Holding a line on sprawl (New York, Rochester: apartment complexes, how much, houses)
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bellafinzi: You may remember me from the person who recently said thanks for the pics of the "Syracuse Suburbs" in fact I actually found some of the landmarks you had posted in Clay, Ciero and other neighborhoods,you have been very helpful to me and many others and are very nice to talk to...I thank you again!
However,While you are correct that you may need a few more people to relocate to your county, (before you see your area really prosper,) you should also be careful what you wish for, in terms of getting too many people there, too quickly... I grew up in eastern Queens. While most upstaters look at Queens (and the whole entire New York City) as being one giant chaotic noisy polluted place, there was neighborhoods that actually were clean and fairly densely populated especially in my area and only 10 years ago!!! Then they started developing, and developing more, changing things and adding more and more accesories, before you knew it, everything became overcrowded and sloppy, cause it attracted way to many people,that crowd has now pushed out into most of Long Island....I know Im talking about NYC on of the biggest metro areas in the nation, but this same thing can happen anywhere,look at places like Charlotte NC and Florida!!!! When i visited your area it was clean and you actually could find a parking spot when you want to go shopping,you should def. enjoy that....Bring more people there? fix some old homes,and revalitize businsses? A great idea, but as contradicting as this may sound, there should be limitations, otherwise it could become one big clutter bucket and quickly...My wife and I are still considering a move up there, and believe me if we were trying to get into a particular neighborhood,and lets say buy a new home and we couldnt because it met some sort of quota, we would respect that because we know how it is and what it should have been down here...
Don't worry. All the snow that Syracuse receives scares most people away. Actually, that's the one thing I love about the Syracuse area. I'll never have to worry about too much growth or people from other areas of the country changing the lifestyle here. It simply will never happen due to the winter weather in CNY.
That's one reason why I like Rochester and Syracuse more than the Albany area. Syracuse and Rochester will never lose their local flavor. Why? The few newcomers who move here learn to assimilate or they end up leaving. I can see the Albany area one day becoming overrun by downstaters and newcomers who completely change the character and personality of that area. On the other hand, the Syracuse area will always be unique and keep its' local personality.
Therefore, I truly believe that civic leadership in the Syracuse should push hard for growth. For a region that has not grown much in population since 1970, more people and more jobs can only bring us a brighter future. So IMO, the last thing the Syracuse area should worry about is too much growth or overpopulation.
As usual you make a darn good point Bellafinzi.....The location of the Syracuse area and the climate will always deter certain people away, where as downstate New York we get hardly any snow and we are accessible to almost everywhere....
I like the "assimilate thing"as well,I mean thats the way it should be, down here in Downstate New York,all the newer groups of people try and bend it to their liking and dont give a hoot about the people that have already been there for decades,...I also hear so many different languages every day sometimes I forget where I am .... To me its not a racial thing, cause I love everyone thats willing to extend their hand to me, no matter who and where they are from,unforunatly a lot of folks down here join their own little sub group and their own communities and lock the rest of us out. Up by you it really seems like people are on the same page and have that Central NY way about them whether they are white, black,or whatever.. it also seems to be one big group rather than 50 little ones!!! I really hope Syracuse and the burbs continue to attract open minded people that want to be part of something special!!!
A good metro area that I've always thought Syracuse should take cues from is the Grand Rapids area in Michigan. Even with the bad economy there, this is a city who's population has pretty much been steady for about 4 decades. To put it into perspective, Syracuse and Grand Rapids had the same population roughly in 1970. Syracuse has lost about 68,000 people since 1970, while GR is pretty much even. GR is a metro of just over a million like Rochester too. So, I wonder what their secret is. It is close to Lake Michigan and they get the lake effect snow thing and is or was a blue collar city. Demographics are roughly the same for both cities ethnically too. From what I've been told though is that GR is known for being a very religious area with the big Dutch Reformed influence too. All in all, they must be doing something right.
Here's a picture of their skyline too: [IMG]
and more buildings and construction:
Moderator cut: copyrighted images
It's metro has grown 16% in the last 10 years too.
Last edited by bellafinzi; 07-30-2008 at 10:52 PM..
