WEBVTT 00:00:08.679 --> 00:00:11.580 Hey folks, welcome to good news York. I'm your 00:00:11.580 --> 00:00:14.039 host Matt major from growth mode content joined 00:00:14.039 --> 00:00:18.980 as always by my Smiley friend Mikey B. I got 00:00:18.980 --> 00:00:21.179 a little extra pep in my step today. It's Tuesday. 00:00:21.300 --> 00:00:23.739 It's already Tuesday Tuesday We had a long weekend. 00:00:23.739 --> 00:00:26.559 I'm under the weather And so normally I would 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:28.300 be very low energy, but I can't be because I'm 00:00:28.300 --> 00:00:29.960 going to... Well, first of all, we have an amazing 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:32.280 guest here. We do. And second of all, we've got 00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:34.340 Dave Matthews band tonight. Nice. I'm going that 00:00:34.340 --> 00:00:37.560 right here in Syracuse. And shout out, Cornell 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:39.740 Lacrosse won the national championship. How about 00:00:39.740 --> 00:00:41.619 that? And I live in Ithaca, so it's a very big 00:00:41.619 --> 00:00:44.659 deal for us. So we're... I'm ready to go. Yeah. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:48.340 All right, man. And as you mentioned, sitting 00:00:48.340 --> 00:00:50.579 next to you, we have this handsome gentleman 00:00:50.579 --> 00:00:53.679 here from Visit Syracuse. Yes, sir. Danny Liedka. 00:00:54.020 --> 00:00:57.020 Did I do it right? Right on the money. I asked 00:00:57.020 --> 00:00:58.880 in advance and usually that's when I screw it 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:01.439 up. Not Danny Ladka, nickname of the guy from 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:04.180 taxi. See we had that conversation and you made 00:01:04.180 --> 00:01:06.099 me extra nervous that I was going to say it the 00:01:06.099 --> 00:01:08.500 wrong way. I know. It's like throwing the first 00:01:08.500 --> 00:01:11.019 pitch at a game. You can practice it over and 00:01:11.019 --> 00:01:13.379 over and then you get up there. And you just 00:01:13.379 --> 00:01:15.140 you overthink it. And next thing you know, you're 00:01:15.140 --> 00:01:16.319 throwing it. Yeah, we know that's that's what 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:18.420 you told Ryan McMahon before he did it. Hey, 00:01:18.519 --> 00:01:20.719 man, don't overthink this. This could ruin your 00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:23.000 life. He's like, thank you. Now you've ruined 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:25.400 me. Yeah, that was that was a good time. But 00:01:25.400 --> 00:01:28.599 anyway, Danny, welcome to the show, my friend. 00:01:28.700 --> 00:01:31.420 Welcome to Good News York. Why don't we jump 00:01:31.420 --> 00:01:34.500 right in, my friend? Tell us what is Visit Syracuse. 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:37.480 So we're the official tourism agency for Onondaga 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:40.599 County and also visit Syracuse film. So our role. 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:43.519 get people to the area, right? Enjoy, see what 00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:45.920 Syracuse has to offer. We market the area, market 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:48.739 the region, and then on the film side, same thing, 00:01:49.299 --> 00:01:51.400 market why Syracuse is a great destination to 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:53.959 shoot a movie, certainly with all the tax incentives 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:55.739 that are in place through New York State and 00:01:55.739 --> 00:01:59.680 Onondaga County. So we really have a job that 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:03.230 I love doing because I can bring money home that 00:02:03.230 --> 00:02:05.030 helps anyone that owns a property in this county. 00:02:05.310 --> 00:02:08.289 The better job my team does, the more money we're 00:02:08.289 --> 00:02:10.090 able to save people locally because of the amount 00:02:10.090 --> 00:02:13.349 of sales tax it generates. Wow. That's, you know, 00:02:13.349 --> 00:02:16.449 I was thinking about this on the way in this 00:02:16.449 --> 00:02:19.110 morning, and I feel like, you know, you you technically 00:02:19.110 --> 00:02:20.949 have a government job. Like you said, you work 00:02:20.949 --> 00:02:22.949 with the county, right? Is that accurate? Yeah, 00:02:22.949 --> 00:02:25.349 we're funded through the county, not a county 00:02:25.349 --> 00:02:27.610 employee per se. So we're standalone. That's 00:02:27.610 --> 00:02:30.090 an even better deal. 501 C6. Yeah, I certainly 00:02:30.090 --> 00:02:31.729 would like that pension. Come on. Yeah, yeah, 00:02:31.729 --> 00:02:33.330 yeah. But that doesn't come along with it. That's 00:02:33.330 --> 00:02:35.530 fair. But as I'm thinking about this, you're 00:02:35.530 --> 00:02:38.189 sort of like the, you're the entertainment director, 00:02:38.310 --> 00:02:41.250 the cruise director for Syracuse, I feel like. 00:02:41.710 --> 00:02:42.830 You know, because you're the one that's going 00:02:42.830 --> 00:02:44.930 around here really hyping up all these fun things 00:02:44.930 --> 00:02:47.530 to do and it's... That sounds like a great gig. 00:02:48.009 --> 00:02:50.469 So yeah, I think the best one of the best parts 00:02:50.469 --> 00:02:52.990 of the job is there's so much great stuff going 00:02:52.990 --> 00:02:55.969 on locally and people embrace what we do. So 00:02:55.969 --> 00:02:58.409 we really hitch our wagon to all these festivals 00:02:58.409 --> 00:03:01.310 and events and try to show them best practices. 00:03:01.389 --> 00:03:03.830 How can we increase their attendance? Well, how 00:03:03.830 --> 00:03:06.810 can we tell their story? It's not like work. 00:03:07.129 --> 00:03:09.370 To your point, it's like being the show director. 00:03:09.389 --> 00:03:11.590 It's a blast every day. And the fact that we 00:03:11.590 --> 00:03:14.159 have local impact makes it all worth it. Yeah, 00:03:14.259 --> 00:03:16.400 that's that's the thing about this that I think 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:17.960 a lot of people don't understand. You know, they 00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:20.020 talk about amenities and fun things to do and 00:03:20.020 --> 00:03:22.000 things like that. And it's yeah, that's fun. 00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:24.599 But also that's massive revenue that in many 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:27.419 cases is from people outside the area. So we 00:03:27.419 --> 00:03:29.340 get we get strangers to pay our bills, basically. 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:32.539 Yeah. If I told you tourism spending in this 00:03:32.539 --> 00:03:35.000 county last year was one point three billion 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:37.939 dollars, I think that shocks a lot of a lot of 00:03:37.939 --> 00:03:40.199 locals. Absolutely. So it's huge. It's huge. 00:03:40.259 --> 00:03:43.259 And that generates Roughly 70 million dollars 00:03:43.259 --> 00:03:45.479 in sales tax and I keep referring to sales tax. 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:49.139 Why is that important our county budget? Give 00:03:49.139 --> 00:03:52.840 or take it's about 1 .5 billion dollars About 00:03:52.840 --> 00:03:55.439 75 % of that's funded through sales tax. So you 00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:58.979 think what we do can help keep property taxes 00:03:58.979 --> 00:04:01.599 down. It's a big deal. Absolutely Absolutely. 00:04:01.639 --> 00:04:03.960 That's that's incredible. I find strangers to 00:04:03.960 --> 00:04:09.439 pay my bills You just you just got to put on 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:12.750 a big event That's all. Wainstock. I will say, 00:04:13.110 --> 00:04:15.710 I've been following Visit Syracuse on Instagram 00:04:15.710 --> 00:04:19.709 and all your social accounts. And it's really 00:04:19.709 --> 00:04:22.709 impressive. It's very entertaining. Sometimes 00:04:22.709 --> 00:04:25.569 you'll find these kind of organizations, tourism 00:04:25.569 --> 00:04:28.110 organizations, and it's just kind of stock photos 00:04:28.110 --> 00:04:30.230 of, look how pretty this place is. Here's the 00:04:30.230 --> 00:04:32.689 local attraction. You guys really make it interesting. 