How a Superhighway Split Syracuse

The debate, which is now winding its way through New York’s court system, has been framed in the press as a city-versus-suburbs issue. On one side are the city of Syracuse, the state of New York, and the NYCLU; on the other are an eclectic group called Renew 81 for All and the suburban towns of Salina, Dewitt, and Tully. But both groups claim leaders with deep roots in the city, who say they have Southside’s interests in mind.

The two camps have lobbed scathing attacks at each other, each casting themselves as protectors of an “environmental justice community” — a locality, often largely populated by people of color, disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards. And they have opposing views on whether or not to account for the proposed Micron plant nearby, a much hyped multi-billion dollar state project.

The state’s plan would demolish the viaduct, reroute highway traffic, and create a community grid system of home and business-level streets in Southside. The state projects it will reduce airborne toxins and equitably redistribute the burden of traffic. It doesn’t account for future Micron traffic, because, the state figured, operations remained too speculative to factor in. It was just what Owens-Chaplin and the NYCLU wanted.

Then, Renew 81 for All and the towns petitioned the Onondaga County Supreme Court to stop the state’s project. They argued that the Department of Transportation’s environmental review process lacked adequate studies and misrepresented traffic data. Their case rested on the same constitutional guarantee, but flipped: Renew 81 said that the proposed community grid system would violate their Green Amendment rights to a healthy environment.

“Their whole analysis was bogus,” Alan Knauf, an environmental attorney representing Renew 81, said of the state’s review. “The study was made to fit the end result that they wanted.”

Onondaga County Supreme Court Justice Gerard Neri was sympathetic. Ruling against the state, the city, and the NYCLU, he ordered the state to complete a supplemental environmental impact statement mandating that the DOT complete new traffic studies accounting for Micron-related growth. In the meantime, the I-81 viaduct would remain in place.

Owens-Chaplin, director of NYCLU’s racial justice center, called Renew 81’s lawsuit an “unfortunate tactic” to stall the demolition. Renew 81 has refused to disclose its membership, and she suggested it’s effectively a reincarnation of a previous anti-teardown campaign by mostly white suburban leaders and business elites. The group is misappropriating the Green Amendment, Owens-Chaplin argued, “using it in a way that could ultimately be harmful to the communities that the amendment is intended to protect.”

Renew 81 levels that same charge in return. It’s naive not to consider the $100 billion Micron project, they say, which Hochul promises “will bring transformational growth to the region” and create 50,000 jobs. And they worry that the DOT’s community grid plan will lead to gentrification and displacement of Southside residents.

“They’re willing to destroy all of central New York, the whole economy, just so they can have this grid,” said Charles Garland, a county legislator and member of Renew 81.

In the 1960s, Syracuse city officials decided to run the new superhighway through the gut of the 15th Ward. By the end of the decade, the city’s urban renewal campaign had displaced over 1,300 families, including the Garlands.

Garland, who now represents Southside in the Onondaga County legislature, acknowledges the adverse health and environmental effects the viaduct has wrought. But he believes the state’s planning process has been rushed.

He’s especially incensed that the state claimed the Micron project was too speculative to factor into its environmental studies. He says that contradicted previous public statements Hochul and President Joe Biden made on the Micron project, and, by creating uncertainty, the state undermined efforts to finance the new plant.

Currently, I-81 provides the most direct route between Southside and the proposed site of the Micron plant. Garland believes that if Micron comes to central New York, I-81 could be “the literal pathway” out of poverty for Southside residents.

Last October, Micron announced plans to invest up to $100 billion over the next 20 years to build a computer chip manufacturing facility in Clay — a predominantly white suburban community about 16 miles north of Southside. The proposed plant will receive hefty assistance from the county, state, and federal governments, and Micron says it will directly employ about 9,000 workers and create more than 40,000 additional jobs for suppliers and contractors.

While the announcement generated significant buzz, the plant remains in the planning stages. Construction will not begin until 2024 at the earliest, and Micron still needs to secure federal funding through last year’s CHIPS and Science Act.

Owens-Chaplin agrees that the state should take economic considerations into account, but says the Micron project is currently too speculative to consider. She stressed that once Micron has more concrete plans for its new plant, it will undergo its own environmental review process.

To her, it seems obvious that the best way to serve environmental justice is to eliminate the source of environmental harm as soon as possible.

“What we’ve always been clear on is the environmental racism is having the viaduct in the middle of [the Southside] community,” said Owens-Chaplin.

Garland worries that the viaduct’s demolition will bring more displacement. He argues that the community grid will primarily benefit real estate developers and wealthy landholders — especially Syracuse University. The school’s main campus lies just a few blocks east of the viaduct, and Garland fears that if the viaduct is removed, the school will take over Southside.

New York state eventually transferred the former site of his family’s funeral home to Upstate Medical University, another local school, Garland pointed out. Syracuse University, meanwhile, recently expanded a loan program to help its employees buy homes in nearby neighborhoods, including Southside. Jeffrey Stoecker, a spokesperson for Syracuse University, said Garland’s fears are unfounded.

“Syracuse University has stated publicly, on several occasions, that it has no intention of acquiring property associated with the I-81 viaduct project and its neighbors in the city’s Southside,” Stoecker told New York Focus. “That has not changed. Rumors to the contrary are simply false.”