Sound Garden to stay in Syracuse if Common Council approves mayor’s compromise
The Sound Garden will remain in Syracuse if the Common Council approves Mayor Stephanie Miner’s compromise to the city’s second-hand dealer’s ordinance.
The original ordinance required the store to keep extensive records of the products it purchases to prevent selling stolen goods. Registration served as a major inconvenience to The Sound Garden because it would jeopardize the business’s economic vitality.
After months of being unable to convince the Common Council to exclude The Sound Garden from keeping such records, Bryan Burkert, the owner, announced on Wednesday that the second-hand record store would leave Syracuse.
The new legislation was a collaboration between Miner, District Councilor Khalid Bey and Syracuse Police Department officials, all of whom had the interest of keeping The Sound Garden in Syracuse, according to a Friday press release from the mayor’s office.
The compromise allows The Sound Garden, along with other second-hand stores, to avoid logging each purchased item if the business purchases more than five articles at a time, according to the press release. Stores also no longer have to wait seven days until reselling items and can be open until 10 p.m. on Thursdays and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Prior to this compromise, the ordinance required that all second-hand stores closed by 8 p.m.
“This agreement will allow for dealers to acquire their products and preserve their business model,” Miner said in the release. “This is a compromise that benefits both dealers and the police and most importantly supports a business in Downtown Syracuse.”
Published on June 7, 2013 at 5:50 pm
Contact Alfred: alng@syr.edu
@alfredwkng