Common Council - public_hearing

So how are you? So we got cups with no water. Nathan was filling them up earlier.

Huh?

Nathan was filling them up earlier. Here, I got one.

You can have mine. Oh, what do you mean? You can have mine. I don't have any.

No, yours is right here.

Oh, okay. Thank you. Do you want mine too? No, I'm good. All right. Can you hear me? Yes. So good evening, everybody. Thank you for joining us. We welcome you. This is a public hearing. And we will listen to everyone that wants to state a comment. But I want to remind you that this is a public hearing. And that means that the council cannot engage in discussion. We're here to listen to you. Okay? We want to say thank you to Danielle, our stenographer, for joining us today. And she asked me to please let everybody know when you come up to the mic, please state your name and spell it so she can get your comments and the spelling of your name correctly. Okay. Some regulatory items. Once you come, I will have these cards that you've been completing at the entrance. So I am going to call the names in the order that I'm receiving them. When I do, and you come up to the microphone, you will have three minutes to state your comment. Three minutes. Then you're going to listen to a little bell that the phone kind of rings out. And then you would have 30 seconds to close your comments. Okay?

With that said... Oh, I need to read this.

give me one minute um let me see i'll tell you about the three minutes okay one thing very important and we're not here to have speakers to speak out of term or to we we don't want to see any demonstrations here tonight we want this process to be a calm cool collected process where we can all learn about your thoughts so we can take in consideration as we then go back and deliver, okay? Then first of all, I would like to have, oh, this is first, right?

Okay, so go ahead. The short title. This public hearing is in regard to authorizing a renification of the public use permit issued to 424 through 432 Westcott Street for the Westcott Theater.

Thank you. Then we're gonna have first Jake Deshaw to please come up to the mic. Jake is gonna stake the facts of why we're here.

Thank you, Council President. Just to set the stage for everybody here publicly again tonight, this is subject to a revocation, to hear a revocation for a special use permit. The purpose of a special use permit procedure is a land use review that provides a mechanism for the city to evaluate proposed development and land uses that have unique or varying operating characteristics or unusual features. And this procedure is intended to ensure compatibility with surrounding areas and that adequate mitigation is provided for anticipated impacts to neighborhoods. so this land use that's operating at this location special use means it indicates that the land use is allowed but the respective zone district it's only allowed or approved if reviewed with the special use permit procedures and special consideration by planning boards and governing bodies like the common council So what we're here doing tonight is this is the public hearing. It's a required process and a revocation hearing. So per the zoning code, I have submitted this report to you all to consider. And in part of that process, we have to hold this public hearing that we're engaging in tonight. You will see based on my submittal what my recommendation is and what my findings and conclusions are. It is publicly available, I wanna state that as well. Anybody who's interested in viewing this or seeing it right now, you can even go online and search Syracuse City of Zoning, City of Syracuse Zoning, and it'll be right on our main page. It's an 18-page document. In closing, again, based on the report and conclusion, It is my conclusion that the property has shown a repeated and well-demonstrated failure to maintain the property in an orderly manner, up to and including serious acts of violence occurring inside the property. It is my professional opinion that this conduct, combined with the Westcott Theater's apparent willingness to violate local regulatory requirements, which go unaddressed until they are caught violating the regulations, has detrimental impact on the surrounding neighborhoods. Accordingly, I respectfully request that the Common Council revoke the special use permit, which was previously issued under SP-08-08. Finally, I note that the revocation of the 2008 special use permit would not preclude subsequent applicants from applying for a future special use permit at this location for indoor amusement and recreation. Nor would revocation preclude a business from operating pursuant to other permissible uses within the MX-2 zone district. The Office of Zoning Administration does not want to see the property or any property in the city remain vacant for an extended period of time. However, the Office of Zoning Administration maintains that the property has failed to abide by the terms of its special use permit and has become a detriment to the surrounding neighborhood. And accordingly, I've submitted this report to you all.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Next, I would like to have Chief Rothen come to the mic.

Good evening, thank you, Council President. Just to highlight some of the issues that Jake had been speaking about. The property has been on the site of numerous late night disturbances and violent incidents over the past couple of years presenting significant public safety concerns. I'll highlight some of those now. There's a shooting incident on May 31st, 2025 required significant police response and led to the recovery of over 20 spent casings in the four and 500 block of Westcott street and nearby Harvard place. Police investigation revealed that bullet holes were found in a nearby residential home and a bullet casing was recovered in a residential bedroom. In July, 2026, the property was understaffed from a security personnel perspective and a large fight broke out, excuse me, outside of the Westcott. SPD officers were needed to break up the fight. In August, 2026, a significant fight occurred inside the Westcott and culminated with two people being stabbed. The venue did not call the incident into the police and acknowledged that there had been numerous fights inside the establishment that evening. This pattern of behavior, including evidence of understaffed security personnel raises concerns regarding the property's ability to maintain a safe environment for patrons during events. This affects not only the patrons, but the nearby largely residential community. The property also has a known inability to maintain a safe environment has forced to devote considerable resources to the area. Given the properties known and demonstrated pattern of failing to maintain a safe environment, Syracuse police department has been forced to dedicate limited department resources to the property. As an example, on July 3rd, 2026, the property hosted. a concert that ended approximately 2 a.m. Syracuse Police Department officers were located outside the venue and were able to break up a fight that started under the Westcott's awning. While the police officers were able to successfully handle the situation before anyone was seriously injured, a property with adequate license security should be able to handle crowd control efforts without significant police presence. It is imperative that the department deploy officers and resources in efficient manner so as to provide adequate services to all areas of the city. That goal is hindered when the department is forced to send officers to businesses that should be maintaining a safe environment on their own. The property is shown in willingness to flaunt attempts by SPD to address some of the problems at the property. SPD has had numerous attempts to work with the venue, which have been brushed off by the venue. As an example, during the July 3rd, 2026 event that I just spoke about, Syracuse Police Department officers attempted to talk with the head of security officer at the venue to determine whether the appropriate number of licensed security officers was present. In response, the licensed security officer told the officer that if Chief Tom, Deputy Chief Jason Tom wants the list, he can come and get it himself. this was a simple request that was made to verify the number of staff that were on site at the time similarly on august 7 2026 the venue knowingly hosted an unlicensed event the entertainment licensing process is an important function that allows spd to be aware of the events and provide input on what levels of license security should be used thank you for your time thank you um chief russon and maybe jake if you want to leave your notes uh with katie if you would like to submit those that we can

