Redlining in Syracuse: Now that you’ve ‘Run the Redline’ here are some next steps

This story is part of a series of submissions to Central Current by CNY Fair Housing explaining its Run the Redline event and how redlining affects Syracuse. CNY Fair Housing is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring housing access and eliminating housing discrimination. Read the first, second, third or fourth stories in the series here.

CNY Fair Housing will host the first ‘Run the Redline’ through portions of downtown Syracuse on Sept. 17. The route — which can be run, rolled or strolled — traces a portion of the red lines drawn across the city by federal and local housing officials during the 1930s.

On Sept. 17, almost 200 community members came to Everson Plaza to participate in Run the Redline, CNY Fair Housing’s first ever 5K/3K Run/Roll/Stroll event to highlight portions of Syracuse that were redlined by the federal government.

Run the Redline was meant to be educational. Participants saw the impact of  redlining by moving through a physical space shaped by that discriminatory policy.

The event included displays of photographs of the neighborhood before redlining. Some photos were placed along the race route in the same location where the original picture was taken to offer participants a glimpse of the city before it was redlined. The photographs were mounted on doors as a throwback to the urban renewal-era practice of using the doors of razed buildings as construction fencing around demolition sites.

Participants came from all over Central New York to participate in Run The Redline. Many participants were lifelong residents of Central New York and the City of Syracuse. Others moved into the city later in life or have family who moved into Syracuse during later seasons in life. 

Alexandra Rubenstein, who is a nurse practitioner in the Barnes Center at Syracuse University, grew up in the city of Syracuse and attended Run The Redline as her husband, an Army veteran, ran the route.

“Those of us in the local medical community study and continue to educate the community that the rates of asthma are higher for individuals who live closer to I-81 and that the levels of lead in those homes are higher as well,” Rubenstein said. “Events like Run the Redline provide accessible education to the community about how redevelopment and I-81 impacted not only housing and businesses but also social determinants of health for those living in the remnants of the 15th ward.”

Next steps

Run the Redline is the first of many events CNY Fair Housing has planned to continue the community conversation regarding government policy and urban development. 

“Projects like 81 are an opportunity to repair these historic harms, but we have to be intentional about what that means.” said Alex Lawson, housing policy coordinator at CNY Fair Housing. “We have to understand how public policy created the city we live in today in order to create a better future.”

CNY Fair Housing will be filming and screening a documentary on redlining and zoning in Syracuse in 2024, as well as bringing the documentary to classrooms and libraries across Central New York. 

Individuals can get involved in CNY Fair Housing’s work in a number of ways: 

• Become a fair housing tester to help eliminate housing discrimination in Central New York
• Join CNY Fair Housing’s board to help guide the future work of the organization
• Partner with CNY Fair Housing on this event or future events to affirmatively further fair housing in our communities 
• Request a training for your organization about fair housing fundamentals and/or your rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act 
• Report an incident of fair housing discrimination to CNY Fair Housing. A member of our intake team will return your message within 3-5 business days. 
• Read our recent reports on exclusionary zoning and segregation in Syracuse and Onondaga County
• Visit CNY Fair Housing’s resource bank to learn more about fair housing
• Fight NIMBY’ism (“not in my backyard”): Attend a zoning and planning meeting in your district when new developments are being proposed. If you’re not sure how to find this information, email our Housing Policy Coordinator, Alex Lawson, at alawson@cnyfairhousing.org 
• Write to your local legislators about why fair housing matters and how it’s impacted you. 
• Attend a tenant organization meeting in your building or engage with organizations like the Greater Syracuse Tenants Network