State Department of Transportation at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center, it became clear that opinions on the subject of what to do with the aging viaduct range all over the map.
Save 81–the alliance between businesses and labor unions that popped up earlier this year, seemingly in favor of rebuilding 81 in its current footprint–was well-represented. Leaders of the group, including labor leader AnnMarie Taliercio and Salina Town Supervisor Mark Nicotra, insist that they weren’t endorsing a particular plan for the viaduct; they were just opposing converting the raised highway to a street-level boulevard.
Earlier this year, says Nicotra, hotel owners along the highway contacted him with concerns about plans to divert traffic around the city. Workers at several of those hotels are members of Taliercio’s HERE Local 150.
“We were concerned that this idea of a boulevard was a done deal,” says Taliercio, who serves as president of the Central New York Area Labor Federation, the local AFL-CIO affiliate. “It appeared like a closed conversation. Nobody thought it was this far along. . . There were a limited number of voices speaking out for the region. That’s why we spoke out so forcefully.”
Nicotra contacted state Sen. John DeFrancisco.
There’s still a long way to go before state officials come up with a plan for what to do with the 12 miles of Interstate 81 cutting through the center of Syracuse. At the Nov. 13 scoping meeting held by the Sunset Boulevard
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Supporters of current I-81 speak at meeting