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Post-Standard, The (Syracuse, NY)

May 28, 2002
Section: Local
Edition: Final
Page: B2

The new state budget includes more than $3 million in pork barrel grants for groups in Onondaga County, including $300,000 for downtown Syracuse festivals and a quarter of a million dollars to help the Everson Museum of Art launch an addition.

Those are among the more than $1.7 million in grants obtained in the election-year, $89.6 billion state budget by Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse. He and the county's three other majority party legislators got most of the pork.

Sen. Nancy Larraine Hoffmann, R-Fabius, another member of the Senate's Republican majority, pulled in about $1 million.

In the Assembly, majority Democrats Joan Christensen and William Magnarelli of Syracuse steered well more into the budget for their districts than did minority Republicans Harold Brown Jr. of Camillus and William Sanford of Salina.

Lawmakers call pork barrel grants "member items" and say they go to worthwhile causes that the elected officials who represent the districts can best identify.

Critics say the $200 million in pork to be divided among legislators and Gov. George Pataki is taxpayers' money, often goes to non-necessities such as Little Leagues and is inequitably distributed to help boost majority party members' electoral chances.

Following is a list of what state lawmakers from Onondaga County obtained this year.

DeFrancisco got:

$300,000 for Central New York tourism events, mainly downtown Syracuse festivals such as the JazzFest, Blues Fest, Irish Festival, Oktoberfest and Festa Italiana.

$250,000 for the Everson's planned new multimillion-dollar wing.

$250,000 for a capital renovation project for the Eastwood Senior Center, where he said P.E.A.C.E. Inc. is trying to develop an "intergenerational center" pairing elementary school pupils with senior citizens.

$200,000 in operating aid for the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra.

$150,000 for operating support to continue the Metropolitan Development Association's "Vision 2010" initiative.

$100,000 for a small-business fund to be administered by the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce.

$100,000 for capital renovations for Girls Inc.

$50,000 in operating support for Syracuse's Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology.

$40,000 in operating support and debt reduction for Syracuse Opera.

$35,000 for a new elevator and windows at the North Area Athletic and Educational Center.

$30,000 for the Cultural Resources Council to promote Central New York arts organizations.

$30,000 for a summer enrichment program for inner-city "peer leaders," plus staff development for Project HELPS.

$30,000 in operating support for Upstate NY Ballet Inc.

$25,000 for a safety trailer for training for the Onondaga County Volunteer Firemen's Association.

$25,000 for a wheelchair-access ramp and program expansion for Sisters of St. Francis Adult Day Care.

$22,250 for the Great Lakes Research Consortium, an environmental research program based at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse.

$22,250 for the scenic byway tourism development program for the Seaway Trail along Lake Ontario.

$20,000 for the Baldwinsville Lions Club to expand a facility for a juvenile diabetes camp.

$20,000 for the Cultural Resources Council for a heritage grant fund to support historical societies in Central New York.

$15,000 for the Child Care Council of Onondaga County for security equipment for child care centers and the "Safe & Sound" program.

$15,000 for St. John the Evangelist Church for computers for an Asian-American youth education program.

$7,500 for the Syracuse Fire Department for a fire safety house mock-up system for fire safety education presentations.

Magnarelli got:

$95,000 for the Metropolitan Development Association's 2010 Project to review the region's informational, bio- and electronic technologies sectors.

$45,000 for Syracuse's DaVinci Project, which uses a Web site to attract engineers and other technology professionals to Central New York.

$7,500 for renovations to Loretto's Bernadine Apartments in Syracuse's Valley section.

$15,000 for a message sign and athletic equipment for Syracuse's Fowler High School.

$10,000 to complete renovations of Lewis Park on Syracuse's West Side, including a concession stand, through the Syracuse Economic Development Corp.

$9,000 for sewer repair and rain gutters for the Solvay Public Library.

$8,000 for playground equipment for Syracuse's Porter Magnet School.

$6,000 for risers for performances by the Syracuse Chorale.

$6,000 for computers for the Child Care Council of Onondaga County.

$6,000 for repairs to Solvay's Woods Road park.

$5,000 for an earth science weather station at the Westhill Central School District.

Christensen got:

$20,500 for the Prevention Network for the "Sisters Talking to Sisters Program," which helps families of incarcerated men.

$18,500 for the Child Care Council of Onondaga County for the Early Childhood Career Advancement Ladder program, which helps pay for courses for child care providers.

$15,000 for Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region for colposcopy equipment.

$13,500 for Rural/Metro Medical Services of Central New York for the Sammy Seatbelt Program, which encourages the use of seat belts by children.

$13,400 for the RLS Career Center for the Education Information Connection Program, which helps people in job searches.

$10,000 for the South Onondaga Fire Department for a generator.

$8,000 for DeWitt for two blinking lights for the Holy Cross school crossing area.

$8,000 for the Syracuse Fire Department for the Fire Safety House Mock-Up Program, a safety exhibit at the state fair.

$6,500 for the Onondaga County sheriff's office's historic photographic collection project.

$6,000 for the SUNY ESF Research Foundation for a Web site for its Global Environmental Course.

$5,000 for Jubilee Homes of Syracuse for its Urban Delights Farmstand, a program that encourages young people to grow food in the city and sell the products at the state fair and other locations.

$5,000 for the Syracuse Model Neighborhood Facility for its CNY junior tennis league for inner-city youths.

$3,600 for the McKinley-Brighton Magnet School in Syracuse for Apple I-Book computers.

Sanford got:

$15,000 for the Liverpool Independent Foundation for Excellence.

$12,500 for the Soule Road Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization.

$9,800 for Liverpool Little League.

$1,350 for the Liverpool Public Library.

$1,350 for the Salina Free Library.

Brown got:

$10,000 for the Hospice Foundation of Central New York's Community Bereavement Program and the Center for Living with Loss.

$8,000 for the veterans memorial at the fair.

$6,000 for the Baldwinsville Lions Club for the juvenile diabetes day camp program.

$6,000 for a pole barn enclosure project for Simon Parise Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9596 in the town of Manlius.

$5,000 for a Skaneateles senior-van program.

$5,000 for the Spafford Veterans Memorial Park.

Magnarelli said Central New York's Assembly Democrats secured these "delegation items":

$20,000 for the Youth Theater Series, in which professionals give theater performances to about 25,000 students over the year, through the Cultural Resources Council of Syracuse and Onondaga County.

$10,000 for a plasma display and video generator for the entrance to Syracuse's Museum of Science & Technology.

$10,000 to complete renovations of the senior field for LeMoyne Little League.

$10,000 for operating aid for the RLS Career Center.

$10,000 to continue construction for a Veterans Memorial at the fair.

$5,000 for advertising and supplies for Contemporary Theatre of Syracuse.

$5,000 to update the Syracuse Area Landmark Theatre's Web site.

Hoffmann got:

$603,000 for Syracuse's P.E.A.C.E. Inc., which traditionally has awarded the money in smaller grants to various human service agencies, such as senior citizen centers, and community projects, such as playgrounds.

$300,000 for Upstate Safety Associates, which has redistributed previous grants to local fire departments.

She said recipients of most of her member items will announce the grants.

Copyright, 2002, The Herald Company
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