the Travel Channel.
Skinner is well-known in Eastwood and his roots there run deep. His grand-
Syracuse developer and real estate broker Stephen Skinner is active in several projects taking place in his Eastwood neighborhood.
RIGHT: Exterior shot of the Palace Theatre in Eastwood, which is owned by Stephen Skinner.
parents, Wesley and Charlotte Skinner, opened the original Sacred Melody store on Salina Street in Syracuse, which sold bibles, Christian books and records. The business moved to the Eastwood Plaza on James Street in the 1980s, where it remains. Stephen Skinner started working there as teenager in the 1990s.
Skinner, 43, spent much of his youth in Kirkville, where he lived with his family in what he describes as a sheltered, “faith-centered environment.’’ In 1999, after spending several years in sales and feeling “no sense of purpose and destiny,’’ he felt “called” to direct his energy to Eastwood, help erase blight and bring business back to the empty storefronts he saw there.
Over the next few years, he slowly started to renovate and expand the Eastwood Plaza and recruit other businesses, including the original Café Kubal location. He also started a lawn mowing and snowplowing business.
“From there,’’ Skinner said, “focusing on Eastwood has been what we do.’’
In 2015, Skinner established Skinner and Associates Realty, a real estate firm focused on commercial and residential properties.
“That’s when we really started to move to the next level,’’ Skinner said.
The following year, Skinner purchased the Palace Theatre, a movie house and entertainment venue operated by members of the DiBella and Heagerty families for more than 90 years.
In all, Skinner said, he has renovated hundreds of homes and helped more than 60 businesses get established in Syracuse. These include destinations like Eastwood Brewing Company, located on the back side of Eastwood Plaza; Sinbad, a Middle Eastern restaurant on James Street and Found Things Co., a plant store that started off on James Street and now occupies a renovated former garage on Collingwood Avenue.
“In essence we are their landlords,’’ Skinner explained.
Recent additions to the James Street corridor include The Curd Nerd, a boutique cheese shop; Cracked Bean Roastery, a coffee shop next to The Palace Theatre; and Marketplace on James, a consortium of vintage dealers, artists and “cottage industry businesses.’’ All are in buildings owned and renovated by Skinner.
Skinner’s real estate office is at the Midler House, 2649 James St., the former Welter-Price Funeral Home. He rents space there to several micro businesses focused on personal care, including a massage therapist.
“I get a lot of phone calls,’’ Skinner said. “People call us with a vision they have for something and from there we will help support them.’’
Skinner has his own vision for the neighborhood he, his wife, Katrina, and their four children call home. He would much rather see a candle shop or cheese shop in Eastwood than a vape shop or another convenience store and he is especially pleased to have found new tenants for two former “nuisance bars,’’ The East Room (now Sinbad) and the Tip-A-Few Tavern (Marketplace on James).
The business owner funds a weekly street clean-up crew and it’s not unusual to see him out picking up litter on Eastwood streets himself. He has advocated for pet waste stations in the neighborhood, upgrades to community parks and a James Street lighting district that would brighten the business corridor with more attractive light posts and energy-efficient lighting. To help fund some of these projects, he has formed a nonprofit organization called Growing Good Works, to which people can make donations.
Skinner isn’t without his critics in what he calls “the village.’’ His biggest project to date, which was recently approved by the city, will bring 29 upscale apartments to the former William Howard Taft School on James Street – and has spurred some talk that he is trying to gentrify the neighborhood. The building is currently occupied by American Legion Post 1276, which plans to move to the former Friendly’s restaurant building a few blocks to the east.
“I’m basically doing this out of love,’’ Skinner said of his dedication to Eastwood. “This has taken 23 years of my life. When I tell people I live and breathe Eastwood, I live and breathe it. It doesn’t consume part of me, it takes all of me.’’
Joseph Nastri, a licensed real estate broker with Keller Williams Realty who has lived in Eastwood most of his life, said it takes a village to keep the “Village Within the City’’ moving forward and making positive gains. He said
A sign indicating you’re entering Eastwood neighborhood in Syracuse. It’s dubbed “The Village Within the City.”
