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OnaJava Coffee & Soul Café holds soft opening in long-vacant South Salina Street building
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — OnaJava Coffee & Soul Café held a soft-opening event on Friday in the redeveloped former Sumner Hunt building at 1555 S. Salina St. in Syracuse at the intersection with East Kennedy Street. The event represented a “revival” of the original OnaJava on the city’s South side 20 years ago. It “will be […]
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — OnaJava Coffee & Soul Café held a soft-opening event on Friday in the redeveloped former Sumner Hunt building at 1555 S. Salina St. in Syracuse at the intersection with East Kennedy Street.
The event represented a “revival” of the original OnaJava on the city’s South side 20 years ago. It “will be a space focused on building community through food, coffee, music, poetry, and art,” the City of Syracuse said in its advisory about the Friday event.
The coffee house will begin operations serving breakfast, lunch, and coffee in mid-August, per a Home HeadQuarters Inc. announcement about the OnaJava project.
Home HeadQuarters developed the mixed-use property into new affordable apartments on the upper level. It also selected owner and neighborhood resident Reggie Pickard to occupy the updated commercial space on the main level with OnaJava.
“We were so captivated by his vision for this building,” Kerry Quaglia, founder and CEO of Home HeadQuarters, said in his remarks at Friday’s event.
The OnaJava coffee house is part of Home HeadQuarters’ effort in redeveloping the 1,600-square-foot property that also includes two 3-bedroom apartments on the second level. The City of Syracuse, Empire State Development, and the Allyn Family Foundation provided funding for the project.
The coffee-house project has a total value of more than $225,000, per the City of Syracuse website. The city also awarded the initiative $50,000 in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Pickard grew up around coffee, food service, and entertainment. His mother owned a restaurant in Syracuse in the early 1990s. Before that, his family managed entertainment at the Pan American Village at the New York State Fair. He also operated the original OnaJava Coffee & Soul Café on the city’s Southwest side 20 years ago, per the Home HeadQuarters announcement about OnaJava.
“My heart goes out to everyone that’s here today. The spirit is great. I just love it,” Pickard said in addressing the gathering at the Friday soft opening.
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Onondaga County awards Miss Prissy’s $100K grant for Syracuse restaurant renovation
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Onondaga County has awarded Miss Prissy’s a grant of $100,000 to help renovate its first stand-alone restaurant at 431 S. Warren St. in Syracuse. Miss Prissy’s, an original vendor at the Salt City Market, specializes in Southern soul food, including sassy shrimp and mac-n-cheese. Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced the grant
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Onondaga County has awarded Miss Prissy’s a grant of $100,000 to help renovate its first stand-alone restaurant at 431 S. Warren St. in Syracuse.
Miss Prissy’s, an original vendor at the Salt City Market, specializes in Southern soul food, including sassy shrimp and mac-n-cheese.
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced the grant during a noon-hour event inside the restaurant space on Thursday. The funding is part of the county’s Hospitality Support initiative.
In his remarks, McMahon told the gathering that the renovation work will begin Aug. 5, and Jennifer Mullane of Redev CNY will serve as the general contractor on the project. Dwyer Architectural handled the design work on the project.
Miss Prissy’s hopes to begin serving customers in the South Warren Street space in November, McMahon added.
The new home for Miss Prissy’s will include more than 3,000 square feet with table and bar seating for about 70 guests and a meeting room.
In speaking with reporters after the ceremony, Dreamer Glen, co-owner of Miss Prissy’s, said the restaurant had to vacate the Salt City Market because it needed more space.
“We’ve been working hand-in-hand with the City and the County, and the community has been very supportive, which led us to this place,” Glen said. “The permitting process and the road to get here was long but here we are, and I’m super excited to be able to bring Miss Prissy’s to downtown Syracuse.”
Miss Prissy’s co-owner Cyrus Thornton also spoke and introduced the speakers at the announcement, including McMahon and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh.
Trail and boardwalk project complete in the Nelson Swamp Unique Area in Madison County
NELSON, N.Y. — Crews have completed work on the half-mile Chittenango Creek boardwalk accessible-trail project through Nelson Swamp Unique Area in Madison County. The trail and boardwalk “meander through a mosaic of low-lying wet meadows, deciduous woods, dark groves of cedar and pine,” and the upper portion of Chittenango Creek as it winds toward Lake
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NELSON, N.Y. — Crews have completed work on the half-mile Chittenango Creek boardwalk accessible-trail project through Nelson Swamp Unique Area in Madison County.
