69传媒

In 1951, the Hunter Dinerant was into its current location overlooking the Owasco River. Three-quarters of a century later, the iconic downtown 69传媒 diner will be trucked back out.

Where the Hunter Dinerant will be trucked to next will be determined its new owner, the city of 69传媒, which in the coming weeks will issue a request for proposals to purchase and relocate the diner.聽

Officials from the city, which acquired the railcar diner at 18 Genesee St. in May through tax foreclosure, told 69传媒 this week it will need to be relocated from the steel beams and concrete piers holding it over the river due to the danger it poses. Specifically, a breach of the Mill Street Dam a quarter of a mile upstream from the diner would likely cause loss of life if anyone was inside.

"There would be a very limited time between the dam breaking and that initial wave hitting the diner and the bridge," Director of Municipal Utilities Seth Jensen told 69传媒.

The city reached that conclusion using a flood inundation map that simulates what would happen to downtown 69传媒 in the event of a dam breach, Jensen said. The city is required to update the map regularly because the dam is classified by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as having high hazard potential, which in turn is partly because of the diner. The beams and piers supporting it create what Jensen called "a hydrologic challenge," disrupting high river flows on their own and by catching debris like tree branches. So the diner's relocation could result in a lower hazard potential classification for the dam, he continued. That would require less review by outside consultants, saving the city what he estimates could be hundreds of thousands of dollars over the next decade.

Recent extreme rain events, like the 7.64 inches that fell in just three days and flooded Owasco Lake in August 2021, have made such contingency planning even more important, Jensen said.

"The peaks and valleys of Mother Nature have been so extreme lately that any time we can mitigate the risk of the public being harmed, I think we should consider it," he said. "Now that the city owns the diner, in my opinion (relocating it) is the right thing to do. ... There's no way, I don't think, in current times that a private developer would be able to construct a building like that over a river."聽

Because the city has not yet issued its request for proposals, officials could not comment with any specificity on the criteria they'll use to evaluate bids for purchasing and relocating the Hunter Dinerant. But Jennifer Haines, director of 69传媒's Office of Planning and Economic Development, told 69传媒 that safely removing the diner from its riverside perch will be the city's primary concern.

While Haines couldn't say whether the city will favor bids that would keep the diner in the 69传媒 area, she noted that officials "would love to see it still in our community somewhere."聽

"There is a significant community connection to this spot. So we want to be careful, respectful and thoughtful about how we handle this because of that connection and the emotion around the diner," Haines said, noting the diner's connection to President Joe Biden and his family. "We know the diner is important, but we also know that it's important to keep the community safe."

Haines thanked Rachael and Bill Juhl, the Hunter Dinerant's owners since 2011, for their "mighty efforts" to keep it open until Dec. 31 of last year. Because the city acquired the diner from them through tax foreclosure, Haines said officials want to be responsible with public dollars. That's why, instead of removing the diner itself, the city hopes to attract private dollars through its request for proposals.

But finding a bidder who can manage the many different facets of purchasing and relocating the diner could be a challenge, city engineering Superintendent Bill Lupien told 69传媒.

The project will involve more than safely removing the railcar, trucking it to a new location and running the diner there, Lupien said. The city also hopes the winning bidder will demolish the rear wooden structure where the kitchen is located, remove the concrete piers from the Owasco River and take the beloved neon sign planted in the Genesee Street sidewalk with the diner to its new location.聽

Lupien expects some bidders will propose subcontracting parts of that process聽鈥� which will include a hazardous materials survey as well 鈥� or even leave parts out for the city to handle afterward.

"We may have a person who wants the diner and doesn't want anything to do with the concrete piers," he said. "If we can get one person to do everything that'd be our first choice."聽

For now, all Lupien knows for sure is that his department will be ready to place a safety rail in the section of the Genesee Street bridge where the Hunter Dinerant was located for the past 70-plus years.聽

"This diner has been part of 69传媒 for so long that we really want it to be reused," he said. "It'd be nice if it was relocated in the area."

Gallery: The Hunter Dinerant lies dormant in 69传媒

Gallery: 69传媒's Hunter Dinerant, over the years

A lawsuit filed earlier this year claims the Port Byron Central School District failed to stop a special needs child from being sexually abused by the same student twice within an eight-year span.

The lawsuit, filed in February in Cayuga 69传媒 Supreme Court, alleges the "woefully inadequate and negligent supervision" of the district and Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES allowed the child to be sexually abused at the age of 5 and again at the age of 13. The second occurrence took place even after school officials were asked to keep the students separated due to the first occurrence, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit was filed by firm聽Bonina & Bonina on behalf of Michele Morgan, who is listed as the parent of a male special needs child who was a student at the district from 2011 to 2022.

