More than 200 residents of a North Manchester neighborhood brought strong opinions to the first informational meeting on what should replace the Sununu Youth Services Center (SYSC) when the state closes a private sale of the 157-acre parcel two years from now.

“We aren’t going forward with this plan without having a conversation with the community first,” Mayor Jay Ruais said at the outset of a vigorous two-hour dialogue.

Executive Councilor John Stephen, R-Manchester, convened this event which drew a standing-room-only crowd into the cafeteria of the Brady Sullivan Tower building on Elm Street Thursday night.

“It’s not going to be rammed down your throat,” vowed Stephen, who as the former health and human services commissioner completed construction of the SYSC that replaced the Youth

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