In 2020, the Central New York Regional Market purchased a warehouse on Hiawatha Blvd. for about $2.3 million. It continues to sit unused, the outside dominated by overgrown vegetation.
It’s one of several examples used in a recent audit by the New York State Comptroller’s office to show that the leadership of the market has been operating with financial irresponsibility, putting the market in peril.
“They’ve got to straighten out their act when it comes to their budgeting and finances,” State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said.
DiNapoli’s team found that financial mismanagement has been an ongoing issue. His office found that over the past three years, the market has lost over $1 million, going from having just under $503,000 for operational expenses in the 2020 fiscal year to a deficit of $6,539 in the 2022 fiscal year.
The warehouse is an area where there has been a “drain” on the market’s resources. DiNapoli’s office notes that the market failed to inspect the property before purchase, not identifying the extensive need for repairs that continue to make it impossible to bring in an external tenant or to make the warehouse capable of performing some other function for the market itself.
The audit also highlighted the fact that the market paid Ben Vitale $212,154 to handle “special projects” after he stepped down from his position as Executive Director, a job his daughter Amanda Vitale took over.
“There was no job description for his position, and the authority kept him on the payroll for a longer period than expected. The board also did not require him to submit time records or report work he completed,” the audit states.
Amanda Vitale said that she and the board of directors were already aware of financial issues and had begun work on corrections before the audit concluded; she said that they are receptive to the comptroller’s recommendations.
“We definitely knew that our financials and our infrastructure were not where we wanted them to be,” Vitale said.
Addressing her father’s role, she said that if they were to do it over again, they would have still hired him to perform certain duties. She said that Ben Vitale was crucial at a time of enormous stress and upheaval between COVID-19 hitting and going on maternity leave not long after taking the executive director title. Vitale said that instead, they would have been clear on her father’s exact job description and hours.
As for the broader financial picture, Vitale said that there is much outside her control. She said that the market has had infrastructure issues that go back decades, issues that they’ve only been able to put bandaids on. Vitale also puts blame on the stresses and strains of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the temporary closure of their operations.
In early 2023, Vitale and the board of directors identified the need for $90 million to bring the market’s infrastructure up to speed to ensure a healthy and safe working environment. The current structural problems are a barrier to bringing in tenants capable of producing revenue, according to Vitale, though she said they are now in advanced talks with enough vendors to fill all vacancies.
Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli, a democrat representing Syracuse, said that he was shocked to hear that the market needed that kind of money last winter. According to him, the market had never before contacted his office, and was combative when his team tried to address noise complaints linked to concerts at the market. He is now pushing a bill through the assembly, with Sen. Rachel May doing the same in the senate, to give the Syracuse Mayor and the Onondaga County Executive the ability to each appoint two new board members.
“That will set better standards, more transparency, and change the board a little,” Magnarelli said.
Magnarelli said that he wasn’t surprised by the state comptroller’s findings, as he said he had a clear indication from dealings with past tenants that market leadership was mismanaging finances.
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said that the county is looking to put forward $4 million once he sees a clear indication that the market is back on track financially. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said that he is hopeful for positive change, noting that the market board was receptive to his office’s recommendations.