According to the lawsuit, the child was first sexually abused by another boy while attending kindergarten during the 2011-2012 school year. Afterward,聽the child told an aide, Amy Martens, who took him to guidance counselor Arin Elia to report the abuse. Elia then reported it to Morgan, and the child told her as well. However, the lawsuit said, the district "refused" to separate the two boys.

Prior to the 2017-2018 school year, Morgan was told by her child that he and the other boy would be in the same special needs BOCES program at the district. When she spoke about the 2011 sexual abuse with her son's teacher Morgan Parkinson, the teacher "said that she was not supposed to tell" Morgan that her son and the other boy would be in the same classroom, the lawsuit says.

During the 2018-19 school year, Morgan briefly shared her concerns about the two boys being in the same classroom with her son's teacher Heather Seymore. Morgan also arranged for her service counselor, Bethany Tanner, to meet with Seymore. The meeting's purpose was to "clarify with Mrs. Seymore about always watching (the two boys) and not leaving them unsupervised," the lawsuit said.聽

However, the lawsuit continued, the children were not properly supervised, and Morgan's child was once again sexually abused by the other student.

"The offending student in question was with (the child) in a reading nook space in a separate room with a special education teacher and forcibly performed oral sex on him. The offending student was also in a school bathroom with the plaintiff and forcibly touched and fondled his penis," the lawsuit said. "As parent of a special needs student, plaintiff placed their trust in defendants. The defendants violated that trust by permitting a fellow student to repeatedly sexually abuse and assault (the child), whose care, custody, safety and development had been entrusted to them."

The other boy was arrested following the second occurrence of abuse, the lawsuit said, and Morgan requested an order of protection for her son that was granted by a court.聽

The lawsuit said that due to the defendants' negligence and failure to protect the child, he endured "emotional and physical abuse, and sustained serious and severe damage, harm and injuries" along with "psychological suffering, emotional suffering, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life and has incurred medical expenses and other economic damages and loss, and will continue to ... in the future."聽

Morgan seeks monetary damages against the defendants.

Port Byron Superintendent Michael Jorgensen told 69传媒 in an email on Wednesday that the district does not comment on pending lawsuits "to ensure the integrity of the legal process and protect the privacy of all parties involved." Dr. Brian Hartwell, the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES district superintendent, told 69传媒 in an email on Friday that he also would not comment on the lawsuit.

John Bonina, partner with Bonina & Bonina, told 69传媒 on Friday that his client declines comment on the lawsuit, and has asked him not to comment.

The last time the people rehabilitating the 69传媒 Schine Theater spoke publicly about the project, they said they hoped聽to reopen the art deco theater around the 85th anniversary of its 1938 opening.

That anniversary is Friday, Sept. 15 鈥� and the theater appears no closer to reopening then than it did when Bowers Development provided that date to 69传媒 City Council at a presentation in June 2022.

The city hopes to receive another update soon from Bowers, whose East Syracuse office is the registered address for the theater's owner, Schines Theater LLC. Jennifer Haines, director聽of 69传媒's Office of Planning and Economic Development, told 69传媒 on Tuesday that she has requested another presentation on the Schine from Bowers to City Council.

"We're ready to put them on the agenda whenever they can," she said. "I expect council will want some discussion on the Schine within the next month. Our first hope is it's from the LLC themselves."

During the June 2022 presentation, the developer's president, Bryan Bowers, council he'd like to come back that October or November.

"I think there's going to be a lot of progress by that point, and we hope to share a lot more information," he said.

Since then, Haines said, the city has met with Bowers once, privately. That fall, he told officials he had lost financing for the theater's rehabilitation due to COVID-19, and was working to replace it. Haines recommended a local bank afterward, she continued. In June of this year she received a phone call from a member of Bowers' team, who said they were still working on financing.

Bowers and Bowers Development Vice President Michael Licata did not respond to multiple requests for comment by 69传媒.

The Schine rehabilitation project, which Bowers has budgeted at $6 million, remains eligible for a total of $2.2 million in state funding, Haines said: a grant through the Regional Economic Development Council, and a $1 million Restore New York grant awarded to the city on the theater's behalf. Bowers also received $800,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds from the city to remediate its聽hazardous materials. That work was completed in January 2018, shortly after Bowers to purchase the Schine from the Cayuga 69传媒 Arts Council.

Asked whether the city is worried about the lack of progress on the Schine after allocating $800,000 to it, Haines noted that the remediation part of the project is complete.

"The point of (allocating the funds) was to make the building ready for redevelopment," she said. "That is still our hope 鈥� that redevelopment moves forward in a timely fashion."