00:04:32.790 --> 00:04:35.189 And I really want to just give you a shout out 00:04:35.189 --> 00:04:37.009 on your social media team. And people should 00:04:37.009 --> 00:04:39.750 follow it. Well, thank you. I mean, I can't. 00:04:40.170 --> 00:04:42.449 I didn't pay him to bring that up, but you're 00:04:42.449 --> 00:04:44.269 going to walk me down a really great road that 00:04:44.269 --> 00:04:46.069 I'm very proud of. You know, it's funny you say 00:04:46.069 --> 00:04:48.350 that because the job I had before this, I worked 00:04:48.350 --> 00:04:50.769 for Marriott Hotels in Ritz -Carlton and I really 00:04:50.769 --> 00:04:52.769 got a great education there. I'm not as I'm not 00:04:52.769 --> 00:04:55.589 an educated man when it comes to college. I've 00:04:55.589 --> 00:04:58.750 learned through work and Marriott was an education 00:04:58.750 --> 00:05:01.889 and they really were on the cutting edge of you 00:05:01.889 --> 00:05:04.470 think of those days of you look at a resort or 00:05:04.470 --> 00:05:06.209 a hotel somewhere. All those pictures are scripted. 00:05:06.209 --> 00:05:08.069 They're actors and not people look like us. Yeah, 00:05:08.129 --> 00:05:11.100 right. But those days. are over. And now it's 00:05:11.100 --> 00:05:12.899 the TripAdvisor days where you're looking to 00:05:12.899 --> 00:05:14.779 see real people doing real things. And that's 00:05:14.779 --> 00:05:16.319 what I brought to visit Syracuse. I said, let's 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:18.959 get away from the script. Let's get real people 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:21.420 doing real things. And let's get into the video 00:05:21.420 --> 00:05:23.680 era because video is going to be hot. So we are 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:26.000 a little ahead of the trend. Yeah, but now it's 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:27.600 it's real people doing real things, man. And 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:29.699 that's what sells. That's believable. And that's 00:05:29.699 --> 00:05:31.639 what creates that emotional attachment. And that's 00:05:31.639 --> 00:05:33.899 why we've been successful, along with the incredible 00:05:33.899 --> 00:05:36.680 team that I have. Yeah, nailed it. And it's true. 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:40.540 I mean, It shows in every post. It's uh, you 00:05:40.540 --> 00:05:42.779 can tell it's it's modern It's cutting -edge 00:05:42.779 --> 00:05:44.959 and it makes me want to visit Syracuse, which 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:46.899 is the whole deal So yeah, I mean that's this 00:05:46.899 --> 00:05:49.000 just kind of speaks to our mission here at growth 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:51.019 mode content is the reason we're doing that It's 00:05:51.019 --> 00:05:53.439 that organic content is exactly what you're talking 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:55.620 about. It's not the script that it's real life 00:05:55.620 --> 00:05:58.839 real people doing real things You mentioned your 00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:00.639 team. Let's talk about them real quick. How big 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:04.279 is your team and Yeah, we have 14 people, we 00:06:04.279 --> 00:06:06.319 have some part -timers and some volunteers to 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:09.019 get involved and we have large events here. The 00:06:09.019 --> 00:06:13.060 best of the best. come from a background when 00:06:13.060 --> 00:06:14.879 I talk about Marriott, it's about work culture. 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:18.220 And we have very low turnover and we try to create 00:06:18.220 --> 00:06:19.819 that environment where people want to come to 00:06:19.819 --> 00:06:22.459 work every day. Their free time is respected. 00:06:22.740 --> 00:06:25.459 So you get performance. But when I came in, you 00:06:25.459 --> 00:06:26.899 know, I had to make some changes. I'm a baseball 00:06:26.899 --> 00:06:28.920 coach at heart. Everything I do is about baseball. 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:31.819 Sure. The way I run my life. So we were very 00:06:31.819 --> 00:06:34.699 siloed. I had, you know, I had a team where everybody 00:06:34.699 --> 00:06:37.060 could do their role, but outside of their role, 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:39.519 maybe not so much. And I felt like versatility 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:42.889 was the key. Yeah. tooled our team and now we 00:06:42.889 --> 00:06:44.750 all support one another somebody needs to take 00:06:44.750 --> 00:06:46.889 a day off we don't you know we don't break stride 00:06:46.889 --> 00:06:49.310 because everybody's kind of cross -trained but 00:06:49.310 --> 00:06:51.449 I've got great people we're successful because 00:06:51.449 --> 00:06:54.589 of the people my job is to keep them happy that's 00:06:54.589 --> 00:06:58.589 awesome that's great and would you say The primary 00:06:58.589 --> 00:07:00.370 function, as you mentioned a little bit, is sort 00:07:00.370 --> 00:07:02.350 of marketing. Is that the bulk of what you're 00:07:02.350 --> 00:07:03.970 doing is really trying to promote these things? 00:07:04.189 --> 00:07:06.709 Or are you helping to put together events and 00:07:06.709 --> 00:07:09.730 attractions? Yeah, I think, to the average person, 00:07:09.829 --> 00:07:11.490 we're the old convention and visitors bureau. 00:07:11.649 --> 00:07:14.470 So people think our main function is bringing 00:07:14.470 --> 00:07:16.810 large events here, heads and beds, right? Get 00:07:16.810 --> 00:07:18.709 people in hotel rooms. It is a big function. 00:07:19.389 --> 00:07:21.910 But people don't come here to stay in hotels. 00:07:21.949 --> 00:07:23.910 They come here to do something. Sure. So we have 00:07:23.910 --> 00:07:26.379 to set that. Frame that picture up tell them 00:07:26.379 --> 00:07:28.519 why it's a good idea to come to Syracuse and 00:07:28.519 --> 00:07:31.259 do things So do we sell our conventions and events 00:07:31.259 --> 00:07:33.779 and create events? Absolutely gotcha, but you 00:07:33.779 --> 00:07:35.480 have to paint that picture first. You have to 00:07:35.480 --> 00:07:38.420 set the stage. Yeah, absolutely That's awesome. 00:07:38.500 --> 00:07:40.300 I think you had a question. I cut you off buddy. 00:07:40.360 --> 00:07:44.759 No, I I'm I just breathe heavy no Dan I wanted 00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:46.540 to talk a little bit about your background if 00:07:46.540 --> 00:07:49.100 we could because off the air I was asking you 00:07:49.100 --> 00:07:52.220 about it and not only is an impressive background, 00:07:52.339 --> 00:07:55.029 but There's a great story with it. I'd love for 00:07:55.029 --> 00:07:57.069 you to share that. Yeah, my background is not 00:07:57.069 --> 00:07:58.790 traditional and I'll try to get to that story 00:07:58.790 --> 00:08:01.449 really quick. But we started slugging it out 00:08:01.449 --> 00:08:04.350 in hotels. I was an audio visual guy. But also 00:08:04.350 --> 00:08:06.930 at the same time, I was in television and I was 00:08:06.930 --> 00:08:09.149 a statistician and I worked. I got to work every 00:08:09.149 --> 00:08:11.889 game in town and it was really a great gig. And 00:08:11.889 --> 00:08:14.149 then a little bit later, these were all going 00:08:14.149 --> 00:08:16.589 on at the same time. Two jobs at once. And then 00:08:16.589 --> 00:08:19.389 my third job, I got into politics. So I was a 00:08:19.389 --> 00:08:22.569 mayor. I was a county legislator for 16 years. 00:08:22.350 --> 00:08:25.930 total but the TV stuff I always believed when 00:08:25.930 --> 00:08:27.649 I was a kid I would get up and I would read the 00:08:27.649 --> 00:08:29.230 newspaper every morning I could tell you any 00:08:29.230 --> 00:08:31.430 statistics in there any baseball card basketball 00:08:31.430 --> 00:08:34.830 card and I was an athlete to some extent and 00:08:34.830 --> 00:08:37.490 and I kept telling my producers hey put me in 00:08:37.490 --> 00:08:39.750 front of the camera you know I think I can do 00:08:39.750 --> 00:08:42.750 just just as good a job as anyone else and and 00:08:42.789 --> 00:08:44.649 They laughed at me for a long time. Yeah, yeah, 00:08:44.690 --> 00:08:47.049 go sit down, go over there and do this. And sure 00:08:47.049 --> 00:08:48.990 enough, one day, you know, it was Syracuse and 00:08:48.990 --> 00:08:50.789 Rutgers football. I'm sitting in the TV truck. 