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Week of June 18, 2025 Home of The Eells Family
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American High CEO claims he’ll run for mayor vs. Finney By Russ Tarby Contributing Writer
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More than 50 race boats from 10 states plus Canada will roar across Onondaga Lake this weekend as the Syracuse Vintage Race Boat Regatta takes place at Willow Bay June 21-22.
Festive flybys Vintage hydroplanes roar this weekend on Onondaga Lake By Russ Tarby Contributing Writer More than 50 well-restored and historically significant race boats from 10 states plus Canada will roar across Onondaga Lake this week-
end as the Syracuse Vintage Race Boat Regatta takes place at Willow Bay June 21-22. Hydroplane boats with outboard engines up to the Grand Prix class with full-blown big blocks will display speeds ranging from 70 to 140
miles per hour. This event is sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association, whose Vintage and Historic Division has helped bring racing history back to life. Although the APBA Boats l Page 2
Parkinson’s wellness center holds ribbon cutting By Kathryne Rakowski
Hope, progress, and a brighter future for people with Parkinson’s disease was celebrated on the morning of June 11 during the ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening of Empower Parkinson, the only Parkinson’s wellness center in Central New York. Located on West Taft Road in Liverpool, the center provides a variety of classes and neurotherapy services to help improve the quality of life for people with Parkinson’s disease. “It’s such an exciting day,” Dr. Julie Lombardi, president of the board of directors, said. “What this means for our community is that when a physician sits down with a patient and says, you have Parkinson’s disease, in that life changing moment, they can then follow that with- I know where you can go to get the community support and resources you need to help you live and manage life with this disease.” Empower Parkinson, officially formed in 2019, began as Rock Steady boxing in 2017. Executive Director Patrick VanBeveren, who worked as a physical therapist for over 50 years, started dreaming of opening the center after he saw a hole in the community. “I knew there needed to be more support for people with Parkinson’s disease,” he said. He made it his mission to fill the void. He became certified in Rock Steady Boxing, an evidence based set of exercises designed to help slow down the effects of Parkinson’s disease. Over the years, more classes
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Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon was on hand for a ribbon cutting, along with Executive Director Patrick VanBeveren celebrating the opening of Empower Parkinson. were added, all aimed at helping to improve the quality of life for those with Parkinson’s disease. In addition to fitness classes, Engage Therapy recently joined the team to offer neurological physical, occupational and speech therapy on site for all
participants and the community as a whole. “It’s surreal,” said Empower spinning and boxing instructor Beth Moya. She knows first hand how important exercise and treatment is Parkinson’s l Page 2
The war of words between Liverpool Mayor Stacy Finney and American High CEO Jeremy Garelick took an unexpected turn last week. A veteran producer, director and screenwriter, Garelick suddenly announced that he’ll challenge Finney in the November election. His surprise announcement capped off a bitter exchange of emailed arguments over alleged code violations at the American High facility at 800 Fourth St. Garelick has directed several profitable comedies including “The Wedding Ringer” and last year’s “Murder Mystery Two,” plus several American High productions successfully streaming on Hulu. So he’s capable of bankrolling a mayoral campaign, but he has a major obstacle to overcome. The New York Conference of Mayors has stipulated that in order to serve an elected village position, the candidate must be a resident of the village. Garelick currently lives in Fayetteville with his family. They moved to Onondaga County two years ago after 25 years in Los Angeles. Onondaga County Democratic Board of Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny confirmed that Garelick is registered to vote in Fayetteville. “On his eligibility to run for office [in Liverpool], I am doing research on that but it is not an easy question,” Czarny said. “Generally one only has to be a resident upon taking office unless there is something in village law saying otherwise.” Czarny pointed out that the deadline for filing independent petitions has passed. In theory the GOP or Conservative parties could hold a caucus but that doesn’t mean he will have their support. The village Republican Committee chaired by Joe Ostuni Jr. is scheduling its caucus for July 10, at village hall. Finney is a Democrat. The latest problem at American High arose earlier this month as noise and fumes emanated from a diesel generator causing several neighbors to com-
plain to Codes Officer Bill Reagan. The film company is currently shooting a comedy currently called “The Untitled BriTANicK Pizza Movie” starring Gaten Matarazzo and Sean Giambrone. That smoky situation prompted Finney to write a letter to the editor detailing American High’s long list of code violations since it was established eight years ago. Finney wrote: “For years now Mr. Garelick and his staff at American High have disrupted our residential neighborhood in ways that they would never dream of doing at either one of the Garelick family’s multi-million dollar homes on Cazenovia Lake or in the suburbs of Fayetteville. He knowingly does something that violates his permit, apologizes, feigns poverty, promises to do better, and rattles off a list of exaggerated stats.” Garelick resented the mayor’s mention of his homes. “Let’s drop the idea that owning a nice home makes me less of this community,” he responded. “I worked hard, missed birthdays and holidays, and built something from nothing —jobs, stories, a future. I didn’t leave Hollywood because I failed. I made it. I made money. I chose to invest it here. Why is that a crime?” The mayor also complained that landscaping is overgrown at 800 Fourth St., and drainage is poor. “The historic Zogg High School has been the subject of near constant code violations and has fallen into disrepair,” she wrote. “We didn’t create this mess, we fixed it,” Garelick shot back. And he insisted that American High has benefited the area. “’Summer of ’69,” now the number one streaming movie in America, generated $1.29M in direct Central New York spending and $2M in local payroll to 418 workers — including 93 crew members and 325 background actors,” he wrote, “while American High has paid over $15.6M to 5,913 CNY residents, spent $18.3M with local vendors, trained 900+ students, and produced 21 distributed films in just six years.”
Volume 132, Number 25 The Star-Review is published weekly by Eagle News. Office of Publication: 2501 James St., Suite 108, Syracuse, NY 13206. Periodical Postage Paid at Syracuse, NY 13220, USPS 316060. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Star-Review, 2501 James St., Suite 108, Syracuse, NY 13206.
graduation: A tribute to the Class of 2025.
inside
sports: C-NS track’s Ingram, Eels bring home state titles. PAGE 11
death notices ����������� 5 Editorial ��������������������� 4 history ������������������������ 5 letters ������������������������ 4
Obituaries ������������������ 9 PennySaver ���������������� 6 Sports ����������������������� 11