And the same with everybody else. If you would like to submit your notes and comments, they come to our clerk. Okay. Next, I would like to ask if the property owner is in the room. If you would like to have an opportunity to speak, you're welcome to come to the mic. No?

The property owner or the business owner?

Business owner. Well, the property owner. I was going to call on the business owner as well, but the property owner is not here. Okay, so then the business owner, can you please then join us?

Thank you. make this brief. Thank you for having me. Good afternoon. My name is Dan Mastronardi. I've owned and operated the Westcott Theater for the past 18 years. Standing here today is extremely difficult. It makes me sad and quite frankly, it makes me disappointed and embarrassed that after nearly two decades of investing in the city and the community, we've reached a point where the future of the Westcott Theater is being questioned. For 18 years, I've put my time, my money, my energy, and a huge part of my life into that establishment. During that time, Westcott has created jobs, supported local musicians, promoters, artists, production companies, and small businesses alike, and brought thousands upon thousands of people into the Westcott neighborhood and the city of Syracuse. We've given local artists a stage to perform. We've given promoters an opportunity as well. We've brought nationally recognized artists into Syracuse for nearly two decades, and we've created a place where people from every neighborhood, every background, and every walk of life can stand together under one roof. That is what I'm most proud of. I'm not standing here claiming that everything is perfect or has been perfect. Operating a live music entertainment venue for 18 years comes with challenges. When there are legitimate problems, I am willing to address them, work with the city, make changes, and do whatever is reasonably necessary to operate safely. But that has become increasingly difficult for me in the feeling that the Westcott is not always being treated fairly. At times we have seen several different levels of scrutiny depending on an event, a promoter, or the audience. When similar situations appear to produce different responses from government, people naturally begin to ask questions about fairness and equal treatment. That should concern all of us. Public safety matters. Rules matter. But those rules must be clear, reasonable, consistent, and applied equally. Today, I am simply asking the board to look behind one incident, one event, or one disagreement. Please look at 18 years of history. Look at the jobs. Look at the artists. Look at the promoters. Look at the businesses, look at our customers, look at the thousands of people that walked through the doors and peacefully enjoyed music together. The Westcott Theater has been part of Syracuse for two decades. I do not want to fight with the city, and I will not fight with our city. I want it to work. I want to correct the problems where problems exist. I want to continue improving. And I want the opportunity to keep Westcott Theatre open, safe, welcoming, and contributing to the community for many years to come. After 18 years, I believe that I've earned the opportunity to do that. I'm asking you today to judge fairly, vote fairly, and give us the opportunity to move forward. Thank you. Thank you. And if you don't mind, I'd like to give you.

Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right. So now we will begin with everybody that wants to speak. And I would like to add to my comments before, if you don't finish, if you have your three minutes and you still have something to say at the end, when everybody has had a chance to speak, if we still have time, we'll call you back. Okay. And then I'll tell you, I mean, because we can't, engage in any discussion tonight. However, after the meeting ends, if you wish to reach out to any of us, you're most welcome to do so.

Okay.

All right. So our first speaker will be Anthony Dickens.

Dickens, D I C K E N S. My name is Anthony Dickens. I am a resident of Syracuse, a business owner, and a property owner, father. I grew up here in Syracuse. I graduated from Nottingham. I went to State University of New York, as well as Syracuse University. And I stand with Westcott here today. So my business is a promotion business. It's called Lifestyle Entertainment for the Culture. I've been operating under that name and different names for over 20 years. My first concert I ever threw was at the Westcott Theater back in 2008. And even before that, I grew up, I went to go see like the Blair Witch Project in 1997 at the theater. So I didn't even, it's not special use in my opinion because it's always just been there and it's always been like a staple for that community, which again, I've patronized my whole entire life. Dan also, again, has given me the opportunity when other people have not given me the opportunity due to age or other reasons to not do events and not let my business thrive. He was always there and allowed me to be able to express myself and make a living for my family. I don't want to talk entirely about our relationship and how many good things I could say about Westcott because I do want to just call attention to something that I think is maybe a bigger of a broader problem in the city of Syracuse. It seems as if the Syracuse city police and some other agencies might be attempting to control our social economics and how we express ourselves. And I think this is just another step and another way that they might be utilizing their power to really enforce something that they don't have the power to enforce, which is what the city of Syracuse wants to do for entertainment, nightlife, music, and any other creative expression. And I think that's very important for us to really look into, and especially our Common Council members who are here to represent the citizens. This is something that I think needs a little bit more attention, because at the end of the day, if people are willing to patronize the Westcott as it stands, and they obviously are because it's been open for 20 years, I don't think that the city and, respectfully, the people who write this report have the ability to say after 20 years, four incidents is enough to strip that venue of their power to give voice to people. And that's pretty much all I have to say today. Thank you, Common Council.

