Syracuse businessman Stephen Skinner has announced he is running for Onondaga County Legislature, taking on incumbent Democrat Peggy Chase for the right to represent the area both call home — the "village within the city" known as Eastwood.

What You Need To Know

  • Eastwood is known as the "village within the city"

  • Skinner is linked to more than 60 businesses starting up in Syracuse

  • The business owner pays for a weekly street clean up crew to keep Eastwood roads litter-free

  • Skinner has renovated thousands of blighted homes in Eastwood in the past 20 years

Local business owners said Skinner, who is running as a Republican, has played a major role helping them bring Eastwood back. Twenty years ago, Skinner said his mission was to change this blighted neighborhood in Syracuse into something beautiful.

"He cleans up trash everywhere he is. So if you see Steve on the street, you're always going to see him picking up trash somewhere," said Sara Hall, owner of Eastwood Hair Design.

As a developer and real estate broker, Skinner has played an intregal part in helping new business to open in Eastwood, owners said. 

"He has gotten restaurants in here; I mean what is not in Eastwood now? Especially in [Eastwood Plaza], there's everything. You've got hair, you've got nails, you've got food, you've got gyms,” says Hall. “He's just making it a really convenient clean location; and safe. That's the most important, safe. So, he's making everyone comfortable and it's bringing more business to the Eastwood area."

"This track lighting is all used. So we painted it. Me and my daughter we brought it in in the pandemic, and Steve's guys hung it up for us and we kinda remodeled out of nothing. We really didn't have anything," added Hall.

When the pandemic began, the community leaned on each other even more.

"When we shut down the first time, Steve was in here revamping. Trying to make it new, trying to make it modern, trying to bring in hair dressers since we lost bunch during the pandemic," explained Hall.

Skinner says restoring hundreds of Eastwood homes and helping to launch 60 new businesses is part of a goal he has had to defend.

"To have a vision nowadays is almost not enough,” said Skinner. “It's almost like you have to defend the vision, but then in turn when it does come to fruition, it does bring tears to your eyes, because the fact that you realize, you weren't crazy. There was a reason behind it all."

Many of his visions like The Palace Theater, which Skinner owns, are success stories for their owners, their families, and Eastwood.

"Whether it was Cafe Kubal, people said there was no way that a coffee roaster like that would ever survive in the Eastwood community, or the many other businesses that have come to the area,” said Skinner, “I think of OIP, Found Things, the new plant store. People literally thought we were out of mind when we said, ‘I want to invest into this lady's vision. She has a vision and she loves what she does and it is a beautiful store front.’ I have people calling that literally live hours away and they say, 'You're in that community with the lady with that plant store.'"

Another vision was for the community to be rid of a dangerous nuisance property known for crime and to repurpose it for a friendly safe business. Assad Almagid was open to help make that vision happen.

"Stephen, he said, 'I want to change this from a bar to a restaurant, whatever you need I am here man.' I say, ‘Okay, I am open to that,’" said Almagid, owner of Sinbad’s Restaurant.

The big vision though is, as Stephen Skinner says, "to help see our neighborhood come together more and more all the time."