00:08:50.789 --> 00:08:53.049 We're looking at the monitor wall. And one of 00:08:53.049 --> 00:08:56.250 the announcers was visibly sick. And the producer 00:08:56.250 --> 00:08:58.909 was kind of wigging out. And I said, I can do 00:08:58.909 --> 00:09:03.450 it. And he said, really? I said, yes, I can absolutely 00:09:03.450 --> 00:09:05.190 do it. We need to send a car home to get a suit 00:09:05.190 --> 00:09:07.750 for you. I said, no, I have a suit in the car. 00:09:08.129 --> 00:09:09.529 He goes, how did you know he was going to be 00:09:09.529 --> 00:09:12.049 sick? And I said, that, I said, that freaking 00:09:12.049 --> 00:09:13.710 suit's been sitting there for 10 years. I just 00:09:13.710 --> 00:09:17.899 gotta dust it off. I go, let's go. That is ready 00:09:17.899 --> 00:09:20.700 to go when you when when you're a college kid 00:09:20.700 --> 00:09:23.059 or Whatever when you're when you're coming up 00:09:23.059 --> 00:09:25.620 and you get advice, you know from people in in 00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:27.399 the industry Like one of the things they'll always 00:09:27.399 --> 00:09:29.120 tell you is always be ready, you know, especially 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:31.220 in here, right? Always be ready to be the next 00:09:31.220 --> 00:09:33.179 man up You never know when that guy's gonna get 00:09:33.179 --> 00:09:35.539 sick and you think it's maybe it's urban legend 00:09:35.539 --> 00:09:37.879 and that Genuinely happened to you and you were 00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:40.159 ready and I think that's just that's just absolutely 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:42.379 incredible Yeah, I don't think you know the door 00:09:42.379 --> 00:09:44.700 the door doesn't crack open very often see gotta 00:09:44.700 --> 00:09:46.419 be ready to kick it in and that's always been 00:09:46.419 --> 00:09:48.899 my mindset. My dad left when I was 10 but my 00:09:48.899 --> 00:09:50.240 dad was a drill sergeant in the Marines and I 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:52.679 learned pretty quick by 10 about being prepared 00:09:52.679 --> 00:09:55.779 but my mom was the one that always pushed me 00:09:55.779 --> 00:09:59.620 to be ready and always believe in yourself and 00:09:59.620 --> 00:10:02.399 that's what got it done. Shout out to the moms 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:05.159 out there. I love that. Yeah, me too. I absolutely 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:07.379 love that. Don't get me crying, Dan. Don't get 00:10:07.379 --> 00:10:10.299 me crying. I can get you there. Danny, I think 00:10:10.299 --> 00:10:13.039 that's a great segue to talk about what we should 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:16.159 be prepared for, because as a region, we've got 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:18.799 a lot of cool things on deck that are coming, 00:10:19.580 --> 00:10:21.659 some in your world, some that maybe aren't, but 00:10:21.659 --> 00:10:23.799 all positive things. Talk to us a little bit 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:26.629 about the future here. the greater Syracuse area. 00:10:26.809 --> 00:10:29.789 Yeah, I think we're very fortunate with the foresight 00:10:29.789 --> 00:10:31.629 of some of our leaders, you know, with the big 00:10:31.629 --> 00:10:34.909 micron project coming. Certainly 81, you know, 00:10:34.970 --> 00:10:37.009 that needed to be refreshed. It's all kind of 00:10:37.009 --> 00:10:39.529 coming together at the same time. But we did 00:10:39.529 --> 00:10:41.330 go through a little bit of a crisis about a year 00:10:41.330 --> 00:10:43.330 ago. We had a lot of our major hotels shut down. 00:10:43.330 --> 00:10:46.120 Yeah. So that. made the convention business very 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:48.600 difficult because now, when you bring a large 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:51.039 convention to the on -center, you need the Marriott, 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:53.080 you needed the Crowne Plaza, you needed the Sheridan, 00:10:53.580 --> 00:10:55.480 and you also needed the Genesee Grand. Well, 00:10:55.740 --> 00:10:57.500 now three of those four are essentially gone. 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:00.299 It's not really palatable to a typical customer. 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:01.639 Hey, we're going to put you on a bus and drive 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:03.659 you to carry your circle. Sure. When they can 00:11:03.659 --> 00:11:06.240 stay in a hotel and walk across the street. So 00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:08.539 we were in damage control mode, my team to their 00:11:08.539 --> 00:11:09.919 credit. We fought through that and we really 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:12.580 didn't lose any business. But we advocated for 00:11:12.580 --> 00:11:15.220 new hotels to come online. And in three years, 00:11:15.419 --> 00:11:18.500 we'll have probably 700 to 1000 brand new hotel 00:11:18.500 --> 00:11:21.659 rooms. So we really kind of upgraded. Yeah. But 00:11:21.659 --> 00:11:24.460 the timing of it is really. I think it's dumb 00:11:24.460 --> 00:11:27.200 luck, but you've got the 81 disruption while 00:11:27.200 --> 00:11:29.000 these hotels are being built. So when everything's 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:30.500 done, everything's gonna be fresh and new. So 00:11:30.500 --> 00:11:33.000 on the other side of this, things look great. 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:36.740 I thought we'd see a lull, but we haven't. Our 00:11:36.740 --> 00:11:39.320 sales team stayed on top of things and really 00:11:39.320 --> 00:11:41.600 gotten after it. A few other things, you know, 00:11:41.659 --> 00:11:44.039 some private investment in the film industry 00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:46.870 downtown. We have... People don't realize we 00:11:46.870 --> 00:11:49.789 have a world -class post -production audio studio 00:11:49.789 --> 00:11:52.629 in downtown Syracuse Where we're now starting 00:11:52.629 --> 00:11:54.929 to pull business from New York City to come here 00:11:54.929 --> 00:11:57.289 and do their post -production You can shoot a 00:11:57.289 --> 00:11:59.409 movie in a week or two. Oh, yeah, the post -production 00:11:59.409 --> 00:12:01.750 is six months, right? And that's lucrative and 00:12:01.750 --> 00:12:03.710 you've got a team of ten people coming in to 00:12:03.710 --> 00:12:05.769 do that and we're we're there now and that's 00:12:05.769 --> 00:12:09.110 all private investment So film is really really 00:12:09.110 --> 00:12:10.710 exciting. That's if you wouldn't mind remind 00:12:10.710 --> 00:12:12.830 me of the name of that that studio because I've 00:12:12.830 --> 00:12:14.490 been there But I'm blanking on the name studio 00:12:14.490 --> 00:12:17.559 central is that and that's the one that's um 00:12:17.559 --> 00:12:19.899 the old wonder bar the old red house yes yes 00:12:19.899 --> 00:12:23.580 yes that place uh when i first saw it and i think 00:12:23.580 --> 00:12:25.519 they've expanded past this but they were on like 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:27.779 the the ground floor that was like all stone 00:12:27.779 --> 00:12:30.840 and exactly it was it was like their their facility 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:33.519 was carved out of stone it was one of the coolest 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:36.200 yeah uh places i've ever seen and the building 00:12:36.200 --> 00:12:38.000 itself at the time and this was some years ago 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:40.360 they were rehabbing and was all looking fantastic 00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:43.820 and uh just Incredible resources right here in 00:12:43.820 --> 00:12:47.299 town and put several million dollars into it 00:12:47.299 --> 00:12:49.799 and I'll be happy to take you through there one 00:12:49.799 --> 00:12:51.860 day. You'll be blown away. You'll be absolutely 00:12:51.860 --> 00:12:53.360 blown away I have a little bit of a background 00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:56.360 in some in a little bit of film acting and so 00:12:56.360 --> 00:12:59.580 I have always Advocated that this area. Well, 00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:01.500 actually, I don't know if you probably know this 00:13:01.500 --> 00:13:04.059 Ithaca was supposed to be the original Hollywood 00:13:04.059 --> 00:13:07.399 really is this is a fact you can look it up they 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:10.740 were the the starting point for silent film. 00:13:10.899 --> 00:13:12.940 That's where silent film started. And then what 00:13:12.940 --> 00:13:15.740 happened was, because