Thank you very much. Alrighty. Next we have Kavya Hosley.

Davia Housley, D-A-V-I-A-H-O-U-S-L-E-Y.

Good evening.

I am a Syracuse native, a college graduate, a degree in hospitality and event management, an independent event coordinator. And my goal here is to help build a safer, more professional, and more inclusive nightlife industry, excuse me, entertainment industry right here in the city that raised me. Westcott Theater means something to me beyond business. It is a landmark in our community. I remember going there as a child when it was still a movie theater. So being able to return there as an adult with an education in this industry, and help produce events inside of the same building that has been there is a full circle moment for me. But what we are experiencing is now bigger than Westcott. We are watching black events face scrutiny that does not appear to be applied equally across Syracuse nightlife. And it is not only black owned businesses being affected, venue owners open their doors to black promoters, black artists, Hip-hop and R&B artists and audiences are also feeling that pressure. This especially is troubling because Syracuse and New York State promote our diversity, something worth visiting and celebrating. Our music, our culture, and nightlife should not be excluded and always included in that vision, not treated as a problem simply because the crowd and promoters and genres look different. I'm not asking the city to ignore the safety regulations, licensing regulations, hold us accountable, give us our standards, but let us meet them. But those standards must be clear, consistent, and equally forced. People like me are trying to build a legitimate business, create jobs, bring artists and visitors into Syracuse, and give our community a safe place to enjoy itself. And we haven't had a fair chance to do so. Thank you.

Thank you. Next, we'll have Mike Allen.

Good evening, members. My name is Mike Allen. That's M-I-K-E-A-L-L-E-N. And I'm the attorney for Dan Mastronardi in the Westcott Theater. I've known Dan since high school and have been attending concerts at the Westcott Theater for the better part of two decades. I've even performed there as a musician myself. Let me start with what I'm not gonna do. And I'm not gonna stand here and tell you that everything that Dan has done has been perfect. It has not. Um, but I can tell you that Dan takes what happens on that block very seriously and that he owns his part in helping to fix the problems that exist. But this council should also know that the city has not done everything perfectly either. On August 13th, the city posted a notice condemning his building. Essentially they padlocked his whole business. The notice was suspended by Supreme Court in an action that I brought and later walked back by the city itself. Additionally, there is a licensing issue which I'm contesting the constitutionality of it was passed by this Council that gives complete discretion to the director of codes enforcement to decide who can and who cannot play at the Westcott theater. And I contend that that is a absolute violation of my client's First Amendment rights. And when another concert was held in violation of what I'm calling an unconstitutional licensing regime, the police sent a dozen cops to shut it down and charged the manager wrongly with a crime. The city has had on its books a method for dealing with these types of situations. nuisance abatement section of the law ask yourselves why hasn't that been used in this instance under that ordinance we get a hearing we get to contest a lot of the things that are in that packet that was given to you by the codes department we don't have that option anymore they've curtailed it Now what we have is send codes to condemn. Failing that, send the police to arrest. Failing that, send a dossier to the council asking them to revoke their license, their special use permit rather. Revocation is permanent, at least for Dan it is. You have the tools to deal with this. Please reject revocation. Allow my client to work with this city, with this council, to have a good business that is safe and healthy for everyone. Thank you.

All right. Next, we're going to hear from Dunn. Mr. Notto. He already spoke. Oh, you already spoke, okay. All right, thank you. Next we're going to hear from Nisabir Evans.

Good evening, counselor. How are you guys doing? My name is Elizabeth Evans. I'm a 27-year-old business owner born and raised in Syracuse, New York. I've been working within Westcott Theater for about two years, and it's probably been some of the best business I had in my life. Westcott isn't just a building to me. It's employment for bartenders, business owners, artists, people to express their first human rights and just be able to be their self. Westcott is a landmark for this community, has been for 20 years. Like they said, they're not asking for special treatment, they're asking for fair treatment. They will fix public safety issues, they will get their licenses together, and that just will affect everybody and it will just be good for all of us. I'm sorry, I'm a little nervous. I have a bachelor's degree in business administration. I started my morning business at Westcott. It has put a floor on the table for my family, has put a floor on the table for me. And that's all, thank you. Thank you. N-I-Z-A-V-I-E-R. Evans, E-V-A-N-S.

Thank you. All right, now we're gonna hear from Asia Raines.

