2023 Year in Review

Brandon Soto, Erin Phillips, Grounded Print Shop

Clockwise from top left, Celebrate Erie was a huge success, and resulted in Erie making national news when headliner Flo Rida was passed a baby through the crowd; Erie County Executive Brenton Davis has come under scrutiny for a myriad of reasons, including a historically high proposed tax increase; the ExpERIEnce Children's Museum saw through phase one of their massive expansion in June; the Purposeful Placemaking public art initiative spearheaded by Erie Arts and Culture completed the goal of creating 50 new murals in Erie this past summer.

It's been long understood in our corner of Pennsylvania that when Erie makes the national news, it's rarely a great look for us. In 2023 the City of Erie made headlines for a few cringey reasons, of course. Do we really need to be reminded of the crowd-surfing baby during the Flo Rida performance at Celebrate Erie and the intense parenting debate/debacle that ensued?

Despite the overall sigh of resignation triggered when Erie comes across the wire, there has definitely been some positive national coverage (depending on who you are, we suppose). There was that small issue of discovery which came about due to a certain state senator's lawsuit against a certain local alternative newspaper (ahem) which resulted in the national publication of some previously confidential emails between government officials regarding the overturning of the 2020 election, and that was decidedly not a great look for Pennsylvania Republicans.

Erie also made national waves when it was announced that a portion of our lake is under serious consideration for National Marine Sanctuary designation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration because of the astounding number of historic shipwrecks and artifacts that lie beneath the water's surface.

Regardless of the coverage we've received nationwide, 2023 has been a year of major moves and big changes for Erie. Where those changes fall on the cringe-o-meter varies wildly, as our county has certainly seen some struggles this year. BUT we always have something to celebrate — some new successes, businesses, nonprofits, or creative endeavors for which to cheer. And while we'll always have those grumpy armchair warriors in the comment section, conversely we also have a growing population of Erie's cheerleaders — those among us who want to see Erie succeed, those who reserve judgment on our road to progress, and those who support, encourage, ask meaningful questions, constructively criticize, and ultimately celebrate our growth.

So, let's review this past year and take stock of how we've all grown, shall we?

Downtown Erie

Let's start where it all started. Downtown Erie has seen its fair share of ups and downs throughout our city's history, from the boom at the turn of the 20th century to the slow decline through the turn of the 21st. Lately, we're working towards a definitive upswing due to a few key players and a boatload of massive, expensive construction projects. While we all wait patiently for the sidewalk expansion and infrastructure improvements along State Street to clear up, there are a few projects that have been years in the making that saw completion in 2023.

With the renovations on North Park Row largely complete, and the Flagship City Food Hall and Market recently celebrating their second anniversary, the Erie Downtown Development Corporation turned their efforts to their 28,000-square-foot new construction project which reached its summit in the new Ascend climbing gym (and 30 new apartments) which opened in November.

Photo: Jessica Hunter

The expERIEnce Children's Museum celebrated the completion and grand opening of the first phase of its massive expansion and renovation on the first day of summer in June. The children of Erie have real cause to celebrate — with three floors of brand new, hands-on, STEAM-focused exhibits meant to stimulate a child's imagination, promote physical activity, and foster creative thinking. The older portion of the Children's Museum (the former, reused historic Boston Store livery) is currently under renovation, and with construction hopefully wrapping up there in the spring, the entirety of the building project will soon be open, refreshed, and ready for fun.

West Sixth Street and the areas around Gannon University are continuing to see investment from our friendly neighborhood billionaire, Thomas B. Hagen, as the Historic Erie Preservation Trust (HEPT) has completed restorations on a number of properties in and around the historic district. We're currently observing work nearing completion on projects at 502 W. Sixth St. (the Connell Payne Wilson House), at 446 W. Sixth (the Shenk Emmett House), the property next door to the Erie Community Foundation at 453 W. Sixth (the Lowry House), and at 556 W. Sixth (the Walker Filer House). Meanwhile, we're seeing restoration movement happening at a number of other key historic properties, most notably the Thayer Thompson house, which has the group branching off of Sixth Street to attend to the incredible, nationally registered historic property and Civil war era home at 605 Cherry St. Additionally, work has begun at the Carter-Shannon House, which is prominently positioned adjacent to Gannon's library at 203 W. Sixth St. The HEPT has also recently acquired the property on the northeastern corner of West Sixth and Cherry.

