Central Current • 05/27/2026

Mayor set to appoint key ally to Syracuse Housing Authority board

Mayor Sharon Owens is set to appoint ally Monica Williams to the Syracuse Housing Authority’s board of commissioners.

Williams will replace Christopher Montgomery, a longstanding board member and the vice chair, who stepped down from his role on Monday.

Montgomery resigned a year before his term was set to expire, leaving behind a vacant seat. The board is set to vote on a new vice chair at their Thursday meeting.

Owens has repeatedly called for a change in leadership atop SHA, which would re...

Central Current • 05/25/2026

Another key member of Syracuse Housing Authority board steps down

Syracuse Housing Authority Board Vice Chair Christopher Montgomery resigned Monday from the board, a year before his term was set to expire. 

His resignation paves the way for Mayor Sharon Owens to appoint another member to SHA’s board. Owens has repeatedly called for SHA Executive Director William Simmons’ ousting — an act only the board of SHA could carry out. 

Owens has yet to name a successor for Montgomery, though spokesperson Sol Muñoz told Central Current she expects to name a candidate...

Central Current • 05/14/2026

Syracuse Housing Authority sees record interest in their Section 8 homeownership program 

Syracuse Housing Authority in 2025 saw a record interest in its homeownership program from Section 8 tenants. 

Thirty-five families who rely on Section 8 applied to be part of the program for the first time, the highest number in the program’s two-decade history. In all, SHA has had 212 families express interest in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program in recent years. 

This program serves as a pipeline for existing Section 8 holder...

Central Current • 05/05/2026

Local advocates hope to avoid environmental inequality from I-81 demolition with new air quality monitors

Local environmental advocates are taking precautionary measures to help neighborhoods near Interstate 81, where residents have for decades lived with the negative health impacts of that structure, brace themselves against air pollution.

The Onondaga Environmental Institute will manage three new air quality monitors at three city-owned community centers — Wilson Park Community Center, Cannon Street Community Center and Cecile Community Center — to track quality of air amid ongoing construction o...

Central Current • 05/04/2026

I-81 local hire initiative was a success, advocates say. What’s next?

Joerell Johnson was one of the 24 local city residents who graduated the apprenticeship program that led him to find steady work amid the ongoing construction on Interstate 81. 

The state Department of Transportation hired Johnson to work on the project in May 2022 after he finished a 10 week pre-apprenticeship program, which allowed him to pick out the trade he was most interested in. He chose to be an ironworker. 

“Work’s been steady,” Johnson told Central Current during an interview in Nove...

Central Current • 04/26/2026

Southside church leaders were blindsided by utility poles placed in front of their church. Now National Grid plans to remove them.

Rev. Dr. Bruce W. Burns Sr., the senior pastor at Southside’s Hopps Memorial CME Church, first noticed about a month ago the effort to move four utility poles across the street to his church’s front yard. 

He saw workers digging holes in the ground and reinforcing the holes with sand and rocks. Soon after, four poles with transformers and wiring were mounted in the church’s front yard, running along South State Street. 

Burns and the church were blindsided by it all. The pastor and others at t...

Central Current • 04/18/2026

Syracuse Housing Authority held apartments vacant and lost $1 million. Now SHA wants a HUD waiver.

The Syracuse Housing Authority lost more than $1 million in subsidies in 2025 while holding vacant housing units to which they planned to relocate residents during the redevelopment of public housing. 

SHA held the vacancies across several properties for McKinney Manor residents who chose to move to housing units managed by SHA, said SHA Deputy Executive Director Jalyn Clifford. McKinney Manor was demolished as part of the redevelopment of public housing. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Ur...

Central Current • 03/19/2026

Podcast: What's going on at Syracuse Housing Authority?

Episode: 13 Air Date: March 10th, 2026

The Syracuse Housing Authority and the redevelopment of public housing have been in the news lately: From missed deadlines to allegations of impropriety, SHA been ensconced in controversy.

In this episode of “It’s Happening Here”, host Chris Libonati is joined by reporter Debadrita Sur to explain the developments around the redevelopment of public housing and what’s going on with the Syracuse Housing Authority.



Before you go, can you help us...

