SCHUMER WILL BRING LONGTIME SYRACUSE LEADER AND FORMER COMMON COUNCIL PRESIDENT, VAN ROBINSON, AS HIS PERSONAL GUEST TO PRESIDENT BIDEN’S STATE OF THE UNION; SENATOR HAS WORKED ALONGSIDE ROBINSON FOR DECADES DELIVERING FUNDING AND IMPACTFUL POLICY CHANGES FOR CENTRAL NY AND WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE THE TRANSFORMATION OF I-81 A REALITY, AND NOW WILL HIGHLIGHT HIM IN OUR NATION’S CAPITAL AS A TRAILBLAZER – AND THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMON COUNCIL PRESIDENT – & A SYRACUSE LEGEND
Schumer Led Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law To Passage With Syracuse’s I-81 Transformation At Top Of Mind And Working Alongside Advocates Like Van Robinson To Help Create A More Interconnected, Energized and Equitable Syracuse
Schumer: Van Represents The Best Of Syracuse, Who’s Work Is Helping Make CNY A National Model For Reconnecting Communities and Civic Engagement
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced that he will bring Syracuse’s Van Robinson, longtime elected official and the first Black President of the Common Council, who has dedicated his life to fighting for Syracuse’s most vulnerable communities, as his personal guest to attend President Biden’s State of the Union address. Schumer and Van have worked together for decades helping deliver funding for underserved communities, securing policy victories on affordable housing, access to education, reducing lead poisoning, fighting gun violence and working together to make the transformational Interstate 81 Viaduct Project to reconnect Syracuse neighborhoods a reality.
“It is my honor to announce that former Common Council President Van Robinson, longtime and legendary community leader in Syracuse, who represents the best of Syracuse and Central NY, will be my guest to President Biden’s State of the Union address. When I championed the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law with President Biden we made reconnecting communities our north star, and there is nobody who has embodied this idea or been a greater advocate in this fight than Van Robinson. From fighting to reduce lead poisoning in our children to delivering support for affordable housing and workforce development, Van and I have worked together for decades to lay the foundation for a brighter, more equitable future for all of Syracuse, and after years of work we are finally starting to see that dream become a reality with the groundbreaking of I-81, which will reunite long-severed communities,” said Senator Schumer. “Van Robinson has helped make Syracuse a national model for reconnecting and reinvigorating communities and I can think of no better person to have as my guest to President Biden’s State of the Union.”
Van has dedicated his life to public service and his over 5 decades of hard work fighting for the teardown of I81 culminated with the city officially break ground on the transformational Interstate 81 Viaduct Project in Syracuse, one of the largest and most ambitious construction projects in Upstate New York, in 2021. After being elected to the Syracuse Common Council in 1999, Van stepped up his advocacy around demolition of the I-81 viaduct and become one of the first elected officials to champion the idea of removing the viaduct to create a street-level boulevard. Van became the first African American President of the Syracuse Common Council in 2009, as well as the first to be reelected in 2013. Over his career in city public office, Van won five city-wide elections. Additionally, he is a longtime leader of the Syracuse NAACP, where he served as both President and Vice President, and over the years he has served on numerous community-focused nonprofit boards, including Elmcrest Children’s Center, FOCUS Greater Syracuse, Red Cross, Meals on Wheels and InterFaith Works. Van is a proud Navy man who is a member of the USS Antietam Naval Association.
In recent years, Schumer and Robinson have worked together to accelerate the realization of Van’s vision around I-81. Last July, Van Robinson joined Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and Governor Hochul at the official groundbreaking on the transformational I-81 viaduct project, formally launching one of the largest and most ambitious construction projects ever undertaken in Upstate New York and laying the foundation for a brighter, more equitable future for Syracuse. At the event, Robinson and Schumer stood side-by-side, shovels in hand, signifying the extraordinary progress that Van and Schumer have spent decades fighting for, including the I-81 teardown and Community Grid to reconnect neighborhoods divided by the I-81 viaduct. In 2021, Robinson joined Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, at a roundtable to push for the Reconnecting Communities Act and a permanent expansion of the local hire pilot programs in the American jobs Plan in an effort to help fund the I-81 project, support local workers, and revitalize Syracuse.
Beyond championing the I-81 project, Schumer and Robinson have worked alongside each other for decades, collaborating on a range of issues from local economic development to improving the regional economy and enhancing community connectivity. Senator Schumer makes a point to visit Van Robinson every year at the Van Robinson Pan-African Village at the Great New York State Fair. Schumer and Van have been together at dozens of events from the I-81 roundtable to announcing that Micron is coming to Syracuse, marching in parades, and countless events with the NYS NAACP over the years. The senator said he is thrilled to now welcome his dear friend to the nation’s Capital for President Biden’s State of the Union.
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