Hello, I'm Asia, A-S-I-A, last name R-A-I-N-E-S. Good evening, I am here today to speak on behalf of Westcott. I am someone who's been involved in Syracuse entertainment and nightlife industry for the past several years. I work as a bartender, a promoter, and an event specialist. So I've had the opportunity to experience many different venues in the city. I'm here to speak in support of the Westcott Theater and its reopening because with my personal experience, it has always been positive. Every event that I have been, been to or attend have made me feel safe, comfortable, welcome, and respected. When working in the nightlife industry, safety is something that I pay very close attention to, not only for myself but also for the attendees, the staff, the security, the performers, or anyone involved in the event. From what I personally experience, the Westcott Theater has always provided an environment where people from different backgrounds can come together, enjoy music, celebrate, and be a part of our Syracuse community. Venues like the Westcott Theater is important because they create opportunities for people like myself, local bartenders, promoters, DJs, performers, and event specialists. They also give Syracuse a place where culture, music, and community can come together. I understand the concerns surrounding any establishment should be taken seriously, but I also believe that decisions should consider the positive experiences. Those of us in the entertainment industry are doing our part by using our good judgment, exercising our discernment, and identifying individuals for They're behaviors that may jeopardize the safety of our establishment. However, we cannot do this alone. We have repeatedly asked the city for greater support from the adequate security resources that are consistent with the police presence, particularly during the high traffic events and nightlife hours. We are being asked to take greater responsibility for the safety and the conduct surrounding our businesses. then we are also asking to the city to partner with us and providing those those necessary resources respectfully i ask that you consider allowing the westcott theater the opportunity to reopen and continue being a part of syracuse entertainment community thank you thank you next we're going to hear from ernest hester

Ernest, as you say your name, can you please also state your address?

Yes, Ernest Hester, E-R-N-E-S-T, H-E-S-T-E-R, 134 Bella, Syracuse, New York. I came today to basically I wanted to tell Dan personally in front of everybody how much admiration and respect I have for him. I grew up in Syracuse my whole life. I went away during some time for things I have set responsibility for and came home and getting my life back together. And out of pretty much everybody, he was the one to take the chance on me. I went to him and said, listen, this is what I want to do for the community. I had a big event with a rival member at the time, And I was basically, you know, I said it's one thing to speak about things as far as changing our community, but it's one thing to show them, show the kids. And if I feel like they see me doing it, then, you know, anybody can do it. And repeatedly, you know, I work with Anthony, I work with other, you know, establishments. And anytime I got something to do with something, the police, I don't, I can't necessarily pinpoint, I'm not going to go in there, but it's always of why you having him or, Or he used to do this when I was 19 years old. I'm 37. I changed my life. I do so many things for the community. And whether this gets shut down or not, I'm going to still keep pushing forward. I'm going to still have the respect I got for that man. And that's all I wanted to say. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Next, we're going to hear from Carly Morales. I'm Carly Morales, C-A-R-L-I-E, Leslie Morales, M-O-R-A-L-E-S, and I am the owner, the cook, the server of Las Delicias at 552 Westcott Street.

Pretty much I don't see a lot of the people of Westcott Street in here tonight, but I am one of those business that stays open until 11 or 12 and then I head home and I see whatever's going on in Westcott Street. And let me give you a briefing of Westcott. Westcott is a very bribing community, okay? It has been there for many, many decades. It has a theater, it's got restaurants, bars, it's got a little bit of everything. It's got the students. When the students are there, it all goes wild. Now, I leave around 11 o'clock, and when I see activities at the theater, I see nothing but young people. They're going in there to have a good time, okay? What that area needs, because we're looking for a solution, We need to have a little more police presence because when I leave at 552 Westcott Street, I am at the end of the commercial area, I feel a little scared. And we used to have many years ago, maybe 26 years ago, police presence on Westcott Street. We have no police presence on Westcott Street any longer. I have read several things about the theater, but in the 26 years that I have been on Westcott Street, three negative events in the 26 years speaks volumes about the community. That means that in the 26th year, we only had three incidents. Three incidents. In Syracuse, you have areas where they have, in one month, 20 incidents compared to the Westcott in the 26 years that I've been there, three incidents. Now, I see that if the theater is affected negatively, we as business on Westcott Street will have an impact. And if you don't believe me, this month alone, you can stop by Westcott and see the reality of it. Okay? There's no people on Westcott Street. So if there's no people on Westcott Street, we get affected. We cannot hire people. We cannot pay our bills. And that says a whole bunch about what Westcott is. So if we are deciding what needs to be done here, I think we need to sit down, and we have done that before on Westcott Street. When there's an issue, we sit down and we discuss what we can do to solve the issue. because it could be him today, but it could be me next year. You get it? So I think that the solution here, rather than to get rid of the theater, which has been there for many, many years, could be to bring a solution by sitting down with all the businesses. We need in Westcott Street to sit down, each one of us, because it's the first time I meet the owner of the Westcott Theater, other renter. So I think that we need to think what we want to do for the theater, because if we get rid of the theater, I'm going to tell you within two years, we will see an empty Westcott Street, okay? We will see a completely empty, because if the business on the theater brings a lot of business into that space to block.

Thank you, Carly.

Perfect, thank you.

All right, next we're gonna hear from Dylan Tripodi.

Good evening, Dylan Tripodi. That's D-Y-L-A-N-T-R-I-P-O-D-I.

On your address.

