Turning the CNY Regional Market Around

Bill Fisher has been the CEO of the Central New York Regional Market Authority for a year: ‘We’ve started to pick up speed’

By Mary Beth Roach

 

Bill Fisher, as one-time deputy Onondaga County executive, developed a reputation for turning around struggling businesses and organizations.

And he is at it again. This time as the CEO of the Central New York Regional Market Authority.

The Camillus resident was appointed to the position in July 2024, taking over when the then-director left following a critical audit from the State Comptroller’s Office.

In his first year at the helm, Fisher likened the market to a boat in the sea.

“We’ve turned it around. We’ve started to pick up speed. We’re not seeing shore yet, but before too long we’ll see shore and get it into a safe harbor,” he said.

As CEO, Fisher is looking to upgrade various buildings on the 50-acre Park Street property. Some of the buildings on it date back to the 1930s, with space for some commercial enterprises, as well as sheds and an open-air market area with 360 stalls.

He wants to strengthen relationships between the market and its vendors; its partners in the seven counties it serves — Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Oneida, Oswego and parts of Wayne; and its neighbors, like the Syracuse Mets.

One of the overall goals is to make the market a multi-purpose destination, with space for retail and a venue for entertainment.

The biggest piece of that overall goal is a $75 million to $100-million major overhaul of the market, making it not only a tourist destination, but a production and packaging facility for the region’s farmers.

 

Seeing the market’s potential

When the Office of the State Comptroller issued its report noting concerns with the market, it was determined that a new director would be needed.

According to a statement from the office of Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, the county needed to step forward to “stabilize the foundation of the market and then responsibly build upon it to ensure future success.”

“Bill would be able to combine his vast private sector experience with his deep public sector work, as well has tap into his vast community connections from years of sitting on various boards. The market needed someone who would not be afraid to get into the details and machinations of how the market currently operates and how it should be operating, and Bill was the natural fit for that role,” McMahon added.

Fisher said that when he took the job there was a learning curve. But he found a lot of support in the community.

“There were a lot of people that were rooting for me,” he said. “So far, no one said ‘I don’t have any time for you’ if I said, ‘Can I sit down with you and try to pick your brain?’”

Even before Fisher took the job, the county had already appropriated $4 million and NYS Assemblyman William Magnarelli had already obtained a grant of $2 million from the Assembly.

He explained that the state money is earmarked for renovating the A Shed; and county money will be used, in part, for the renovation of the C Shed, a new entrance on Park Street and the construction of a “ghost kitchen,” called Park Street Kitchen, that will be a mix of catering and commercial spaces available for use.

That large warehouse and distribution center would allow for cold storage and food processing. This new facility, Fisher explained, would let farmers store their produce and make it available when area school districts are in session and looking to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. Farmers could also use the processing center to package their produce for sale, including downstate schools. The wholesale produce companies and a brewery storage area at the market would get a new home on site and their existing spaces would be used for retail and event areas.

However, these plans hit a roadblock earlier this spring when several area state lawmakers, including Assemblyman Magnarelli, were not able to get $35 million included in the 2026 state budget to help fund this phase of this revitalization.

Despite this setback, Fisher is not discouraged, saying that some of the plan will be postponed, deferred by a year.

“When you see that there are people with political capital and financial capital that are willing to invest in this, you realize it’s an opportunity to do something that needs to be done,” he said.

 

His experience

Fisher brings his own type of capital, so to speak, to this job. He established and has run a successful business; he has shown his eagerness to learn about whatever project he takes on; and he has demonstrated his ability to foster relationships.

A 1983 graduate from Yale University with a master’s from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship, he worked for a few years with the now-defunct Syracuse New Times and a computer company before launching his own software company, Summit Software in 1991.

In 2005, he said he cut back his schedule at Summit, took part in some nonprofit boards and spent time with his family. He and his wife, Karen, have five kids. Eventually, he joined the Republican Party and began raising money for the party. He helped Joanie Mahoney in her unsuccessful run for Syracuse mayor in 2005 and again in 2007, when she ran for and won the Onondaga County executive seat. Mahoney tapped Fisher to be her deputy county executive.

Fisher said that he admitted to Mahoney that he didn’t know the first thing about government, but she eventually got him on board.

“Bill was the first person I thought of to ask to fill that role,” said Mahoney, in an email. She is now president of SUNY ESF. “When I told Bill that he could bring his skills to help the whole community, he eventually agreed.”

As Mahoney pointed out, Fisher was “one of a very small group of people who worked tirelessly to bring the Hotel Syracuse back online and return it to the gem it is in Syracuse. He was instrumental in ensuring the public would have a symphony orchestra when the Syracuse Symphony struggled … and the list goes on.”

However, he was quick to point out that he did not do this work single-handedly.

“I got involved in these situations where an important community asset had gone off the track a little bit and the team was being put together to turn that around and I became a member of that team,” he said. “I’ve been lucky enough to be part of number of these projects and this is a turning out to be one like that, where there’s a lot of people that really want to see it work.”

His involvement with these projects also introduced him to various state officials, among them Magnarelli.

“Bill Fisher was the kind of the key cog in making sure the Hotel Syracuse was complete and that everybody was happy with the way it was done,” the Assemblyman said.

Fisher left county government in December of 2018 and had planned to take about a year off to spend time with his family. He said he started setting up business meetings in March of 2020 and then the pandemic hit and that one-year break expanded. He’s always remained president of the board and a shareholder of his software company. But, when McMahon approached him about the Regional Market position, his interest was piqued.

 

Leaving a legacy

At the age of 64, when many are contemplating retirement or cutting back, why has Fisher has taken on a challenge that has the potential to transform the region’s landscape?

The father of five and grandfather of three said, “If you can help make it a place where your children and grandchildren might choose to live, you’ve accomplished something.”