The trail and boardwalk “meander through a mosaic of low-lying wet meadows, deciduous woods, dark groves of cedar and pine,” and the upper portion of Chittenango Creek as it winds toward Lake Ontario, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said in its announcement.
The $760,600 boardwalk project was funded through the state’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF).
“DEC is thrilled to join our town of Nelson partners to dedicate the accessible, collaboratively designed Chittenango Creek Boardwalk that will provide convenient recreational opportunities at the remarkable Nelson Swamp Unique Area in Madison County,” Dereth Glance, director of DEC region 7, said in the announcement. “The boardwalk project connects people of all ages and abilities to the Nelson hamlet area and boasts scenic overlooks of the creek and bench seating to soak in the wonderous sights and sounds of this lush wetland.”
The 979-acre Nelson Swamp Unique Area is about 20 miles southeast of Syracuse featuring more than 400 cataloged species of plants, including several species of orchid. The area is also known to support a diverse population of breeding birds as well.
The DEC recently added 7.5 acres to the unique area following a donation by the Town of Nelson government that included a 0.2-mile section of trail and boardwalk completed by the town in 2021.
The full 0.5-miles of accessible trail is now part of a 1.3-mile pedestrian walkway loop connecting local businesses, town offices, natural resources, and town parkland. The DEC worked with the Town of Nelson, Nelson Swamp Trail Committee, and Nelson Streetscape committee to design the new trail and boardwalk to support the community’s connectivity vision, the department said.
“Through our partnership with DEC, the Chittenango Creek Boardwalk trail provides the public with access to the ‘uniqueness’ of Nelson Swamp Unique Area and our community with connectivity throughout the hamlet,” Nelson Town Councilor Jennifer Marti said. “The project places Nelson on the map for the beauty of our outdoors and the potential that our location offers for smart growth into the future.”
ADDISON, N.Y. — A former clerk-treasurer for the Steuben County Village of Addison government will serve between three and nine years in state prison for stealing over $1.1 million from the village. That’s according to a news release from New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, issued jointly with the Steuben County District Attorney Brooks
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ADDISON, N.Y. — A former clerk-treasurer for the Steuben County Village of Addison government will serve between three and nine years in state prison for stealing over $1.1 million from the village.
That’s according to a news release from New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, issued jointly with the Steuben County District Attorney Brooks Baker and the New York State Police.
Ursula Stone pled guilty on May 29 to felony corrupting the government, admitting to abusing her position to steal more than $1 million during her 19-year career. She will be sentenced on Aug. 7 by Judge Chauncey Watches of Steuben County Court. Judge Patrick F. McAllister of Steuben County Supreme Court ordered the forfeit of her pension, which paid out $1,920 monthly, as part of her agreed-upon sentence.
“Public service is a privilege and a duty,” DiNapoli said in the release. “Those who abuse their positions and betray their communities undermine the integrity of the government and risk losing their right to a public pension. For nearly two decades, Ursula Stone took advantage of her position and the trust of Addison residents to shamelessly steal over a million dollars.”
The investigation into Stone began after DiNapoli’s office audited the village in 2022 and found Stone had been running the financial operations of the village with no oversight. She prepared payroll, maintained manual leave records, and processed health-insurance buyouts and unused leave payments, with no review or approval from the mayor or any other village official.
Upon further investigation, his office found that checks from the Addison Central School District to the village were not deposited into the village’s accounts. A joint investigation by DiNapoli’s office, the State Police, and the Steuben County District Attorney’s Office determined that Stone stole dozens of checks payable to the village, which she converted to certified bank checks and cashed.
Investigators also found she gave herself unauthorized pay raises, took time off without deducting it from her leave credits, and wrote herself checks for unauthorized health-insurance buyouts from village funds. She was also cashing out unused vacation time since 2004, an option that was only available to employees who resigned or retired.
Stone retired in March 2023 and, before submitting her resignation letter, wrote herself a final check for $26,613, which was not authorized by the board. The board stopped payment on the check before Stone was able to cash it.
In total, investigators said she stole $1,171,362 from the village.
“The magnitude, scope, duration, and pervasiveness of this criminal activity is absolutely stunning,” District Attorney Baker said. “For nearly two decades, Ursula Stone abused the trust of the people of the village of Addison, using her position to steal from their taxes, their schools, and their community. The impact of her criminal acts on this community has been and will be felt for decades.”
Under her sentence agreement, Stone will pay full restitution along with her prison time and pension forfeiture.
