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Building on their tireless advocacy for Central New York & the redevelopment of I-81 into a community grid, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today launched a major push to secure an additional $50 million in federal support for Syracuses transformation of the 15th Ward Neighborhood through the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Program. In a letter to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge, the senators explained that funding would further reconnect the historically divided 15th Ward neighborhood and redevelop thousands of aging public housing units, providing access to new, affordable, energy-efficient housing and reconnecting residents to new economic opportunities.
When Syracuses I-81 was built, it cut through the 15th Ward neighborhood, increasing air pollution, reducing property values, limiting opportunities for local businesses, and displacing thousands of residents. Now we have the opportunity to right these wrongs and reconnect this community to new opportunities with the redevelopment of I-81, and that must include improved access to safe, energy-efficient, affordable housing, said Senator Schumer. That is why I am calling on HUD to make a truly transformative investment in the New 15th Ward Neighborhood Transformation Plan, which will create more than 1,500 units of much-needed affordable housing. This community-led plan to redevelop the housing in the shadow of...