CNY Readers' Choice (Syracuse.com): How Voting Works & How to Win

What is the CNY Readers' Choice program and who runs it?

The CNY Readers' Choice program is an annual best-of awards ballot for Central New York businesses, produced by Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard, the Syracuse news organization whose newspaper serves the greater Syracuse metro area. Balloting runs on Second Street, the contest platform behind the syracuse.secondstreetapp.com address, and the live ballot for the 2025 cycle sits at https://syracuse.secondstreetapp.com/Readers-Choice-2025/.

What the ballot asks of supporters

The ballot's own invitation sets the tone: "Nominate your favorite businesses to Reader's Choice 2025!" That line describes the entire shape of the program. Local businesses are the nominees, the public supplies both the nominations and the votes, and winners emerge from whichever businesses gather the most support across the region.

Where the program sits

The market is Syracuse and the wider Central New York region, and the vertical is best-of, the contest family newspapers use to let readers crown their favorite local spots. For a business, a strong showing functions as recognition from the region's dominant news brand, promoted by Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. For a supporter, it is a chance to reward a favorite restaurant, shop or service provider with public credit.

When does CNY Readers' Choice voting open and close?

The 2025 voting round opened on September 15, 2025 and closed on October 1, 2025, as printed on the live Readers' Choice 2025 ballot. The competitive stretch therefore sits in early autumn, and every nomination and vote lands on the Second Street ballot during those weeks.

The program recurs. Visitors to the 2025 ballot were greeted with "Welcome to the 2025 CNY Readers' Choice annual awards!", and confirmed editions stretch from 2020 through 2026. On that cadence a further edition would arrive in 2027, although the organizer has not yet printed dates for it. Between rounds, the publisher's own channels are the likeliest place for news of the next edition.

Some operational details stay off the page. The ballot invites nominations, yet it prints no dates for a stand-alone nomination period. Nor does the ballot text disclose its category roster or any per-supporter voting rule; confirm on the live ballot each cycle.

If you plan around the calendar, treat the middle of September as the moment to watch. Businesses that intend to campaign generally begin outreach before the window opens, because a compressed autumn round leaves little runway to build momentum once voting has started.

How do you actually cast a vote in the CNY Readers' Choice ballot?

Casting a vote happens entirely on the Second Street ballot page for Readers' Choice 2025. The sequence looks like this: open https://syracuse.secondstreetapp.com/Readers-Choice-2025/ in a browser while the round is live, browse the categories the ballot presents, choose the Central New York business you want to back or fill in a nomination where the ballot offers that option, then submit your selection so it joins the public tally.

The distinction between the moves matters. A nomination puts a business in front of other voters, while the votes themselves decide the outcome, so supporters who already know whom they favor can go straight to the ballot and vote.

Nothing in that sequence costs anything, and nothing on the ballot asks a supporter to subscribe to Syracuse.com or buy anything from The Post-Standard before taking part. The vote is open to whoever reaches the page during the round.

A supporter backing a particular business should also mind the calendar. Votes only count when they arrive inside the round, so sharing the ballot link early in the window gives friends and customers the widest possible runway to act on it.

Every vote counted for CNY Readers' Choice is cast on the Second Street ballot at syracuse.secondstreetapp.com.

How does the CNY Readers' Choice ballot compare with other New York best-of contests?

New York carries a crowded slate of reader-voted best-of programs, and the CNY Readers' Choice ballot is its Central New York entry. Elsewhere in the state the same contest family appears as Best of Brooklyn, Best of Queens and Best of the Bronx across the city's boroughs, alongside Best of Hudson Valley and Best of Westchester in their own regions, plus The City's Best for New York City as a whole.

Neighbors on the same contest family

What separates the Syracuse ballot from those neighbors comes down to publisher and market. Its ballot is run by a Central New York newsroom, so the nominated businesses serve the Syracuse metro rather than New York City or the Hudson Valley. Its voting round centers on early autumn. And its home on Second Street under the syracuse.secondstreetapp.com banner is configured for Central New York categories rather than downstate ones.

For a business owner deciding where to invest campaign effort, the practical difference is audience. Support gathered for a Brooklyn ballot reaches Brooklyn shoppers; support gathered here reaches Syracuse-area customers. Match the ballot to the geography your customers actually live in.

How can a business rally more support during the CNY Readers' Choice round?

The voting window is short, so preparation beats improvisation. Tell your regulars precisely where to go: share the syracuse.secondstreetapp.com ballot link, name the category you are targeting and ask for support in the opening days of the round rather than its last ones. Counter signage, email lists and social posts all work, provided every message points people to the official ballot.

The ballot page prints no stated policy on outside voting help, so a business weighing paid promotion should treat the organizer's silence as a factor in the decision rather than an endorsement. Purchased-vote services exist for contests of this kind, and their mechanics are described on our award votes page. Whatever mix a business chooses, the support still has to arrive on the Second Street ballot during the round, because that is the only place the organizer tallies it.