Central Current • 03/19/2026

Syracuse Housing Authority counsel clears SHA board chair of conflict of interest amid HUD investigation 

Syracuse Housing Authority’s lawyer denied allegations of conflict of interest filed with federal housing regulators by SHA Executive Director Bill Simmons against SHA Board of Commissioners Chair Ryan Benz. Questions about the complaint itself remain. 

At SHA’s board meeting Thursday, Benz read aloud excerpts of a legal opinion sent by Bradley Hunt, SHA’s attorney, to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding the investigation of Benz. Hunt wrote that Benz does not have a...

Central Current • 03/16/2026

I-81 contractor denies allegations of discrimination in lawsuit by Black-owned Syracuse trucking company

Contractors involved in the state’s Interstate 81 viaduct project denied allegations of racial discrimination levied in a lawsuit by the owner of a Syracuse-based trucking company. 

Larry Stackhouse, the owner of L Stacks Construction Co. LLC, in January accused Salt City Constructors of sidelining his company in favor of non-minority contractors. His lawyers wrote in the complaint that Salt City Constructors used his bid numbers, status as a minority contractor, certifications and local-hire c...

Central Current • 02/25/2026

Emails appear to undercut SHA board member's allegation that board chair was 'pushing so hard' for contractor

A series of emails obtained by Central Current appear to contradict a vague allegation made by Syracuse Housing Authority Board of Commissioners Member Patricia McBride against Board Chair Ryan Benz. 

McBride’s allegation was made the same day Benz unveiled to the public at a board meeting last week that SHA Executive Director Bill Simmons filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development accusing Benz of having a conflict of interest.

HUD, according to Benz, said the...

Central Current • 02/23/2026

SHA chair asks city clerk to step down from board over allegation

Syracuse Housing Authority Chair Ryan Benz has asked City Clerk Patricia McBride to step down from her position as a board commissioner. 

Benz made the request of McBride because of a vague accusation made by McBride about Benz during SHA’s Thursday board meeting. 

SHA Executive Director Bill Simmons filed an accusation with federal housing regulators about Benz having a conflict of interest with the redevelopment of public housing on the Southside. 

While Benz denied those allegations on Thu...

Central Current • 02/19/2026

SHA Executive Director Bill Simmons accuses board chair of conflict of interest; board chair denies allegations

Syracuse Housing Authority Executive Director Bill Simmons accused Board Chair Ryan Benz of having conflict of interest with federal housing regulators, leading to Benz’s early exit from Thursday’s board meeting as recommended by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

HUD issued a memorandum Wednesday night asking Benz to recuse himself from the meeting after Simmons emailed them two days before the board meeting accusing the chair of partnering with businesses that contract with...

Central Current • 02/10/2026

SHA has missed deadlines on the Choice grant by at least a year. Does it matter?

Since landing a grant to redevelop public housing in Syracuse’s Southside, the Syracuse Housing Authority has missed at least 15 of the project’s self-imposed deadlines, often by at least a year.

The housing authority’s inability to hit the deadlines has created panic among city officials about what may happen to critical federal funding on which the project relies. 

Mayor Sharon Owens has warned the $50 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Choice Neig...

Central Current • 02/04/2026

Mayor Sharon Owens is committed to the Children Rising Center project. Can Syracuse make it happen?

A year after a $7 million funding shortfall left the Children Rising Center stuck in the mud, city officials and housing advocates want to revive the project. 

Despite recent commitments from Mayor Sharon Owens to jolt the project back to life, a nonprofit leader in charge of the redevelopment says the lost year of progress has set the project back.

The Children Rising Center is part of the billion-dollar, multi-phased redevelopment of the East Adams neighborhood situated around the Interstate...

Central Current • 01/28/2026

The I-81 viaduct removal could create 12 acres of valuable land. Stakeholders still disagree on who should own it.  

The New York State Department of Transportation’s project to remove the Interstate 81 viaduct will free up nearly 12 acres of valuable land in the city’s Southside — which has caused a yearslong debate among stakeholders, residents and others about ownership of the land. 

Residents, advocates and city officials have their own visions for the use of this potentially developable land: It could be put back on city tax rolls to generate revenue for the cash-strapped municipality, it could be used t...