of the weather, they couldn't 00:13:15.740 --> 00:13:18.379 shoot year round. And so they moved out west 00:13:18.379 --> 00:13:20.059 and Hollywood became Hollywood, but it was supposed 00:13:20.059 --> 00:13:22.580 to be here. And if you think about it, I've always 00:13:22.580 --> 00:13:25.879 pushed for film in this area long before... Technology 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:28.360 came along and and you know you realize you can 00:13:28.360 --> 00:13:31.100 shoot everywhere else and get tax breaks besides 00:13:31.100 --> 00:13:34.179 the tax breaks I mean, you know you can be in 00:13:34.179 --> 00:13:36.840 the middle of a metropolitan area in this state 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:39.399 and then drive five miles in any direction and 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:41.539 you've got you know what looks like farmland 00:13:41.539 --> 00:13:43.679 what looks like You know, there's just there's 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:45.679 a lot of options and I and I hope the film industry 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:47.779 picks up on that because you can shoot so much 00:13:47.779 --> 00:13:50.659 here Yeah, it's coming. I think you're spot -on 00:13:50.659 --> 00:13:53.919 We've got some folks that have been here that 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:56.480 are gonna start at for us you know Bobcat Goldthwaites 00:13:56.480 --> 00:13:58.899 one that's you're gonna see quite a few movies 00:13:58.899 --> 00:14:01.299 here he's gonna take pride in being from Turkey 00:14:01.299 --> 00:14:04.779 yeah police academy but you talk about what we 00:14:04.779 --> 00:14:07.620 have for assets you know during COVID when we 00:14:07.620 --> 00:14:10.700 when the industry shut down we had to pivot and 00:14:10.700 --> 00:14:12.679 what was the only thing that was really shooting 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:17.539 were TV commercials so the MW Subaru Think of 00:14:17.539 --> 00:14:19.960 Marcellus, think of those curves, BMW commercials, 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:23.759 right? Exactly. These producers made Lake Ontario 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:25.659 look like the ocean. They had the Subaru driving 00:14:25.659 --> 00:14:28.039 down the beach. It was Lake Ontario. But it's 00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:30.960 right there. We have all these assets. So the 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:33.000 sky is the limit for us. And now that the governor 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:34.799 just signed into legislation the tax credits 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:37.159 through 2036, there's kind of been a holding. 00:14:38.270 --> 00:14:40.230 Now everybody's ready to go. And we have some 00:14:40.230 --> 00:14:42.590 advocates that we've hired to come on and really 00:14:42.590 --> 00:14:46.169 tell the Syracuse story. It's affordable. To 00:14:46.169 --> 00:14:48.990 your point, the list of assets is just, it's 00:14:48.990 --> 00:14:51.830 unparalleled. And they can come in here and really 00:14:51.830 --> 00:14:53.649 do one heck of a job and save a heck of a lot 00:14:53.649 --> 00:14:55.909 of money. And Danny, if you wouldn't mind, tell 00:14:55.909 --> 00:14:57.730 us just a little bit more about those tax credits, 00:14:57.769 --> 00:14:59.909 because there's some things I've heard and I'd 00:14:59.909 --> 00:15:05.549 love to get some clarity. Is the tax credit better? 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:08.639 in say Syracuse versus New York City? Is there 00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:10.740 a difference across the state? Is that accurate? 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:14.480 So the tax credits are similar statewide however, 00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:17.179 Onondaga County. puts in money and has a has 00:15:17.179 --> 00:15:20.340 a little bonus on top. I see. So that's the difference. 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:22.440 That's kind of the incentive. Yeah. Yeah. So 00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:24.460 you get your New York state credit and then Onondaga 00:15:24.460 --> 00:15:27.019 County will give you a kicker on top of it. So 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:28.879 don't quote me on the percentages, but it's over 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:31.460 40 percent. Wow. Which is significant when you 00:15:31.460 --> 00:15:33.100 think about it. We had one movie, for example, 00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:36.399 that shot and I'm horrible with names on movies, 00:15:36.860 --> 00:15:39.700 but it shot here. It was about a nine. $8 .5 00:15:39.700 --> 00:15:42.500 million project. They got about $3 .8 million 00:15:42.500 --> 00:15:44.779 back. They sold that movie at Sundance for $19 00:15:44.779 --> 00:15:47.100 million. When was this? This was pre -COVID, 00:15:47.139 --> 00:15:49.019 so this would have been like 2020. That's incredible. 00:15:49.039 --> 00:15:51.139 It's not that Pete Davidson movie, was it? No. 00:15:51.220 --> 00:15:54.220 It wasn't. It was, I believe, was a horror movie. 00:15:54.419 --> 00:15:58.320 OK. It's just absolutely incredible. It is? The 00:15:58.320 --> 00:15:59.720 other thing that I just want to ask you about 00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:04.139 is There's a difference between post -production 00:16:04.139 --> 00:16:06.840 and shooting, right? Is it two different things? 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:11.279 Yes, the post -production is a different story. 00:16:11.379 --> 00:16:13.299 But in order to get that tax incentive, they 00:16:13.299 --> 00:16:16.559 have to shoot some of the scenes of the movies 00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:19.620 in certified production facilities. So we used 00:16:19.620 --> 00:16:22.419 to have a facility over here in East Syracuse 00:16:22.419 --> 00:16:25.730 that was sold. But there's been private investment 00:16:25.730 --> 00:16:27.750 downtown at Case Supply. They've refurbed that 00:16:27.750 --> 00:16:29.669 into what they call a soundstage. You've got 00:16:29.669 --> 00:16:32.710 the gentleman at American High. But we've systematically 00:16:32.710 --> 00:16:34.990 went around and qualified places like the fairgrounds, 00:16:34.990 --> 00:16:37.450 for example. You talk about if you took an aerial 00:16:37.450 --> 00:16:39.429 view of the fairgrounds, it looks like Hollywood. 00:16:39.549 --> 00:16:41.129 Oh, absolutely. So we're trying to do more and 00:16:41.129 --> 00:16:44.169 more there. That's the goal. We have some folks 00:16:44.169 --> 00:16:46.570 interested in some series there. But that will 00:16:46.570 --> 00:16:48.690 take some time to get that done. What goes into 00:16:48.690 --> 00:16:51.230 certifying it? What makes a place certified for 00:16:51.230 --> 00:16:53.269 this sort of thing? It's soundproofing. It's 00:16:53.269 --> 00:16:54.870 pillar. free, you know, so, you know, clear, 00:16:55.070 --> 00:16:57.710 clear views and things of that nature. But X 00:16:57.710 --> 00:16:59.789 amount of square footage. Exactly. Right. Yeah. 00:16:59.809 --> 00:17:01.929 Yeah. But certainly has to have the sound quality. 00:17:02.129 --> 00:17:03.889 Yeah, that makes sense. So like the place like 00:17:03.889 --> 00:17:06.609 the on center, the Red House downtown on Carolina 00:17:06.609 --> 00:17:09.470 Street is a good one. There's quite a few that 00:17:09.470 --> 00:17:12.250 we've been able to bring into the fold. That's 00:17:12.250 --> 00:17:15.289 incredible. Is there any sort of not really competition, 00:17:15.289 --> 00:17:17.210 but I feel like it would be a no brainer, right? 00:17:17.230 --> 00:17:19.750 Like at this point, shouldn't every state be 00:17:19.750 --> 00:17:22.069 offering tax credits to bring in film? Do you 00:17:22.069 --> 00:17:24.450 find yourself kind of competing or? Yeah, no 00:17:24.450 --> 00:17:26.210 question. Yeah. Especially, you know, Atlanta's 00:17:26.210 --> 00:17:29.730 big, you know, New Jersey's starting to do it 00:17:29.730 --> 00:17:32.130 big time and trying to bring it out. The fight 00:17:32.130 --> 00:17:35.069 was always the move, let's take like a law and 00:17:35.069 --> 00:17:36.809 order. Who wants to be in Jersey? Yeah, right. 