Republican Tom Babilon (pictured) faces three other candidates in the race for mayor. Credit: Courtesy of Tom Babilon

Tom Babilon, the Republican candidate for mayor, is one of the four contenders in the race. He faces Deputy Mayor and Democratic candidate Sharon Owens, and independent candidates Timothy Rudd and Alfonso Davis. 

As part of Central Current’s 2025 election coverage, Babilon spoke to a reporter about his vision for the removal of the Interstate 81 viaduct and the redevelopment of public housing. 

Babilon believes that the area will be “commercially viable” with high traffic after the I-81 viaduct comes down to a street level. Placing residents in new housing along the footprint of the highway previously caused generational harm and health issues following its construction in the 1960s. Building new housing in the area would continue the cycle, Babilon said. Instead, hotels, gas stations, and restaurants would make more sense, he said. 

“I think that it has a potential to really generate a lot of new property tax revenue for the city of Syracuse, and I think that we need to focus on that, as opposed to looking at it for an area for new housing opportunities, just because I don’t think it’s an appropriate area for that,” Babilon told Central Current.

A Syracuse city resident for over two decades, Babilon has practiced law in New York. He worked for the city, as part of its team of lawyers. He represented Neighborhood and Business Development for five years. He then served as the labor and employment attorney for the city before joining the nonprofit law firm Hiscock Legal Aid as a senior attorney. 

Editor’s note: The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Central Current: How would you have handled the East Adams public housing redevelopment project until now?

Babilon: Well, I mean, obviously, there’s been some problems with it. I think the biggest problem thus far is, well, two big problems. We lost $30 million in the federal funds, and also the mess up with the Children Rising Center for the tax credits. I mean, certainly, you can blame President [Donald] Trump for reclawing back the $30 million. Certainly there’s issues probably on both ends with regards to Blueprint 15 and the Syracuse Housing Authority with the tax credit deadline. With regards to those two things, it’s really kind of a level of incompetence at some point. I was the attorney for Neighborhood and Business Development for five years. I understand how tax deadlines work, and generally, it’s on everybody’s calendar: what’s coming up. You’re not waiting till the last minute and then deciding that you’ve missed the tax deadline. Normally, 90 days prior to the tax deadline, you’re calling all your partners and saying, ‘Hey, where are we on this?’ And then if there’s any issues, you’re resolving those issues before the deadline approaches, because you don’t want to miss something like that. So the fact that Blueprint 15 completely missed their tax credit deadline- they can blame SHA for not being at the point of the project where they needed to be. The SHA says changes were made. But either way, between the two of them, it’s completely incompetency. 

So you really need to put competent people; attorneys need to be tracking these projects. You have these deadlines in your calendar. You know when they’re coming. You have 90 days, 60 day and 30 day reminders to make sure everyone’s on track to meet deadlines, hard deadlines like this. So that was really something that shouldn’t have happened. You know, everyone should have been aware of that. And it’s something that’s never happened in my experience… I’ve never, never seen anyone mix a tax deadline like that before. With regards to the $30 million on the I-81 project that we lost, that was like a complete city incompetence there. I mean, yes, Trump took it back. But at the same time, you know, the state was granted ($150 million), I believe in this, in the same grant award.  Why did they get their ($150 million) and why did we lose $30 million? Well, that’s because we didn’t do what was necessary to get those funds in our account. I believe there was an environmental study that was required to be done. We had gotten the grant a year and a half prior. As far as my knowledge, from reading the newspaper, nothing had been done to secure that environmental review a year and a half later. So if they had started on that immediately, they may not have been able to take back the $30 million. 

This is something that I also experienced when I was in the city. You know, we’ve dealt with federal and state grants all the time. They always have all kinds of contingencies and requirements. And as soon as you get that grant, you put people on them to make sure that all those requirements are met so that you can get the money in your bank account. Because once the money’s in the city’s account, they can’t take it back.. we always had somebody on that stuff [upcoming deadlines and requirements for the funding]. The fact that nobody had even started this environmental review a year and a half later is very concerning. 

I would have done so. If you asked what I would have done differently. I would have ensured that we had someone meet the tax deadlines for the Children Rising Center. And I also would have done what was necessary to get those federal funds in our account as soon as possible, so that Trump or nobody else could claw them back.

Central Current: As mayor, how would you move forward with the East Adams public housing redevelopment project? 

Babilon: Well, I mean, the plans are there. I think that it’s very well planned out, you know. It’s a great plan. We just need competent people to make sure that it happens. You know, part of that is, making sure that we get the federal and state funds that we need. I know a lot of it’s already been allocated, we’ve got quite a bit of money from state and federal funds. I think the most of the funding is there but funding for the Children Rising [Center] project is in question right now. I don’t know if they’re going to be able to renegotiate that deal, but the main thing is, once you have a plan, you’ve got to put competent people in place to make sure that their plan is followed through with and completed. And I think the plan is there. SHA is having some issues with relocation, I believe still, which is concerning, but there’s not really a lot that the city can do that’s really their purview. There’s not really a lot the city can do with that.

Central Current: You have talked about having competent people helm the project. Are there any potential changes you might bring to the table as mayor?

Babilon: Well, as far as the East Adams project, I think that it’s pretty much set. I don’t think there’s a lot of room for change there. I mean, certainly, depending on developments like the Children Rising Center, and if there’s any other issues with funding between now and next year, certainly you’ll have to make changes. I think the plan, as it is set out now, is pretty good. I’m in favor of the housing in that area remaining. I’m not a huge fan of some of the other you know, proposals for additional public housing and the footprint of I-81 just because we’ve had people living in the shadow of I-81 in Pioneer Homes for over 100 years, or close to 100 years at least, and there’s all kinds of health issues related to living next to a highway. We really shouldn’t put people that are in poverty or near poverty in those kinds of conditions. There’s a lot more appropriate places. 

