One Man’s Work on the Near Westside Reaches the NY Times
For the past several years, a dear friend and peer, Rick Destito, has been doing everything in his power to make Syracuse, NY a better place to live. Five years ago he bought an abandoned warehouse at auction to ensure that it didn't fall into the wrong hands. Today, that warehouse, know as the Gear Factory, is home to over twenty artists who have studio and communal spaces to create and display their artwork. Two years ago Rick went even a step further. He purchased a rundown home in the Near Westside of Syracuse, within walking distance of his warehouse, 
for just one dollar. Since that time he has tirelessly worked to rehab and restore the Victorian house to its original beauty while making it as modern and "green" as possible on the inside. Yesterday his efforts were affirmed by more than just his friends and colleagues in Syracuse. The New York Times ran a story on him and his dedication to the city of Syracuse. Below is an except from the article. To read the entire article, please click here.
Rick Destito knew exactly what he was getting into when he bought a rundown, three-story Victorian house in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Syracuse. Built in the 1890s but left abandoned for years, the place was in serious disrepair: graffiti and mold stained the exterior, the windows were gone and the roof needed to be replaced. But under an innovative local housing program, he paid only a dollar for the place — plus another $60,000, and his own skilled labor, to make it suitable for his family, including a one-year old girl and a baby on the way.
For decades, people like Mr. Destito — young, skilled, motivated — were exactly the sort who left Rust Belt cities like Syracuse. But recently, in numbers not yet statistically measurable but clearly evident at the ground level, they’ve been coming back to the city, first as a trickle, and now by the hundreds. In some ways it’s a part of the natural ebb and flow of urban demographics. But it is also the result of a new attitude among the city’s leadership, one that admits the failure of the re-industrialization efforts of the last decades and instead invents ways to attract new types of residents and keep current ones from leaving. Call it urban renewal 2.0, gentrification on a citywide scale.
To read the whole article, click here.
for just one dollar. Since that time he has tirelessly worked to rehab and restore the Victorian house to its original beauty while making it as modern and "green" as possible on the inside. Yesterday his efforts were affirmed by more than just his friends and colleagues in Syracuse. The New York Times ran a story on him and his dedication to the city of Syracuse. Below is an except from the article. To read the entire article, please click here.
Rick Destito knew exactly what he was getting into when he bought a rundown, three-story Victorian house in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Syracuse. Built in the 1890s but left abandoned for years, the place was in serious disrepair: graffiti and mold stained the exterior, the windows were gone and the roof needed to be replaced. But under an innovative local housing program, he paid only a dollar for the place — plus another $60,000, and his own skilled labor, to make it suitable for his family, including a one-year old girl and a baby on the way.
For decades, people like Mr. Destito — young, skilled, motivated — were exactly the sort who left Rust Belt cities like Syracuse. But recently, in numbers not yet statistically measurable but clearly evident at the ground level, they’ve been coming back to the city, first as a trickle, and now by the hundreds. In some ways it’s a part of the natural ebb and flow of urban demographics. But it is also the result of a new attitude among the city’s leadership, one that admits the failure of the re-industrialization efforts of the last decades and instead invents ways to attract new types of residents and keep current ones from leaving. Call it urban renewal 2.0, gentrification on a citywide scale.
To read the whole article, click here. 