Eastwood has changed for the better in recent years, thanks to a corps of people who believe in it, invest in it, and dedicate their time to it (including himself and his brother, Realtor Jan Nastri).
“That’s what it takes,’’ Nastri said. “One guy can’t do it all. Steve has been great for the neighborhood. I admire him. He’s a good friend and a friendly competitor, I guess you could say. He really picked up the ball and ran with it. He’s very conscientious. He cares about what he does and who he associates with.’’
Nicole Eiffe (pronounced eaf; rhymes with leaf) is the founder of Bug, Bear & Bean, a boutique candle shop featuring hand-poured, naturally scented soy candles. She had been making the candles at home and selling them online and at a few local businesses when opportunity knocked — in the form of Stephen Skinner.
One day, Eiffe dropped off some candles at the Found Things Co. plant store. While there, store owner Sarah Hardy introduced her to Skinner. He asked Eiffe if she had plans to open a retail location.
“Eventually,’’ she told him.
A month later, she said, Skinner called to let her know he had a space open at 2721 James St., a couple doors down from Sinbad restaurant.
A year later, Eiffe said, business is good, there’s plenty of foot traffic, especially on weekends, and she’s at home in a supportive community.
“Before I had a business in Eastwood, I would shop here,’’ Eiffe said. “I would park in front of Found Things and walk around there and leave. Now there’s a coffee shop, a cheese shop, a dog-grooming business — and this is all in the last year.”
“I feel like Stephen is kind of the connection for everyone,’’ Eiffe added. “We’ve all connected in some way because of him, and we all support each other. It’s a nice camaraderie.’’
A Man of Faith, He Now Leads Forward Point Church
Stephen Skinner has always lived a faith-centered life. When the longtime Eastwood resident, developer and real estate broker isn’t consumed with the details of buying, selling, renovating and managing properties, he nourishes his spiritual side through family, community and church activities.
Skinner and his wife, Katrina, in partnership with another couple, Jimmy and Chaz-Lit Doyle, are leaders at Forward Point Church, a community of faith, hope and love that exists “to help people find purpose in Jesus.’’
Members of Forward Point gather at 10 a.m. on Sundays at the Palace Theatre in Eastwood, which Skinner owns.
Forward Point is a non-traditional church and it might be the only church in Syracuse where members and visitors can sip on espresso drinks and munch on movie theater popcorn at Sunday worship.
About 100 people show up each week, Skinner said. It’s a come-asyou-are atmosphere where everyone is welcome and connection beyond Sunday is encouraged.
“We’re a down-to-earth, modern church,’’ Skinner said. “We don’t have formal titles and we don’t have formal membership. We love our neighbors. How do we love our neighbors? By making sure everyone is welcome.’’
This summer, Forward Point is expanding its reach by opening Luv Handlz, a “weigh and pay’’ frozen yogurt shop at 2500 James St., a couple blocks from the Palace. The space is available for private events and plans call for the shop to serve crepes and bubble tea down the road.
Jimmy Doyle is the operations chairman and leader behind Luv Handlz. Skinner helped to finance the project, along with the church, and serves as vice chairman. Proceeds will benefit the church, which in turn will use it to invest in the Eastwood community by sponsoring sports teams and funding scholarships, among other things.
“Have we figured it all out yet?’’ Skinner said. “No. We believe in it. We believe in finding ways to help kids and families.’’
For more information on Forward Point Church, visit www.forwardpoint. org/home
RICHARD S. SHINEMAN FOUNDATION AT 10 YEARS
Over a decade it has evolved from a fledgling startup to become a major ‘catalyst for change’ in Oswego County.
Barbara Shineman addressing elementary school students visiting the SUNY Oswego campus. Photo provided
Longtime SUNY Oswego chemistry professor Richard “Dick” Shineman made a bequest of more than $20 million for a foundation that would broadly benefit Central New York and specifically Oswego County.
