August 18th

Call To Order - 9:05AM 

• Members - We had 12 participants in today’s meeting representing businesses, residents, and community leaders.

Safety/Security

• SPD - We had some complaints about noise and large gatherings since our last meeting and we have addressed these issues with the police department.  The current recommendation is to call 423-HELP during the day and 911 during the evening (and be sure to tell the 911 operator that this is a non-emergency).  (also see website forms below)

• No Swimming/Wading Sign - Waiting to hear back from the city on what we can/could do.

Beautification

• Clean Up

  • Square Cleaning - Thank you to the Downtown Committee and the City for facilitating a clean up that included weeding of the plantar beds and cleaning up the concrete around the fountain.

• Bike Lane - Everytime we have a decent rain, water seems to pool in spots of the bike lane, and those spots fill with sediment, making them slippery when wet, and then dirty when dry.  The State has “handed off” the maintenance to the city for the bike trail.  We have contacted the DPW to try and determine who will need to maintain this and who we need to contact in the future.

• Concrete - Some of the steps around the fountain have become stained and we have alerted the Parks Department for a cleaning detail

• Sewer smell - There seems to be a bad smell coming from the grate near the State Tower parking garage.  We have notified the city’s Sewer Department and this seems to have happened in the 300 block of Salina as well, so hopefully we can get this resolved.

• Planters

• Barriers - We continue to hit roadblocks (pun intended) with our funding source.  Councilor Driscol mentioned that he may be able to help with the application process.

• Beds - Adopt? - We have reached out to the Parks Commissioner (Julie LaFave) and we will keep you posted on what we can do there.

  • Mulch? - Probably too late in the season to worry about this year.

• Upkeep - To make note of areas that need assistance in cleanliness, please use the city’s new “City Line” system at www.cityline.syrgov.net

Events

• Resident Social

• When - 4-5pm August 26th

• Where - Otro Cinco

• Pilates and Pints (part2)

  • Coming this fall, hopefully with a social event that will culminate with a tour of the new Pilates Studio downtown.

• “Hanover Squares”

  • This will be a work in progress.  If you know of anyone that would like to be involved in this event, please let us know.

Identity/Outreach

• Instagram

• We now have Instagram and FB synced together @hanoversquaresyr, I suggest we use that same handle as a hashtag so it doesn’t fall into the #hanoversquare in Paris.

• CINSYR

• Headline: The Hanover Square Association: Connecting Businesses, Supporting Neighbors, Celebrating Diversity 

• Sub-Headline: We are a group of professionals, residents, visitors, and dreamers who believe in the transformative power of connections and diversity.

• Mission: The Hanover Square Association was formed to create connections. Connections between businesses who want to improve our city, between entrepreneurs excited about the future of Syracuse, and between individuals who want to live, work, and thrive in Central New York. These connections are conversations between people of all colors, abilities, and identities working together today for a better tomorrow. Your unique perspective is respected by The Hanover Square Association today and always. Thank you for being a valued part of our community. 

• Tagline: Hanover Square: Where Everyone Belongs

• Website

• Info - We have pulled the webpage from Visit Syracuse onto our site for a brief overview of the neighborhood.  In doing so, we noticed some out of date information on there and it has brought to Visit Syracuse’s attention for updating.

• Blog - We will be posting Meeting Minutes as a blog section on the website.

• Forms

• We have generated a security form for people to anonymously report issues so that we can keep a better record of incidents.

• We may generate more forms in the future for things such as meeting topics.

New Business

• Syracuse University COVID-19 Research Request (See Flyer Below)

  • You may qualify if you are:

    • 18 years of age or older

    • Do not have a pacemaker

    • Have been tested for COVID-19 (either positive or negative) and are not currently infected

    • Have access to Zoom (computer or smart phone)

  • Volunteers will receive a home blood pressure measuring device.

• Counselor Driscol brought up that funding for the summer concert series in Hanover Square will hopefully produce a recurring event next Summer.  If you would like to get involved, please email joedriscol315@gmail.com.

• Downtown Grants - Heather has let us know that there is another round of Collaborative Marketing Funds coming out soon.  And in the future, there will likely be some funding for a solo marketing project as well.  She has also told us that the Downtown Is Open flag program is still going on, so if you would like a flag, please reach out to the downtown committee at mail@downtownsyracuse.com

• Marlene mentioned a Hosting website for traveling cyclists and she said that she has some interesting people coming through.  Warmshowers.org

Meeting Adjourned - 9:38AM