Neighborhoods at the edge of a downtown district that were blighted begin to attract interest -- and more importantly -- investment dollars. . .Can Utica be far behind? Will it be ready to make the most of it?
"There is a tremendous amount of really great infrastructure that's waiting, and as money starts to flow, people are starting to look into downtown Elmira and they see a great opportunity and an appreciating real estate market" . . .
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Can Utica Be Far Behind?
Real estate prices in Elmira are soaring . . . A pattern is emerging:
2 comments:
We need new jobs to spur demand. Utica has none. Any that existed were filled using the family and friends program by the Roefero organization.
I don't think Elmira ever fell quite as far into decay as Utica has. Infrastructure was and is in place in Elmira. Utica still has deficient sewer and water systems, some still flowing through wooden pipes.
Our politics also fell into decay many years ago. Progress requires cooperation, and forward thinking. We don't see a lot of that in Utica. Utica spends it's money investigating it's own police chief, then buying out his ridiculously overpriced contract. They spend the school taxes on hearings that last for over a year, involving alleged wrongdoings by a school district employee. That situation is another travesty perpetrated on the taxpayers. The man could have been fired, the city could have lost the lawsuit he most likely would have filed, and he would have gotten an award that MOST LIKELY WOULD HAVE BEEN SMALLER THAN THE FEES SPENT INVESTIGATING THE INCIDENTS IN QUESTION.
We need one of Utica's famous "committees" to go to Elmira and study how the city accomplished what they are accomplishing. Hell, Roefaro himself will go if there is a Holiday Inn, free meals for him and Angelo.
Roefaro needs to know though, that such undertakings require planning and spending money in the right places. You can't revitalize a city by remodeling your office, and putting a statue in the middle of the road, that has been in place for eons, and would cost tons of money to move. Not to mention that it would most likely be damaged in moving.I love my hometown, and can't wait to be able to move back there, but I don't see any of this happening in Utica, unless the entire mentality of the area changes, and becomes more supportive, more upbeat, and politics becomes more about the city, and less about the politicians and what is in it for themselves.
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