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 ro cks. 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 the church wondered who decided to place the utility poles in their front yard without communicating with the church, which has been in the neighborhood for more than 60 years.  Church officials worried the poles would increase their insurance rates and pose a safety threat.  During an interview with Central Current last Friday, Burns alleged that the church did not receive any correspondence — not by mail, by phone nor in person — from stakeholders involved with the redevelopment of public housing in Syracuse’s Southside.  “Which life do you value? … Why arbitrarily choose one over the other without discussion?” Burns said. “If you came and gave us rationale, we’re neighborly, we’re accessible, … and we could come up with a tangible, workable relationship that would facilitate the community.” The movement prompted church leaders to contact a bevy of organizations: National Grid, the city, the Syracuse Housing Authority and a developer. About a week later, Central Current began posing questions to those organizations about the moved utility poles.  City officials on Friday — as a result of Central Current’s questions — evaluated National Grid’s work and found the placement of the utility poles did not comply with a city-issued permit, mayor’s office spokesperson Sol Muñoz said. According to the permit reviewed by Central Current, National Grid workers were not authorized to install new poles in front of the primary street-facing wall of “any residentially-zoned or occupied structure and the street.” “National Grid is working towards a solution to meet the conditions set forth in the permit,” Muñoz said. Jared Paventi, the National Grid spokesperson, said that National Grid will remove the two of the four poles in front of the church’s entrance.  The effort to move the poles is critical to Hopps’ members and leadership. The church was twice displaced during urban renewal. Leadership viewed the lack of communication about the poles as reminiscent of past treatment of the Black community when the Interstate 81 viaduct was built. The church started with 70 parishioners in 1929. Of its 250 parishioners now, 62% are older than 65.  “We are always carrying the brunt of any kind of renovation or improvement to the neighborhood,” said Terry Woodfork, a member of the church’s board of trustees.  Spokespeople for Mayor Sharon Owens and National Grid have said they plan to remove the utility poles whose placement violated the terms of a city-issued permit. Credit: Michelle Gabel | Central Current The poles were originally moved because the old wires connecting them sagged too low and could have impeded fire trucks that would have responded to Syracuse Housing Authority’s soon to be built housing complexes, National Grid told Burns.  The church is located across the street from a vacant lot — previously used as a makeshift parking lot — owned by SHA. Construction is ongoing at the vacant lot as part of the second phase of public housing redevelopment undertaken by SHA and Missouri-based developer, McCormack Baron Salazar. The billion-dollar redevelopment is happening alongside the removal of the New York State Department of Transportation’s removal of the Interstate 81 viaduct.  Burns sent his letter to stakeholders on April 15. The letter was intended for: Mayor Sharon Owens, New York State Department of Transportation Regional Director Elizabeth Parmley, Syracuse Housing Authority Executive Director William Simmons and McCormack Baron Salazar Vice President of Development Allyson Carpenter, among others. The church demanded a written answer within 10 business days.  The pastor raised concerns that the installation of the poles was a potential violation of the city’s compliance requirements with permits, safety standards and the use of public right-of-way.  Paventi initially said that National Grid submitted a design to the City of Syracuse as part of their pole and aerial utility permit application.  The city reviewed the application and awarded the permit.  “Generally speaking, National Grid does not notify homeowners or businesses along a street when it does work, unless we need access to their property,” Paventi initially told Central Current. “These poles exist within the city’s right-of-way.” The placement of the poles sparked concerns for a number of reasons. The church’s insurance is set to expire in July, and the insurance company will reevaluate the cost. Burns worried the cost would be higher with the placement of the poles.  Burns believes they could create a fire hazard for the church, which is in a wood building. He questioned whether the poles would impede a crane from mounting a nearly 10-foot cross on the church’s steeple. The church is currently looking to replace the steeple, Burns said.  The church could not afford to dip into its emergency fund to pay higher insurance rates, he said. In his letter, Burns alleged that the placement of the poles was “inconsistent” with the permit conditions issued by the city. He accused the stakeholders in the project of moving forward with a design process driven by cost and convenience. Burns highlighted a lack of communication between the church — one of the few in the footprint of the redevelopment project. In the letter, the church called on authorities to suspend further work on installing the poles till they produce all permits, plans, fire code analyses, design documents and approvals for the project. They also called for the removal and relocation of the poles as well as an on-site meeting with stakeholders within 10 days about the issue. While McCormack Baron Salazar, the developer overhauling public housing in Syracuse’s Southside, did not direct the poles to be moved in front of the church, Carpenter spoke with Burns and Woodfork to hear their concerns.   “We’re committed to working with National Grid to facilitate better communication with the church going forward,” she told Central Current.  While the poles are now set to be moved, the church wants more transparency and increased communication from the stakeholders in the project going forward, Burns and Woodfork agreed.  “It looks like we might be one of the few churches in that entire [East Adams Neighborhood Transformation Plan] outline,” Woodfork said. “We honestly want to be … a positive part providing our facility.”  Burns added that as the Southside neighborhood undergoes rapid modernization, Hopps would like to be a part of the vision and “meet the aesthetics of that build up.” “As you’re developing, … help us to be part of that aesthetic upgrade and we can, for lack of a better word, blend in with the aesthetics that would help highlight the community that you’re trying to develop,” Burns said. The post Southside church leaders were blindsided by utility poles placed in front of their church. Now National Grid plans to remove them. appeared first on Central Current. ...read more read less