What stage of life are you in?! THIS. THIS ONE RIGHT HERE 😂#upstateny #syracuse #lifestages #gettingolder #syracuseny

Last night, Syracuse glowed GREEN 💚 and it meant something.

I was honored to capture these moments from above with my drone for the CNY Lyme & Tick-Borne Disease Alliance, as a record 18 landmarks across our community lit up to mark the start of Lyme Disease Awareness Month. This video captures just some of the buildings that took part.

For the Alliance, this is one of the most powerful moments of the year. Across Central New York, iconic buildings shine green to reflect a reality too many families here know firsthand. Lyme and tick-borne diseases are a serious and growing public health crisis, and our region is at the epicenter.

This is more than a beautiful skyline. It is a community saying we see you. To the patients still searching for answers. To the families navigating a diagnosis too often missed. To the advocates working to bring this disease out of the shadows.

The CNY Lyme & Tick-Borne Disease Alliance exists because this region needed a voice, a convener, and a community.

If this moves you, there is something you can do. Learn how to protect yourself and your family this tick season. Support the mission, join the Legs Against Lyme walk on May 30, or simply put a green bulb in your porch light to show your support and help raise awareness all month long.

Lyme Disease Awareness Month has begun. Let’s make some noise. 💚

Special thanks to Drakos Urgent Care and Health Services for making these drone shots possible.

#lymediseaseawareness #lightupgreen #syracuseny #cny #lymeawareness

Buckle up. I-81 is officially in its long-term construction era.
Plenty’s been done… and somehow there’s still a lot more ahead.

#I81 #ConstructionSeason #RoadWork #LongWayToGo #BuckleUp

For 105 years, this rare red oak has stood quietly in Syracuse, watching generations grow, seasons change, and the city evolve around it.

What most people don’t know is how it started.

This tree was planted by John and Margaret Smith to celebrate the birth of their daughter, Elaine. As she grew, so did the tree. For over a century, it became part of her life and part of this neighborhood.

Elaine went on to live an incredible life. She was a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Coast Guard, a longtime member of the American Legion, and spent 40 years working at the VA Medical Center before retiring. She passed away in 2021 at 99 years old, but the tree remained, still standing where her story began.

Now, its time may be coming to an end.

Neighbors say the tree’s health is in decline and it has outgrown the space it can safely live in. That doesn’t make this moment any less meaningful. For over a century, it has been a living piece of history.

There is hope the wood will be repurposed into something lasting, so even after it is gone, part of it will remain.

If you have a chance this week, go see it for yourself.
�Take a walk. Stand beneath it. Take it in.

📍 Shotwell Park, Syracuse, NY

#syracuseny #shotwellpark #upstateny #localhistory #syracuseevents

PART II: What’s on your list? I grew up eating my way through Upstate New York, where homemade apple fritters, pure maple syrup, fresh apple cider, and small town staples were just part of growing up. From fall favorites to Speedies to tomato pie, this reel brings back the flavors I’ll always remember. What Upstate favorite would you add next?

#UpstateNewYork #Foodie #NYEats #TasteOfHome #upstateny

And He knows you…perfectly. #Syracuseny #inspiration #faith #upstateny #sunsets

Treat yourself like I-81.

Always under construction, mildly inconvenient, and somehow still moving forward.

Keep upgrading yourself even if it slows a few people down. The right ones will merge accordingly. 🚧

#Syracuseny #upsteteny #KeepGrowing #Interstate81 #I81

We love showing off Syracuse in peak form. The lake views, the fall colors, the historic streets, the sunsets.

But sometimes visitors pull up to town, look out the hotel window, and get greeted by 47 acres of parking lot, cracked asphalt, and a pothole with its own zip code 😂

Like... no no, keep driving. The pretty part is coming.

Because Syracuse absolutely has beauty. It just doesn’t always put it right by the front door. 🧡

#SyracuseNY #Cuse #UpstateNY #CentralNY #TongueInCheek

When they called Syracuse Oil City, this probably wasn’t what they meant. Because every day, trains carrying crude oil…and sometimes asphalt…move through the city, passing near homes, schools, and parks on their way from North Dakota’s Bakken fields to the East Coast.

They’re DOT-111 tank cars: a longtime part of American rail, well known and often debated. They’ve led to safety reviews, updated standards, and calls for stronger replacements. Yet they remain part of the landscape here…easy to notice, easy to overlook.

But did you know Syracuse is prepared? The Syracuse Fire Department Haz Mat Team trains year-round for rail incidents, backed by New York State resources when needed.

Still, it raises a fair question: Why Syracuse? Why do these cars stop here, wait here, idle here…before moving on? And what role should the community have in that conversation?

#syracuse #upstateny #oilcity #railways #infrastructure

What was once a vacant 48-acre symbol of neglect is now becoming one of Syracuse’s most important redevelopment stories, and the progress is clear to see.

Structures are now rising on site at the former Syracuse Developmental Center.

This reel shows the transformation to date, from long-abandoned buildings and demolition work to real vertical construction taking shape.

At a time when housing is badly needed, this project is bringing hundreds of new apartments, including market-rate, workforce, and affordable homes for our community.

The site will also create new space for manufacturing, innovation, and job growth on Syracuse’s West Side.

This is the kind of progress Syracuse should be proud of. A long-forgotten property is being turned into homes, opportunity, and new momentum for the city.

Syracuse is building its future right now.

#Syracuse #SyracuseNY #CNY #Development #Progress

Most people think Syracuse sleeps when the sun goes down. They’ve never seen 1AM here.

When the streetlights flicker on, the city starts to pulse. Tires hum across the highways, neon glows in the windows, music spills onto the sidewalks, and every corner feels like it has a story to tell. The late shift clocks in, friends meet up downtown, headlights race home, and somewhere another night is just getting started.

This is Syracuse after dark. Loud, alive, moving, and impossible to ignore.

#SyracuseNY #Nightlife #CityAfterDark #UpstateNY #hyperlapse

On a walk through Strathmore the other day, I stumbled across a small patch of exposed brick, just a few feet wide, surrounded by asphalt. The last remnant of a street that was once fully laid in brick.

And it hit me.

How many of these streets are even left in Syracuse?

Once, brick roads carried wagons, cars, and trucks through more than a century of snow, rain, and ice. Now, only FOUR remain.

When I look at those bricks, I imagine the immigrant laborers who placed them one by one, painstakingly by hand. Their sweat and skill are still visible today, holding strong long after the world around them has changed.

These aren’t just streets. They’re living history, a reminder of resilience, craftsmanship, and the people who built this city, brick by brick.

City of Syracuse officials say the four remaining streets are still here because they’ve remained serviceable and continue to be a nostalgic feature that neighborhoods love.

#SyracuseNY #HiddenHistory #StrathmoreSyracuse #BrickByBrick #UpstateNY

Franklin Square in early April feels gray, quiet, almost asleep. Bare branches, muted skies, everything waiting. Then just a few weeks later, it’s like the whole place wakes up at once.

Trees fill in, the light turns golden, and cherry blossoms spill delicate shades of pink and white across the streets.

It’s one of my favorite spots in Syracuse this time of year. Watching it come back to life never gets old, especially with the iconic water tower standing over the Creekwalk and the newly renovated fountain adding even more charm to the scene.

#FranklinSquare #SyracuseNY #SpringTransformation #CherryBlossoms #UpstateNY

You just NEVER know 🤷‍♂️ 💐 ❄️ #aprilsnow #spring #upstateny #upstatenewyork #snow