We got to get Ms. Morales a t-shirt, I think. Anyway, I'm just up here to vouch for the Westcott and my good friend Dan Mastronardi. I've been bartending there for the past eight years. Man, what a time it's been. I wouldn't have traded any moment that I've been there since I started working. You know, all the concerts, all the events. Again, like I said, every hour I spent behind that bar, seeing what it's done for the community, not only the Westcott community, but Syracuse at large. The opportunity Dan's given local artists, local vendors, people like myself looking for some employment, and communities that have been discriminated against in other venues around town. Again, that all starts with Dan here. You know, like Mike said, he's not perfect. He's loud. He's a little rough around the edges. His methods are unorthodox, but at the end of the day, he's a high quality individual. He's a savvy business owner. He's a good promoter and he's a loyal friend. And at the end of the day, he's trying, he's really trying hard. Sometimes it seems like with two hands tied behind his back. But I've seen it firsthand again from behind that bar, from within those walls. The effort he's putting forward, the rest of the staff is the community support behind us all. There's effort there, there's willingness to cooperate, to participate, to sit down with whoever needs to be a part of that conversation, to move forward, to keep bringing. you know music and life and entertainment and um you know the good times to this this town this community um and i don't want to see that go away and no one else does here so uh so again i'm i'm here just to support that support support my people and support the theater so thank you thank you next we're gonna hear from rocco fiola

Mayor Mrakas, Thank you counsel.

Mayor Mrakas, Rocco feel our OCC oh F E o la. Mayor Mrakas, i'm a local resident of the westcott neighborhood for 2530 years now i'm a local musician. Live music is a huge part of my life, but I am here to represent my neighbors and my community when I say that we don't feel safe, and I don't think anybody's advocating that we get rid of the Westcott Theater. I haven't spoken to anybody who wants the Westcott Theater or live music in our area to go away. What we want to go away is the negligence that causes us to all feel unsafe. I don't want to walk to the place I go get coffee in the morning to have to walk through police officers and police cars and find out the window's been shot out. It's just common fact lately that when events happen there, we don't feel safe. So I'm in favor of what the city's doing. I want to see a change and I want to see the Westcott Theater come back to what it was and what it could be. And I think I speak for a lot of people in my community. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me. I appreciate it. Thank you.

Okay, next we're going to hear from Ty Ratford.

Hello, everybody. I'm Ty Bradford, T-Y-B-R-A-D-F-O-R-D. And before I read what I wrote, I want to say I'm coming here today not only as an ally to the Westcott Theater, but also as a resident. I live on Westcott Street, too. I can identify with both the community and with the theater. And what I can say about the community is I'm not here to disagree or tell anybody what their feelings are, but I think a lot of the times fear comes from not knowing. So it's easy to stay scared if you like a part of the community or in the house and not trying to involve yourself with the community. Now, everything's not everybody's cup of tea. So if you don't like hip hop shows it's a country show this day or a rock show this day, I understand not getting involved. But until you can come outside and see the genuine love that the Westcott gives and receives, then it's easy to stay afraid. But I want to say my name is Tyjohn Bradford. I'm a Syracuse native artist, entrepreneur, community advocate, and combat veteran. I spent several years using my platforms to create opportunities, support local businesses, and bring people together through music, events, and community. westcott theater has become more than just a venue in syracuse it's been more it's been one of the few spaces where black and multicultural business owners have been able to build create and provide a safe and welcoming environment for our community from fundraisers to social mixers to events that bring people together the west scots played a meaningful role in the cultural fabric of our city that's why what's happening now feels bigger than the permit or code enforcement issue the community has raised serious concerns about whether these actions are truly about safety and procedure or about controlling the communities and a lot and being allowed to gather in which spaces are allowed to thrive. So I'm here today to say we stand with Dan Mastronardi in the West Side Theater, who has consistently opened his doors and supported black entrepreneurs, supported our events, and stood beside our community. He has demonstrated allyship through action, and now it's our turn to be allies to him. Oh, yeah. When I met Dan, it was for a performance opportunity, but he's such an impactful individual that a 20-minute conversation turned us from clients into family. My kids call him Uncle Dan, despite not knowing how race works and know that clearly we're not blood related, but that just speaks to who he is. My kid's six years old, and he really thinks that Dan is his uncle. You get what I'm saying? So, I mean, that's going enough. You guys know kids don't lie. So, thank you.

Thank you. OK, next we're going to hear from Kamar Boatman. Do we have a Kamar? You do?

How you doing? My name is Kamar Boatman. First off, I represent the Minority Entertainment Coalition.

Kamar, can you spell your name for our stenographer?

Yes, ma'am.

