New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced initiatives to transform the New York State Fairgrounds located in Syracuse into a year-round facility.

The initiatives are part of a state fair revitalization project, with a bill totaling $70 million. Of that money, $50 million will go toward constructing aerial gondolas, expanding the fair from 12 to 13 days, a new aerial ride for the Midway and an exposition center. The remaining $20 million will be allotted toward traffic infrastructure around the fairgrounds, including a new entrance ramp for Interstate 690 West, expansion of the Orange Lot and a new ring road.

The proposal for the $50 million in the state budget still needs to be approved, State Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball said. Ball is a co-chair of the State Fair Task Force, alongside Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney.

Some of the initiatives will not be complete by this summer and the 2017 fair. The construction of the new ramp for I-690 West is set to begin in the fall of 2017 and should be complete by the 2018 fair, if everything goes according to plan, Ball said. Construction of the ramp should have minimal impact on traffic in the area, Ball added.

“When the governor says he wants something completed in a certain timeframe, he has a pretty good track record of getting it done, and I believe he said he wants these completed in 24 months,” Onondaga County Executive spokesman Justin Sayles said.

The New York State Fair had record attendance in 2016 after the implementation of the first phase of Cuomo’s plan, prompting the governor to appoint a State Fair Task Force to propose improvements for phase two, Ball said. The first changes featured a new gate and a new Midway, Ball added, calling the improvements “a great facelift.”

The aerial gondolas will cost $15 million to build and are designed to operate year-round, acting as both a method of transportation and an attraction for the area, Ball said. Gondolas were originally a part of the phase one initiative, but there was not enough money in the budget at the time and they were pushed back, he added.

The aerial gondolas have been a subject of debate, with local residents questioning their necessity. Jade Dabila, a Syracuse native, said the gondolas are not worth $15 million and that the money should go into improving streets and building more shelters for the homeless and battered women.

“I think there’s other things we should be more concerned about than the state fair,” she said.

However, Dabila also said she thinks the construction of the ramp on I-690 West will improve traffic conditions during peak fair season. Dabila currently works at Funk ‘n Waffles in downtown Syracuse, but she worked at the state fair in 2016. She said she had to leave her home an hour and a half before her shift started at the fair to make it to work on time with the congested traffic.

Kayla Traver of the Hawley-Green area of Syracuse said she thinks the gondolas will bring people from all over the state into the area and help small businesses like the one she works for, Kitty Hoynes Irish Pub and Restaurant in downtown Syracuse.

Sayles, the county executive spokesman, defended the cost of the aerial gondolas, saying that tourism is a large portion of what funds Onondaga County.

“When we can get people to come here and spend their money and stay in our hotels and go out in Armory Square or check out a show at the Lakeview Amphitheater, that all helps fund county government and allows us to do cool projects that we like to do as well,” Sayles said.

The state fair initiatives are only a small part of the investments Cuomo has made in the upstate New York area. Sayles pointed out that the governor has said he thinks upstate New York hasn’t received the attention it deserves.

“He recognizes that we are all one state, we all share the same balance sheet at the end of the day and making sure every region does well means we all do well as a state,” Sayles said.

Published on January 31, 2017 at 11:39 pm

Contact Kennedy: krose100@syr.edu | @KennedyRose001