00:17:36.990 --> 00:17:38.789 Well, why should law and order get a tax break 00:17:38.789 --> 00:17:40.109 when they're already shooting in New York? That 00:17:40.109 --> 00:17:42.289 was always the argument. But when you look at 00:17:42.289 --> 00:17:45.750 the jobs it's created, we look at that Studio 00:17:45.750 --> 00:17:48.309 Central. Look at it this way. You think of a 00:17:48.309 --> 00:17:50.069 hub, right? So you've got the STEAM school coming 00:17:50.069 --> 00:17:53.779 online. They also do animation there and they 00:17:53.779 --> 00:17:56.319 have an animation studio and animation classes 00:17:56.319 --> 00:18:00.019 that teach people how to animate. What does animation 00:18:00.019 --> 00:18:02.519 do? It also does gaming. Yeah, so you've kind 00:18:02.519 --> 00:18:04.779 of got two routes that you can sell the kids 00:18:04.779 --> 00:18:06.539 coming out of school now. Gaming's big, right? 00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:08.660 How about creating your own game? Studio Central, 00:18:08.660 --> 00:18:10.839 they have the animation lab there to train people 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:12.599 to do that. So they're going to be a big part 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:14.420 of the STEAM school. So you're developing a workforce 00:18:14.420 --> 00:18:16.960 where before we had to bring people in from New 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:20.119 York or Buffalo to staff these movies. Now we're 00:18:20.119 --> 00:18:22.039 creating our own workforce. And let's not forget, 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:25.079 you have two of the biggest and best media schools 00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:27.519 in the country in the Park School at Ithaca College 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:30.480 and Newhouse at Syracuse, which is a constant 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:34.230 flow. of workers that could get college credit 00:18:34.230 --> 00:18:36.470 or... That's been the thing in so many industries 00:18:36.470 --> 00:18:38.569 around here. We got all the talent and the education 00:18:38.569 --> 00:18:40.799 and then... Nothing for them to do. Exactly. 00:18:41.059 --> 00:18:43.259 But now we have that. You know, you bring up 00:18:43.259 --> 00:18:46.339 Syracuse, the goal there is to try to get in 00:18:46.339 --> 00:18:49.099 front of more of the affluent alumni that are 00:18:49.099 --> 00:18:50.720 in that industry to get them to come home and 00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:52.819 shoot a movie. And that's kind of a movement 00:18:52.819 --> 00:18:54.880 that we're involved with as well. So we're excited 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:56.920 about the future. That's good stuff, man. It's 00:18:56.920 --> 00:18:59.440 amazing. That makes me so happy. That's awesome. 00:19:00.700 --> 00:19:03.839 Can we talk a second about the aquarium? That's 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:07.000 a coming attraction that I feel like is that 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:10.859 in your area? Your wheelhouse so to speak? Yeah 00:19:10.859 --> 00:19:14.279 I was obviously a big advocate as a tourism leader 00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:17.619 on the aquarium I know you know in some circles 00:19:17.619 --> 00:19:20.400 it may not be popular but you have I look at 00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:23.460 it from the tourism standpoint We have to have 00:19:23.460 --> 00:19:26.359 more things to do here. Yeah, and not to give 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:29.559 the secret away But once that aquarium is a little 00:19:29.559 --> 00:19:31.180 bit further along when you're gonna see what 00:19:31.180 --> 00:19:33.019 that's gonna do for development in that immediate 00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:35.700 area I think all that negativity tends to go 00:19:35.700 --> 00:19:38.299 away. I think it's very similar to the amphitheater 00:19:38.299 --> 00:19:40.740 I was a county legislator. Yeah county legislator 00:19:40.740 --> 00:19:42.859 when the amphitheater project came around It 00:19:42.859 --> 00:19:45.119 was it was unpopular amongst a lot of the legislators 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:47.980 at first and I was a huge advocate for it We 00:19:47.980 --> 00:19:50.220 had a lot of legislators that would say oh the 00:19:50.220 --> 00:19:52.190 amphitheater is gonna lose money It's going to 00:19:52.190 --> 00:19:53.789 lose money. Why should the taxpayers pick up 00:19:53.789 --> 00:19:56.529 that burden? Well, if you think of it this way, 00:19:57.230 --> 00:20:00.309 do the operations lose money? They might, maybe 00:20:00.309 --> 00:20:02.730 a few dollars. But when you see what it does 00:20:02.730 --> 00:20:06.069 for the area as far as the economic lift, hotels 00:20:06.069 --> 00:20:07.930 are full, restaurants are full, the hotel rates 00:20:07.930 --> 00:20:10.990 are $100, $150 higher than a normal night, and 00:20:10.990 --> 00:20:13.250 what that generates. And there's one thing that 00:20:13.250 --> 00:20:15.210 you really couldn't, you know, in the general 00:20:15.210 --> 00:20:16.970 public, you got about 10 seconds to make your 00:20:16.970 --> 00:20:20.400 case. If I told you that at the same time the 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:23.519 county also signed an agreement with the turning 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:26.299 stone to get slot revenue and they generate three 00:20:26.299 --> 00:20:28.000 to four million dollars in slot revenue and that 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:29.599 money pays the bond for the amphitheater, would 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:32.539 you be on board then? Sure. But that argument 00:20:32.539 --> 00:20:35.599 never came to the surface. So now you look back 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:37.539 with hindsight and you look at what that amphitheater 00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:40.380 has done for the area. It's an engine, man. It's 00:20:40.380 --> 00:20:42.740 an economic engine. So I look at the aquarium 00:20:42.740 --> 00:20:45.039 the same way. I know some of the numbers are 00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:46.660 in question, the attendance, this and that. It's 00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:49.000 an amenity. It's an amenity that people want. 00:20:49.299 --> 00:20:51.140 And I can tell you, when Micron was looking at 00:20:51.140 --> 00:20:53.200 this area, the aquarium was a big deal to them. 00:20:53.740 --> 00:20:55.779 Yeah. Really? Absolutely. For quality of life, 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:57.799 think of it. They're going to have to bring some 00:20:57.799 --> 00:20:59.440 people from out of the area. You've got to show 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:02.160 them what they're big on their employees' social 00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:05.619 life. What is there to do in Syracuse? there's 00:21:05.619 --> 00:21:07.680 technology and there's science involved in an 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:09.500 aquarium and it's right in their wheelhouse. 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:13.839 It was a big deal to them. Yeah. I'm a big fan 00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:15.920 of that and I have been for quite a while for 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:17.559 all the reasons that you mentioned and you know 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:21.079 what's great about this project is we took a 00:21:21.079 --> 00:21:22.759 vacant piece of land that was doing nothing. 00:21:23.299 --> 00:21:26.299 You didn't displace one business or one family 00:21:26.299 --> 00:21:29.779 living in an apartment and we took swampland 00:21:29.779 --> 00:21:32.460 effectively and it's exactly like you're talking 00:21:32.460 --> 00:21:36.019 about. be crazy if it didn't create sort of a 00:21:36.019 --> 00:21:38.740 hub for all these things, you know, and, and 00:21:38.740 --> 00:21:41.039 this is a philosophy I've always felt for a long 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:43.799 time is you build a thing and then you get stuff 00:21:43.799 --> 00:21:46.480 around it. You get the restaurant of the thing 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:48.599 and the t -shirt shop for the thing and the, 00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:51.759 you know, think of the gap there now. Yeah. Destiny 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:54.720 downtown Syracuse, really nothing in the middle 00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:57.859 for a few blocks. You fill in that blank. Now 00:21:57.859 --> 00:22:00.359 you've connected two neighborhoods. So now there's 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:02.640 walkability. You can walk from armory square 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:05.279 and go to the aquarium. Would you walk from Armory 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:07.400 Square to Destiny now? Probably not. Right. If 00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:09.119 you had something in the middle, you would. Absolutely. 