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Syracuse Common Councilor Amir Gethers was in attendance at Monday’s Common Council meeting following his arrest last week. The councilors did not discuss the incident during the meeting.

Gethers was arrested Wednesday after a woman claiming to be his ex-girlfriend called 911, alleging he choked her on two separate occasions. Police released Gethers that night following his arraignment, where he plead not guilty.

Police charged Gethers with criminal obstruction of breathing and second-degree harassment and put in place an order of protection to prohibit Gethers from contacting the woman.

According to syracuse.com, as Gethers left the meeting, he refused to respond to questions from reporters and was escorted through a back hallway by City Clerk Patricia McBride, who told reporters Gethers had no comment. Common Council President Helen Hudson told reporters she would not speak for Gethers.

Common Councilors Patrick Hogan, Latoya Allen and Michael Greene all provided additional comments clarifying that the council had not spoken about Gethers’ arrest. Instead, the three said they are prioritizing addressing legislation and public issues.

Gethers introduced three pieces of legislation that were passed and held one for a future meeting.

Hogan introduced two items relating to the application of the Restore New York Communities Initiative, a state program that provides funding for cities to eliminate and develop “blighted structures”. The goal of the initiative is to revitalize community and residential properties with the goal of community development, according to the website.

A public hearing will be held on Oct. 5 at noon to discuss the implementation of the initiative.

According to the meeting agenda, the city will allocate up to $5 million in funding from the initiative to renovate, demolish and rebuild structures in the Washington Square and Court Woodlawn areas. The buildings involved will include commercial, residential and mixed-use structures that are vacant or underutilized.

Syracuse has 1,800 registered vacant properties, according to a city registry. Vacant buildings lower property values and are frequently locations of criminal activity.

Other business

Common Councilor Chol Majok introduced an agreement with Command Presence LLC to provide effective leadership training services to Syracuse Police Department officers and other employees from October to June 2023. The legislation, which utilizes the “Leading Without Rank” program, passed.

Majok also presented an agreement, which passed, with the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services to fund Mayor Ben Walsh’s office’s operating expenses for reducing gun violence.

Common Councilor Allen introduced legislation to receive funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for a HOME-ARP award allocation plan. The legislation also passed.

The program, which utilizes federal American Rescue Plan funding, provides funding to qualifying municipalities to construct affordable housing and provide rent assistance. Details on how the allocated funding will be spent were not discussed in Monday’s meeting, but there will be a public hearing on the legislation on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m.

Published on September 26, 2022 at 11:37 pm

Contact Stephanie: spwright@syr.edu