The HEPT was established in 2020 and was modeled after a similar foundation created in Newport, Rhode Island. The idea is that rent monies, donations, or funding collected from the renovated properties will go into the trust that will then be used to sustain the buildings' maintenance in perpetuity.

 The PACA building (the former Meyer building) at 1505 State Street was the first building to be designated as a local historic Landmark under the new Historic Preservation Plan for Erie. Photo: Diggit Dave Schroeder

Speaking of historic property restoration in the City of Erie, this year has overseen the advent of Erie's first Historic Preservation Plan, as well as our city's designation as a Certified Local Government. What this means is that our city now has the ability to designate local historic properties as landmarks, or create historic overlay districts in certain areas where the architecture is historic or otherwise significant to the character of the neighborhood. As a result, these properties, if designated locally, will be at a greater advantage of being designated nationally (i.e. the National Register of Historic Places) and give property owners greater access to tax credits, grant funding, and facade improvement funding. It also provides some level of protection against a historic property's demolition. The first of these buildings to be designated locally was the PACA building (i.e. the Meyer building) at 1505 State St. in March of 2023.

We'd be remiss to leave out the main artery of Erie that has been a subject of hot debate and millions of taxpayer dollars: the Bayfront Highway. Work on this bad boy was supposed to be underway this fall with an estimated timeline of completion by Spring of 2027. Initial work will take place on the Sassafras Street Extension roundabout on the waterfront side. In preparation for Bayfront Parkway construction, the city's first infrastructure-related move was to make improvements to the flow of traffic along 12th Street. You may have noticed improved traffic signals and pedestrian safety upgrades along the main corridor in anticipation of a massive influx of commuter usage once the Bayfront Highway construction gets into full swing. Plan on switching up your routine and kicking it old school on Route 5 for the foreseeable future.

Arts and Culture

There was a changing of the guard in the Erie art world in 2023 as Patrick Fisher, the executive director of Erie Arts and Culture (EAC)  resigned his position after seeing through the implementation of a number of programs that were created under his administration. Arguably one of the most impactful projects was the Purposeful Placemaking public art and mural project, which, in partnership with the United Way of Erie County, saw 50 murals installed throughout the city, along walking routes to Erie's public schools. The program began in 2021 and was completed this past summer in a massive public art effort, the Views Festival. These murals were completed by both nationally known and local artists alike and have succeeded in making Erie a brighter place for city schoolchildren and, really, all our residents. Additionally, in 2023, we welcomed a new executive director for EAC, Anne O'Dell, who has relocated to Erie and is helping to carry on many of the programs in place at the organization, while working to create her own footprint in the Erie arts scene.

In addition to the changes seen to the Erie public art landscape, we always have the working artists in Erie to celebrate, as well as a smattering of new spaces in which they have made their mark. Among these:

FEED Media Arts Center is gaining ground in a collaborative, renovated space on 13th and State

The former Bastion Studio building (the historic Daniel Illig House) at West 21st and Peach has been acquired by the folks running the show at 10/20 Collective and will continue to serve as a launchpad for local creatives.

The Dafmark Creative Arts Center in the John Horan Garden Apartments has expanded their reach and funding to bring quality art education to hundreds of local children living in public housing in Erie.

The Erie Art Museum recently celebrated their 100th annual Spring Show, bringing local and regional artists into the spotlight.

What would have been the 31st annual Blues and Jazz Festival in Frontier Park was canceled this year due to lack of funding and community partnership. Breaking a 30 year streak, the organizational group is feeling positive about their ability to make it happen again in 2024. The Erie Blues and Jazz festival is seeking new nominations to their board of directors as well as a co-host, and of course, sponsorships. Visit eriebluesandjazz.com to help.

The Historical Institute of Culture and the African American Experience located at 315 E. Ninth St. is a new endeavor (opened in June of 2023) in an old church, and the brainchild of artists and leaders from Erie's Black community. Poet, artist, and baker Mabel Howard, Bishop Curtis Jones Sr., and Pastor Vickie Jones are spearheading the project which will bring visual art, poetry, and civil rights history and artifacts into the reused space.

Photo: David Desin

Celebrate Erie 2023 was a resounding success (despite the overwhelming focus on the aforementioned crowd-surfing baby) and saw record numbers of attendees enjoying the city's designated "districts," with music at every turn, including the headlining national acts of Flo Rida and Parmalee alongside the Erie All Stars going their own way with a Fleetwood Mac tribute. There was the ever popular chalk walk with art, music, educational opportunities, food, drinks, family fun, vendors, cultural and dance events, and more. It's great to see Erie come together as a community, and Celebrate Erie always affords that perfect occasion.

