SYRACUSE — L’Arche Syracuse began an affiliation with AccessCNY in an agreement that became effective on May 1.

The two nonprofit disability providers have been partnering on services for the last several months, per a news release about the affiliation.

Financial support for this partnership was provided by the Central New York Community Foundation’s strategic partnership fund. The fund provided a $16,000 grant, Matt Seubert, associate executive director–development, communication, and advocacy, tells CNYBJ in an email.

The Community Foundation has supported AccessCNY’s growth over the last five years through grants that have encouraged collaboration, the organization said.

L’Arche Syracuse will maintain its identity as a faith-based provider of services for individuals with developmental disabilities. Through a “change of auspices” affiliation structure, L’Arche says it will benefit from AccessCNY’s administrative services and expertise in management, finance, and human resources.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with AccessCNY,” Peggy Harper, executive director of L’Arche Syracuse, said. “As funding and regulations for providers of services for people with disabilities has become more challenging, it became prudent for L’Arche Syracuse to find new ways to move forward. The size and scale of AccessCNY made it an ideal partner for us. L’Arche’s unique mission necessitated a unique arrangement. The change of auspices allows L’Arche to continue our faith and community-based approach to serving individuals with disabilities, while calling on the expertise of AccessCNY.”

Harper will continue in her role until her retirement later this year. Given the hands-on nature of supports provided by the agencies, “no staff reductions are anticipated” as a result of this affiliation, AccessCNY said.

“We’ve been working with L’Arche Syracuse over the past several months to make this partnership seamless to those served by the agency, some of whom are also served by AccessCNY. Our facilities, behavioral management and quality enhancement teams have been among the first to collaborate with L’Arche. Both agencies will be stronger as a result of this partnership. AccessCNY was created from a merger and will continue to partner to meet the needs of Central New York as we create a community where all people belong,” Paul Joslyn, executive director of AccessCNY, said.

About AccessCNY

AccessCNY, based at 1603 Court St. in Syracuse, serves over 3,300 people with developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, mental-health diagnoses and/or acquired brain injuries each year. 

In 2015, AccessCNY was created from the merger of two agencies that served individuals with disabilities: Enable and Transitional Living Services. 

AccessCNY expanded again in 2018 with the merger of Spaulding Support Services. Onondaga CASA, a program that serves abused and neglected children in foster care, also became part of AccessCNY in 2019.

About L’Arche Syracuse 

L’Arche Syracuse is one of 135 L’Arche communities around the world. 

L’Arche includes people with and without disabilities sharing life in a community of faith. Locally, it operates a day habilitation program and four Syracuse homes for people with developmental disabilities where staff live as part of the household.

UTICA — Family-owned Empire Recycling Corp. has fully reopened all of its metal-recycling facilities, including its location at 64 North Genesee St. in Utica, and resumed buying metal from the general public. 

Besides the Utica site, the firm also has metal-recycling operations in Syracuse, Waterloo, and Albany, Beth Park, director of public relations & marketing at Empire Recycling, tells CNYBJ in an email. 

Empire Recycling also has paper-recycling facilities in Utica, Clay, Binghamton, and Albany. Its facilities closed to the general public on March 24 in response to COVID-19 restrictions. However, with recycling services deemed essential, Empire remained open for commercial customers, contractors/tradesmen, and other essential businesses, according to Park.

“We were fortunate in that we did not need to furlough any employees. While business slowed down slightly with the closure to the general public, our metal and paper divisions needed to continue daily operations to keep up with the commercial customers and the processing of materials. As an essential business ourselves, we serve other essential businesses and keep them running,” Park said. 

Empire Recycling had a “soft opening” of its metal-recycling facilities on May 4, meaning that it “slowly” began to accept metal from the general public again, according to Park. 

“This soft opening allowed us to verify that our protective measures and new policies would adequately protect our team and customers,” she added. 

The company is now requiring that all customers wear a mask to receive service, metal should be presorted prior to their arrival, and customers should remain in their car unless otherwise instructed. 

Empire Recycling also has additional staff on-hand to help direct people and answer questions, which Park says has been “beneficial because we’re seeing a lot of new customers since we’ve reopened, many homeowners and people doing general clean-outs.”

The metal that Empire Recycling takes in and processes becomes raw materials used to make products “needed by our country’s frontline workers,” the company said. 

Its commercial service, deemed essential, wasn’t interrupted during the COVID-19 restrictions.

“Our roll-off service still continued to haul away scrap metal from manufacturers and a variety of industries. And, our paper divisions continued to do on-site document destruction and accept cardboard recycling from essential businesses,” Park said. 

About Empire Recycling

Empire Recycling, headquartered in Utica, has been family-owned for more than 100 years. It was founded in 1916 by Robert, Morton, and Louis Kowalsky. 

Steven Kowalsky now serves as president of the company with his brother Ed serving as executive VP, per the firm’s website.

Multiple businesses now form the Empire Recycling Family of Companies, which employs a total of 200 people. The companies include Empire Recycling, ConfiData, SMR Fibre, Nathan Steel, ERC Transportation, and ERL Intermodal.