SCHUMER STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF LONGTIME SYRACUSE LEADER AND FORMER COMMON COUNCIL PRESIDENT VAN ROBINSON

New York, N.Y. - U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer released the following statement on the passing of Syracuse’s Van Robinson:

“Van Robinson represented the very best of Central New York. He loved Syracuse, and it showed with every action he took. He was a true trailblazer and history maker, a leader who dedicated his life to building a more equitable and just Syracuse for all, and someone I was proud to call a dear, dear friend. Every year, I would visit Van at the NY State Fair’s Pan-African Village that he helped create, we would laugh, and I would seek his advice; his teachings guided me when I was a young senator and continued to do so when I became leader of the Senate. The Reconnecting Communities Program, created in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, was in many ways inspired by Van, who had the vision to dream what Syracuse could look like if the concrete walls of I-81 that divided the city came down. Future generations in Syracuse will know what it is like to live in a connected community, rather than one divided by a highway, and that is thanks to the extraordinary dedication of Van Robinson. My sincere condolences are with his wife, Linda, his family and friends, and all those who knew and loved him. I will miss him very much. May his memory be a blessing and his legacy an inspiration to us all.”

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