A portion of the Syracuse Inner Harbor may soon have a new name.
The Syracuse Common Council is considering naming a section of the Inner Harbor as Progress Park. The CNY Pride Festival has been held at the location for more than a decade and its continued to grow each year. More than 15,000 people attended the 2023 Pride Festival.
Common Councilor Jimmy Monto is the president of CNY Pride.
"The word progress means a lot more than just the progress in the LGBTQIA+ community," Monto said. "It's progress in general. That park sits on the shores of Onondaga Lake, which is obviously very meaningful. And the word 'progress' — you know, we are home to an area that has seen progress in abolition and suffrage and etc., etc."
Monto hopes they can create a space that is meaningful instead of just a lawn and a parking lot.
"My vision is to have festivals that say, 'The Pride Festival at Progress Park' or whatever other festival may want to go there and say 'at Progress Park,'" Monto said. "It just gives it a location. So right now I say to people, they say, 'Where is it?' and I say 'At the Inner Harbor.' And they say, 'Well, where is the inner harbor? In the parking lot? On the grass? Where?' It'll be nice to be able to say 'Progress Park at the Syracuse Inner Harbor. And as we watch that area develop, and it looks to be getting more use year after year and we're trying to get there, it'll be nice to have that name."
The council will vote on the name change following a public hearing at its March 11 meeting. The 2024 CNY Pride Festival is scheduled for June 22.
