I wrote this letter to my local newspaper today.

Central New York, and the city of Utica in particular, is incredibly fortunate to have a downtown anchor with the Stanley Theatre. With the new expansion nearing its completion, there are now talks of the future, with the theatre serving as a precursor to the success of a revitalized downtown Utica. And it should; Central New York badly needs a central arts, commerce, and culture hub, and Utica’s downtown is perfectly suited to provide this function.

Unfortunately, the dysfunctional state of politics in Central New York routinely prove that such lofty goals can be more difficult than they sound. Whether it is partisan fighting, secretive decision making, confusing backtracking, placing local responsibilities on the state, an ignorance of suburban sprawl (and to some degree, and embrace of this sprawl: see the lack of a Utica Chamber of Commerce in favor of a Mohawk Valley Chamber), or our local leaders’ ultimate lack of foresight and vision, we are routinely denied the economic center that we need to sustain and build successful, white-collar jobs in the future.

So let this serve as a petition to local leaders: please, seize on the opportunity we have with the rebirth of the Stanley Theatre. Utica has been given an incredible chance to recreate itself as a thriving, exciting metropolis. We have an opportunity to attract businesses to the downtown area, to build jobs, to increase the presents of arts and culture in our community. And the restoration of Utica can be only of great benefit to all other local communities: the presence of an anchor in this area will serve to attract young families and will help to combat the exodus of our young people. But it can only happen with an unprecedented level of cooperation in our local government at all levels. Let us enter a new era in Central New York and restore our crown jewel, Utica, to the grandeur it once held.