Had to respond to your Wegmans comment. I lived in Houston, 10yrs, and I remember fondly of Wegmans (from when I lived in Buffalo). Wegmans is one of the top rated supermarket in the US, and has been for awhile. Depending on the list HEB and Wegmans interchange #1 and #2

I am 54. Born and raised here. Syracuse used to vibrant, with a great downtown. Once the big manufacturing jobs went, so did the economy.  Carrier, Syracuse China, General Motors. So many others.  I work for a non-profit,  the poverty is heartbreaking.  Lots of corruption over the years, with "big" companies. Telergy, Bennett companies.  Ponzi schemes.  But things are starting to look up. Micron is coming and hopefully that will attract more companies.

The city where I was born.  I lived here until I was 12.  My biggest memory-snow baby, snow!

Syracuse, NY is the snowiest city in North America with a population of 50k or more.  We average 125 inches a season.  Already at 127 inches this season, with a month and a half yet to go.

I grew up in Syracuse. Dad used to take us fishing on Whites Bridge on a still existing section of the Erie Canal. We used to catch small fish. My brother caught a snapping turtle and I caught my Dad in the back and our dog in the tail while learning to cast. My folks are gone now and we haven't been back for a few years. Syracuse is a gritty town but the area; Finger Lakes, Lake Ontario, Adirondack Mountains and Thousand Islands are all natural wonders.  We used to go camping in the Adirondacks in the summer. Invariably someone from a neighboring camp site would talk about how beautiful New York is and they never knew how different from New York City. I hope to get back this summer.

My son and I had the pleasure of visiting downtown Syracuse while being here as a Traveling Medical employee at upstate University Hospital from Florida. We’ve been here on a seven month contract and I must say the downtown area is really beautiful .

Very fair overview of the city. My grandfather used to be the President of Syracuse Savings Bank! I have lots of family history there. I hope you enjoyed you stay.

Born and raised here. Good job highlighting some of the downtown stuff that most residents don't even notice. That rough neighborhood you were in is an oasis compared to the other side of town, which houses the poorest neighborhood in the country. The canal was routed through Oneida lake, and you're right, they really should have left it where it was. Our outdoor ice rink in the winter would be more like Ottawa than just the small pool you saw in its place.

I didn't grow up in Syracuse but I moved here 36 years ago and have been here ever since. When I saw the title I thought this was going to be a video about how bad it is here. I was glad to see that you posted more about the good parts. The canal was filled-in in 1924 partly because it was considered a "Menace to Public Health" having collapsed and flooded the area with filthy water, and partly due to the pending railroad and automobile traffic. If you come back to this region, you might do a Finger Lakes tour or even stop in some of the canal towns that remain. I've stayed here mostly because of the waterways and lakes. Upstate NY has two of the cleanest lakes in the country, Skaneateles Lake and Lake George. I sent your video link to some friends and family so they have a good appreciation for what it's like in Syracuse proper. Thanks for making it. I subscribed :-)

Great video!...I moved up here from NC back in 2001; right before 9/11...my boyfriend at the time (who I met in NC) is from here and needed to move back due to family obligations.  So we broke up a year later in 2002, and I stayed because in my opinion Syracuse is a perfectly sized city. It is so gorgeous downtown and in the neighborhoods. When you talked about how one could be in the hood, and a few blocks away you'd be in a rich, historic area with big yards containg beautiful gardens on the property! I love the winters too; the city doesn't shut down even for 25 inches of snow that can fall in one day! They have all the equipment they need to keep the roads clear. The wind can be quite brutal but as long as you dress properly you will never get cold!

My daughter graduated from Syracuse University, I’m enjoying your commentary…it’s a beautiful downtown.  I miss Syracuse, forever a special place.

You did Syracuse good. You should have also reviewed the Niagara Mohawk Building just a couple of blocks north of where you had lunch at Kitty Hoynes. One of the best looking art deco buildings in North America. Other than that you did excellent.

Looks like downtown Syracuse has reinvented itself in the past 15 years ! We drove around the city around 2006 and I'm very pleased to see how nice the city centre now is ! We were doing one of our USA/Canada road trips, which included the Finger Lakes and the Adirondack Mountains. A lot of upstate New York in those days was going through transition as businesses came and went, but it looks nice now. Good to see.

The beginning story about the traffic light was great! The truth is,around 1997 I worked in Pougkeepsie N.Y. installing new traffic lights thru the whole city. One of the old lights that we removed was reversed just like this one!  The funny thing is..there were many Irish families in the area. I wonder if that light had the same story?

Notice how the graphic for high childrens poverty was mostly cities along the great lakes in the rust belt

Have fallen off a bit keeping up with your videos, much to my loss. When I saw the subject was Syracuse, being a lifelong Bostonian with my prejudices, I wasn't terribly enthusiastic to watch it; but turns out I was wrong.
Your camera production of the opening scene regarding the traffic light was of professional quality-and the story was great.
The city has more than its share of magnificent buildings. I also learned that the Erie Canal was actually routed right through Syracuse's center.
Both places you ate and imbibed at sure looked to me like genuine Irish-American pubs.
I'm back on board your viewer list.

I lived in Houstin, TX, for 43 years. I love HEB. I have a camp on one of the Finger Lakes for 22 years. I have visited Wegman's stores in Syracuse, Auburn, and Ithaca. HEB can learn a lot from Wegman's markets.

My city is not perfect but it is beautiful. The hills make the best scenery

15:01 when you turned onto Butternut and thought it was going to be a nice street, I chuckled. It is known to be one of the worst areas for violent crime and poverty in the city.

I live in the area you were in driving around. I completely agree with you sir…. Butternut street is a pretty rough street. I live about 8 blocks from butternut. My street is no better if not worse. Syracuse is a pretty rough place to live . Don’t get me wrong i love living here. A lot of people over here will give you the shirt off their back. It’s also super dangerous. I have been living over here for 24 year’s. I raised all 4 of my kid’s over here. Even though this is a rough side of town all my kid’s turned out successful. I personally think i am pretty lucky.