LYSANDER -- The State Supreme Court has put a temporary hold on plans to build a YMCA in Lysander. The YMCA wants to build the 98,000 square foot facility on 22 acres it owns just off the intersection of Rt.31 and Drake's Landing.
A group of neighbors filed a lawsuit to stop the project in 2008 after the Empire State Development Corporation, the original developer of Radisson, gave the YMCA a special use permit allowing them to build on the property which is zoned for residential use. The court found a number of problems with the approval by the State Economic Development Board, including the lack of a proper public hearing. The court also requested more documents supporting the YMCA's request for a special use permit.
Jeff Dack, one of the neighbors opposed to the project, says more than 900 people have already signed a petition to stop the project. Dack says one of the main concerns is the amount of traffic generated by the project and the impact it will have on the neighborhood. " You already have trouble getting out of here in the morning. I don't want to have to look out my window at this giant building. I have a five year old and I'm concerned for his safety," he says.
The YMCA says they intend to move forward with the project and will ask the Empire State Development Corporation to restate its approval. The YMCA claims their own survey shows 81% of residents in Lysander are in favor of the project. Radison residents like Frank Constanzo say they aren't opposed to the idea of a YMCA they just think there are better places to build one than on land that is zoned for residential use. "Their are hundreds of acres of commercial land for sale in Radisson less than a half mile from here. Why can't they build this there?" he says.
For more information, click on 'Move the Radisson Y' and 'YMCA of Greater Syracuse'.
