The city of Syracuse will receive $123 million from the federal government as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 signed into law in March.
The act totaled $1.9 trillion. As part of the lawâs provisions, it will infuse state, county and municipal governments with hundreds of billions of dollars to help them recover from the economic effects of the novel coronavirus.
So itâs good that Syracuse will be able to use this money. The funds will amount to about half the cityâs annual budget.
But one item prioritized by officials is raising eyebrows, and for good reason. The Syracuse Common Council voted 6-3 on May 10 to spend $75,000 on a mural depicting four legendary basketball players from Syracuse: Manny Breland, Earl Lloyd Jr., Dolph Schayes and Breanna Stewart.
Lawmakers criticize use of pandemic relief money for mural thegrio.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thegrio.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Syracuse Common Councilors approved $75,000 for a public mural downtown.
“You can turn this into a community-based thing that might be relevant to young people and enable them to understand the important background of these people who are featured on the mural.”
Welych and the rest of the commission approved the project this past week. Members noted it’s unprecedented because a citizen came forward with the idea for a civic mural here in Syracuse, instead of the artist. That citizen, Frank Malfitano, says this is a unique opportunity where people will be able to watch the mural develop from start to finish.