Common Council approves street sign named after officer killed in 2024 shooting
Syracuse’s Common Council unanimously voted to install a street sign named after Syracuse officer Michael Jensen at its Monday meeting. The sign will commemorate the officer killed during an April 2024 shootout. Solange Jain | Senior Staff Photographer
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The Syracuse Common Council unanimously voted to install a street sign named after the late Syracuse Police Department Officer Michael Jensen at its regular Monday meeting.
The sign will commemorate the officer killed during an April 2024 shootout along with Onondaga County Sheriff’s Deputy Lt. Michael Hoosock. The sign, named “Michael Jensen Way,” will be located at the intersection of Avery and Whittier Avenues in the Tipperary Hill neighborhood.
During the meeting, Councilor Patrick Hogan pushed for the sign’s approval, calling him an “exemplary officer.”
In September, Jensen’s hometown of Rome, New York, also honored him with a portion of New York State Route 46, now titled the “Officer Michael E. Jensen Memorial Highway.” His parents, along with State Sen. Joseph Griffo, led the effort to rename the highway, syracuse.com reported.
The greater Syracuse community has continued to make efforts to uphold Jensen’s legacy, such as an annual hockey game at the Upstate Medical Arena at The Oncenter War Memorial in Syracuse.
“Right until the end, Officer Jensen put the lives of his fellow officers above his own well-being, with actions that can be described as nothing short of heroic,” the council’s Monday agenda states. “In keeping with his oath to protect and to serve, he saved the lives of those around him.”
Councilor Patrona Jones-Rowser, chair of the Neighborhood Preservation Committee, also approved 20 motions to sell land from the City of Syracuse to the Greater Syracuse Land Bank. The Land Bank is a city non-profit that acquires, restores and sells vacant lots to buyers for redevelopment.
Each of the 20 lots was sold for $326, located across the city’s 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Districts. As of Nov. 19, the Land Bank has acquired over 2,000 properties and sold almost 1,500 since its opening in 2012.
Other Business:
- The council approved an agreement with the company INBIODYN to provide up to 250 city employees with kinesthetic training using its Slip Simulator Mobile Unit training. The training will allow employees to physically act out workplace hazards in a safe environment when entering the Slip Simulator.
- A one-year membership to a virtual emergency medical service recertification purchase was approved for the Syracuse Fire Department.
