NYCLU, NYSDOT to give protections for residents ahead of I-81 removal
A community panel by the NYCLU and NYSDOT on I-81’s removal will be held Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Syracuse Dunbar Center. The event will incorporate residents' concerns and offer protective resources ahead of the June teardown. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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With the I-81 viaduct removal project beginning in June, the New York Civil Liberties Union, New York Department of Transportation and other community groups will host a community panel highlighting resources and protections for residents living in the viaduct.
The town-hall discussion will allow residents to share concerns regarding the removal and learn about protections from possible environmental contamination during the project, according to a Wednesday NYCLU release. The event will be held at the Dunbar Center on South State Street at 5:30 p.m.
Residents will have access to protective gear and educational resources for community members, the release states.
Community advocates, including the NYCLU, have called for the I-81 viaduct to be removed since its construction in the 1970s in the city’s 15th Ward, a historically Black neighborhood. In response to these efforts, the NYSDOT released a plan to remove the viaduct and replace it with a street-level grid in 2021.
Residents in the viaduct have raised concerns about displacement and exposure to construction materials. Community advocate groups such as Families for Lead Freedom Now, said the construction may further increase the city’s existing lead contamination problem for those living in the viaduct.
“When I-81 was built, it divided our city and dismantled a thriving Black community,” FFLFN co-chair Oceanna Fair said at a Wednesday press conference. “True justice is not just in restoration, it is in protection. We must ensure the health and safety of the families who live in the footprint of this project, because a connected city is a cared-for city.”
According to the release, the NYSDOT has made “mitigation measures” to address these concerns.
The NYSDOT collaborated with Upstate University Hospital, the state and county Departments of Health and local health groups to develop a “comprehensive” health and safety plan, said Betsy Parmley, NYSDOT director of the viaduct removal project, during the press conference.
The plan includes implementing a health hotline phone number, appointing a community hygienist, distributing informational magnets and distributing adhesive mats to remove dirt and dust from shoes, Parmley said during the press conference.
Residents who want to learn more about these supplies and resources available must attend the Thursday community panel, according to the release.
