Got a Phat Ride?

Did I just date myself with that title? Car politics talk like this all the time: if you've got a car in da Cuse, you can get out to the fly Wegman's in DeWitt like butta'. But if you ain't, you a scrub. Then you got the infamous example of Margaret Thatcher denouncing men over 30 who took the bus. She obviously knew no hipsters. Happily, over the past two years new options have opened in Syracuse. A third-way between owning your own and sharing with your mom. Or taking the bus. Or biking. Or walking. To the point- we have car share companies.

Zipcar, well established as a car share company in large-scale metropolitan areas, has two Prius cars for rent to members and SU students on campus (parked in the paved zone between the gym and the quad). They're awkward to find but once you have, easy to use. http://www.zipcar.com/su/

CuseCar is a local start-up car share company. CuseCar now has Prius cars to rent to members downtown, in Hawley-Green, and at the Westcott Community Center on the East side (see below).For more information about CuseCar, please visit us at www.cusecar.org or call CUSECAR (287-3227)

CuseCar Makes a Home at the Westcott Community Center and Opens up Membership in the Westcott Neighborhood. A CuseCar can now be found parked at the Westcott Community Center, on the corner of Euclid & Westcott Streets.

Are you in need of a ride? Tired of lugging groceries on the bus? Spouse has the car and you want to take the kids for a ride? GRAB a CuseCar, membership is only a key stroke a way. You can join CuseCar online choosing from a number of different membership plans; including the Out and About Plan, Student Plan, or Commuter Plan. Usage rates as low as $5.95 an hour, when using a CuseCar there is no additional charge for insurance or gas, it’s all included in the membership.

The Westcott Community Center is thrilled to be providing a CuseCar to the neighborhood. We are committed to improving the environment we live in and the CuseCar will be a step in this direction. It helps bring our mission alive-- Building Community One Brick [or car] at a Time.

CuseCar is a not-for-profit community car sharing organization, with the mission to provide a sustainable transportation program in Onondaga County that will reduce vehicle miles traveled, lower the carbon footprint, improve air quality, and assist in developing the new green energy fuel distribution in the community.

CuseCar is offered to drivers 18 and up, who qualify for membership. CuseCar has designated convenient parking throughout the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County.

New Year, new Things to Do

One of the last December posts was all about housing, now its time to pay for RENT. 40 Below just sent out this email with some sweet Things to Do in Syracuse in January.

It's All Here Task Force's next two events include a Happy Hour/Task Force Meeting on January 20 at Empire Brewing Company at 5:30pm. 40 Below will provide snacks and 1 free drink ticket for each attendee.

Syracuse Stage is also hosting a 40 Below Happy Hour on Thursday, January 27 before the showing of RENT. More information and where to buy tickets can be found here: http://itsallheresyracuse.com/new-partnership-syracuse-stage

I mean, RENT and Happy Hour? What could go wrong?

Also, the Green Campus Initiative (GCI) which is a student organization that is dedicated to creating a more sustainable campus (on-campus and community initiatives include energy conservation, recycling, composting, and zero-waste events) is hosting a public forum regarding sustainability in Syracuse:
January 26th, 2011, 5pm-7pm
Reception featuring local food vendors and organizations, 7-8pm
Location: TBD

The forum will involve a panel discussion with public officials and community activists with the goal of generating an informative and compelling dialogue regarding the current, and future, trends in sustainability for the city of Syracuse. Current panelists include:

Charlotte "Chuckie" Holstein; Executive Director of F.O.C.U.S. Greater Syracuse
Andrew Maxwell; Director of Planning and Sustainability for the city of Syracuse
Matthew Millea; Deputy County Executive for Physical Services for Onondaga County
Person X; a spokesperson for Energy Management Program at CNY Regional Planning and Development Board

So are we going, or what?

Sustainable Syracuse?

Sat down with JRealtor (names changed to preserve confidentiality) and she seemed actively engaged to create a website for Syracuse that highlights sustainability info. Kind of a mishmash of "what can you do" coupled with "what's actually happening"...like Syracuse Grows and the largest raingarden in the Northeast USA located in the Near West Side neighborhood right next to Skiddy Park.

A hub is essential right now because we (Syracuse) don't have an externally focused space to discuss & display grassroots sustainability. Or a space to disseminate knowledge a la Sustainable Tompkins. We have a ton of groups working on that stuff (Alchemical Nursery, Creative Core NY, SUNY ESF, Syracuse Real Food Coop, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Partnership for Onondaga Creek, and so on) but we don't have a centralized resource. A Sustainable Syracuse would be ideal. Now we just have to build it. JRealtor is working on the website, who wants to write some content?