Ryan Benz addresses the Syracuse Housing Authority Board Thursday, February 19. Credit: Michelle Gabel | Central Current

A series of emails obtained by Central Current appear to contradict a vague allegation made by Syracuse Housing Authority Board of Commissioners Member Patricia McBride against Board Chair Ryan Benz. 

McBride’s allegation was made the same day Benz unveiled to the public at a board meeting last week that SHA Executive Director Bill Simmons filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development accusing Benz of having a conflict of interest.

HUD, according to Benz, said the board chair should recuse himself from votes about the redevelopment of public housing. Simmons filed the accusation two days before SHA’s Thursday board meeting last week — and as his board has been called on by Mayor Sharon Owens to remove Simmons. 

Benz denied those allegations but recused himself from the meeting on Thursday following a recommendation from HUD officials amid an ongoing investigation. 

After he left, McBride, who is also the city clerk and one of the seven commissioners on the SHA board, made a vague accusation against Benz, lambasting him for having an improper business relationship with Hueber Breuer Construction, the general contractor for three phases of work in the neighborhood redevelopment project. 

“I wondered if one of the reasons why Ryan was pushing so hard for [Hueber Breuer was] so they can profit,” McBride said, “but that’s just my open thought.” 

However, emails obtained by Central Current appear to indicate that Hueber Breuer was hired by SHA’s development partner in April 2024 — nearly 11 months before former Mayor Ben Walsh appointed Benz to the board. Central Current obtained the emails through a public records request.

That would seem to undermine the allegations made by McBride. Accusations made by Simmons against Benz were not made public by SHA or HUD officials, but Benz and McBride both referred to Hueber Breuer in the board meeting. The exact nature of Simmons’ allegations against Benz, and their connection to McBride’s claims, remains unclear. 

“HUD has indicated that it received information suggesting I may have failed to disclose a business relationship with entities involved in the East Adams project and the Choice Neighborhood Implementation grant based on the information they received, which I believe was incomplete and may have materially mischaracterized the relevant facts,” Benz said during the meeting. 

According to Hueber Breuer Construction, the firm is involved with three phases of work in the neighborhood:

  • Almus Olver Tower: Hueber Breuer was involved with renovation of existing and occupied tower 
  • Phase 1: Demolition and ground-up rebuild of the McKinney Manor site 
  • Phase 2: Brownfield remediation and ground-up rebuild on the vacant parcel of land across from Almus Olver Towers

Syracuse-based architecture firm Ashley McGraw on April 15, 2024 recommended Hueber Breuer and two other construction companies — Hamilton Stern Construction and Welliver — to McCormack Baron Salazar as a potential general contractor, emails obtained by Central Current show. The development company was hoping to change its general contractor for two projects: the rehabilitation of Almus Olver towers and the redevelopment of public housing. 

On April 26, 2024, McCormack Baron Salazar Senior Vice President Mike Saunders emailed Simmons, SHA Compliance and Development Director Lindy Madill and Director of Asset Management and Modernization Melissa Liquori, informing them about changing their general contractor for the projects. 

Central New York politicians and leaders from the Syracuse Housing Authority break ground on The Langston, the first apartment building to be built as part of the redevelopment of public housing. Credit: Michelle Gabel | Central Current

McCormack Baron Salazar selected Hueber Breuer. 

After Thursday’s contentious board meeting, McCormack Vice President Allyson Carpenter emailed city officials about their process selecting Hueber Breuer. 

“Following our interviews, we sent the attached recommendation to SHA staff and they concurred leading to HB’s formal selection in late April 2024,” McCormack Baron Salazar Vice President Allyson Carpenter wrote. “At that time, we were not aware of Ryan Benz and he was not on the Board to our knowledge.”

Carpenter sent the email to the city at 8:51 p.m. on Thursday.

McBride, who was appointed to the board on Nov. 19, 2019, was part of the board when McCormack Baron Salazar contracted with Hueber Breuer. 

Her comments about Benz’s ethics, which occurred after he had left the meeting, prompted Benz to release a statement Monday calling on McBride to resign from SHA’s board.

“Serious allegations about integrity or misconduct must be addressed through proper channels and supported by facts, not delivered as inflammatory claims in a public forum where reputational harm is immediate and lasting,” Benz said. 

McBride’s term as board commissioner expires in October 2029. She refused to respond to a Central Current reporter’s questions outside the Council chambers in City Hall on Monday nor did she respond to a call and text on Tuesday. 

These documents line up with the timeline Benz provided in his statement at the Thursday board meeting. 

Allegations made by McBride seem to stem from Benz’s work with OHB Redev LLC, an entity created in August 2022 to redevelop the Shoppingtown Mall into a housing and entertainment complex. Benz, Andy Breuer and Charlie Breuer — the latter two are developers with Hueber Breuer Construction — were involved with OHB Redev. 

The company was dissolved in October 2025 without completing the project, a month before Benz was elected by commissioners to serve as board chair. Benz told commissioners that there was no overlap between OHB Redev LLC’s project and Hueber Breuer’s work with public housing redevelopment. 

Simmons has not responded to Central Current’s several calls, texts and emails regarding the matter. Central Current’s has asked Simmons about the content of the allegations against Benz and why Simmons did not notify board commissioners or the city about his perception that Benz has a conflict of interest, among other questions.

In his Monday statement, Benz castigated McBride’s comments, accusing her of undermining not only his professional career but also the public trust in the housing authority and the stakeholders in the East Adams project.

“Public insinuations of corruption or secrecy, without evidence and outside established process, undermine the very partnerships and public confidence required to deliver housing stability and redevelopment for our residents,” Benz wrote on Monday. 