00:22:09.140 --> 00:22:12.279 So you electrify that dormant area. No, it's 00:22:12.279 --> 00:22:14.319 a great thing. You're a baseball guy. If you 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:17.460 build it, they will come. See, you were right. 00:22:17.500 --> 00:22:19.420 It applies in every facet of life. It really 00:22:19.420 --> 00:22:22.720 does. It really does. And we don't get political 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:25.579 on this show. No, we don't. I will just say that 00:22:25.579 --> 00:22:28.640 my biggest thing with everybody who knocks that 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:30.640 is we don't like this, we want something better. 00:22:31.059 --> 00:22:33.319 No one has that something better that they propose. 00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:35.420 They just want to complain about this thing that's 00:22:35.420 --> 00:22:38.019 in motion. I'm a Bills fan. We're knee jerk. 00:22:38.339 --> 00:22:40.559 So they lose a game and they'll be like, we want 00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:43.000 the coach fired. Who are you going to hire? Well, 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:46.480 I don't know. You know what I mean? No, I love 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:48.339 it. And I agree with you. When it's there and 00:22:48.339 --> 00:22:51.619 they see the benefit, everybody will be on board. 00:22:52.849 --> 00:22:54.390 Wanted to ask you real quick. I just thought 00:22:54.390 --> 00:22:56.910 of something, you know, you do a lot of things 00:22:56.910 --> 00:23:00.869 for hotels and things like that How does where 00:23:00.869 --> 00:23:03.509 does Airbnb play a factor? And is this something 00:23:03.509 --> 00:23:07.049 that? Your work you work with it's working against 00:23:07.049 --> 00:23:10.269 you. It's tough to navigate That's a really really 00:23:10.269 --> 00:23:12.329 good question. It's deep. Let me try to get through 00:23:12.329 --> 00:23:17.579 it pretty quickly Airbnb a few years back I think 00:23:17.579 --> 00:23:19.940 as a hotelier, the hoteliers would certainly 00:23:19.940 --> 00:23:21.839 be opposed to it because they're not regulated 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:24.079 per se. They don't pay, you know, they didn't 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:26.779 pay tax, occupancy tax. Those days are over in 00:23:26.779 --> 00:23:28.839 New York State. There's legislation that's been 00:23:28.839 --> 00:23:31.420 passed where they will be regulated. They will 00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:34.200 be paying their fair share. So that's good news. 00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:37.259 It's a really, really important part of the whole 00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:39.660 equation here. Airbnb would go to individual 00:23:39.660 --> 00:23:42.599 counties and negotiate their own deals. Fortunately, 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:44.480 in Onondaga County, the deal they negotiated, 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:47.779 they do pay bed tax. And that bed tax in other 00:23:47.779 --> 00:23:50.779 municipalities goes to the general fund. Here, 00:23:51.059 --> 00:23:54.759 it goes to the bed tax fund, which is tourism 00:23:54.759 --> 00:23:57.740 related. So it's more money into our coffers. 00:23:57.740 --> 00:24:01.369 So we look at the bed tax collections. in the 00:24:01.369 --> 00:24:03.710 last few years and they've went from 7 million 00:24:03.710 --> 00:24:05.930 now granted there was a 2 % increase but they've 00:24:05.930 --> 00:24:08.470 went from 7 million to almost 14 million Airbnb 00:24:08.470 --> 00:24:12.630 is a player in that there are roughly I want 00:24:12.630 --> 00:24:15.750 to say 10 ,000 units in this county of Airbnb 00:24:15.750 --> 00:24:19.210 and you know they make up a good percentage of 00:24:19.210 --> 00:24:21.509 I wouldn't say it's a massive percentage but 00:24:21.509 --> 00:24:25.579 it's probably 15 So 20 % of the whole lodging 00:24:25.579 --> 00:24:27.920 industry locally. And we're on the right side 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:30.400 of it because of the regulations, because you're 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:33.880 going to see much more things where eyes are 00:24:33.880 --> 00:24:35.500 going to be on what they're doing and how they're 00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:37.559 doing it. And the fact that they're generating 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:39.559 taxes coming back to the people is a good thing, 00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:42.359 where in other municipalities they don't. Yeah. 00:24:42.420 --> 00:24:44.099 I hope I answered that. No, that was awesome. 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:47.259 No, that was great. I think it's a great thing 00:24:47.259 --> 00:24:52.000 with some asterisks there. But exactly like you're 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:53.839 talking about, you're kind of ironing out some 00:24:53.839 --> 00:24:56.700 of the biggest concerns, which makes it even 00:24:56.700 --> 00:24:59.400 better solution, I think. Yes, there's a registry 00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:01.680 that's in the works right now, so they'll know 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:03.980 who's staying there, when they're staying there, 00:25:04.019 --> 00:25:05.460 those sort of things. Where before, you didn't 00:25:05.460 --> 00:25:07.019 necessarily know who might be staying right next 00:25:07.019 --> 00:25:09.779 door to you. Sure. And you didn't have the regulations 00:25:09.779 --> 00:25:12.740 of safety, right? You didn't need a carbon monoxide 00:25:12.740 --> 00:25:15.299 or a smoke detector. Where in hotels, everything's 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:17.339 mandated. So those days are gone in New York 00:25:17.339 --> 00:25:21.779 state. That's a good thing. We just hosted two 00:25:21.779 --> 00:25:24.220 families. We rent our house out for graduation 00:25:24.220 --> 00:25:27.720 weekends. And now we actually, I think they've 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:30.759 mandated us to have carbon monoxide and fire. 00:25:31.240 --> 00:25:35.220 So New York state runs it pretty smooth, you 00:25:35.220 --> 00:25:36.900 know? And that's the way it should be. Yeah, 00:25:36.900 --> 00:25:40.160 it should be. I agree. Those are safety things 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:44.720 for a reason. Yeah, absolutely. Danny, real quick, 00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:46.579 you know, we talk about the organization's visit 00:25:46.579 --> 00:25:47.819 to Syracuse. We're talking about a lot of things 00:25:47.819 --> 00:25:50.819 in downtown Syracuse. But really, you support 00:25:50.819 --> 00:25:52.579 the whole region. So can you just take a minute 00:25:52.579 --> 00:25:54.940 and talk about things outside of the city that 00:25:54.940 --> 00:25:58.279 you're drawing people to? So we're a county all 00:25:58.279 --> 00:26:00.920 the way, not just downtown. Now, granted, downtown 00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:04.200 plays a big part of the industry. The traveler 00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:06.519 doesn't understand where the border is. So we 00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:09.380 are definitely partners with our contiguous counties 00:26:09.380 --> 00:26:12.859 and we're all kind of one family. So do we help 00:26:12.859 --> 00:26:15.000 Oswego County promote things? Absolutely. Madison 00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:17.539 County, Cortland County, and on the other side, 00:26:17.740 --> 00:26:19.720 Kyuga. Absolutely. You think of Kyuga County, 00:26:19.720 --> 00:26:21.700 the history with women's rights there. Think 00:26:21.700 --> 00:26:25.440 of the history up north. It's a region, not just 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:28.720 a county. And we try to expand the efforts so 00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:30.480 people see the whole region while they're here 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:34.559 and not just downtown. You know, the county is 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:37.700 certainly our parent, and we work very closely 00:26:37.700 --> 00:26:39.559 with them. And one thing that we're a little 00:26:39.559 --> 00:26:43.900 different than similar agencies, we have a seat 00:26:43.900 --> 00:26:46.609 at the table. with economic development projects 00:26:46.609 --> 00:26:50.089 to show these developers what Onondaga County's 00:26:50.089 --> 00:26:52.670 all about. And I can't say that's the case anywhere 00:26:52.670 --> 00:26:55.829 else. There's a partnership now where before, 00:26:55.829 --> 00:26:58.690 I would say before I started, it was, oh, here's 00:26:58.690 --> 00:27:01.049 that agency we got to cut that check to. Now 00:27:01.049 --> 00:27:03.349 we're trusted partners. They come to us for resources. 