Nor is the city worried about the theater's marquee, which Bowers said would be removed and rehabilitated in fall 2020. The developer then said that work would take place in fall 2022. As it continues to deteriorate, Haines said the city does have its eye on the structure. But she noted that Bowers has been quick to address any potential safety risks to the public, such as broken windows.

"We continue to expect and anticipate that (the marquee) is the next step for the project," Haines said.

Meanwhile, Schines Theater LLC continues to owe the city taxes on the South Street theater. It owes $12,966.42 since its last payment in January 2022, Treasurer Robert Gauthier told 69传媒.聽

The state Historic Preservation Office, which must approve any work on the theater, told 69传媒 on Tuesday that the only work it has approved since 2017 was the attachment of a banner in 2021.

Bowers Development has said that once rehabilitated, the Schine will be able to host events ranging from live music and theater to weddings and conventions.

The developer briefly advertised leasing opportunities at the theater on commercial real estate sites like and this spring, but the listings have since been removed.聽

Inside the Schine: How the 69传媒 theater's prospective new owner will restore it

The effort to restore the 69传媒 Schine Theater may have more momentum behind it now than ever before.

Inside the Schine: 69传媒 theater's sustainability is a $6 million question

Twenty years ago in January, the Cayuga 69传媒 Arts Council purchased the 69传媒 Schine Theater in order to restore it.

Gallery: The 69传媒 Schine Theater turns 85

A graduate in Cayuga Community College鈥檚 Class of 2021 is turning her passion for classic films and documentaries into a rapidly rising career as a social media influencer.

In less than three years, Cayuga alum Marianne Natoli鈥檚 pages on TikTok and Instagram grabbed the attention of entertainment industry staples such as HBO, Starz and Turner Classic Movies, as well as Netflix and the Elizabeth Taylor estate. Her work for these and other outlets, plus her independent documentaries and pop culture videos, have helped her amass almost 150,000 followers across all her platforms, with a weekly total reach of 2 million to 5 million views.

It鈥檚 been a whirlwind experience for Natoli, who earned her Associate of Applied Science in media production at Cayuga in December 2021 and launched her TikTok account in late 2020.

鈥淚 started off making funny videos about 鈥楽tar Wars鈥� and 鈥楾he Sound of Music,鈥� and it just took off right away,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 spent time researching what worked and what didn鈥檛 work for other people, and I had a lot of experience on camera from high school. Some of my videos and series went viral, and that brought in more people and the attention of larger brands and studios.鈥�

Building her fascination with films from an early age by filming family videos with her father, Natoli enrolled in Cayuga鈥檚 media production program when the degree was offered online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with building her TikTok skills while isolated during the pandemic, Natoli credited her time at Cayuga for encouraging her development and providing her courses to build her skillset.

鈥淓veryone was always very encouraging of my work and believed in me. Professor (Steve) Keeler鈥檚 documentary filmmaking class was my first experience in this form. A lot of the techniques I learned at Cayuga, particularly video editing, are skills I use a lot on TikTok,鈥� she said.

Her time at Cayuga saw her earn a Telly Award and an award at the inaugural Cayuga Film Festival for her documentary 鈥淟iving Lab Equipment,鈥� which examined the use of animals in lab testing. She鈥檚 currently a judge for this year鈥檚 Cayuga Film Festival.

Along the way, she began producing content highlighting classic films featuring luminaries like Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret and Lucille Ball, features on the Indiana Jones franchise, and a 10-part video series on Elizabeth Taylor.

Those efforts drew attention from larger brands. Among other opportunities, she was hired to promote 鈥淪tranger Things鈥� for Netflix, 鈥淎nd Just Like That鈥� on HBO Max, 鈥淭he Santa Clauses鈥� for Disney+ and 鈥淓lizabeth the First,鈥� a podcast narrated by singer Katy Perry about Taylor.

Her burgeoning presence on social media culminated this summer when she was invited to walk the red carpet at TCM鈥檚 Classic Film Festival. Joined by her son, Ledger, Natoli was interviewed on the red carpet by host Dave Karger about her passion for older films.

That one-of-a-kind experience reinforced not only her passion for classic films, but also her determination to help younger audiences realize the continued relevance of older films.

鈥淚 always say that I was raised by Turner Classic Movies and TV Land, with those older movies and shows,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 genuinely interested in these films and the people who made them and starred in them. I think that caught TCM鈥檚 attention 鈥� that at my age I鈥檓 someone with an interest in these films, that I recognize their relevance and that I built a platform tying those messages to today鈥檚 society.鈥�

Natoli continues to build on her social media successes, but is also exploring a return to long-form documentary filmmaking. She鈥檚 developing a new project that is currently in preproduction, with preliminary shooting scheduled for New York City. She hopes to submit the video in the 2024 Cayuga Film Festival.

Natoli is on both TikTok and Instagram at @hey_marianne.