K-A-M-A-R-B-O-A-T-M-A-N. Secondly, I represent Curb the Curb. It's a program that teaches financial literacy to the kids. And third, I'm here for Westcott in support of Dan and Andrew. First off, before I get too deep in what I wrote, Common Council got a lot of power that everybody in the community don't know. So when you research the Common Council, they big on stopping gang violence, creating change. I don't know if Dan know, but he has done that. If you look back and see these people with these black shirts on, the police might identify it as four or five rival gangs. At the Westcott, we don't identify as that. In every minority community, entertainment breeds love. We're from New York State. Rap started in the five boroughs, predominantly. And with that, you have the Jay-Zs, the Sean Combs. Then out West, you have the Master P's. In this city, The black entrepreneur that's focused on this can't get ahead. And the city don't miss how much opportunity we're missing. We got four signed artists that won't come back here and do nothing because all they hear is that the city not supporting their people. You got Tusi, Stove God, and a few others that signed. And they like, they was supposed to be coming right from our city. They don't supposed to have to go to New York City, North Carolina to create a hub when we got great entrepreneurs in our city. I've been through it with the city and nightlife years ago. And when we create the comic, and this is being honest, the comic comp, that's why Sharon Owens saying the nightlife mayor. We brought this in front of her, 14 of us, and sat down and said that we need this. Then one day we woke up and she said the nightlife mayor. So we was like, what happened to the coalition with the 14 black women and men that sat down with you to put this together? We already got it, y'all. Whether it's collectively, anybody might not see it, but it's all there. They say they want safety. So you can know, sir, we tell the police, we give y'all $125 an hour to be in front of any venue. This man is a taxpayer. Why he can't have access to police like Iron Center got access to it? Why wouldn't we want Westcott to be the next Iron Center Landmark Theater? Why do we keep putting ceilings on our local entrepreneurs? But if Live Nation come here, y'all give Live Nation the power to do everything through the city, amphitheater. We call it, all 10 of us can call right now and say, we got 100 grand right now for the amphitheater, and they're going to say no. And legally, because it's a county-owned facility, Live Nation really don't even supposed to have access to that because most of us are taxpayers. So it was like, you know, I had the script, and I give it to y'all, but listen to these people. A lot of people, they said what they said. I said, I do this out of love. I speak for many venues, many businesses, you know, and then you, this man not responsible for what happened outside? If that's the case, shut down Destiny USA. We did a case study on their crime. Robbery, shoe was in their parking lot. Y'all not gonna punish them, so why would y'all punish him? He got no felonies. He ain't got no gang ties. He don't sell no drugs. He don't gang bang. But you can go to Destiny USA, what, because they got the big money? No, y'all should be saying, how can we figure it out? We come to y'all with begging mercy, many meetings. If I know a common counsel, we knock on their door, we sit down with them. I catch Rashida, my uncle, I say, where you going? Let me talk to you for three hours. Here, I need three hours. But y'all hear us out. We keep saying this thing. We be begging for security. You don't think he want to be able to call the police and get money, money through Sunday? We all were like that. And again, the biggest thing, I'm going to give y'all what I wrote down, but the biggest thing y'all need to see is unity. Again, where the police invite his crew? If they use that two-pitcher method, they'll say we got local gang members right here. But again, it ain't nothing going on in our city. We got the lowest tier of violence ever. Let's push unity, y'all. Ain't nobody getting killed. Ain't nobody getting shot. Hip-hop and music. You got E.B. and Swirly performing. Quote-unquote, an ex-Bricktown member and an ex-Eastside member. Thank you, Kamar. Okay, but I'm going to send that to y'all. But like I said, y'all just think outside the box and think about him. Other than that, y'all going to let Micron take over all our money. We got local entrepreneurs right here who want to be multi-millionaires. But y'all going to give everybody from everywhere else the puck. Chicago, Nebraska. Why y'all not putting us in position? We hometown heroes. Help us out. Support us.

Kamar, thank you. All right, next we're gonna hear from Eon West.

I am Eon West. It's E-O-N-W-E-S-T. I was thinking the same thing. Why is Destiny USA still allowed to operate? It has had plenty of violence. It has not lived up to any of its most important promises, and yet it still operates. That's so obvious. That's so clear. It also becomes very clear that this is an organization and a community that is being targeted. That is very clear. I moved recently from Syracuse. I moved with my son to Bondsville with my folks because, well, we had nowhere else to go. But I love the Westcott. I've been to many shows there. I miss it because I haven't been able to get there as much. But as the people here have said, it is a jewel to this community, to Syracuse. And one more thing that this is very important. I really hope you will listen to this. One of the individuals here said to me, please, he was like, please talk. You've got to talk because of your complexion. He should never have to feel that way. None of my fellow citizens here should ever have to feel like their words are less than mine or anybody else's. I hope you catch that. You're their representatives. You are the people who are supposed to look out for them, especially because they're vulnerable. And if they're being targeted in part because they put on hip hop shows, You have the responsibility to look into that because that means they are being targeted, and you must protect them. Oh, and by the way, the punk and metal and alternative scenes came up with the hip-hop scene and the rap scene at the same time. We are your allies, your brothers. I am here for you.

Thank you. Next, we're going to hear from Alex Marion, city auditor.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Alex Marin. I'm the Syracuse City Auditor. And as City Auditor, I'm elected to represent the entire city of Syracuse. And my elected colleagues, I know you understand just how difficult that can be some days because we're a big city, a diverse city, and often a complicated city. where we have conflicting and competing interests for things. And I know exactly how important it is to support and develop and nurture our local arts community. But we also have to keep in mind the importance that bringing public safety to our neighborhoods has. The Westcott Theater has had a lengthy history in recent years of being a hub of problematic activity. There have been shootings. There have been stabbings. 20 shell casings found in a parking lot is not a bar fight gone sideways. That is a massacre waiting to happen. I live in constant fear that one day I will get the phone call from our police department that there has been a homicide at or near spilling out of a Westcott Theater event. And that is something we cannot and should not have in the city of Syracuse. We need to help our small venues grow and thrive. But with thoughtful enforcement and thoughtful permitting and licensing rules, we can keep people safe. And unfortunately, we have seen on the record over and over and over again, the Westcott Theater has played fast and loose with those rules. Now, since I've been in office, I have done more work on code enforcement matters and public safety matters than anyone who has ever served a city auditor before me. And I know that I talk about code enforcement issues quite frequently. I'm sure that Commissioner Shaw, Commissioner Collins are probably sick of hearing from me at this point. But on this case, I have to say their teams have done exemplary work. And I say the same to Chief Russ and his team. It's done exemplary work doing the exact right thing, trying to make sure that we keep all of our neighbors and our community members safe because anyone who goes into a venue for live entertainment, for live activities should be kept safe. They should be safe on the street. They should be safe in the neighborhood around that. And so should the folks who live and work in those areas. I think it is asking far too much of our police department that has a wide berth already To provide additional security on West Scott street for events happening at the West Scott theater. That is not a standard that we should start to hold ourselves to. Venues need to be responsible for their own security and their own safety, and they should not be reliant on the Syracuse police department as a fallback. That means something is going sideways. To begin with, so I'm here today to urge you counselors to revoke the special permit for the West Scott theater because I think the time has come. that we can say no more to the activities that we have seen there in recent years. Thank you.

