Housing, immigration, public safety and taxes are central for Mayor Sharon Owens, she said at her first State of the City speech.
Patrick McCarthy
Patrick McCarthy is a staff reporter at Central Current covering government and politics. A graduate of Syracuse University’s Maxwell and Newhouse Schools, McCarthy was born and raised in Syracuse and attended Nottingham High School.
Before joining the Central Current team, he worked as a writer at Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo and wrote concert reviews for syracuse.com | The Post Standard. McCarthy also served as a contributing writer for TriplePundit, a publication focused on sustainability and corporate responsibility. In his role with Central Current, he provides access and transparency to elected officials – helping raise accountability and connecting readers to the decisions that shape Central New York.
Patrick McCarthy can be reached at pmccarthy@centralcurrent.org
Posted inPolicing
How Mayor Sharon Owens plans to wrangle oversight of the surveillance technology her administration inherited
Owens’ plans to check the city’s disparate surveillance technologies include new technology oversight position and greater legal analysis of contract terms.
Posted inCity of Syracuse
How a state bill proposed by state Sen. Rachel May could reshape property taxes in Syracuse — and spur development
Mayor Sharon Owens has expressed early interest in the bill, which could allow Syracuse to opt into a pilot program to change how property is taxed.
Posted inCity of Syracuse
Owens to ask councilors to ‘double down’ on funding her vision for Syracuse after last year’s budget battle
Mayor Sharon Owens is beginning her first term by trying to prevent last year’s budget brawl between the Syracuse Common Council and city administration.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Syracuse lawmakers to urge governor, state legislature to enact ‘New York For All’
The state legislation seeks to protect immigrants from dangerous elements of Trump’s deportations, including ICE collaboration with local police departments.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Local advocates want to ‘melt’ Syracuse’s links to ICE. Will lawmakers listen?
A coalition of civil rights organizations is calling on common councilors to put companies facilitating deportations — like Flock Safety and Axon Enterprises — on the hot seat.
Posted inPolicing
Upstate county lawmakers are pushing legislation to enforce biometric surveillance disclosure. Will Onondaga County follow suit?
Recent downstate reporting revealed Wegmans is using biometric surveillance to scan customers’ faces. Some upstate legislators want to make businesses like Wegmans disclose surveillance tools to customers.
Posted inPolicing
A bill sponsored by a Central New York state senator could stop biometric surveillance at stores like Wegmans
State Sen. Rachel May, D-Syracuse, in 2025 sponsored a bill that could stop biometric data collection in places like grocery stores. Wegmans has began biometric surveillance of customers in New York City.
Posted inPolicing
Wegmans added facial recognition technology to NYC stores, won’t say if it plans the same for Central New York stores
Wegmans’ stores in New York City are scanning and storing customers’ faces, eyes, and voices.
Posted inImmigration
Will New York state legislators bring New York For All to a vote?
State Democrats say New York For All could blunt parts of Trump’s deportation agenda — but in five years they’ve never brought the legislation to a vote.
