A small park at the corner of Marshall Street and University Avenue-dubbed "The Bay"-was dedicated to U.S. Rep. James Walsh (R-Onondaga) Sept. 23 for his support of the Crouse-Marshall Revitalization Project, a multi-year effort intended to promote business growth in the University Hill neighborhood and improve the overall image of the area.
Walsh secured $3.8 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to finance the renovation work, which was done in the summer of 2000 and 2001, and focused on the business district along South Crouse Avenue and Marshall Street.
In the project's first phase on Marshall Street, overhead utility poles and lines were removed; underground electrical and telecommunications lines and a new water main were installed; a new concrete street surface was laid; a new sidewalk, a seating area and a retaining wall were installed along the street's southern edge; and classic-style light poles were erected.
In the second phase, the sidewalks and street surface along Marshall Street were finished with bricks, as was the South Crouse-Marshall intersection. On South Crouse Avenue, some utility poles were removed and underground lines were installed along both sides of the street, and, where needed, new concrete sidewalks were laid. Along both streets, trees were planted, and new benches, bicycle racks and trash receptacles were installed. In addition, a new bus shelter was built along South Crouse Avenue, and information kiosks were installed at both ends of the Marshall Street block.
"All of us in the neighborhood are very grateful for the effort put into this project," said Jerry Dellas, president of the Crouse-Marshall Business Association. "Business is up for the merchants, and I attribute that directly to the physical improvements in the area. This project has brought together all of the institutions on the Hill and created a new vitality."
During a Monday morning ceremony at The Bay, Dellas, Syracuse University Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw and University Hill Corp. President Irwin L. Davis spoke of the project and Walsh's key role. Shaw and the congressman then unveiled an engraved granite brick implanted in The Bay. Its inscription reads: "The Bay: a gathering place for all to enjoy. Dedicated to Congressman James T. Walsh. A true friend to the University Hill Community."
Afterward, Shaw presented Walsh with a memento-a brick identical to the ones used in the sidewalk constructed on Marshall Street and engraved with a replica of the inscription from The Bay.
"I have said before that Jim is a politician who keeps score by results-not promises," Shaw said. "He committed to seeing this project happen and it did. And we are all the better for it."
"The Marshall Street improvements are another tangible example among so many of Congressman Jim Walsh's enduring commitment to the University Hill and the Central New York community," said Gregory L. Eastwood, M.D., president of SUNY Upstate Medical University and chairman of the University Hill Corp. "Let this space that we are naming in his honor be a perpetual reminder of the contribution that he has made to improve our lives in so many ways."
The Bay was built on a small piece of SU land at Marshall Street's intersection with University Avenue. It's the counterpart to "The Beach," a seating area at the South Crouse Avenue end of Marshall Street. Both areas, developed as part of the renovation project, are intended as gathering places for students, residents and visitors to the Hill.
