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The Syracuse Common Council approved the sale of 16 properties to the Greater Syracuse Property Development Corporation for a total price of $2,416 on Monday afternoon.

The independent nonprofit and local public authority — which is colloquially referred to as the Greater Syracuse Land Bank — buys vacant, abandoned, underutilized or tax-delinquent properties. After planning, maintenance and redevelopment related to the property is completed, the GSL sells the property to “responsible” buyers.

Each of the properties sold by the city to the land bank cost $151. As of March 17, the land bank has acquired a total of 2,041 properties and has sold 1,154 of them.

The council also appropriated up to $257,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act to provide crisis mental health services in the city. The agreement is with Liberty Resources Inc., which will work with the Syracuse Police Department to provide the service.

The service will have mental health professionals respond to calls where a person is “exhibiting mental health and/or substance abuse related behaviors,” the council’s drafted agenda wrote.

Liberty Resources has been working with SPD to provide the service since 2021, city Commissioner of Neighborhood & Business Development Michael Collins wrote in a letter to City Clerk Patricia McBride on March 11.

“We have found this approach to be effective for all parties involved but especially the person in crisis,” Collins wrote. “It has reduced the potential for arrests during these incidences; while ensuring the needs of individuals are addressed by trained mental health professionals.”

In correspondence between Mayor Ben Walsh and Director of Management and Budget Timothy Rudd, Walsh said the initiative came out of a committee on policing. The group, which was convened jointly by the city and Onondaga County, was for “Alternatives to Policing,” Walsh said.

Other business:

The Syracuse Common Council accepted a donation of $6,500 from Syracuse University. The donation will cover additional overtime for a hazardous materials team required to monitor the atmosphere inside the Carrier Dome during Monster Jam. The event will take place on April 16 at 7 p.m.

The council has approved payment for Blake Propst, a Syracuse-based bass player, to play at Thornden Park’s 2022 Rose Day on June 15.

Published on April 11, 2022 at 11:37 pm

Contact Kyle: kschouin@syr.edu | @Kyle_Chouinard