New Program, Being Piloted on the City’s Northside, Will Assign Inspectors Territories and Build Relationships between City, Property Owners, and Tenants
Miner: Innovative Program Continues Administration’s Commitment to Quality of Life Issues
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Mayor Stephanie A. Miner announced today a new pilot program for the city of Syracuse Division of Code Enforcement aimed at proactive enforcement techniques and building relationships between code enforcement officers, property owners, and their tenants. The Tenant-Owner-Proactive (TOP) program will be first tested on the city’s Northside for six weeks beginning November 1.
“This innovative new program will continue our commitment to addressing the quality of life issues that have been this administration’s priority since day one,” said Syracuse Mayor Stephanie A. Miner. “Using new strategies, data, and technology, we can enhance relationships between code inspectors and the community and work with tenants and property owners to develop solutions to neighborhood concerns.”
The Office of Innovation (i-team) developed the TOP pilot program in partnership with the Division of Code Enforcement and the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development. Currently, code inspectors are assigned to work citywide, addressing cases individually when complaints are received. Through the new TOP program, code inspectors will be assigned to specific areas determined by block-level data and prioritizing health and safety violations, such as heat and water shutoffs, infestations, and chipping lead paint. Inspectors will be engaging with tenants and property owners throughout the community, establishing relationships with people in their assigned neighborhood.
Mayor Miner added, “This new program will combine proactive enforcement and data collection to ensure we are measuring our success and continuing to refine and improve our techniques. Our goal will be to give more Syracuse families safe and healthy housing opportunities.”
The pilot will begin with two inspectors working on the Northside. Progress with the new TOP program will be measured with data analysis, including the number and percentage of violations that result from proactive enforcement measures and how many violations are resolved by their compliance deadlines.
What is the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Innovation Team Program ?
The Office of Innovation, announced by Mayor Miner in December 2014, was made possible with a three year, $1.35 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Syracuse was one of fourteen cities selected in 2014 as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Innovation Teams (i-teams) Program.
Now working in more than 20 cities across four countries, the i-teams program helps cities solve problems in new ways to deliver better results for residents. Bloomberg Philanthropies awards cities multi-year grants to create in-house innovation teams, or “i-teams,” which offer cities a different set of tools and techniques to innovate more effectively and tackle critical challenges—from reducing violent crime to revitalizing neighborhoods to strengthening the growth of small businesses.
