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Deal announced to keep The Sound Garden in Syracuse

elh70
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via Flickr

It looks like The Sound Garden, a popular new and used music and videogame store in downtown Syracuse, will be staying put after all.

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner Friday afternoon announced a deal has been reached on proposed legislation that would exempt games, videos and music from the provisions of the city's new secondhand dealer law.

Those provisions had forced the owner of the store to make plans to close down the Armory Square fixture. The Sound Garden has a second location in Baltimore, Md.

"It offers the kind of variety we need to have a vibrant city," Miner said at a press conference in front of the store. "People come from outside the area to come to The Sound Garden and it helps add to the diversity of the offerings we have. So people will come here and then stay to have a cup of coffee or go shopping."

The deal was brokered by Common Councilor Khalid Bey and came after the store owner couldn't come to terms with the council's public safety committee regarding a change in the law.

"Anytime there's a purchase of five items or more the agreement would provide a summary of what those items be," Bey said. "And anything that is up to five items would provide a more detailed explanation.

The council will vote on the amendment Monday. The secondhand dealers legislation is meant to put a stop to thieves selling stolen goods to second hand stores.

"We just had to make sure that we did not unintentionally make an incentive to traffic in stolen goods," Miner said.

Over the past few weeks fans of The Sound Garden had floated an online petition and held rallies in support of store.

"It's almost like a melting pot," said employee Bill Wilson. "It's like a community. It's amazing. It's one of the best places you could go in Syracuse."

Ellen produces news reports and features related to events that occur in the greater Syracuse area and throughout Onondaga County. Her reports are heard regularly in regional updates in Morning Edition and All Things Considered.