Thank you. All right, all right. We're going to hear now from Richie Sposato. Richie Sposato.

Hello, my name is Richie Sposato. R-I-C-H-I-E-S-P-O-S-A-T-O. I've been born and raised in this area over 60 years. Grew up in the heyday of the nightlife in this town in the 80s. We had nightclubs all over the place. It was a great time growing up in this community, vibrant. People have jobs, going out at night on the weekends, having a great time. I have big ideas. You know, I invented products. I moved to Europe, over to Netherlands, got married over there. Netherlands is probably the most diverse country in the world. They know how to keep people together, different cultures. They have the most diverse society of all this world. And yet, Syracuse can't control a certain aspect of their people. Okay? We can't... shut down businesses we can't shut down the nightlife in this town because without a nightlife we don't have a city we don't have conventions coming in to okay after the convention's over they're going out at night for entertainment we need entertainment in this town i owned a nightclub in this town club 11. okay shut down why too much pressure want to take our liquor license authority sheriff's coming all around all right well the job of the police is to break up fights that's what police do if you don't want to be a cop then if you don't want to break up fights then don't be a cop because that's your job Okay, now obviously things are a little rougher today than they were back in the 80s where we used to just use our fists, maybe now there's more guns and knives on the streets, okay? That's a problem, a societal problem. It's not a business problem. You can't shut down businesses, okay? You have to try to control and manage society, the people, okay? If it's the black community that's the problem, then put some more effort into educating them, calming them down, making them feel better so they don't go out and get in some fights at the end of the night. But it's not the problem of the business. We need the businesses, we need nightlife, we need music in this town. I like in Syracuse, like the East Coast Seattle. We have great musicians here in town, great artists, black, white, all different kinds. They hire all different groups of people. They don't discriminate against the black. They're welcoming them. Okay, same as I did at Club 11. I welcomed all kinds. Everybody was welcome. Okay, but if there's some issues at the end of the night that really aren't inside the place, it's the police's job to control the streets. If they're not controlling the streets, then that's your problem. It's not the business' problem. All right, so they pay taxes. We all pay taxes. They should get police support from their taxes. If they're not getting enough police support to keep the neighborhood safe, it's the police's job to keep the neighborhood safe. It's the business's job to keep people safe inside the business, which they do. Thank you, Mr. Sposato.

All right, next we're going to hear from Sean Nelson.

How are you guys doing? Sean Nelson, SEAN, 108 Hobart Ave. I own multiple businesses in Syracuse. I own 501Cs. I drive school buses. I'm certified security. I do a lot of event promotions, concerts, big concerts I bring to Syracuse. And I've noticed a lot of indifferences. I own businesses that I can't even tell people I own because I notice the indifference to how it's treated when it's one race versus another. And that's a shame. And I'm at a point where other people ask me, am I going to open another business in Syracuse? And I'm like, no. Why would I waste my money when I don't have the support of downtown? I don't have the support of my community. You know, look what Dan's going through. The guy, the city auditor just said, about cops patrolling, but they patrol downtown. If you do the history, downtown has more murders and acts of violence than anywhere else. No one has ever shut them down. No one has ever shut them down. No one's ever pushed for it. I go through everybody's paperwork. Everything you Common Council sign off, I read it. If you don't know, a lot of them up here do know me. I read everything, every special permit. Every special permit.

Yeah.

Okay.

I read every special permit. I go through everyone's paperwork. And I notice a difference. I notice a difference in questions. I notice a difference in a lot of things. And that's what has me scared to open another business here. And it's crazy. You know, the nightlife, it thrives everywhere else. I go to DC. I go everywhere. And I watch it thrive. And I watch it stagnate here and be pushed back. I can name 21 businesses. not just Black-owned establishments, any establishments that cater to minorities. That is a shame. And I think I should say the names out loud. 21 establishments that were closed through the city and the city did nothing to help them and come out with a remedy to fix it instead of just saying shut down. But that's why we feel like it's targeted because why is these 21 shut down so fast when we see other incidents happen? Cousin Pete's, Mickey's, Harlem Nights, Westcott trying to be closed, Chase Lounge, Aqua Lounge, Blue Chick, Studio 54, Club 11, Playmaker Sports Bar, 690, Transitions, Tip a Few, Franklin's, Cougars, LM Social trying to be closed down, Tap House on Walton, restricting their license so they couldn't make no money. Taste of Brooklyn Sports Bar, Tommy's Bar, Looker's, Alpine. 21 in three years I can name, and those all cater to minorities. That shows a problem in this community. And that... That's why we're asking the common council to help us back us. Yeah, it is issues going on. We're not going to run around from that, but what is the resolution? Is it just shut down? Is it just take something that somebody worked so hard for to lose? Like you, you, You understand? Like, you shut a business down. You don't count them 30 people plus that are affected by this business. Somebody that made flyers. Somebody that bartended. This guy bartended eight years. That's a long time to be doing that just at one location. You're taking away from so much. You're taking away from expression. People trying to get artists to express who they are. Things like that. I'm going to cut it short. I hear the beeping. But thank you. Thank you.

