Talk:Utica, New York

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See the Utica Page at http://UticaForum.org

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[edit] Pictures

What's up with the photos of Utica that get posted? For the longest time, the page had a picture of the Radisson, and Adirondack Bank beneath a grey, gloomy sky. Let's show a little pride, and put up some pictures that show off how nice the area can actually look. Other city pages have pics of monuments, and different districts. Utica has many monuments, as well as historical buildings, etc. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.79.76.146 (talk) 23:39, 3 January 2008 (UTC)


Joseph Crandall??

In about thirty years of doing research and publishing on Utica's history, I've never encountered this name. I can't say with certainty that there was no such person who may have passed through the area, but it's contradictory to say that the place was "founded" by a person named Crandall and then to say that it was first settled nearly 70 years later--"foundation" means the beginning of meaningful settlement. In fact, before the American Revolution there were no more than a handful of white people living in the entirety of Oneida County, let alone the site of Utica. The village of Utica was not incorporated until the 1790s. This reference to this Crandall as Utica's "founder," for which the person who submitted it does not seem to have offered any documentation, is highly misleading, perhaps even fictional, and has now been repeated by a number of websites that refer to the history of Utica, which shows how problematic this Wiki process really is.

I agree with the person who contends that Herkimer is not a suburb of Utica. That takes quite a stretch of the imagination.

Finally, I don't see how anyone who has been around and who knows anything about Italian-American culture can say that "greens" is a distinctively Utica dish. There may be distinctive ways in which escarole is prepared in Utica--notably in the common practice of adding pickled red cherry peppers, which does not seem to be common, although I cannot say if it's uniquely Utican--but southern Italian immigrants were more fond of leafy green vegetables, specifically sauteed in olive oil and garlic, than the average American, so to say that "greens" is distinctive of Utica is really not accurate. Sauteed escarole, broccoli rabe, and so forth were eaten all over Italian-America.

It doesn't matter, it was popularized in Utica. Spooky873 (talk) 21:56, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Herkimer as most significant suburb???

Someone keeps modifying the page to include Herkimer as Utica's most significant suburb. Anyone from the area knows that New Hartford is the commercial center of the Mohawk Valley. I live in Herkimer County, and not only is it the poorest county in the state, but the people have little ties to Utica from an economic and social standpoint. Furthermore, Herkimer a 15 minute drive from Utica, whereas New Hartford borders the city.

If anyone else wants to comment on this please do. I just don't understand how Herkimer has any relevance here.

Whether Herkimer's a suburb of Utica is open to debate. But much of what you say is not. Many rural counties in southwestern and northeastern New York are "poorer" counties (in terms of household income) than Herkimer County. And what's absolutely indisputable is the notion that there are "little ties" to Utica economically and socially.

Herkimer is part of the Utica-Rome metropolitan statistical area, and with good reason. The Observer-Dispatch has reported that about 10,000 Herkimer County residents travel to Utica for work each day, and about 4,500 Oneida County residents make the reverse commute.

While New Hartford is the undisputed commercial center of the Mohawk Valley, Herkimer also is a retail anchor of the Utica-Rome MSA. In the past decade, it's seen significant "big box" growth, and the trend is continuing, with Lowe's and Olive Garden being built on the village's east side. (Lowe's opted to located in North Utica and Herkimer instead of New Hartford. Olive Garden opted for Herkimer over New Hartford.)

To say that Herkimer being a 15-minute drive from Utica discounts it as a suburb is rather ridiculous. Most parts of DeWitt are 15 minutes from downtown Syracuse. Is it not a suburb of Syracuse? Colonie's 15 minutes from Albany. Is it not a suburb? (And for the record, Herkimer County borders Utica as much as New Hartford does, not that "bordering" a city is a requirement for it a suburb.)

Herkimer is most definitely not a suburb of Utica. Yes, there is a fifteen or twenty minute drive between the two, but there is literally nothing in between other than Routes 5 and 5S. Frankfort and Schuyler are much closer, why not name them suburbs of Utica? Just because a few Herkimer County residents commute to Utica does not qualify it as a suburb, and also consider that many of those commuters come from areas north of Herkimer, such as Poland and Barneveld also. Having a direct highway between the two is not enough to justify this classification. Why not call Albany a suburb of New York City? Even better, why not call the entire states of New Jersey and Connecticut suburbs of NYC?

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.121.253.66 (talk) 15:31, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

I can live with the current edit.

[edit] Discrepancy with Isaac Singer's Birthplace

I'm a long time reader, first time contributor (ha ha). Anyways, being a resident of Rome, New York, which is near Utica, I did not realize that good 'ol Isaac Singer was born in Utica. However, according to the article for Issac Singer, he was born in Pittstown, New York. So which is it- Utica or Pittsford? It's driving me nuts!!!!!

Not that I doubt anyone will care about this discrepancy, but it's still wrong, I tell you. --24.59.3.206 13:36, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Britannica says Pittstown, NY. I'll remove the Utica birth statement here on that basis unless otherwise corrected by more authoritative source. —Preceding unsigned comment added by TealCyfre0 (talk • contribs) 20:35, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Bosnian immigrants?

Any proof that they have "invigorated" the economy? 24.215.250.48 13:40, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

I've heard that Utica has the largest Kosovan-Albanian population in upstate NY, is this true? And if so perhaps this needs to be mentioned along with the Bosnian information. And also if this is true then perhaps someone should find out why people from these former Yugoslavian areas are coming to Utica, why Utica? and what started it.

They're called Kosovars, and the Balkans experienced a series of civil wars, resulting from the breakup of Yugoslavia, which lasted throughout the 1990s thus leading to refugees fleeing Eastern Europe into other European countries, and also to the United States. Eastern European economies are less sound than their Western European counterparts, so the emigration continues today. Also, Utica has a refugee center which also explains the numbers of Bosnians, Albanians, and Kosovars; as well as Burmese, Sudanese, Laotians, Vietnamese, Somalians, etc. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.79.76.146 (talk) 23:28, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Boring City

Can't someone write about the fact that Utica has no night life, a few busted up strip clubs and looks like a bomb hit it? Most depressing place I've ever lived.

And remember ... old money, old people and old politics are the rule in good ol' Utica, New York.

[edit] Black and White and half moon all over

Utica's half moon cookies seem similar to black and whites, but they have a chocolate sugar cookie base? Is that right? -HiFiGuy 17:29, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

No they are definitely not sugar cookies, more like a cake. What are they like elsewhere? Fduross 14:40, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

I'd have to say that they're not sugar cookies down here (NYC metro), either. (I'm no black and white/halfmoon connoiseur.) Were they really invented in Utica, as the b&w article says? That could use a citation. Also, someone should say what "greens" are. An outsider would think it some kind of salad, and not escarole. -HiFiGuy 04:16, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

Half moon cookie batter are similar to surgar cookies, but the flour is more glutenous. This is original research as I was a baker in my youth, who learned from my father. Less sugar, different flour, less butter content. Greens are dandelion greens unless they are unavailable them most people use 'scarole. Dominick (TALK) 17:37, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The long lost neighborhood of NYC

Having lived in Utica, Jersey and NYC, I can't help but notice the cultural similarities between them. The only real difference is the economics and population obviously but culturally there are many parallels. I don't understand how some people can regard some upstate cities to be the exact opposite culturally because its simply not true. Walk around Albany or Utica and ill guarantee at least half of the people you meet are NYC transplants. Utica can honestly be considered a satellite city of NYC. Do some research and find out for yourself without blindly saying otherwise, you will be surprised. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.79.76.146 (talk) 22:26, 12 January 2008 (UTC)