When he died in 2010, Barbara, his wife of 37 years, was determined to honor his wishes. Her background, however, was in education, not philanthropy, and she spent more than a year speaking with attorneys, consultants and advisers to understand the process of establishing a foundation and map a path forward.
Karen Goetz — who became one of the foundation’s original board members and later its executive director — remembers that when the four-person board met for the first time in January 2013 none of them knew much about charitable foundations.
“All of us on the board were new,” she said. “We all sat around the table and said ‘Wow here we are. Now what are we going to do?’”
A decade later the Richard S. Shineman Foundation has transformed from a well-intentioned idea into Oswego County’s premier philanthropic organization. It’s awarded 200 grants totaling nearly $12 million, supporting programs in areas from arts and culture, education and historic preservation, to economic development, the environment and health and human services.
The foundation also made a naming gift to SUNY Oswego in 2012: $4 million over 10 years, supplemented by a $1 million gift from Barbara, for the Richard S. Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation.
“I really think the foundation has embraced being a catalyst for change,” said Kathy Fenlon, board chairwoman. “And I look at many of the projects that we’ve funded and they simply would not have happened without the Shineman funding.”
She cited support for the Children’s Museum of Oswego and the Oswego Renaissance Association’s beautification efforts as two of many examples.
Richard Shineman grew up in Canajoharie and studied chemistry at Cornell University. He served in the Army and later earned a master’s from Syracuse University and a doctorate at Ohio State. He taught at Purdue University before being hired in 1962 to serve as the first chairman of the chemistry department at Oswego. He retired in 1988, but remained active in the community.
Barbara Palmer Shineman was also a professor at Oswego, teaching elementary education and starting the college’s former laboratory for teachers in training. Her first husband died suddenly when she was in her early 40s and she never saw herself remarrying or even dating until she and Richard Shineman met.
Richard Shineman’s wealth came from his father’s Beech-Nut baby food and chewing gum fortune. His father retired as chairman of the board in the 1950s.
Despite the wealth that came with his inheritance, Richard Shineman continued to live a relatively humble life. But he had developed philanthropic instincts early on — perhaps from his father, who was very generous in the Canajoharie area — and was supportive of charitable causes his entire life, said Jeff Rea, author of “The Shineman Legacy: The Founder Speaks.”
“He was giving to things even before he had a fortune to give,” Rea said.
Barbara Shineman shared her husband’s passion for philanthropy and was determined to honor his wishes and his memory, said Rea, who spent more than a year researching and writing the book, which chronicles the couple’s lives and the establishment of the foundation.
“After Dick’s death and a period of mourning it started to really gnaw at her that she needed to do something about this magnificent bequest,” Rea said.
Richard Shineman had provided the money — about $25 million by the time it was rolled into the foundation — and specified five or six diverse areas of interest, but the details needed to be hammered out.
Barbara Shineman began working on establishing the foundation, reached out to experts and friends and gradually brought a team together.
Goetz, who retired as the foundation’s executive director in September, remembers being shocked when Barbara Shineman asked her to be on the board. Goetz had grown up in Oswego and was friends with her daughter, Kathy. She went to their house often and had been close with Barbara Shineman for decades.
But Goetz quickly pointed out that her background was in business. She
LEFT Richard Shineman, his wife Barbara, and Kathy Palmer, daughter of Barbara Shineman.
RIGHT Shineman in a classroom at SUNY Oswego, where he was professor in the chemistry department
BOTTOM Kathy Fenlon, Shineman’s board chairwoman, Barbara Shineman and Jeff Rea, author of “The Shineman Legacy: The Founder Speaks.”
was an entrepreneur who had owned two successful startups, but knew almost nothing about philanthropy.
“And she said, ‘Karen I want you to be on the board for two reasons,’” Goetz said. “‘First, I trust you implicitly, and second, because you have experience starting and growing companies. I think that your experience will be invaluable to our startup foundation.’”
