Syracuse-area native named New York State’s ‘eclipse czar’

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The Governor and Washington Post have dubbed Jessica DeCerce the “Eclipse Czar.”

“Much to my chagrin,” DeCerce said. “I’m just a person who got a cool assignment.”

Cool, but with pressure. When possibly one million people visit New York State for Monday’s totality, DeCerce has to tout tourism while dodging disaster.

She was given the assignment about two years ago when she suggested to her bosses that the State come up with an event plan. They asked her to do it.

DeCerce went to work, forming a task force and studying states that experienced totality in 2017.

DeCerce said: “You can do everything right and still have traffic.”

When asked about specific areas of concerns, like I-81, she said, “They’re all areas of concern.”

She suggests people come patient and prepared with full gas tanks and water bottles for the ride.

This weekend, DeCerce will travel to Western New York. She’ll be at Niagara Falls for totality before managing the traffic response from a regional operations center in Buffalo.

The highlight of her career will be total darkness.