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Volume 14, No. 28
AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE COMPLIMENTARY
Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, April 28, 2022
Historic Fly Creek Hotel might see the wrecking ball soon
Tara Barnwell
The Fly Creek Hotel, foreground, stands before a barn that is also on the application for demolition.
An application filed on behalf of the Leatherstocking Corporation to demolish the historic Fly Creek Hotel at the corner of Route 28 and Schoolhouse Road has triggered a 2017 local law allowing the public to comment on the plans, and Town of Otsego officials anticipate an “interesting” session on May 3. “I’m sure there have been demolitions in the past in the Town of Otsego, but none of them have triggered this process that is happening now,” said Cindy Falk, chair of the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission for INSIDE ►seniors catch a break Find out if you qualify for assistance in trailer home repairs, page 2. ►drop those unnecessary drugs on april 30: Take your old medications that you aren’t using to drop boxes in the county, page 6. ►Dr. William LeCates steps down from Bassett Medical Center, page 6. ►A FEW THOUGHTS ON IMPORTANT THINGS: Our columnists this week consider a self-serving motive touting Ukrainian support, ask that the “at rest bill” to take a permanent rest, take a step out of their Covid comfort zone and enlighten us on land use, energy and the economic future of Upstate New York, pages 4 and 5. ►The rink is rolled up Does this mean spring is around the corner?, page 8. ►SQSPCA gets much needed grant to cover equimpent and a coordinator, among other things, page 9. Follow Breaking News On
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the Town of Otsego. She and commission members Tom Heitz, Shirley Rathbone, Mitchell Owen, and David Olsen are preparing for the hearing, which begins at 7 p.m. in the Town building on Route 31 in Fly Creek. “This ordinance was put into place in order to slow the process down and to make sure all the alternatives to demolition are presented to the applicant,” she said. “This makes it more deliberate and gives people time to weigh in.” Ms. Falk said neither the law nor the hearing process oblige the applicant to abide by comments offered.
“It’s a very different process, and I think it’s important for people to understand that,” she said. “Take, for example, in Cooperstown, where you would appear before a commission and they would tell you ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ This public hearing is intended as a more collaborative process, where people on the committee, as well as the public, can make suggestions.” “But in the end,” she said, “it’s up to the property owner to do what they want, regardless of how the public hearing goes.” Town of Otsego Clerk Pam Deane said those interested in speaking at the public hearing do not need to register in advance. “The public can just show up,” she said. “We’re treating this the same as any other public hearing. Depending on the number of people, time limits may have to be adhered to, but that will be at the discretion of Ms. Falk.” The building is registered on the National Historic Places in the Fly Creek Historic District, but observers say it has seen better days. “It’s not in pristine condition,” Ms. Falk said of the Hotel. “I was in it last week, and it needs a lot of work. Significant work. It appeared unoccupied, but I’m sure someone was in it last summer.” Still, she said, she expects the public hearing to be “interesting.” “People have a lot of memories of that building,” Ms. Falk said. “They remember going to it as a tavern, there were dances there, the fire department had a lot of events there. It’s been several hotels since the 1850s. It’s a landmark.” “If you were to ask what are the most historically significant buildings are in Fly Creek are, I think this would be in the top five,” she said.
Cars in Philly, NYC, Boston beckon visitors to Cooperstown Cooperstown native Colleen Canyon was walking along Bergan Line Avenue in Union City, New Jersey, last weekend when she spied a black sedan across the street emblazoned with a logo that caught her eye. “It stood out,” she said of the white-on-black car-wrap advertisement for thisiscooperstown.com — the online arm of the Otsego County’s tourism office. “I saw the car across the street and went over and asked the driver about it. He said he gets paid by a private company to have the wrap on his car.” “Advertising works!” she said. Never mind that Union City isn’t far from Hoboken, New Jersey — that other town that lays claim to being the birthplace of baseball — the car-wrap is a part of Otsego County’s effort to attract visitors to the region from throughout the northeast. Cassandra Harrington, Executive Director of the county’s tourism office, was thrilled to hear about the sighting. “We’re really looking hard at unique ways to get our name and
brand out in front of as many people as we can,” she said. “This is a creative way to get in front of urban populations at a street level. It’s not a sign on top of a big building that no one can see. It’s not a billboard taking up space on a road. It’s a car driving through the street saying “Hey, come to Cooperstown!” Ms. Harrington said the county has a good relationship with a company called “Carvertise,” which wraps ride-share vehicles with promotions such as ‘This Is Cooperstown.’ She said a total of 15 cars in Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston carry the county’s banner. “We just hope that people are surprised to see us in a different and unexpected place,” she said. “We’re normally priced way out of the advertising space in those markets. We’re on a limited budget but we still want to get the word out.” She was quick to point out that the funding comes not from local tax dollars but from a marketing allowance and alliance with the state’s tourism division.
Colleen Canyon
Carvertise tracks its vehicles, giving the county an idea of the number of impressions the drivers make as they travel through their market regions. “We’re able to see some performance metrics and we think it’s a great value,” Ms. Harrington said. As for future outside-the-box marketing campaigns, she said her office is working now on a campaign reaching out to Latin and Hispanic
communities, partnering with Paperkite to develop the visitation campaign. Noting how the car stood out in Union City, Colleen Canyon said a more targeted message to that effect might be a good plan. “This region is classically CubanAmerican,” she said. “If the county really wants to grab the audience here, there should be advertising in Spanish.”
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD