Miner appoints former Syracuse Orange player Lazarus Sims as new parks commissioner

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner has appointed Lazarus Sims as the new commissioner of the city’s department of parks, recreation, and youth programs.

Sims, who begins in his new role on Monday, replaces Baye Muhammad who is leaving to take a position with the City of Rochester.

 “I am pleased to welcome Lazarus Sims to my administration. He has had a long career of making a difference in the lives of young people and I am glad he is able to continue his service with the City of Syracuse,” Miner said in a news release. “Through coaching and working with students in the Syracuse City School District, Lazarus has the vision needed to help improve the lives of young people in the City of Syracuse and I am excited to watch him turn that vision into a reality in our parks department.”

Sims currently serves as a support specialist for the promise-zone program at the McKinley-Brighton Elementary School.

Sims, a graduate of Henninger High School, was the starting point guard on the Syracuse University (SU) men’s basketball team that made it all the way to the 1996 national championship game, before losing to Kentucky.

He later served as director of player development for the Orange men’s basketball program from 2007 and 2011. Sims also previously was an assistant men’s basketball coach at Binghamton University.

“I am so excited to be a part of Mayor Miner’s vision of improving and maintaining our beloved City of Syracuse. I am a product of [the] Syracuse City School [District] and the parks and recreation system and there is no greater honor to be able to help and improve lives in Syracuse, as it has helped and molded me,” Sims said in the news release.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com