The density of that highway is not going to change. It’s going to change a little bit, but it’s going to be street level, so there’s probably going to be even more pollution. It’s going to be some of the highest traffic areas in the city. And I don’t think it’s really an appropriate place to put more housing, especially along the street, which I think is something that [Deputy Mayor and Democratic mayoral candidate] Sharon Owens is proposing. I think it’s a horrible idea. But, other than that, I think the project as it’s structured now, I think it’s great. We’re putting housing in the footprint of where there’s current housing. We’re going to make it more concentrated, so that we’re able to house more people in the same area, a super convenient location in downtown. There’s lots of services available, there’s lots of job opportunities available in the area where you can even walk, you don’t even take a bus. So it’s great, I think it’s a great project. I would do everything in my power as mayor to make sure that it comes to fruition in the way that it’s structured currently. 

I mean, [SHA Executive Director William] Bill [Simmons]l has been running SHA for a long time. I worked with him very closely when I was the attorney for Neighborhood and Business Development at the city for five years. I worked with Bill on many, many projects. There’s some criticism from the city that says this is too big for SHA to handle. And then there’s criticism from SHA that the city’s not doing what they are supposed to do. I will tell you, I probably closed at least five projects with Bill Simmons in the five years at the city, and I never had a problem with any of them. The attorneys that they have are very competent. I never had any problems with Bill or his management of SHA. 

That being said, I think that there needs to be probably a little bit more communication between SHA and the mayor’s office. I know they appoint the board members but the thing with the tax credit, you know, somebody should be fired for that. … Because I don’t know who (Blueprint 15 board chair) Sharon Owens put in charge of that at Blueprint 15. She’s the chair at Blueprint 15 and it would ultimately be her obligation and the board’s obligation to track those kinds of projects. The fact they missed the tax credit deadline is really unforgivable. I mean, if that were to happen in the city, or the private world, someone would lose their job. It’s just not something that professionals do. I like Bill. I always had a good relationship with Bill. I haven’t worked with him in seven years so I can’t tell you what’s changed in that time. I heard quite a bit of complaints from the community. Personally, I’ve never had any problems with them. I just think that there needs to be better communication between City Hall and the Syracuse Housing [Authority]. 

Central Current: Regarding the I-81 Viaduct Project, what will you do as mayor to ensure the protection of residents’ health during and especially after the construction is over?

Babilon: A lot of that is being handled by the state currently. They’re having workshops, and they’re providing materials to residents to deal with the deconstruction of I-81. I don’t think that as mayor, I am going to have a whole lot to do with the health aspect of that, because we’re not in control of taking down the highway. So we’ve got to hope that it is in competent hands with the state. And I think that it is because they’re running that show. 

But, as far as going forward health wise, there’s all kinds of issues with contamination and dust and noise that are going to happen in the next 10 years that are really unavoidable.I mean, you can take the best measures. But when you’re taking down a highway like that, there’s going to be noise, there’s going to be dust, and there’s going to be, unfortunately, exposure to those things to a certain extent. 

We can look at all the state guidelines and make sure that the public is notified the best that we can. Education is probably the best thing we can do. The state’s been really good about having meetings with that community. I attended a couple of them, and they are very informative, but I think we probably need to do a little bit better outreach as far as door to door. Not everybody goes to those meetings. So maybe we can do outreach when we have city employees doing other things, we can outreach the impacted neighborhoods with publications or something like that that the state’s already providing people with. Maybe we can have our employees help spread a little bit of knowledge about how to avoid the contaminants that the demolition of this highway is going to create.

Central Current: Are there any issues you’d bring to the table and press them on as mayor?

Babilon: Traffic control is going to be a huge issue, and certainly that’s going to be coordinated with the state. [Department of Public Works] and the state are going to have to coordinate how traffic is going to be routed through the city when the highway comes down. The environmental factors are also going to be an issue that requires constant communication between the state and the city. I mean, we just need to have a good relationship and make sure we have a good contact there, or contacts, and to make sure that we’re each updated on everything. 

You know, it’s kind of ridiculous what happened (at) City Hall. 

(Syracuse City Hall was evacuated earlier this year after police investigated a suspicious package near the building with streets around the City Hall being closed. Later, at a 3 p.m. conference, Mayor Ben Walsh confirmed that the “suspicious” box was a device installed by the Department of Transportation to measure ambient sound. While NYSDOT spokesperson TeNesha Murphy told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that the city was notified about the noise monitoring device being installed, city spokesperson Greg Loh said that the city did not approve of the noise monitors being placed on trees instead of utility poles.)

It was just incompetence and failure to communicate. I mean, they’re apparently, City Hall was notified about the device and, you know, and for whatever reason the communication did not go to the people that needed to know about it. It was there for several days, and then all of a sudden, it’s a bomb scare, and we have to evacuate City Hall and all the surrounding neighborhood and businesses. We have to have a huge police presence. Communication is key. We have to establish a line of communication that has to be clear and concise. They need to make sure that when you get a message from the Department of Transportation that it’s directed to the appropriate people, so you don’t have things like this happen, or you don’t have things like people not taking proper precautions to avoid contaminants, or people not taking proper precautions to avoid certain traffic areas. This just all deals with just putting competent people in the right positions.

Read more of Central Current’s coverage

Podcast: Let’s talk about reading

Maria Murray and Laurie Black discuss the relationship between literacy and poverty, the resources available in Onondaga County for parents and children, the Book Buddies program, and ways to improve your own child’s reading development.

Executive Director Maximilian Eyle stands in front of a brick wall smiling at the camera. He has short, curly blonde hair, a beard, and is wearing a grey blazer and white dress shirt. by Maximilian Eyle

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...