“The sentencing of Ms. Stone demonstrates the vital collaborative work of our law enforcement partners focused on the same goal; holding those who break our laws accountable,” New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James said. “The victims in this case are the people of New York who put their trust in this former village of Addison employee.”
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OHA awarded $3 million state grant for renovation project
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Onondaga Historical Association (OHA) will use a $3 million New York State grant for a renovation project at its building at 321 Montgomery St. in downtown Syracuse. New York State Assemblyman William Magnarelli (D–Syracuse) secured the grant funding for the OHA project. The project will involve installation of better air conditioning,
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Onondaga Historical Association (OHA) will use a $3 million New York State grant for a renovation project at its building at 321 Montgomery St. in downtown Syracuse.
New York State Assemblyman William Magnarelli (D–Syracuse) secured the grant funding for the OHA project.
The project will involve installation of better air conditioning, humidity controls, and the renovation of its research center, which is a “huge resource for the community,” Lisa Romano Moore, executive director of the OHA, said.
“We hold multiple collections from artwork to newspapers to clothing,” Romano Moore said. “All of those are to be stored in the spaces that need good environmental controls.”
Romano Moore spoke with reporters outside the OHA on Thursday morning. She noted that the project’s total cost will approach about $4 million and private donations will also help pay for the renovation effort.
The project also involves adding some bathrooms and a kitchen on the second floor, so that OHA can accommodate more public programming in its space. The project will also involve adding better internet-connectivity technology as well.
The project should take about a year to complete. OHA is in the final stages of reviewing project designs from IPD Engineering and still needs to choose a contractor for the project.
“Hopefully by the fall, we’ll be underway with construction,” Romano Moore said.
OHA occupies the former Bell Telephone building that Romano Moore described as previously serving as the “largest switchboard on the East Coast,” and the building includes photos and equipment from those days.
“The building itself is a historic building. We’re in a historic district of the city, so this is a really important time for us to make some changes,” Romano Moore said.
Broome-Tioga Workforce NY to open a satellite office
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Broome-Tioga Workforce NY will open a satellite office at the Broome County Library at 185 Court St., with hours every Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning Aug. 9. Broome-Tioga Workforce NY operates two One Stop American Job Centers to assist local businesses with recruiting and training and to provide people
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BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Broome-Tioga Workforce NY will open a satellite office at the Broome County Library at 185 Court St., with hours every Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning Aug. 9.
Broome-Tioga Workforce NY operates two One Stop American Job Centers to assist local businesses with recruiting and training and to provide people with career advice, resume help, and training assistance. The offices are located at 501 Reynolds Road in Binghamton and in the Tioga County Human Services building, 1062 Route 38 in Owego.
“This partnership is vital to fulfilling County Executive Jason Garnar’s mission of eliminating the public’s barriers to life-changing services,” Broome-Tioga Workforce NY Executive Director Robert C. Murphy said in a press release announcing the news. “People who could benefit most from our services, many times, have limited access to transportation. Making our services consistently available to folks who lack transportation is vitally important, not only to the job seekers, but to employers in the community trying to find valuable employees as well.”
“Our mission at the Broome County Public Library is to serve as a community hub for downtown Binghamton and all of Broome County,” Library Director Josias Bartram said. “Partnering with Broome-Tioga Workforce NY will be a big step towards fulfilling this mission by providing the resources and services that our community needs to thrive.”
Broome-Tioga Workforce NY is a partnership between Tioga and Broome counties, the New York State Department of Labor, and the regional business community to help business recruit and retain workers, assess and respond to current and future workforce needs, and help individuals seeking career opportunities.
MVCC thINCubator, Clarkson, and Cornell awarded FuzeHub manufacturing grants
ALBANY, N.Y. — thINCubator in Utica, Clarkson University, and Cornell University are among seven nonprofits awarded manufacturing grants in this year’s second round of funding from FuzeHub. The Empire State Development-supported, manufacturing-grants program awarded $455,000 in grants to facilitate research and development, technical advancements, and process improvements for New York State manufacturers. Two applicants each
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ALBANY, N.Y. — thINCubator in Utica, Clarkson University, and Cornell University are among seven nonprofits awarded manufacturing grants in this year’s second round of funding from FuzeHub.
The Empire State Development-supported, manufacturing-grants program awarded $455,000 in grants to facilitate research and development, technical advancements, and process improvements for New York State manufacturers.
Two applicants each from both the Finger Lakes and New York City regions were also among the grant recipients.
FuzeHub is an Albany–based nonprofit that works to help New York State manufacturers and technology companies.
