SYRACUSE, N.Y. — On December 2, 2024, F Shed will open its doors to community members for a public meeting on the future of the Central New York Regional Market. The Market, a New York State authority, is working with the Onondaga County government, the Empire State Development Corporation, and a private consultancy to develop a plan to revitalize the Market’s aging infrastructure, and bring in new revenue.
In recent months, the 86-year-old Market ousted its Executive Director after an audit by the State Comptroller that found gross financial mismanagement. Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli says there’s $100 million on the table for the Market if it can right the ship, and revive itself as a reliable engine for New York agriculture, and New York’s hungry.
There’s little data to quantify the impact of the Market on the Central New York region. In an interview with WCNY’s On the Moneythat aired in October, new CEO Bill Fischer said the Market had “close to a thousand” parking spots, and on their busiest day, all are full little more than an hour after the Market opens. “Those folks are here for an hour [to] an hour and a half, and when they leave, there’s a car to take their place immediately.” Previous Market leadership has said the property sees upwards of 20,000 visitors on an average weekend, and staff tell CNY Central that ten to twenty thousand dollars in EBT is dispensed to cardholders each weekend– but no official data exists to corroborate these numbers…