text: Syracuse is located at 432?49?N 768?40?W (43.046899, -76.144423). It is located about 87 miles (140 km) east of Rochester, 150 miles (240 km) east of Buffalo, and 145 miles (230 km) west of the state capital Albany. It is also the halfway point between New York City and Toronto, about 245 miles (390 km) from each, Toronto to the northwest and NYC to the southeast.
  About 27 percent of Syracuse's land area is covered by 890,000 trees a higher percentage than in Albany, Rochester or Buffalo. The Labor Day Storm of 1998 was a derecho that destroyed approximately 30,000 trees. The sugar maple accounts for 14.2 percent of Syracuse's trees, followed by the Northern white cedar (9.8 percent) and the European buckthorn (6.8 percent). The most common street tree is the Norway maple (24.3 percent), followed by the honey locust (9.3 percent).
  Syracuse has a humid continental climate (Dfb) and is known for its high snowfall. Boasting 115.6 inches (2.94 meters) on average, Syracuse receives the most annual average snow of any metropolitan area in the United States. Syracuse usually wins the Golden Snowball Award, among Upstate cities. Its record seasonal (July 1 to June 30 of the following year) snowfall so far is 192.1 in (4.88 m) during the winter of 199293, while the snowiest calendar month was January 2004, with 78.1 in (1.98 m) accumulated. The high snowfall is a result of the city receiving both heavy snow from the lake effect of nearby Lake Ontario (of the Great Lakes) and nor'easter snow from storms driven from the Atlantic Ocean. Snow most often falls in small (about 13 inches or 2.57.6 centimetres), almost daily doses, over a period of several days. Larger snowfalls do occur occasionally, and even more so in the northern suburbs.
  The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from 23.6 F (?4.7 C) in January to 71.3 F (21.8 C) in July. The record high of 102 F (39 C) was recorded on July 9, 1936, and the record low of ?26 F (?32 C) has occurred three times since 1942, the last being February 18, 1979.
  Climate data for Syracuse Hancock International Airport, New York (19812010 normals, extremes 1902present)
  1850	22,271
  Residents are assigned to schools in the Syracuse City School District. Syracuse City School District consists of 34 schools and 4 alternative education programs. In the 20142015 school year, the K-12 enrollment was 20,084. 15% of students were classified as English Language Learners, 20% as students with disabilities, and 77% as economically disadvantaged. The drop-out rate was 6%. Syracuse City School District is collaborating with Say Yes to Education with the goal of every public school student graduating high school with the preparation and support to attain, afford, and complete a college or other postsecondary education. They are also one of the "Big 5," which consists of the five New York State School districts with populations over 125,000. "Big 5" school budgets are approved by annually by the Board of Education and city government as opposed to voters in an annual vote.
  One of Syracuse's major research universities is Syracuse University, located on University Hill. It had an enrollment of 22,484 for the 20172018 academic year.
  I-81.svg Interstate 81 (Highway 401 via Highway 137 in Ontario to Knoxville) runs northsouth through Syracuse, and provides access to Canada, Pennsylvania and points south. Its downtown portion is extremely narrow, only consisting of four lanes and essentially no onramps.
  I-90.svg Interstate 90 (Seattle to Boston), also known as the New York State Thruway runs eastwest, just north of the city. It is a toll highway that provides access to Rochester, Buffalo, Albany, and the northsouth (Interstate 87) part of the Thruway which leads to New York City.
  I-690.svg Interstate 690 runs eastwest through the city, and provides access to Interstate 90, as well as to Syracuse's northwestern and eastern suburbs. A spur off I-690 directly west of the city, NY 695, provides freeway access to the southwestern suburbs. It meets Interstate 81 in downtown Syracuse in a highly complex and incomplete intersection. Most of its routing through the city directly replaced elevated rail lines, a fact quite notable by the city's former main rail terminal, where the freeway spans the width between the terminal and its outermost platform. In 1981 artist Duke Epolito erected sculptures of "passengers" on the far platform. The piece is entitled "Waiting for the Night Train."
  US 11.svg U.S. Highway 11 (Route 223 in Quebec to New Orleans) runs northsouth through Syracuse, including downtown, and it follows Salina, State and Wolf Streets.
  NY-5.svg New York State Route 5 runs eastwest through Syracuse, including downtown, and follows Erie Boulevard and West Genesee Street.
  NY-173.svg New York State Route 173 runs eastwest through Syracuse and follows the Seneca Turnpike through the South Valley neighborhood.
  NY-598.svg New York State Route 598 is a short northsouth highway following Midler Avenue to its southern terminus at NY 5.
  Hon. Helen Hudson (D) President
  Hon. Khalid Bey (D) Councilor at Large
  Hon. Michael Greene (D) Councilor at Large
  Hon. Timothy Rudd (D) Councilor at Large
  Hon. Rita Paniagua (D) Councilor at Large
  Hon. Joseph Carni (R) 1st District
  Hon. Patrick Hogan (D) 2nd District
  Hon. Chol Majok (D) 3rd District
  Hon. Latoya Allen (D) 4th District
  Hon. Joe Driscoll (D) 5th District
  The Syracuse Police Department (SPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of Syracuse, New York. For 201718, the police department budget was $48.5 million. Effective December 3, 2018, Kenton Buckner is the city's new Chief of Police. Police headquarters is in the John C. Dillon Public Safety Building at 511 South State Street.
  4	N/A	N/A	N/A	ARFF Unit's 18, Haz-Mat Unit 3, Foam Trailer, Decontamination Trailer, Mass Casualty Unit, EMS Support	N/A	110 Observation Cir., Airport	ARFF Station	Operating
  Before the merger with the evening paper, the Post-Standard was named among the "10 best newspapers in America with a circulation of under 100,000" by Al Neuharth of USA Today (run by a competing organization). Since the merger, circulation has increased to over 120,000. Even outside of its four-county delivery area, the paper is available in many convenience stores and supermarkets from the CanadaUS border to the New YorkPennsylvania border. The newspaper partly caters to this audience as well, covering many stories from the Ithaca, Utica, and Watertown areas. Since opening a new printing press in 2002, the paper calls itself "America's Most Colorful Newspaper," as almost every page contains color.