VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: I-81 Community Grid Sparks Cultural Revival in Downtown Syracuse through CNY Jazz
CNY Jazz Central Executive Director Larry Luttinger: We’re looking forward to being a cultural hub.
Reporter Hunter Caparelli: For decades, the I-81 viaduct has cut through the heart of Syracuse, separating neighborhoods and dividing communities. Now, as construction crews prepare to replace it with a street-level community grid, local arts organizations like CNY Jazz are thinking about what comes next.
Luttinger: When this neighborhood goes up, we’ll be listening and we’ll be responding in kind.
Caparelli: CNY Jazz has performed across Central New York for nearly 30 years. Executive Director Larry Luttinger said the group is preparing for a Downtown that could look very different.
Luttinger: We hope we can become a part of the fabric and the vibe of the new, shiny, gleaming east side of Syracuse.
Caparelli: For Syracuse musician and I-81 Project Director Joe Driscoll, the grid represents more than just a new road plan.
Driscoll: You can superficially take down the viaduct. But it’s going to take culture, and those bonds being built to actually make it feel like a community and a village.
Caparelli: As Syracuse redraws its map in an effort to reconnect neighborhoods, local artists hope to redraw its identity, one note at a time.
Luttinger: People are drawn to cities because of the culture in the cities. And Syracuse has a cultural hub that encompasses all of downtown and beyond.
Caparelli: As the highway comes down, both city leaders and artists see a rare chance to rebuild the spirit of Downtown Syracuse through live music.
Driscoll: As we try to reinvent this city and rebrand the city, reimagine it. I think jazz and live music has a huge role to play.
Caparelli: Construction on the community grid is expected to continue through the end of the decade. In Syracuse, Hunter Caparelli, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — As Syracuse prepares to replace the aging Interstate 81 viaduct with a street-level community grid, local arts organization CNY Jazz is planning for what’s coming next, and how they can help shape the city’s new downtown identity.
City officials say the $2 billion community grid project will reconnect neighborhoods once divided by the highway, while arts leaders see a chance to reimagine how culture can revitalize downtown life, according to the Community Grid Vision Plan on syr.gov.
The proposed city grid plan will replace the elevated portion of I-81 that runs through the city center with a street-level urban grid. The city grid plan includes incorporating new housing, business development, public spaces and improved accommodations for pedestrians and cyclists.
CNY Jazz Executive Director Larry Luttinger said the organization is already exploring new ways to bring performances, education programs and community events into the areas surrounding the new grid.
“We’re looking forward to being a cultural hub, because we are an arts organization that is in the Downtown East Business Association district,” said Luttinger. “We want to go into low census track neighborhoods with high poverty levels and provide culture and services in terms of public health information and awareness.”
CNY Jazz is supporting the community development goals by partnering with public health organizations to offer their “Jazz in the City” concert series in Syracuse’s urban neighborhoods. The free music events serve as a platform for healthcare providers to connect with residents and offer vital health services. The concert series also serves as a “healthcare village” where partners like Syracuse Community Health and the LeadSafe CNY Coalition offer free screenings, health information, and services.
The I-81 project’s arts component is specifically leveraging jazz music’s presence in Syracuse, according to the I-81 Viaduct Project on ny.gov. The city already has a vibrant local jazz scene, with groups like the Longwood Jazz Project and regular performances at venues including CNY Jazz Central.
“When this neighborhood goes up, we’ll be listening and we’ll be responding in kind,” said Luttinger. “We hope that it will create an influx for us, and that we can become a part of the fabric and the vibe of the new, shiny, gleaming east side of Syracuse.”
Jazz musician and City of Syracuse I-81 Project Director Joe Driscoll said he hopes the I-81 Project will elevate Syracuse from an “in-between city” to a “major U.S. city” that’s recognized nationally for its art, culture and vibrancy.
“You can superficially, as infrastructure, take down the viaduct,” said Driscoll, “but it’s going to take culture, and those bonds being built to actually make it feel like a community and a village.”
CNY Jazz Central has hosted programs and performed across Central New York for nearly 30 years. With the office located in an area that will soon become the new Downtown East neighborhood, the organization will be strategically positioned to serve this reconnected community once the viaduct comes down.
“People are drawn to cities because of the culture in the cities,” said Luttinger, “and Syracuse has a cultural hub that encompasses all of downtown and beyond.”
Driscoll said organizations like CNY Jazz play a huge role in performing live music not only in Downtown Syracuse but also putting on programs in various neighborhoods on the south side of Syracuse.
“I think that’s what we need more than anything else as we try to reinvent this city and rebrand the city, reimagine it,” said Driscoll. “I think jazz and live music has a huge role to play.”
Beyond planning for new venues and programs in Downtown Syracuse, Luttinger said his focus on the city’s transformation reaching everyone and being accessible to everyone.
“We put special focus on underserved neighborhoods, underserved populations of all kinds, and all underserved and endangered youth,” said Luttinger.
While not directly involved in the construction of the grid, CNY Jazz’s partnership with public health organizations is an example of a cultural organization working to improve the quality of life in Syracuse’s urban neighborhoods. With construction on the community grid not expected to be completed until end of the decade, leaders in the Syracuse arts community are excited for Syracuse to rediscover its rhythm through concerts offered by CNY Jazz strategically located on both the North and South Sides of Syracuse: One performance, one program, and one neighborhood at a time.