Photo: Jeffrey Phillips

Erie's cultural landscape certainly doesn't start and stop with art and music — we've also seen some awesome movement, changes, and victories within our local educational endeavors, sports and athletics, and nonprofit sectors. Most notably, our very own Erie SeaWolves, who just a few years ago were on the verge of packing up shop, have made local history as they reigned supreme as the 2023 Eastern League Champions. Their victory was intensely fun to watch unfold, as the Seawolves won all four of their playoff games, capping the streak with a 10-0 victory over the Binghamton Rumble Ponies to secure the first championship title in the club's history. If you were there to witness it, it sure was a howl of a good time.

In alternative forms of education, we have cause to celebrate. The Erie County Community College saw their first graduating class, adorned in royal blue robes, commencing their studies at the long-awaited community college. The class of 28 graduates earned certificates that included welding and applied business in management and entrepreneurial thinking. Many went on to enter the workforce, while some used the educational boost to continue their studies at one of our major regional colleges/universities. Meanwhile, the Jefferson Educational Society turned 15 years old and celebrated bringing thoughtful programming, speakers, leadership groups, and, of course, the annual Global Summit Speaker Series, to open minds throughout the Erie region.

Photo: Mike Schnelle

And while we're on the subject of bettering ourselves, we'd also love to mention that Erie loves to give. Our nonprofits are what raise up our city and county to be the best they can be, and the annual event Erie Gives Day hosted (and bolstered by) the Erie Community Foundation saw record numbers of donations flowing through their website in August. In 2023, 493 nonprofit organizations received $8,269,362 due to over 32,764 individual donations. That's astounding, Erie. Kudos.

Local Politics

What a weird year for local politics. 2023 saw two mid-term resignations, one from Erie City Council in Liz Allen's abrupt departure following her stint as council president and one from Erie County Council in Mary Rennie's (former director of the Erie County Library) resignation. Allen's city seat was filled by the appointment of Susannah Faulkner (a 2023 40 Under 40 honoree and director of development for the Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network) which she will have to vacate as of January 2024 (who will fill it has yet to be determined). Mary Rennie's resignation placed her seat up for grabs in the November election and it was filled by political newcomer and Democrat Rock Copeland.

This, along with other key victories by Democrats (perhaps most notably, the defeat of Brian Shank by Chris Drexel) in the county council race has restored an actual Democratic majority to the council that has been under much public scrutiny since Brenton Davis has taken the office of county executive. Davis and council have made some… controversial decisions, which resulted in a Lake Erie-sized blue wave on county council this election cycle. While those controversial decisions are quite numerous, among the most contentious have been:

• At the end of last year, Davis dismantled the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion board, or DiverseErie, abandoning a critical effort created to aid populations disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
• The current director of the Erie County Library, under the authority of Brenton Davis, demanded that an LGBTQIA+ children's book display be relocated or removed during Pride Month spurring hundreds of citizens to participate in protests, read-ins, and petitions.
• A rushed vote that was eventually unanimously rescinded by county council to transfer 200 acres of county-owned farmland in Fairview and Girard to the County Redevelopment Authority for development of a proposed "business park," had angry county residents attending council meetings en masse (and likely contributed to that aforementioned Lake Erie blue wave in November).
• A current deal with Gannon would place the private Catholic university's Project NePTWNE, a 3,000-square-foot water research center, within the publicly-owned Erie County Library's bayfront building. According to an Erie Times News article by A.J. Rao, "Council's inability to table the measure was met with boos from a standing-room-only crowd that objected to the center's potential effect on library services and parking, and the county's lack of public engagement on the project." This was then approved by a 5 to 2 vote on county council (with "Republicans in Democrats' clothing" Jim Winarski and Tom Spagel voting yes).
• Davis has also overseen what would have been one of the highest county tax hikes in recent history (a 14 percent increase) which county council recently voted down to 10 percent (which is still a double-digit, significant increase coming after multiple campaign promises by Davis to NOT raise taxes). Interestingly, given the next bullet point on our list, one of the main programs to lose funding within this recently approved budget is the Office of Children and Youth…
• And while not affecting the county policy-wise, but certainly affecting the overall character of our public office — a woman formerly in a relationship with the county executive was assigned two temporary protection-from-abuse orders for her and her children against Davis. And while these orders were not made permanent by Venango County Judge Robert Boyer, Davis consented to a six-month protection-from-intimidation order that prohibited him from having any contact with the children in this case.

