25% of county schools failed the lead test

Hello, Syracuse

If you have already had more than one pumpkin spice latte this month, you are on schedule. We are in full October mode: haunted attractions \\, trick-or-treating with the animals at the zoo, and the marathon closing the parkway streets this weekend. Also in here: lead over the state limit at 33 county schools, a two-year I-690 closure with a start date, and a $1.7 billion county budget carrying $25 million for housing. Let’s get into it.

One in four county schools had lead above the state limit

A new study from Environment America, NYPIRG, and the Frontier Group found that 33 of 121 public schools in Onondaga County reported at least one drinking or cooking water outlet above New York's 5 parts-per-billion lead limit. Liverpool had ten schools on the list and West Genesee had seven, with 20 outlets over the limit at Stonehedge Elementary alone, while Tully's elementary school had 19.

I-690 east is closing for two years

NYSDOT has confirmed that eastbound I-690 will shut down completely for about two years. The closure is part of contract six of the I-81 Viaduct Project's community grid phase, which covers 15 lane miles of reconstruction in both directions. Westbound traffic stays open the whole time, and eastbound drivers get detoured onto city streets. Work starts in late 2027, so you have about a year to figure out your new commute.

County passes a $1.7 billion budget with a $25 million housing fund

The Onondaga County Legislature unanimously approved a $1.7 billion budget for 2027 that lowers the property tax rate, and legislators amended less than 0.06% of what County Executive Ryan McMahon proposed. The headline item is ONHOME, a new development corporation that will hand out low-to-no-interest loans to builders working on duplexes, townhomes, and other missing-middle housing.

A union is suing to stop AI from answering 911 calls

A labor union has gone to court to block Onondaga County from using an AI tool on its 911 lines. The county's Department of Emergency Communications budgeted $350,000 this year for software. Non-emergency calls to the ten-digit lines now reach an AI bot first, which is trained to hand off to a human if it picks up on emergency keywords. County officials have framed the tool as relief for a call center dealing with a serious staffing shortage and heavy burnout.

Flock cameras left the city and stayed in the suburbs

Syracuse pulled its Flock Safety license plate readers, but the cameras never actually left Central New York. Patrick McCarthy's two-part series walks through the contracts keeping Flock in business around here, including deals with Syracuse University, Destiny USA, and Home Depot. Part two gets into what happens outside city limits, where the readers are doing fine despite the national backlash. With Axon's readers now live too, there are two separate plate-reading networks running in town.

Sage & Thyme opened a storefront in Marcellus

Sage & Thyme opened its new shop at 4 E. Main St. in the village of Marcellus this past week.

Pressed Caffe is open on the Northside

Pressed Caffe opened its doors this past weekend. If you have been looking for a new spot to sit and do nothing productive for an hour, here it is.

Toys R Us is back at Destiny USA

Toys R Us is now open on level 2 of Destiny USA in the IKEA wing. The store carries a curated lineup including LEGO, Barbie, Hot Wheels, NERF, and PAW Patrol. The timing is not subtle, with holiday shopping about six weeks out.

Syracuse is racing a deadline on thousands of lead water lines

The city has a tight window to get thousands of lead service lines out of the ground. EPA rules require replacement within ten years of taking effect, and roughly 42% of city-owned pipes are lead, which puts the total well north of 17,000 lines. Syracuse has about $40 million in state money to replace more than 2,000 pipes over four years, plus $10 million in local bonding.

SRC lands an Army counter-drone contract worth up to $500 million

Syracuse-based SRC won a spot on the Army's Domestic Shield program, a firm-fixed-price contract with a ceiling of $500 million. The work covers commercial counter-drone systems. The award landed September 28 and runs through September 2029.

3135 Stoney Pond Way, Baldwinsville - $879,900

3 bd | 2 ba | 2,000 sqft

A Parade of Homes model from Bella Casa Builders by Alberici, sitting in the Copper River community in Baldwinsville. Inside you get 10-foot ceilings through the main living areas and a cathedral ceiling in the primary suite. The kitchen is the selling point. Floor-to-ceiling cabinetry, white oak glass-front cabinets, a custom hood, quartz counters, and a 10-foot island. Behind it is a designer pantry with rounded doorways. The owner's suite has a walk-in closet and a mud-set tile shower with frameless glass, and the mudroom has built-in cabinetry with doors so the backpacks and shoes disappear.

On October 9, 1971, Syracuse was briefly the center of the art world. John Lennon and Yoko Ono came to town for the opening of Ono's exhibition "This is Not Here" at the Everson Museum. It was also Lennon's 31st birthday.

Word got around that The Beatles might reunite for a surprise set at the museum, and fans swarmed the Everson hoping to see it. No concert happened there. To get away from the crowd, Lennon, Ono, and their friends went down the street to the Hotel Syracuse. That hotel room is the closest Syracuse ever got to a Beatles reunion. The Everson posted the full story and photos.