[audio:https://democracywise.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/F13POS-Maddy.m4a]
“In the city of Syracuse, right now, probably jobs availability, parking…. Definitely, there’s a lot more stuff coming up around the city and there’s more things to do and stuff like that – a lot more jobs have become available. It’d be better if there was an easier way to find them, find the opportunities that are coming up and research about them and stuff like that.”
(Aaron Labulis, 22, of Syracuse, line cook at Kitty Hoynes Irish Pub & Restaurant, unaffiliated with a political party)
“Crime. Bringing more commerce to the city. More jobs. I think we should have more police presence in the neighborhoods, particularly in the inner city. The high rate of shootings that we have and the homicides that we have, that’s mainly my main concern. I think more police presence in the inner cities would help alleviate some of it. I’m not saying it’s going to totally eliminate it, because you can’t. But I think if we had more police presence in the neighborhoods, I think that would help a lot. Maybe they should have some cops walk some beats in certain areas.”
(Roger Chestnut, 56, of Liverpool, part-time maintenance worker for the Liverpool Central School District, Democrat)
“Schools are a huge issue, because I think 50 percent of Syracuse children graduate high school, which is a pretty low number to me. Just better spending money on everything. Crime is crime. It is what it is. I feel like that falls back into educating kids. If kids are getting educated and they’re graduating, then they’re not likely to fall back onto gang activity. I think they should definitely press that more than they do.”
(Michael Spinelli, 29, of Jamesville, bartender at Al’s Wine & Whiskey Lounge, unaffiliated with a political party)
“The other thing I noticed is the parking enforcement in Syracuse. In my opinion, I think it’s a government shakedown. They have a private company driving around in a white van, just looking to boot people’s cars. … People are working, they’re trying to make a living and if you lock up their car, it’s counterproductive. They’re not going to want to come to the city and stay here when you keep doing that type of stuff.”
(Bruce Reed, 52, of Syracuse, computer engineer, unaffiliated with a political party)
“I think the city has a lot of things that it can offer, especially for new ventures, and I think the city does not lean itself to new ventures or new ways for international companies to come this way. Taxes, I think, are a little steep for small businesses to start. So I think that could be two things I would like to see improve. The city has plenty of space and plenty of opportunities to bring jobs to the area. But I think with the taxes and the opportunities to show that there are opportunities – it’s not presenting itself well internationally or even domestically, that it can open itself to new markets or new segments.”
(Ashraf Abusamak, 38, of Syracuse, international business developer for Lockheed Martin, Democrat)
(Maddy Berner is a senior majoring in newspaper and online journalism and Spanish.)
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