Syracuse, N.Y. — Mayor Ben Walsh is inviting neighbors and community members impacted by the conditions at the Skyline Apartments to detail their complaints at a public hearing next week.
City officials will hold a nuisance abatement hearing Monday morning with Green Skyline Apartments LLC, the company that owns the 12-story building at 753 James St. That company is owned by Tim and Troy Green.
“Input from the public is an important part of this process. It will help ensure the property owner is held accountable and that conditions at the property are improved,” Walsh said.
The hearing is a chance for the owners to outline steps taken to improve safety and security at the building after the city declared it a nuisance. If city officials determine the owners haven’t made the needed improvements, they could shut down the building, seek to take over management or possibly bring criminal charges.
The hearing will also provide an opportunity for tenants and others to testify about the building and their experience.
The meeting will be held in the Common Council chambers on the third floor of Syracuse City Hall, 233 E. Washington St. at 10 a.m. Monday. It will be open to the public. Anyone attending will be required to wear a mask, submit to a temperature check and keep proper physical distancing.
It will be the first in-person public meeting at City Hall since last fall as the building begins reopening to the public next week.
Anyone who cannot attend to speak at the meeting can write a letter to: Skyline Apartments Nuisance Abatement Hearing, ATTN: Mayor Ben Walsh, City of Syracuse, 233 E. Washington Street, Syracuse, 13202.
Police Chief Kenton Buckner signed a nuisance abatement order for Skyline in March, following the murder of 93-year-old Connie Tuori. The complex has deteriorated for years, becoming a source of multiple calls daily for police officers and other emergency personnel.
At the same time, the city’s code division declared the common areas in the building unfit for human occupancy, which allowed the county and the Syracuse Housing Authority to cut off subsidy payments to the owners.
Some longtime tenants have described harrowing conditions, particularly on the building’s top floor, where Tuori lived. They’ve described situations where non-tenants take over apartments from people with mental disabilities or drug issues, then use the apartment as a base for criminal activity.
The murder at Skyline prompted harsh action from City Hall as well as scrutiny from lawmakers and advocates. Walsh has said the city was doing everything it could even before Tuori’s death, including inspections and putting pressure on the owners. Meanwhile, lawmakers and candidates running against Walsh this year have argued that the mayor acted too slowly.
That pressure has ramped up in the last month or so. Walsh announced he would form a new city unit dedicated solely to dealing with issues at big apartment buildings like Skyline.
The Greens are still trying to sell the building, which they bought in 2016. The asking price is around $16.5 million.