00:27:03.410 --> 00:27:05.210 They come to us for advice on certain things. 00:27:05.230 --> 00:27:07.609 They come to us for presentations, photography, 00:27:07.809 --> 00:27:11.869 video, drone work. And it's really nice to be 00:27:11.869 --> 00:27:15.049 looked at as extended family. Well, I think that's 00:27:15.049 --> 00:27:16.890 probably one of the reasons we've been so successful, 00:27:16.890 --> 00:27:19.109 as you mentioned earlier with Micron and how 00:27:19.109 --> 00:27:21.950 important those amenities are to them picking 00:27:21.950 --> 00:27:26.170 this location. You know, the fact that our region, 00:27:26.269 --> 00:27:28.670 our county has been wise enough to realize that 00:27:28.670 --> 00:27:31.309 and get you a seat at the table, I think is... 00:27:31.309 --> 00:27:33.269 You know, one of the best stories of the whole 00:27:33.269 --> 00:27:34.970 Micron thing. Now, at the time, I didn't know 00:27:34.970 --> 00:27:37.069 what Micron was. Sure. It had a secret name. 00:27:37.170 --> 00:27:39.210 And I don't remember exactly what the name was, 00:27:39.390 --> 00:27:42.170 but... Yankee. There you go. Project Yankee, 00:27:42.269 --> 00:27:46.619 right? get a call and you know from from somebody 00:27:46.619 --> 00:27:48.200 high up the food chain at the county and said 00:27:48.200 --> 00:27:52.079 hey I need your team to produce a video a couple 00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:55.599 of minutes got to be high energy the music and 00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:59.160 and show why it's great here visually and we're 00:27:59.160 --> 00:28:01.500 gonna bring these people into the JMA wireless 00:28:01.500 --> 00:28:02.859 dome. We're going to turn the lights out. We're 00:28:02.859 --> 00:28:04.319 going to put this up on the big screen. We're 00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:06.680 going to pound it out. Jesus. No pressure. No 00:28:06.680 --> 00:28:09.960 pressure. Right. Easy peasy. My team pulled it 00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:12.640 together. That's awesome. And it was but to be 00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:14.539 asked it. What an honor. Right. Yeah. Right. 00:28:15.559 --> 00:28:17.500 That just shows the trust they have in us. And 00:28:17.500 --> 00:28:20.619 and it's we won't get political, but it is it's 00:28:20.619 --> 00:28:23.160 very bipartisan. There are no politics. Yeah. 00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:25.680 Both sides of the aisle love what we do and we 00:28:25.680 --> 00:28:28.200 try to help them do their job. So it's we're 00:28:28.200 --> 00:28:29.609 really in a great place. and we're very, very 00:28:29.609 --> 00:28:32.730 fortunate. That's awesome. You got anything coming 00:28:32.730 --> 00:28:35.920 up that you want to plug? Anything? This is big 00:28:35.920 --> 00:28:38.339 festival season. Certainly we're big supporters 00:28:38.339 --> 00:28:40.920 of the Rhythm and Blues Festival coming up here 00:28:40.920 --> 00:28:43.640 in a few weeks at the fairgrounds. We also created 00:28:43.640 --> 00:28:45.299 an event this year. I wouldn't say we created 00:28:45.299 --> 00:28:47.519 it. We revived an event that's been dormant. 00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:50.259 The vintage race boats will be back on Onondaga 00:28:50.259 --> 00:28:53.299 Lake June 21st weekend. That's going to be cool. 00:28:53.880 --> 00:28:57.319 We have over 50 boats coming here. They do this 00:28:57.319 --> 00:28:59.799 all around the country. We've been off the grid 00:28:59.799 --> 00:29:01.759 for over 10 years. This will be the largest one 00:29:01.759 --> 00:29:03.839 of its type in the entire country in our first 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:06.359 year without Canadian boats. Obviously, there's 00:29:06.359 --> 00:29:08.240 a little rift there. If we had those, it would 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:10.559 be over the top. And then Jazz Fest at the end 00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:13.559 of this month were the largest free jazz festival 00:29:13.559 --> 00:29:16.569 in the Northeast with top. Top tier talent. So 00:29:16.569 --> 00:29:18.369 those are the things that are coming coming up 00:29:18.369 --> 00:29:20.849 right out of the gate and we have the State Association 00:29:20.849 --> 00:29:23.109 of Fire Chiefs Which is really an honor to have 00:29:23.109 --> 00:29:25.569 that in Syracuse again that drives a lot of business 00:29:25.569 --> 00:29:28.349 Absolutely summer concert season Lakeview amphitheater 00:29:28.349 --> 00:29:30.069 and all the other venues around right concerts 00:29:30.069 --> 00:29:32.970 going on. Yeah big time That's that's incredible 00:29:32.970 --> 00:29:36.410 So many awesome things Danny where can folks 00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:39.299 keep abreast of these things. You got a website, 00:29:39.400 --> 00:29:41.420 a Facebook, how's that work? Yeah, go to visitsyracuse 00:29:41.420 --> 00:29:43.400 .com. That'll certainly link you up with all 00:29:43.400 --> 00:29:45.539 of our social channels, but our calendar is the 00:29:45.539 --> 00:29:48.460 top search thing on our website. We get almost 00:29:48.460 --> 00:29:50.859 two million visits to our website every year 00:29:50.859 --> 00:29:54.579 and climbing. So go there and certainly subscribe 00:29:54.579 --> 00:29:56.819 and you'll get every week you'll get a calendar 00:29:56.819 --> 00:29:59.359 or actually a weekly event listing for what's 00:29:59.359 --> 00:30:01.039 coming up that weekend. But the calendar on our 00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:04.059 website is really robust. We're really linked 00:30:04.059 --> 00:30:05.740 up with some great organizations, so it's pretty 00:30:05.740 --> 00:30:08.559 comprehensive. That's great. Great. I do this 00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:11.319 every time. I know we're ready to end the interview, 00:30:11.380 --> 00:30:13.200 but I've got to do one more thing. Go for it, 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:15.059 buddy. I want to have some fun here, because 00:30:15.059 --> 00:30:17.180 I know you were a stats guy. That's how you started, 00:30:17.220 --> 00:30:20.160 right? So I want to talk a little baseball real 00:30:20.160 --> 00:30:23.160 quick. Pete Rose, you know what? He just passed 00:30:23.160 --> 00:30:25.819 away, and then he got inducted, finally, into 00:30:25.819 --> 00:30:27.839 the Hall of Fame. I always thought he should 00:30:27.839 --> 00:30:30.740 have been in the Hall of Fame, because 4 ,000 00:30:30.740 --> 00:30:33.240 hits is 4 ,000 hits. Do you have an opinion on 00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:35.519 that? Or do you not want to? Greatest hitter 00:30:35.519 --> 00:30:37.299 of all time. That's what I'm saying. It's got 00:30:37.299 --> 00:30:38.619 to be in the Hall of Fame. If you're a stats 00:30:38.619 --> 00:30:41.259 guy, you know what I mean? I love Michael Jackson. 00:30:41.740 --> 00:30:43.359 I don't pay attention to what he did outside 00:30:43.359 --> 00:30:45.480 of the stage. Yeah, I don't condone, obviously, 00:30:45.619 --> 00:30:48.940 the gambling part, but numbers don't lie. 4 ,000 00:30:48.940 --> 00:30:50.539 hits. I don't think you'll ever see that. Never. 