Mayor: Dangerous and Now Ugly Utica Alley Might Need Fix

What used to be a quaint brick breezeway between Hotel Utica and Genesee Street in Franklin Square, downtown Utica - which was used for wedding and graduation photos, has now become a dangerous eyesore. $200,000 in ARPA funding was spent on that area by Councilperson Katie Aiello and the sad fact is - it should have just been left alone.

Mayor Mike Galime heard plenty of complaints on Friday from city residents, as well as WIBX's Keeler Show members who toured the site on Thursday. The surface seems to be created by bonding small glass chips to a surface - yet this application looks sloppy and unfinished.

I have no problem saying it's horrible, and city residents have the same opinion. Additionally, Mayor Galime acknowledged that the texture - which is small shards of broken glass - is dangerous to people, and especially children. If a child were to fall on the surface, he or she was likely get cut up pretty badly.

Nancy L. Ford, who has a photography business in Franklin Square said one of the chards of glass embedded into her foot. She also feels the green surface and horrible looking blue Mohawk River that cuts through the breezeway - together with white-washed walls is a terrible eyesore.

Mayor Galime acknowledged that the council person's project does not fit the decor of what used to be Franklin Square and he also agreed that the area is now dangerous. Additionally, large 8 x 6 sheets of OSB board (press wood) have fallen from the top of adjacent buildings dangerously to the ground, because they clearly weren't adhered properly to the walls. The broken glass textured "green space" is also lifting up from what underneath, caused by what seems to be a heaving plywood platform.

Mayor Galime it's likely that the eyesore will need to be removed and something else put in its place.

Ford would like to see the brick and decorative retro street lights back in the alleyway in hopes of returning that very visible part of downtown Utica to its original glory.

My personal opinion -  at a time when Utica is rebounding from years of decline - it's a shame that ARPA money that was supposed to improve the city was wasted to make it worse, as well as the location is now a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Don't believe me? Look at what the alleyway used to look like before the councilperson wasted $200,000 to quote - "improve it." It clearly needed some brick work, but the breezeway was the perfect spot for public gatherings. Now, no-one wants to take pictures there, let alone gather in that location for an event.

WIBX reached out to Councilperson Katie Aiello and we're waiting on a response.

Watch the interview with Mayor Galime and the call from Nancy Ford below.