Central Current • 01/27/2026

Mayor Sharon Owens appoints new ally to SHA board to replace administration official 

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from Douglas Reicher, following a Wednesday interview with Central Current.

Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens is set to make new changes to the Syracuse Housing Authority board of commissioners as her push for a change in leadership atop the organization continues. 

Owens appointed Douglas Reicher, a seasoned affordable housing expert and a vocal Owens ally, to the board, a city spokesperson told Central Current. Reicher has experience leading...

Central Current • 01/20/2026

SHA board member — at least temporarily — cannot serve

Editor’s note: Stephanie Pasquale, the city’s chief strategy officer, is also a Central Current board member. Central Current’s board does not control or contribute to Central Current’s editorial operations. 

A new Syracuse Housing Authority board commissioner appointed less than two months ago is no longer serving on the board — at least temporarily. 

Stephanie Pasquale, who is now serving as the chief strategy officer for Mayor Sharon Owens’ administration, cannot serve on the board. 

State...

Central Current • 01/12/2026

Syracuse trucking company accuses contractors of discrimination

A Syracuse-based trucking company filed a lawsuit on Monday at the state Supreme Court in Onondaga County alleging racial discrimination, retaliation and unlawful business practices against contractors involved in the state’s Interstate 81 Viaduct Project. 

Larry Stackhouse, the owner of the trucking company L Stacks Construction Co. LLC, was hired by the contractors in 2024 when the first phase of the project began. His recruitment was part of the mandatory local-hire and minority-owned busine...

Central Current • 01/08/2026

Section 8 has expanded for Pioneer Homes residents. Is Onondaga County's housing stock ready?

Amid a one-time expansion of the Section 8 program, almost 150 families considered looking for new housing at a time when housing advocates say the supply of quality housing in Onondaga County is running dry.

Only 34 families — all living in public housing on the city’s Southside that could be sandwiched by the removal of the Interstate 81 viaduct and the redevelopment of public housing — took the Syracuse Housing Authority up on the offer to temporarily relocate elsewhere in Onondaga County. O...

Central Current • 11/01/2025

Central New Yorkers' SNAP benefits are delayed. We've compiled a list of food pantries.

A few hundred people gathered Wednesday inside the auditorium of St. Lucy’s Church while some lined up outside. Some sat down at tables for lunch while others waited with their carts, carefully paying heed to the number being called out front. They patiently waited their turn to stock up on food ahead of the bleak future. 

Ashawnti Harris, 36, stood by the table, watching her three-year-old rummage through Halloween candy. On Monday, Harris received a text message on her flip phone from the sta...

Central Current • 10/07/2025

Syracuse's community grid will have landscaping. Can trees prevent air and noise pollution?

Along the future community grid, the New York State Department of Transportation will plant trees to beautify the streets — but they could also serve another purpose. 

Landscaping will help “soften” and enhance the look of the concrete noise barriers along between Colvin Street and Dr. Martin Luther King, streets that cross Interstate 81, said Elizabeth Parmley, who leads the I-81 project in Syracuse. 

However, one environmental expert said that, if done right, vegetation can provide a second...

Central Current • 08/07/2025

SHA leadership won’t say what sparked closed-door meeting about 'personnel'

The Syracuse Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners on Thursday convened to discuss “personnel matters” but refused to explain what prompted the previously unscheduled meeting. 

Immediately after beginning the noon meeting, the board launched into an executive session which lasted over an hour. The executive session was not open to the public.

Executive Director Bill Simmons was present for the beginning portion of the meeting, but left before the closed-door meeting. Following the meeting...

National Catholic Reporter • 07/04/2025

One Big Beautiful Bill 'takes from the poor to give to the wealthy,' USCCB says

Demonstrators on wheelchairs protest outside the office of Sen. Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, regarding the proposed cuts to Medicaid, on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 11, 2025. (AP/Jose Luis Magana)Send your thoughts to Letters to the Editor. Learn more

As the Trump administration rallied Senate Republicans to pass the president's broad policy bill, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops strongly condemned its proposed cuts to Medicaid benefits, the Supplemental...