SYRACUSE -- After a public hearing, the Syracuse Common Council has decided to not even consider a contract with the Salvation Army to take over services for seniors that will be displaced by the pending closure of the Ida Benderson Senior Center.
Councilor Thomas Seals withdrew the $60,000 contract from the Common Council's agenda, this afternoon, in hopes it would force Mayor Miner to change her mind about closing the center. Seals told CNYcentra'ls Jim Kenyon the council "cannot go along with it."
A highlight of the hearing was a speech by the son of the late Ida Benderson. Bruce Benderson traveled from New York City to accuse city hall of allowing the senior center to "die on the vine." Benderson urged the people of Syracuse to dig into their own pockets to raise the funds to keep the center open.
Mayor Miner's Chief of Staff, Bill Ryan, criticized the decision by the council to "not even vote on [the contract]." He says, the administration will go ahead with the closing of the Ida Benderson Center on October 1st.
