Urban CNY News is pleased to bring you Part 2 of a 5 Part Interview with Syracuse Mayor, Ben Walsh; American Rescue Plan ‘How are we spending the ARP Funds? ‘
There were several questions asked during our meeting, regarding the appropriation of funds from the American Rescue Plan aka ARP funds. In addition, we asked; What are we doing about Youth Employment and Housing? The city’s Justice Agenda; The Construction Boom in Syracuse; and there’s a conclusion regarding “Challenges” moving forward.
In Part 1, Mayor Walsh detailed American Rescue Act Plan funding and how the disbursement of these funds developed in partnership with the Syracuse Common Council.
Today’s interview Part 2, Mayor Walsh – ‘What are we doing about Youth Employment and Housing?’
“It’s just a couple of those projects that may have already started. So last year around this time we authorized funding for two years of our summer youth employment program. And again, we’ve already put over 1200 kids to work and now those are job experiences from city government to the private sector. Some of the fastest growing tech companies and everything in between. We’re supporting kids at different ages, so some younger kids are really just getting an opportunity to have an interesting experience for all of our kids. We’re compensating them for this experience, so it enables them to really invest in that experience and not have to worry about taking care of their obligations at home.
Summer youth employment was one of our first early wins. Again, we’ve invested significantly in housing, so we started with about $8 million of funding to existing homeowners for improvements to their homes. We funded first time home buyers and most recently we approved an $11 million allocation that is going to go directly to new home construction as part of our resurgent neighborhoods’ initiative. So those are just a few examples. But again, we’re covering everything from housing to public safety to infrastructure and everything in between.” – Mayor Ben Walsh
The following links are to the various tools put in place by the city to be “transparent” about where these funds are being allocated.
- American Rescue Plan Overview
- What is ARPA?
- Syracuse Mayoral Funding Priority Areas
- Investing in Jobs and Economic Recovery
- Supporting Children, Families, and Neighborhoods
- Enhancing Government Response and Resilience
- Transforming Infrastructure and Public Spaces
NEXT: Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh Urban CNY News Video Interview Part 3, The City’s Justice Agenda
