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I used to live right across JCC and while I wouldn't consider it a bad area I wouldn't call it nice either. Most of the houses are very old and run down and most of the apartment complexes are older and filled with mostly young military families. Not that I have a problem with military (5 year Army vet myself) but most (not all) military families tend to have a very negative view toward the community and just no community pride whatsoever because for most military families its only a temporary home.
As far as the southern part of the city goes. The nicest areas are the streets near ICH and the hospital by far. Big beautiful well taken care of homes on tree lined streets seem like something out of a movie. Its a shame the rest of the town residents dont share the same community values as the people in the pockets of nice areas.
Its a hit or miss for most streets around Thompson park, but the closer you get to State Street the worse it gets.
All in all Watertown isn't a horrible place but I feel the total lack of community pride is what really drove me away from the area. That and the lack of professional jobs. I do like all the work they are doing to revitalize the square but I hope it is enough to save the town from itself.
I used to live right across JCC and while I wouldn't consider it a bad area I wouldn't call it nice either. Most of the houses are very old and run down and most of the apartment complexes are older and filled with mostly young military families. Not that I have a problem with military (5 year Army vet myself) but most (not all) military families tend to have a very negative view toward the community and just no community pride whatsoever because for most military families its only a temporary home.
As far as the southern part of the city goes. The nicest areas are the streets near ICH and the hospital by far. Big beautiful well taken care of homes on tree lined streets seem like something out of a movie. Its a shame the rest of the town residents dont share the same community values as the people in the pockets of nice areas.
Its a hit or miss for most streets around Thompson park, but the closer you get to State Street the worse it gets.
All in all Watertown isn't a horrible place but I feel the total lack of community pride is what really drove me away from the area. That and the lack of professional jobs. I do like all the work they are doing to revitalize the square but I hope it is enough to save the town from itself.
Yeah, during my time at Drum, there seems to be a love/hate relationship between the community and the military. Some feel that the soldiers can be a or bring "problems" with them. Then, soldiers may feel isolated or aren't use to the weather.
Good point about the lack of a corporate presence. Outside of the Car Freshener(Little Trees) Company being HQ'ed there, NY Air Brake, Stream(forgot its new name) and maybe some other small companies, there isn't much of a corporate presence in the area.
To think at one time, they had a minor league baseball team that played in the NY/Penn League and played their games at the Fairgrounds Stadium.
They do still have both a baseball team and a hockey team that both were recently renamed (Bucks and Wolves), but surprise, they get little support from the community. I got free tickets to a baseball game. Turns out they gave away 1000 free tickets and not even close to that many were there. That was on a beautiful Saturday evening in the summer with post game fireworks. I really felt embarrassed for the team, with it being "fan appreciation night."
I would love to see some larger corporations come to the area with higher paying jobs. Seems developer only seem to be interested in putting in fast food, retail, hotels, and townhomes catering to only military and Canadian shoppers. As the military month housing allowance raises it pushes rent higher and higher while the lower/working class local residents suffer. It's really a shame.
They do still have both a baseball team and a hockey team that both were recently renamed (Bucks and Wolves), but surprise, they get little support from the community. I got free tickets to a baseball game. Turns out they gave away 1000 free tickets and not even close to that many were there. That was on a beautiful Saturday evening in the summer with post game fireworks. I really felt embarrassed for the team, with it being "fan appreciation night."
I would love to see some larger corporations come to the area with higher paying jobs. Seems developer only seem to be interested in putting in fast food, retail, hotels, and townhomes catering to only military and Canadian shoppers. As the military month housing allowance raises it pushes rent higher and higher while the lower/working class local residents suffer. It's really a shame.
Yeah, that is sad how those teams don't get the support that you would think they would get. I know that the Red and Black semi-pro football team seems to be a little more popular. It may be due to being supposedly the oldest football organization in the country and due to being more established, it may get more support. There tends to be players with local ties as well. I think the transient nature of the area, due to the military presence probably has quite a bit to do with this.
I'm not surprised about the increase in COLA, as when the base increased the number of soldiers, there wasn't enough housing initially. So, some soldiers were living in the Syracuse area and taking a shuttle from Hancock ANB to get to Ft Drum. This does also have an effect on the regular folks in living in the area, as new housing is generally marketed to military affiliated folks.
Arsenal Street has increased in terms of traffic and retail on the western edge of town, but like you said, it would be nice to increase the investment in Downtown and attract another company to the area. I know that there has been some apartments built in Downtown and it would be nice to get people to go to the Paddock Arcade, which is the oldest continuously operated enclosed shopping center in the country.
I did read that there is going to be a USDA facility built there. So, that is a start, but it would be nice to see more of that and private business.
Another people may not know is that at one time, it supposedly had the highest per capita rate of millionaires in the country. So, I wouldn't be surprised if there is a little bit of old money in the area. General Brown, Sackets Harbor and the 1000 Islands, along with the southern end of the city, is where much of the "money" is from what I could gather and saw.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 08-10-2015 at 06:52 AM..
General Brown, Sackets Harbor and the 1000 Islands, along with the southern end of the city, is where much of the "money" is from what I could gather and saw.
I agree with you on that 100%, defiantly old money in those areas.
Yeah, during my time at Drum, there seems to be a love/hate relationship between the community and the military. Some feel that the soldiers can be a or bring "problems" with them. Then, soldiers may feel isolated or aren't use to the weather.
Good point about the lack of a corporate presence. Outside of the Car Freshener(Little Trees) Company being HQ'ed there, NY Air Brake, Stream(forgot its new name) and maybe some other small companies, there isn't much of a corporate presence in the area.
To think at one time, they had a minor league baseball team that played in the NY/Penn League and played their games at the Fairgrounds Stadium.
For those looking into the area, there are some other census block groups(using 2008-2012 info) that are above the national figure of $53,046(state figure is $58,003 according to 2009-2013 info): Census Block Group 061500-3 in Jefferson County, New York
^ Something I just noticed from the list is that if all of the appropriate census block groups that fit the criteria are accounted for, the highlighted block group has the highest median HH income in the area. So, a city neighborhood is the most affluent in the area, based off of that census division.
Yeah, during my time at Drum, there seems to be a love/hate relationship between the community and the military. Some feel that the soldiers can be a or bring "problems" with them. Then, soldiers may feel isolated or aren't use to the weather.
Good point about the lack of a corporate presence. Outside of the Car Freshener(Little Trees) Company being HQ'ed there, NY Air Brake, Stream(forgot its new name) and maybe some other small companies, there isn't much of a corporate presence in the area.
To think at one time, they had a minor league baseball team that played in the NY/Penn League and played their games at the Fairgrounds Stadium.
There are black bear up there, too. Always had to stop the privates from the city from going after the cubs when on the ranges at Drum - Momma bear don't like that .
There are black bear up there, too. Always had to stop the privates from the city from going after the cubs when on the ranges at Drum - Momma bear don't like that .
They are very rare though, unless there has been an uptick in the last decade or so.
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