City Clerk Patricia McBride addresses the Syracuse Housing Authority Board Thursday, February 19. Credit: Michelle Gabel | Central Current

Benz has maintained that he has no conflict of interest and has declared the same in his conflict of interest filings. He said SHA counsel has cleared his filings. 

He is set to speak with HUD officials about these allegations on Thursday. HUD has recommended Benz recuse himself from meetings regarding the redevelopment of public housing and the $50 million Choice Neighborhood Implementation grant, a critical funding pot to the project. 

Sources familiar with the matter said that neither SHA counsel nor Benz received prior information about Simmons’ email to HUD. 

“The Executive Director’s communication with HUD included information that was incomplete and did not accurately reflect the relevant facts,” Benz told Central Current. “Two separate counsels advising SHA matters have confirmed there was no wrongdoing and that my disclosures were accurate. I welcome the opportunity to clarify any remaining questions with HUD so that we can return our full attention to the important work before us.”

The city, a co-applicant to the CNI grant, was not notified about Simmons’ allegations, Owens said in a statement. That grant was the subject of a recent Central Current investigation that detailed how, under Simmons’ leadership, the housing authority missed at least 15 deadlines on CNI funds crucial to the East Adams redevelopment project.

“I also question the actions of the executive director in contacting HUD with his allegations without first informing and seeking guidance from the Board or notifying any of the parties under the CNI grant agreement, including my office as the grant co-applicant,” Owens said in her statement. “Such conduct begs the question of his authority.”

Simmons’ allegations came at a time when Owens remained steadfast in her calls for his removal atop SHA. 

An embattled Simmons has been at the center of controversies since the start of 2025 due to missed deadlines and transparency issues, including the pause of the Children Rising Center project, a key component of the redevelopment. 

Bill Simmons at the SHA board meeting Thursday, February 19, 2026. Credit: Michelle Gabel | Central Current

Walsh and Owens have both declared lack of faith in Simmons’ leadership with Owens consistently calling for his removal. Stakeholders including nonprofit entity Blueprint 15 and funder Allyn Family Foundation, too, expressed concern in SHA’s ability to carry out the project last year. 

Despite her calls for the ouster, Walsh’s and Owens’ appointees — Benz, Rickey Brown and former Commissioner Stephanie Pasquale, as well as a recent Owens appointee, Commissioner Douglas Reicher — have been unsuccessful in carrying out Owens’ public campaign. 

HUD officials refused to comment on whether or not an investigation was underway. 

During the meeting last Thursday, McBride also lambasted Benz for sending “reports” to Simmons without clarifying the nature of the documents. Brown jumped to Benz’s defense. Brown criticized McBride for making the allegations in Benz’s absence, when he was unable to defend himself. 

“I was not present at the public meeting of the SHA Board last week; but, if any commissioner discussed allegations of misconduct of a fellow commissioner in a public forum, I would consider that a dereliction of duty,” Owens said in a statement Tuesday. 

Timeline of events: 

  • August 2022: Benz became part of OHB Redev LLC, a single purpose entity to redevelop the former Shoppingtown Mall into a housing and entertainment complex. Six people, through five separate development companies, were involved in the proposed redevelopment of Shoppingtown Mall. One of the entities was owned by Andy and Charlie Breuer, two of the three owners of Hueber-Breuer Construction.
  • Through 2023 and 2024: Following title litigation and eminent domain proceedings handled by the Onondaga County IDA, the project remains dormant through these years.
  • March 2025: Ryan Benz was appointed as a board member amid ongoing scrutiny over Simmons’ leadership at SHA. 
  • April 15, 2024: Syracuse-based architecture firm Ashley McGraw recommended Hueber Breuer and two other construction companies — Hamilton Stern Construction and Welliver — to McCormack Baron Salazar as a potential general contractor for two projects: the rehabilitation of Almus Oliver towers and the redevelopment of public housing. 
  • April 26, 2024: McCormack Baron Salazar emailed Simmons and other SHA employees informing them about changing their general contractor. They chose Heuber Breuer. 
  • March 20, 2025: Developer Ryan Benz elected to Syracuse Housing Authority board by former Mayor Ben Walsh. 
  • October 2025: The Onondaga County IDA approved an agreement that led to the project being stopped due to lack of site control. 
  • Nov. 4, 2025: Mayor Sharon Owens won the mayoral election, and further emphasized the need for Simmons’ removal in a gaggle with reporters. 
  • Nov. 20, 2025: Following former Board Chair Calvin Corriders Sr.’s resignation, Benz was elected as chair. 
  • Nov. 20, 2025: Benz filed his annual conflict of interest statement where he denied having any ownership or connection to entities that carry out transactions with SHA. This disclosure was recorded after OHB Redev LLC had become defunct, Benz emphasized. SHA counsel and counsel at Fox Rothschild both agreed that there is no business relationship between the two entities, he added. 
  • January 2026: During a sitdown interview, Owens reiterated to Central Current that Simmons needs to be removed. 
  • Jan. 27, 2026: Owens appointed another ally and affordable housing expert Douglas Reicher to the board. 
  • Feb. 17, 2026: Simmons sent an email to HUD alleging Benz’s conflict of interest despite not addressing such concerns in the past. 
  • Feb. 18, 2026: HUD sent a memorandum asking Benz to recuse himself from discussions pertaining to the East Adams project and the CNI grant. 
  • Feb. 19, 2026: Benz defended himself against Simmons’ allegations before leaving the board meeting. 

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Debadrita Sur is a multimedia journalist and Report for America corps member who reports on the I-81 project and public housing for Central Current. In 2023, Sur graduated with a master’s degree in journalism...