FuzeHub offers manufacturing grants to New York State nonprofit organizations, including higher education institutions, that propose projects in partnership with a New York State small to medium-sized manufacturer.
The funding comes through the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund, which has more than $1 million annually. It supports a set of activities designed to spur technology development and commercialization across New York State and is made possible through funding and support from Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) and the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA).
Regional grant recipients
FuzeHub awarded $65,000 grants to each of the recipients.
They include thINCubator (Mohawk Valley Community College Foundation) and Modovolo, Inc., which is working on the Modovolo Lift. The company describes the product as a “drone with amazing flight time; extremely low cost,” per the FuzeHub announcement.
In addition, Clarkson University CAMP (Center for Advanced Materials Processing) is working with KLAW Industries LLC, which has operations in the North Country and Southern Tier.
Clarkson University and KLAW Industries are partnering with FuzeHub to bring a new recycling technology leveraging artificial intelligence to market in the Southern Tier.
Cornell University’s department of biomedical engineering is working with Anova Biomedical Inc.
The FuzeHub announcement included their product description,”800,000 Americans undergo dialysis every year as treatment for kidney failure. Vascular access – the conduit through which blood is collected for dialysis – is referred to as the Achilles’ Heel of dialysis. Faulty vascular access causes hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations every year and accounts for billions of dollars of excess spending in our healthcare system. The “Anova graft” will be the first vascular access to harness the body’s healing potential to transform from a synthetic implant to a fully biological conduit to revolutionize dialysis access for millions of patients.”
Honoring Steve DiMeo by championing regional projects
Earlier this year, our region suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of Mohawk Valley EDGE President Steve DiMeo. He was the guiding force behind EDGE, Marcy Nanocenter, Griffiss Business & Technology Park, and countless other projects that have led to massive growth and success. His leadership and vision were unparalleled to all those who
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Earlier this year, our region suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of Mohawk Valley EDGE President Steve DiMeo. He was the guiding force behind EDGE, Marcy Nanocenter, Griffiss Business & Technology Park, and countless other projects that have led to massive growth and success. His leadership and vision were unparalleled to all those who came before him. Steve was never afraid to take risks. If he were still alive today, we at Mohawk Valley EDGE all believe his message to us would be the same: Be a champion for this region. He would want us to keep moving forward, be relentless, trust each other, and our abilities to go after regional projects.
So where do we go from here? The answer from EDGE is: forward. Steady progress is happening at the Marcy Nanocenter, where Wolfspeed continues its growth and production, which supports the increasing demand for electric vehicles, 4G/5G markets, and the establishment of a semiconductor-manufacturing corridor in New York state and along the east coast. We are excited to see the commitment of both New York State Green CHIPs program and the federal CHIPs Act to shore up our domestic supply chain to meet the needs of the 21st-century economy, with thousands of jobs expected in the next several years with Micron, Semikron Danfoss, Indium, and Wolfspeed. In July, Kevin Younis of Empire State Development spoke at the SEMICON West conference in San Francisco about New York State’s semiconductor industry’s growth, touting Micron and Wolfspeed, detailing how New York is quickly becoming one of the leaders in semiconductor manufacturing in the country. To do so, however, EDGE will work closely with New York State to create and build a more direct pipeline of workers and launch initiatives such as ON-RAMP to foster workforce development to help meet the needs of thousands of new jobs in advanced manufacturing. We aim to work with all levels of educators from K-12, as well as our local colleges and universities to ensure they have the tools needed to educate, train, recruit, and support students entering this fast-evolving job market.
For the Mohawk Valley region, Marcy Nanocenter is a perfect location meeting for supply chain growth, with construction officially underway at Flex Space at Marcy Nanocenter. The Flex Space is a 60,000-square-foot facility to provide needed storage, including about 20,000 square feet for Semikron Danfoss, housed just adjacent to the Nanocenter at the Quad-C Facility at the SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Mohawk Valley EDGE received $14 million from New York State through the FAST NY program to develop the second-tier section of the Marcy site beneath Wolfspeed, further building the ecosystem necessary to support the supply chain for semiconductor manufacturing, with construction already underway with an expected completion date of 2025.
