Sen. Valesky was on hand July 14 for the official opening of Sankofa Park, next to the Beauchamp Branch Library on South Salina Street in Syracuse. Area residents, local leaders, and elected officials worked together to determine a better use for the space, which had been an abandoned parking lot. Sen. Valesky secured $450,000 for the project. The word Sankofa comes from the Akan language of Ghana and means "reach back and get it."