All right, next we're going to hear from Peter List.

Thank you, council.

Peter Sliz, P-E-T-E-R-S-L-I-S-Z. I've lived and owned a house in the Westcott neighborhood for the last six years. When I first read about this story in the Post Standard, it was shocking and surprising because I've never viewed the Westcott as a nuisance property. In fact, I view them as the heartbeat of the Westcott neighborhood. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to Alto Cinco before or to Syracuse Halal Gyro to get some falafel at Setbreak or something like that. It brings so much business to that area. By shutting down the Westcott, you'd be hurting pretty much every single business on that strip. And we can't afford that. It's one of the only culturally relevant places in this city that is not in downtown, and I'd really like to keep it that way. Shutting this down would be a big mistake, and I hope you take that under advisement. Thank you.

Next, we're going to hear from Mr. Sam Gruber.

Hi, sorry, I just drove for eight hours to get here in time. Sam Gruber on Clark Street. I've lived around the corner from the Westcott Theater for 32 years. Former head of the Westcott Neighborhood Association, facilitator on Eastside's T&T. I've known most of the business people for several decades going back. I don't know Dan, he doesn't engage too much with the community, but the theater is a key element in the current makeup. The theater's 100 years old this year, so 2008, it's not a long history, it's just the most recent iteration, but it is, for a lot of people here, a very important period of history. period of its history and a very relevant one today. I want to say the issue here has been totally obscured. We're not, people, everyone here thinks People don't want the Westcott Theater. For 18 years, the theater has operated in the community and been welcomed there. We have had complaints about noise, about parking, about trash, and generally over time these things have been addressed. And if people haven't loved the theater, they've tolerated it. Lots of people from the community have gone to concerts there, and there have been concerts by plenty of white musicians, black musicians, Hispanic, Latino musicians. It's not really a race thing, and I don't like it being made a race thing. The thing is, it's the after-hours parties that have picked up over the last two years that has caused all these problems. Everyone was fine with the theater the way it's been run, but in the last two years, the management decision, maybe because the owner is in need of more money, I don't know, but has been to monetize late night hours in violation of the permit, and it's these parties that spill out at one, at two, late in the morning, that have caused havoc. If we just got rid of those parties, and this is what people have been asking since 2025, I was in a press conference in front of the theater, that's all we were asking, keep the theater, keep the great concerts, keep it as an important part of our community, not just Westcott, but the whole city, but just get rid of those late night parties that are causing havoc. I like hip-hop. I like jazz. I like folk. I like rock. I like country I like all kinds of music and I'll go to see it in different places around the city The Westcott can offer all of those things just get rid of the damn after-hours parties now Yes, we would love to have more police in our neighborhood. We used to subsidize through different sources the storefront so when the police were off hours they would do their paperwork there that was done away with so you're right we do not have sufficient police presence on westcott street but that's not the issue the issue is if we didn't have those after hours parties we wouldn't need it the concert goers for 18 years have been well behaved They've been respectful of the neighborhood, and as the last speaker said, they contribute to the economic vitality of the street. So just get rid of the damn after-hours parties. That's what I ask. I don't know how it can be done. That's not my problem. There's the special permit. I don't want to close down the theater altogether. We're not going to get another music theater in there. It's a hell of an occupation being a promoter running an arts business. That's why Julie at 443 is having problems with Funk and Waffle. You have to go. You have to get grants. You have to be a 5123. To make it actually a vibrant business that employs people, that is very tough, and the city should support that. It's not the neighborhood that's telling the theater to get out of the neighborhood. All we're saying is end those parties and let things go back to the way they've been for many, many years. Thank you.

Thank you, Sam. All right, that was our last speaker. If there's anybody else that would, go ahead.

Yes. Once again, my name is Dan Mastronardi. There's a lot of things that I'll be addressing. I'll be having a press conference on Friday, so I'd like to let the press in the room know that. We'll be in touch. A couple things that people have said that I just can't be quiet about, and I need to make it apparent to the board up here um the common council i've been in business like i said 18 years uh i have zero sla violations zero so for the amount of days i've been open you know the sla is the state liquor authority and i have zero of those violations so i'd like to make that noted um i'd also like to make note to the last gentleman the late night parties i've been doing those for 18 years I have not changed anything we've done with the business model for 18 years. The model has remained the same. Zero violations. Oh, and we keep the guy speaking on behalf of this shooting incident. Okay. I can't tolerate this anymore, this fact that there is a shooting around the corner from Westcott Theater that has nothing to do with my business at all. Zero to do with my business, okay? The police have yet to release the FOIA that we asked for, FOIA, whatever it's called, that we asked for, which was... I don't know. It's been over a year now, but that has nothing to do with how I run my business or what I do. It didn't take place in the venue whatsoever. Okay. And I don't want to be associated with that. So I'd like to just set the record straight on that. And that's all. Thank you.

Thank you. All right. Thank you everybody for joining us today. From Jimmy. From Jimmy, okay.