Parking Update

CONVENIENT, FREE PARKING is available for people attending the American Medical Writers Association networking lunch at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse on Tuesday, Sept. 11.

Be sure to park in the CNY Medical Center garage, in the 700 block of Irving Avenue. The name is shown above the main entrance. This garage is right across the street from Weiskotten Hall, where the lunch is being held on the ninth floor.

To receive your free parking, YOU MUST BRING YOUR PARKING TICKET TO THE LUNCH. Our hosts at Upstate will validate your ticket, so you won't be required to pay when you leave the garage. This will save you about $6.

If for some reason you cannot park in the CNY Medical Center garage, your second choice would be a meter along Irving Avenue, if you can find one, but you will have to pay for it yourself. Your third choice would be the Upstate Medical University garage on Adams Street. Why? Because our hosts at University can also validate your parking ticket there. HOWEVER, the Upstate garage is two and half VERY LONG BLOCKS away from Weiskotten, and you have to dodge construction vehicles en route because the sidewalks are blocked in places, and it's a steep uphill climb unless you know your way through the bowels of University Hospital. So this option is not recommended!

Handicapped parking with direct access to Weiskotten is available in a small lot on the far south side of the building. Driving south along Irving Ave., take a right at the first light past the building. The lot is on your right, across from the Veterans Administration hospital.

No matter where you park, you will need to find your way to the top floor of the new section of Weiskotten. (The new section has nine stories, while the old section tops out at four.) Best bet: use the building's main entrance on Irving Avenue. You will know you're in the right place when you read this inscription on the foyer wall: "Dedicated to all those who purpose to serve humanity." That's us!

You'll see a stack of complimentary copies of the New York Times on the receptionist's desk. Ask him or her how to get to the cafeteria. There is no security check, and no badge is required, since you are not in the hospital. You will need to zigzag to follow the corridors around behind the auditorium (a left, a right, then another right) until you find the main bank of elevators, just past a bio lab. Take the elevator to the ninth floor, then follow your nose to the cafeteria, and ask anyone for the Doust Board Room, which is right next door.

If you wish to use MapQuest to obtain driving directions, the street address of Weiskotten Hall is 766 Irving Avenue.

We will start meeting at noon, the program starts at 12:25, and we plan to end at 1:30. If you want to learn more about AMWA, you might want to stick around a little longer.

Hope to see you there!