Syracuse, NY– Marquita Hetherington grew up along East Adams Street, on the edge of downtown. She lived with her mother in Weiser Court, an area of Pioneer Homes three blocks from Interstate 81. Her mother’s cousin lived next door.
Generations later, Hetherington and that cousin’s granddaughter are living the same way: They have next-door apartments a couple of streets over inside the public housing neighborhood.
Hetherington has already left Pioneer Homes once. She moved away when she was younger, then to North Syracuse for a while before returning in 2018, because it was more affordable.
“It’s just like coming back home,” Hetherington said. “We look out for one another...we just make sure that we’re good.”
Now Hetherington is moving again, this time to get an early start to avoid two massive construction projects that will disrupt the neighborhood over the next several years.
The elevated portion of I-81 near Pioneer Homes is coming down, starting in 2026. At the same time, there’s a $1 billion renovation project underway for the East Adams neighborhood. At some point, everyone living in Pioneer Homes, one of the oldest public housing developments in the country, will move as the East Adams neighborhood is rebuilt.
These moves are temporary. Those who leave can come back, according to Bill Simmons, the director of the public housing authority. Some of the new apartments are expected to be ready in March 2027.
But they are starting the move-out process now, in large part to escape the messy and noisy I-81 construction that’s coming soon.
Late this summer, the housing authority announced it received $5 million in new housing vouchers from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to help nearly 150 families living near I-81 move out early.
So far, 54 households plan to use vouchers to move. Another 32 want to stay in an SHA home that’s further away from I-81, a decision that allows them to move but remain in public housing.
“We’re trying to...give families as much time as possible to find an apartment, as hard as it is to in Onondaga County,” Simmons said. “But you don’t get anything accomplished without deadlines.”
There is a sense of urgency. These new vouchers must be distributed by the end of the year, otherwise HUD will reclaim the money, Simmons said.
At the same time, there’s a sense of loss for residents like Hetherington, whose current neighborhood is near a small city park, an elementary school, three hospitals and the region’s main bus hub.
Some residents would have to change their daily routines that they’ve been following for years. They’d move away from family and friends, work and school. On a recent Tuesday evening, a few kids played outside of the Pioneer Homes Coffeehouse, yelling and laughing with each other. A woman grabbed popcorn from a neighborhood meeting inside the coffeehouse to calm them down.
Once residents choose to pack up, they leave this community behind.
“It’s just a tough thing to get people to move,” Simmons said. “A variety of reasons why people will decide to stay in place.”
Hetherington, who helps others through this neighborhood transition, joked that she might need counseling because of all the stress.
She said she will miss her home and her neighborhood, but she wants to leave before the I-81 demolition begins, partly because of her allergies.
Once that decision is made, then there’s the money to think about. Those who move would have to find a new apartment with the voucher and pay a security deposit.
In a letter sent to residents, SHA said that they will let them know if they can get money to help them move their belongings in phases. The authority is working to get this money through other partners. As of now, Simmons said the SHA doesn’t have money on hand to help.
It’s not easy to pack up and go at a time when the typical rent in Onondaga County is more than $1,700 a month.
The Section 8 voucher will cover part of the rent. Typically, a family pays 30% of its monthly income towards rent, and the voucher covers the rest. But the unit must pass a safety inspection and cost a “reasonable” amount as determined by the federal housing system.
The SHA said an agency representative would help each family find a home in the initial letter sent to them.
But it’s a challenge to find quality affordable housing in Syracuse, the executive director of CNY Fair Housing, Sally Santangelo, said. Some properties cost more than what the voucher will cover, she said.
“There’s definitely challenges,” Santangelo said. “Rental prices have been increasing significantly and at a much faster pace than the HUD adjustments to fair market rent.”
Plus, tenants could face discrimination because they have a housing choice voucher, Santangelo said, even though it’s illegal to turn away a tenant solely because they qualify for the subsidy. CNY Fair Housing has noticed that some landlords price their units right above the amount that the voucher will cover, Santangelo said.
Hetherington knows these challenges well. She works for Blueprint 15, a nonprofit that teaches residents ways to improve their credit scores and helps them understand their options if they move.
The residents also can use their vouchers toward mortgage payments to buy their own home. Hetherington facilitates a homeownership class about the program. Earlier this year, she helped a McKinney Manor resident reach her dream of owning a home, one of two who’ve taken that option so far.
Now, it’s Hetherington’s turn.
She’s planning to use her voucher to buy a home. Along with some other residents, she’s waiting to hear if her application for the voucher has been approved.
In the meantime, Hetherington has gotten rid of her living room furniture, including her couch and her loveseat. She wants to start new wherever she lands.
“Finally leaving this place, I don’t know how I’m going to feel,” Hetherington said. “I’ll probably cry.”