Syracuse orders closure of parking garage located at end of St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Syracuse, N.Y. — Just ahead of the St. Patrick’s Parade — one of downtown Syracuse’s biggest annual events — city officials ordered the closure of a six-story parking garage by the end of the parade route.

A privately owned garage on Harrison Street between South Salina and South Warren streets has had 11 open code violations for several months. The issues include unsanitary conditions, unsafe fire department access and lack of security measures. Inspectors found urine, feces and trash throughout the facility.

Code enforcement records showed most of the violations were first noted in September, and the garage’s owner had until late February to make fixes. HS Parking LLC, which has a Staten Island address, is the owner.

The 560-space garage has signage that says “Hotel Syracuse Parking” (the historic name for the Marriott Syracuse Downtown) and has a closed pedestrian bridge connected to the hotel. But that is not the facility the Marriott operates for its guests. That garage, a larger seven-story facility with 1,345 spaces on the other side of South Warren Street, remains open. It is owned by the city and leased to the hotel.

Syracuse Chief Policy Officer Greg Loh said the hotel-run facility and the other downtown garages and lots will provide ample parking for Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Parade, which ends at the corner of South Salina and Harrison streets. The yearly event draws tens of thousands of visitors downtown.

Marriott Downtown Syracuse owner Ed Riley agreed that there’s plenty of parking in the area for the weekend, and he said the hotel-run garage is happy to work with long-term parking customers of the closed garage who may be affected the shutdown. The closed garage’s pedestrian bridge to the hotel has not been open since the Marriott reopened in 2016 following a multi-year renovation project.

Signs posted at the entrances to the closed garage said no vehicles could enter starting at 4 p.m. Thursday, and all had to be out within 24 hours. As of Friday morning, about a dozen automobiles scattered on the first and second levels remained. A large cement block and a chain blocked the entrance.

The garage’s operator, Chicago-based SP Plus Corp., could not immediately be reached for comment.

City reporter Jeremy Boyer can be reached at jboyer@syracuse.com, (315) 657-5673, Twitter or Facebook.