69传媒

The 69传媒 City Council voted Thursday to schedule a public hearing at 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, on the grant application. The hearing will coincide with the City Council meeting that evening.听

Jennifer Haines, the city's director of planning and economic development, told 69传媒 that a development group wants to rehabilitate and reopen the diner, which has been closed since the end of 2022.听

More information about the plan will be provided at the public hearing. The entity is described as a group of local investors who want to "preserve and improve this local iconic landmark for the future enjoyment by the people of 69传媒 and visitors."聽

To support the project, the city will apply for $1 million through the Restore NY Communities Initiative. The program, which is administered by Empire State Development, provides funding for municipalities to revitalize commercial and residential properties.听

The investor group says the Hunter Dinerant project is conditional on receiving the grant and securing other outside financing.听

Hunter Dinerant opened in 1951 at its Genesee Street location. It is connected to President Joe Biden through its longtime owners, Robert and Louise Hunter. Their daughter, Neilia, was Biden's first wife. Neilia Hunter Biden and the couple's daughter, Naomi, were killed in a car crash in 1972.听

For more than 50 years after Neilia's death, Joe Biden maintained his ties to central New York. In 2014, after attending his niece's wedding at St. Mary's Church in 69传媒, Biden visited the diner and ordered a milkshake.听

The last owners of the diner were Bill and Rachael Juhl, who bought it in 2011 and operated it until its closure at the end of 2022.听

The city acquired the diner in May 2023 through a tax foreclosure and has been seeking a private buyer. One challenge is the city's desire to relocate the diner because of its location above the Owasco River. The main concern is that if there is a breach in the Mill Street Dam, the ensuing wave would hit the diner and nearby bridge.听

A request for proposals was issued in 2023, but the city rejected the lone bid聽because the firm would not take ownership of the diner and planned to temporarily relocate it to a city property.听

69传媒 has received several grants through the Restore NY Communities Initiative over the years. In July, the city was awarded $1 million for a former downtown bank at 120 Genesee St. One of the largest Restore NY grants the city received is $8.5 million for the former Bombardier plant in 2023.听