In addition, there is significant excitement around the 332-acre Triangle Site at the Griffiss International Airport in Rome, where $23.6 million in FAST NY Funds were also awarded to Oneida County to develop a semiconductor supply chain campus. A significant part of this project includes electrical upgrades, providing up to 50 megawatts of power, which is in considerable demand throughout the Upstate region to bring more prominent manufacturers to the area. This demand will only increase, so having it available will be part of our strategic vision to attract new businesses in the future. This site is one of New York state’s largest shovel-ready site, potentially creating up to 3,000 new jobs. A tremendous thank you to all our local partners, especially Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente, Jr., who has provided EDGE with significant investments in these transformational projects. In addition, we applaud the efforts by such groups as Griffiss Local Development Corporation (GLDC), C&S Companies, and the City of Rome for working together to move forward critical infrastructure and transportation upgrades that will make this site a premier semiconductor supply chain, perfectly positioned between Micron and Wolfspeed.
We saw a significant effort finally come to fruition in October 2023, when doors to the new Wynn Hospital in downtown Utica finally opened, signaling the beginning of the consolidation of several Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) facilities into one main center for healthcare for the region. The majority of the former Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare campus is now being looked at for redevelopment, with Mohawk Valley EDGE, Oneida County, MVHS, and the Town of New Hartford joining forces to create a master plan for the best usage of this 53-acre site that has held multiple public information and engagement sessions to study, identify, and implement a strategy that benefits the community for generations to come.
Mohawk Valley EDGE has continued its progress in remediating contaminated areas of Oneida County through the help of federal funding secured by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer. In May, EDGE received $500,000 in EPA Brownfields Community-Wide Assessment grant program funds to focus on multiple sites, including St. Luke’s, the former Rome Cable Tower Site, the Ethan Allen furniture plant in Boonville, with an additional 12 sites potentially in the works for environmental assessment. The staff at EDGE are confident that about half of these sites will spin off into new, distinct projects that will further our growth.
There is great optimism in the Village of Boonville after receiving a $4.5 million grant from New York State in the second round of the New York Forward program.
Much like the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), the New York Forward program targets smaller municipalities like Boonville to assist with planning and strategic vision to help increase economic opportunities in their downtown corridor. EDGE will support Boonville’s local planning committees and guide them along the way so that each project submission fits within the committee’s master plan for future growth, highlighting Boonville’s historic past while cultivating new areas for development. We thank the Mohawk Valley Economic Development Regional Council for its leadership in providing these funds to communities making strides to realize their long-term visions.
Our business-outreach efforts continue to be essential to our strategic vision. We are continuing our efforts with $200,000 in microenterprise-grant assistance working alongside Oneida County. In addition, we will leverage the efforts of partners at Mohawk Valley regional office of Empire State Development to assist other businesses through Round 14 of the Regional Economic Development Council’s (REDC) Consolidated Funding Application. Through our small-business networks, our chambers of commerce, local governments, and educational institutions, we follow the evolving job market and economy and put the pieces of the puzzle together to move our region out of the post-pandemic economy. EDGE is also partnering with ESD on its Semiconductor Growth Access Program Application (SGAP) to help small businesses enter the supply chain industry. A new endeavor will be leveraging the consolidated funding application process to assist companies in applying for the ESD Small Manufacturer’s Modernization Grant. This year alone, $225,000 in loans and capital leases have been approved.
There is renewed excitement and energy coming back to downtown Utica. Everywhere you turn, there is plenty of optimism. Our region now has a fully utilized health-care campus at the Wynn Hospital for MVHS, with Oneida County’s newly completed parking garage which opened this summer. Just a few hundred yards away, the Nexus Center at Utica University hosted the IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship, bringing thousands of spectators from around the globe to Utica. The Nexus Center will be hosting similar exciting events in the coming months.
As part of efforts to better serve Oneida County’s economic growth, the staff at EDGE pulled together a list of projects coordinated through both the Oneida County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA) and the Oneida County Local Development Corporation (OCLDC) to evaluate our success further. Of 103 active projects since 2018, over $2 billion in total project value has been generated between both organizations. In 2023 alone, $51.8 million went to projects in Oneida County, the beginning of construction of Flex-Space at the Marcy Nanocenter, as well as new facility construction at the former Oneida Ltd. Complex in Sherrill. Of 103 IDAs across New York state, OCIDA ranks 11th in total active projects, proving that the management and oversight of projects are delivering benefits at a practical cost.
Our future prospects are especially promising, thanks to the solid historical groundwork we have established for enhancing Oneida County and the Mohawk Valley region, paving the way for even more growth. The work does not happen alone, and we are very grateful for the support of the Mohawk Valley EDGE board of directors for their trust in providing our organization with the ability to carry out our mission and ensure that our future remains bright for years to come. We value the partnerships we have established to achieve these remarkable projects.
Shawna Papale is acting president of Mohawk Valley EDGE. She has served the organization for nearly three decades, most recently as chief administrative officer.
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