Goetz agreed to join the board and promptly gave herself a crash course in philanthropy by attending nonprofit workshops and conferences.
The foundation began accepting grant applications and announced its first round of funding in the spring of 2013. Around that time Fenlon, who was nearing retirement as executive director of the Oswego City-County Youth Bureau, was looking for help with one last long-term project. The Oswego County Nature Park at Camp Zerbe, which is operated by the youth bureau, had a rustic 1940s lodge on the property that was boarded up and in poor condition.
Fenlon spent several years trying to find money to repair and open the long-shuttered lodge. She secured $450,000 in state funding, but still needed $50,000 for the project to go forward.
“And along came the Shineman Foundation,” she said. “I was thrilled.”
Fenlon expressed an interest in the foundation’s mission. She knew a great deal about nonprofits and the needs in Oswego County. She was invited to join the foundation’s board in 2014.
The foundation’s original bequest was to benefit the five-county region of Central New York, specifically Oswego County. At the time the foundation was reviewing funding requests from across the region, Fenlon said.
“The board was really still trying to figure out what kinds of things to fund,” she said. “They were really kind of in the figuring out stage.”
The board developed a strategic plan in 2014. They’d learned that many larger foundations were not providing support in Oswego County and decided to narrow their geographic focus
“To go beyond the county would really water down the impact that we could have locally,” Fenlon said.
While the foundation’s geographic focus was narrowed, the board kept a broad focus on the types of projects and programs the foundation would support.
“Because there’s not a lot of funding coming into Oswego County we did not feel we had the luxury of picking just a few different areas that we would fund,” Goetz said.
In 2014, the executive director resigned and the board began searching for a replacement. Goetz said she became hooked on the world of nonprofits and the difference the foundation could make in the community. She also
believed her experience starting and growing businesses would be helpful. She was hired in 2014 and set about putting processes and procedures in place to run the foundation like a business.
She also spent considerable time getting to know the nonprofits and people in the community – the foundation was still new to many – and meeting with leaders of other foundations to learn how they operated.
She discovered there were great resources available to nonprofits in Syracuse, such as professional development, but Oswego County nonprofits were for the most part not taking advantage. Many nonprofits asked if the foundation could provide similar support in Oswego.
In 2018, the board was again working on its strategic plan and looking at ways it could grow its impact. Goetz shared what she’d been hearing about requests for professional development.
“We also knew that many of the organizations in Oswego County were not being run in a very business-like mode,” she said. “They wanted and needed help running more effectively and efficiently.”
The board decided it would begin developing a plan to help nonprofits with professional and organizational development.
In 2019, the foundation then kicked off its Nonprofit Education & Training (NET) program, which offers seminars and workshops for nonprofit staff and board members seeking tools for professional and organizational development. The series continued virtually through the pandemic. The events bring together representatives from several dozen organizations.
The NET program is part of an effort by the foundation to take a more proactive role in convening organizations to discuss opportunities to collaborate on strategic initiatives to improve Oswego County.
As it celebrates its 10th birthday the foundation is entering a transition period. Barbara Shineman is 94 years old and has taken a less active role, though she remains interested in the foundation’s work. The organization is also welcoming a new executive director. And term limits mean half of the board will be turning over in January.
But the foundation’s work will go ahead unimpeded. Its investment portfolio has grown to $33 million even with its philanthropic support over the last decade. And Goetz said it’s proven itself more than capable of meeting the changing needs of the community.
“I feel the foundation is poised to keep growing and evolving,” she said.
The Richard S. Shineman Foundation has transformed from a wellintentioned idea into Oswego County’s premier philanthropic organization. In its 10 years, it has awarded 200 grants totaling nearly $12 million. Organizations benefitting from the nonprofit include United Way of Oswego County and Oswego Health Foundation.
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DEMOLITION
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THE PLACE TO ADVERTISE FOR RESULTS!
CONTACT RICHARD ANNAL: 315-342-8020
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