Just curious, why do you only post pictures of new housing developments? It makes all these neighborhoods look characterless and like they're on the moon. Onondaga Hill is a beautiful spot with some historic homes and buildings... why all the photos of malls, big-box stores and treeless tracts?
Just curious, why do you only post pictures of new housing developments? It makes all these neighborhoods look characterless and like they're on the moon. Onondaga Hill is a beautiful spot with some historic homes and buildings... why all the photos of malls, big-box stores and treeless tracts?
Why? I enjoy following the new development in the Syracuse area.
If you enjoy the old historic areas, then you should take photos of them and post them here. IMO, the older neighborhoods are a dime a dozen in Upstate NY. Many are run-down and lack attractive landscaping. What Upstate NY lacks is new construction, new modern beautiful buildings. Those historic old homes used to be tract homes 100 years ago with many tall trees. I've seen old photos of Syracuse where many neighborhoods only had short newly planted trees. That is the case with all new development. It takes decades for the trees to grow back in urbanized areas. About 25 years ago all the trees in my suburban neighborhood were small, now this neighborhood has many tall mature trees. So don't worry, the trees will grow in time.
Last edited by bellafinzi; 03-19-2009 at 10:06 PM..
I don't think the post is off-topic - unless it should be on a meta-topic about pictures. But my last comment would be, Nobody on earth is going to move to CNY to live in big boxes on the moon when they could do that in North Carolina, where the taxes are lower. :-)
I don't think the post is off-topic - unless it should be on a meta-topic about pictures. But my last comment would be, Nobody on earth is going to move to CNY to live in big boxes on the moon when they could do that in North Carolina, where the taxes are lower. :-)
Well, that is your opinion. The Syracuse area's main problem is not that people aren't moving here, rather that people with roots in the area are moving away.
I know if I ran into money, I'd consider moving to the new development in Lysander called Timber Banks. That is what people who have money do.... they move to best neighborhoods, with the best schools and best amenities. If the Syracuse area does not provide those places, even more people will flee the area in search of better places to live. That is why I consider every new development project, either in the city or suburbs, important for the future of the region.
Trying to degrade new construction by calling it "big boxes on the moon" isn't going to help your cause BTW.
People who leave Syracuse leave for jobs, weather and cities with more cultural amenities, not because they couldn't find a big tract home to live in in this area.
People who leave Syracuse leave for jobs, weather and cities with more cultural amenities, not because they couldn't find a big tract home to live in this area.
I agree, the main problem for the Syracuse area is lack of good paying jobs. BUT, I thought that people here would understand what I'm trying to say. I guess not. So I'll spell it out for everyone.
Here's the scenario: Person A ~ most qualified job candidate. Person B ~ least qualified job candidate.
Person A has job offers in the Syracuse, Rochester and Albany areas. Person A visits each metro to check out places to live. Person A likes suburban Rochester more than suburban Syracuse or suburban Albany. Person A takes job in the Rochester area. The Syracuse area loses out on a highly talented professional just because there are better places to live outside of Rochester.
The Syracuse company is stuck with hiring Person B.
If companies in the Syracuse area keep losing the Person A's and are stuck with Person B's all the time...those companies will start opening offices in Rochester and only hire people in Rochester if that is where all the people want to live.
This means the Syracuse area will not be able to attract jobs. Meaning the Syracuse area will stay stagnant. If the Syracuse area stays stagnant, the city will continue it's decline and population loss.
So yes...1) new construction and the amenities found in the suburbs of Syracuse do help (not hurt) the city in the long run. 2) having nice places to live in the suburbs do promote job growth in the Syracuse area
Hope everyone understands now and we can get back on topic...the Town of Onondaga.
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Actually, that's the one thing I love about the Syracuse area. I'll never have to worry about too much growth or people from other areas of the country changing the lifestyle here. It simply will never happen due to the winter weather in CNY.
Good point
.... To me its not a racial thing, cause I love everyone thats willing to extend their hand to me, no matter who and where they are from,unforunatly a lot of folks down here join their own little sub group and their own communities and lock the rest of us out. Up by you it really seems like people are on the same page and have that Central NY way about them whether they are white, black,or whatever.. it also seems to be one big group rather than 50 little ones!!! I really hope Syracuse and the burbs continue to attract open minded people that want to be part of something special!!!
[IMG]
