[Bringing neighborhoods back to life. That’s the mission of community groups renovating abandoned buildings. Many are doing this without the help of government money. Shelly Schwartz of Democracywise explains how community members are restoring the streets they call home without digging into taxpayers’ pockets.]
Inside this church on South Salina Street, the collection baskets are overflowing. The congregation of People’s AME Zion Church is raising thousands of dollars to help buy and renovate abandoned buildings in Syracuse’s South Side neighborhood. Pastor Daren Jaime is spearheading the church’s efforts. He wants to rid the area of the crime these vacant buildings attract.
[“We know that we got an issue of drugs and prostitution right here. But we’re interested in making sure we provide a safe environment so your kids can walk the streets at night, so you can feel safe,” Pastor Daren Jaime of People’s AME Zion Church]
Pastor Jaime says the city and federal government could do more to cleanup the South Side. But Jaime wants everyone to take responsibility—which is why his church will pay more than $100,000 to buy a strip of vacant buildings across the street. So far, the congregation has donated $30,000 from its own pockets.
The church is not alone in its efforts to cleanup the South Side without the help of government money. Another non-profit group is Home HeadQuarters—one of the largest providers of home improvement loans in the area. It has also bought 24 abandoned buildings in the city to renovate. Amanda Pascall says one of Home HeadQuarters’ goals is to attract more homeowners by changing people’s negative perceptions about Syracuse, especially the South Side neighborhood.
[“We have to market the neighborhoods. We have to convince people that Syracuse is a beautiful place to live and the South Side is a wonderful opportunity,” Amanda Pascall of Home HeadQuarters.]
The godmother to non-profit groups trying to renovate vacant buildings is The Gifford Foundation. It is a local, charitable organization that funds community projects across Central New York. The Gifford Foundation gives out more than one million dollars each year to neighborhood improvement programs. The money comes from a $27-million-dollar endowment left by the late Rosamond Gifford. She was the only child of one of the most prominent families in Syracuse. When she passed away in 1953, she left her money in the hands of small group of financial advisers who began The Gifford Foundation.
Heidi Holtz works for The Gifford Foundation as the program coordinator. She says more private investors are needed to continue improving the quality of life for people living among the hundreds of abandoned homes.
[“They could have moved out, but they elected to stay in these neighborhoods. How can we make it better for them so that we can get that abandoned building purchased and owned and lived in by another family just like them?” Heidi Holtz, program director of community grantmaking for The Gifford Foundation.]
The Gifford Foundation will put about $500,000 toward renovating the South Side neighborhood this year. Next year, the foundation will devote more attention and funds to a different area of the city. But Holtz says the South Side neighborhood will continue to get the financial help it needs.
Back at People’s AME Zion Church in the South Side, Pastor Daren Jaime says the congregation hopes to renovate the vacant buildings across the street into a community center and new local businesses by the end of this year.
[“I believe wholeheartedly that the South Side is just as good as the North Side or any other side of Syracuse. I think it takes work, it takes attention, and it takes commitment,” Pastor Daren Jaime, People’s AME Zion Church]
Reporting for Democracywise, I’m Shelly Schwartz
(Shelly Schwartz is a senior broadcast journalism major.)
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