While we're currently in a lame duck situation on county council, one can hope that the reins with which Davis has run county government will be significantly tightened come January.

In more positive political news, striking workers at Erie's Wabtec won an improved contract after 10 weeks of holding the picket line. According to UE News, "The 1,400 members of Locals 506 and 618 forced Wabtec to improve the contract offer that the members had overwhelmingly rejected on June 22. The UE members voted on Aug. 31 to accept a tentative agreement that was reached between the parties the previous week, ending their strike."

And in other good news, Erie was among 120 U.S. cities to receive the highest-possible score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's annual Municipal Equality Index which ranks cities based on criteria like non-discrimination laws, leadership on LGBTQIA+ equality, municipal services, and employment practices. This recognition comes after a resolution was adopted by city council, spearheaded by Councilwoman Susannah Faulkner, declaring Erie a sanctuary city for LGBTQIA+ individuals.

Climate Issues

Photo: Patrick Grab

All other Year in Review summaries don't really matter if we don't address the major one: climate change — we're, as they say, simply polishing the brass on the Titanic. So what moves has Erie made this year to address the increasingly dire global climate situation locally? Well, along with the aforementioned potential National Marine Sanctuary designation for our lake (which would help ensure high water quality, among other environmental issues), the City of Erie has also committed to moving forward with its Active Erie Plan. This plan will, among other street level improvements, create safe biking infrastructure and dedicated bike lanes on a connected grid throughout the city, encouraging more citizens to cycle by making those routes safer and more abundant, thus cutting our dependence on vehicular travel.

Our largest city fire station went totally solar-powered this summer. There have been improvements made within EMTA to increase and encourage more public transportation. And as of just last week, the City of Erie's Environmental Advisory Council held its first meeting. The purpose of this council of seven (John Michael Campbell, Robert Howden, Aaron Kerr, Sister Pat Lupo, Matthew Puz, Sherri "Sam" Mason, and Freda Tepfer) is to help research and identify environmental concerns in the City of Erie and propose policy changes to help rectify those concerns.

And of course, there are nonprofits addressing the issues like the newly formed Groundwork Erie (focused on Lake Erie water conservation), PennFuture, The Regional Science Consortium, and various local and regional conservancy groups. But, according to the county's Emerge 2040 report, despite "a 25-year strategy to create a more sustainable, resilient, and prosperous Erie County," "no formal Erie Climate Action Plan has been developed," which is alarming, to say the least. We have, collectively, just experienced the hottest summer on record ever. The tipping point has happened, the floodgates are open, and we can hope (while also advocating, protesting, attending council sessions, etc.) that 2024 will bring more "development" on this issue locally.

Our Erie Reader Year

Photos: Jessica Hunter

What does a year mean to us here at the Reader? What can we hang our community-contribution hats on for 2023? While this year has brought a personnel shift (Hi! It's me, Erin Phillips, your Erie Reader managing editor, seeing through my first full year at the helm and finally maybe getting the hang of it), most of what is expected of us has remained the same.

We have brought you another year of Best of Erie — highlighting those businesses, artists, nonprofits, restaurants, and cultural institutions that YOU feel are worthy of the recognition (reminder: voting for 2023's Best of Erie closes on Dec. 11, log in and contribute now before it's too late).

We've highlighted our 11th class of 40 Under 40 honorees, which is always an inspiring list, reminding us all that you're never too young (or too old) to make a positive impact on Erie's community.

We've introduced our newest publication, the Erie Reader Business Quarterly showcasing our local economy and the businesses that make it hum.

We've published another stunning edition of our comprehensive Best of Erie City Guide, which helps to guide tourists and visitors in finding the best parts of Erie.

Overall, we're most proud to have continued to bolster local writing talent, giving a platform for sound political opinion (and still working to defend our First Amendment rights in a costly legal battle brought to us by State Senator Dan Laughlin), and highlighting local history while uncovering (often uncomfortable) truths about our own past. We've supported local artists, writers, and musicians with our reliable and insightful reviews, and made our pages a bit more colorful with our local, original comics.

And we're all ready to take a deep breath and do it again. We welcome this new year and the new cycle of monthly Erie Reader issues that will grow from it.

Erin Phillips, who is taking a deep breath after writing this feature, can be reached at erin@eriereader.com

To donate to our legal defense fund, please visit gofundme.com/f/erie-reader-legal-defense-fund