00:30:51.059 --> 00:30:52.980 Greatest. Greatest hitter ever. I grew up watching 00:30:52.980 --> 00:30:55.519 him. I remember when he smoked that catcher at 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:57.339 home plate in the All -Star game. This guy's 00:30:57.339 --> 00:31:00.920 different, man. I got a quick side question for 00:31:00.920 --> 00:31:05.000 you. Let's go. If he was playing today with the 00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:06.579 money some of these players are getting today, 00:31:06.619 --> 00:31:09.119 do you think he would have gotten into the gambling 00:31:09.119 --> 00:31:13.049 side deal? I would say no. I mean think about 00:31:13.049 --> 00:31:14.930 it. So right now who's the greatest hitter in 00:31:14.930 --> 00:31:16.970 baseball right now? I would say Aaron Judge. 00:31:18.029 --> 00:31:21.289 Those are two really good picks right Pete Rose. 00:31:21.690 --> 00:31:24.230 Are they gonna catch his numbers? I don't think 00:31:24.230 --> 00:31:27.470 so. I mean they could but it's insane I don't 00:31:27.470 --> 00:31:29.009 I don't think he would have been able to do it 00:31:29.009 --> 00:31:31.190 because of the transparency now with social media 00:31:31.190 --> 00:31:32.890 I don't know if he would have gotten away with 00:31:32.890 --> 00:31:34.690 it. Oh would have been you know what I mean and 00:31:34.690 --> 00:31:37.289 plus gambling's Legalized well, it's not legalized. 00:31:37.349 --> 00:31:38.690 I'm just thinking these days. I feel like there's 00:31:38.690 --> 00:31:40.349 a lot more money potentially for the players 00:31:40.349 --> 00:31:42.210 So what do you would he been as many motivated 00:31:42.210 --> 00:31:45.869 to write do something else my uh my my other 00:31:45.869 --> 00:31:48.109 question was you know people are talking about 00:31:48.109 --> 00:31:51.509 how The game of baseball was created before there 00:31:51.509 --> 00:31:53.390 were all these distractions So they're losing 00:31:53.390 --> 00:31:55.950 viewership as the generations go on because the 00:31:55.950 --> 00:31:57.410 games too long and they're trying to make all 00:31:57.410 --> 00:32:00.829 these fixes I wanted your opinion. I I always 00:32:00.829 --> 00:32:02.990 said the two things I thought that could really 00:32:03.559 --> 00:32:06.799 Quote -unquote save the game would be put a salary 00:32:06.799 --> 00:32:09.819 cap in baseball so that it levels the playing 00:32:09.819 --> 00:32:11.380 field with some parity You know so everybody 00:32:11.380 --> 00:32:14.599 has like the Pirates can have a shot And then 00:32:14.599 --> 00:32:16.119 the other thing is I think there should be a 00:32:16.119 --> 00:32:19.450 hundred games a season You know, 162 games seems 00:32:19.450 --> 00:32:22.430 insane to me. How do you feel about that? I like 00:32:22.430 --> 00:32:25.529 the 162 games because it gives, it entertains 00:32:25.529 --> 00:32:28.069 my life for a long period of time. I agree with 00:32:28.069 --> 00:32:30.269 you on the salary cap. My younger sons, we're 00:32:30.269 --> 00:32:32.130 a Yankee family. My younger son is a Pirates 00:32:32.130 --> 00:32:35.390 fan. Really? That guy's problem. Yeah, give me 00:32:35.390 --> 00:32:37.009 a salary cap, but they have to spend a minimum 00:32:37.009 --> 00:32:38.609 amount too. That's important. You look at the 00:32:38.609 --> 00:32:40.880 talent. that they have in their pitching staff 00:32:40.880 --> 00:32:42.920 there. Skeens, yeah. And you look at the pitchers 00:32:42.920 --> 00:32:45.380 that went away, you know, Garrett Cole, Glass 00:32:45.380 --> 00:32:48.000 now, all these guys. I could go on and on. The 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:50.700 guy won't pay. And that's a great sports town. 00:32:50.740 --> 00:32:53.140 Wow. So it may be a minimum and then a maximum. 00:32:53.220 --> 00:32:55.039 I'm with you there because I do like the parity. 00:32:55.279 --> 00:32:58.039 The Dodgers, the Dodgers, they're smarter. Yeah. 00:32:58.220 --> 00:32:59.980 They've got the resources. I mean, you look at 00:32:59.980 --> 00:33:02.500 that team. I would like to see the parity. I'm 00:33:02.500 --> 00:33:04.539 with you there. I don't know. That would probably 00:33:04.539 --> 00:33:08.269 you think of the union would certainly. We might 00:33:08.269 --> 00:33:09.970 have a strike for a few years on that topic, 00:33:10.089 --> 00:33:12.609 but I'm with you there. I just feel like everybody 00:33:12.609 --> 00:33:14.809 wins and you're so right I feel like the Pirates 00:33:14.809 --> 00:33:16.410 more than any other organization have been a 00:33:16.410 --> 00:33:18.809 revolving door of star players that they have 00:33:18.809 --> 00:33:20.670 and you're like This is gonna be huge and then 00:33:20.670 --> 00:33:22.710 they just deal about this skeins kid. I mean 00:33:22.710 --> 00:33:26.029 this guy was going to school to be an Air Force 00:33:26.029 --> 00:33:29.289 pilot Oh, wow. Yeah, right, please. He comes 00:33:29.289 --> 00:33:32.029 over to LSU as a short. I believe he's a shortstop 00:33:32.160 --> 00:33:34.640 I don't know. I believe he was an infielder, 00:33:34.839 --> 00:33:36.099 and the coaches saw him throw the ball, and they 00:33:36.099 --> 00:33:37.880 go, you ever tried pitching? And they threw him 00:33:37.880 --> 00:33:40.160 in there. He pitched for one year in college. 00:33:40.619 --> 00:33:42.000 The next year, he's the rookie of the year in 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:44.720 baseball. Wow. And then the scary thing is his 00:33:44.720 --> 00:33:46.640 girlfriend makes more money than he does. Who's 00:33:46.640 --> 00:33:50.400 his girlfriend? Libby Dunn. Oh. So she's the 00:33:50.400 --> 00:33:53.680 gymnast then she's worked. She's a model and 00:33:53.680 --> 00:33:55.819 a jewelry clothing line. She's the spokesperson 00:33:55.819 --> 00:33:58.740 I think she has more followers on Instagram than 00:33:58.740 --> 00:34:00.420 anyone as far as athletes. I think she's number 00:34:00.420 --> 00:34:02.839 one. That's amazing I have a bucket list item 00:34:02.839 --> 00:34:05.059 to go to every ballpark before I die got like 00:34:05.059 --> 00:34:07.920 13 under the belt I went to Pittsburgh the best 00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:10.980 unbelievable. We go every year. It's incredible. 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:14.769 I I know it's a cliche saying like, there's no 00:34:14.769 --> 00:34:17.630 bad seat in the house. Pittsburgh, I forget the 00:34:17.630 --> 00:34:21.230 name of the stadium, PNC Park. It is genuinely 00:34:21.230 --> 00:34:23.550 not a... You could be in the furthest seat and 00:34:23.550 --> 00:34:25.409 still feel like you're on top of the field. It's 00:34:25.409 --> 00:34:27.650 an awesome... Yeah, it's one of my favorites, 00:34:27.789 --> 00:34:29.650 no doubt about it. Pittsburgh's a great city. 00:34:29.869 --> 00:34:31.969 We love it. I'm a Steelers fan, a Penguins fan. 00:34:32.359 --> 00:34:35.139 I'm sorry. You're Yankees fan, so I'm fine. I'm 00:34:35.139 --> 00:34:37.000 good with that. This is awesome. See, this is 00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:38.280 why we're going to launch the Good News York 00:34:38.280 --> 00:34:40.699 Sports Show. We are? Let's go. Breaking news. 00:34:40.940 --> 00:34:43.760 We got to do that exclusively. Danny, I really 00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:45.739 appreciate you joining us. I appreciate you. 00:34:45.739 --> 00:34:47.980 What you do is very much aligned with kind of 00:34:47.980 --> 00:34:49.780 the purpose of this show, Good News York. We're 00:34:49.780 --> 00:34:52.539 just here to tell the good stories and really 00:34:52.539 --> 00:34:55.360 shine a light on why this place is awesome. So 00:34:55.360 --> 00:34:58.280 much negativity and... People talking shit about 00:34:58.280 --> 00:35:00.599 our place, and half of them don't even live here, 00:35:00.599 --> 00:35:03.639 but we're trying to do something that's the opposite 00:35:03.639 --> 00:35:06.039 of that. Yeah, the three of us are a beacon of 00:35:06.039 --> 00:35:10.039 hope. It is. So we will welcome you back any 00:35:10.039 --> 00:35:13.280 time something's going on. We really appreciate 00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:15.300 your time. More than happy to have you. It's 00:35:15.300 --> 00:35:19.039 a pleasure. Visit Syracuse .com. Go there. Check 00:35:19.039 --> 00:35:21.400 out their socials. Absolutely awesome. That's 00:35:21.400 --> 00:35:26.570 awesome. Danny, Mike, other Danny. Think that's 00:35:26.570 --> 00:35:28.869 all we got today. I think so. Are we doing Tuesday 00:35:28.869 --> 00:35:33.530 Newsday? No This was Tuesday Newsday. So it's 00:35:33.530 --> 00:35:36.650 a it's a Monday Tuesday. It is a Monday Tuesday. 00:35:36.989 --> 00:35:38.889 You're right So we're gonna we're gonna skip 00:35:38.889 --> 00:35:41.510 out all right with that. We will see you tomorrow 00:35:41.510 --> 00:35:41.789 guys