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Cornhill Empowerment Center opens, first step of many to revitalization
A project years in the making and one the community has been asking for even longer, the Cornhill Empowerment Center, held its ribbon-cutting ceremony June 18.
The building on 230 James Street, once the HomeOwnershipCenter of Utica, is just the first of many steps for the Cornhill Revitalization Project. The Community Foundation, the Mid-Utica Neighborhood Preservation Corporation, People First, The Collective Impact Network, and the City of Utica have partnered to breathe new life into Cornhill.
The Cornhill Empowerment Center would serve as a community gathering space, hosting programs offered by the city or area nonprofits, in areas including health and well-being, quality education, workforce development, young programming, and senior day care,
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, local leaders and elected officials signaled the work was not over but had just begun.
Alicia Dicks, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, said the foundation is currently working with partners from the Cornhill area and beyond to build two impact centers.
These impact centers would serve the community by providing about 100 affordable apartments and 40,000 square feet of commercial and community space.
And while that is still being worked on, the Empowerment Center will provide something the community has been asking to have for decades — a gathering place.
'Until those dollars come in and those impact centers are built, we have found partnerships to activate the Empowerment Center here on James Street,' Dicks said. 'Here, we'll be able to provide a space to provide critical programming for youth and seniors and everything inbetween.'
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At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, local and state officials like Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenscon, D-119, Senator Joseph Griffo, R-53, Congressman John Mannion, D-22, and Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr. were present to welcome the Empowerment Center.
'This is a community that truly cares,' Griffo said. 'This is a result of partnership, collaborations, investments, and the most important thing — the understanding and awareness how this makes a difference. That commitment has been today.'
Mannion said he grew up just down the thruway in a neighborhood like Cornhill and recognized just how transformative an institution and an establishment like the Cornhill Empowerment Center and its partners could be.
'This isn't about one block, one building, or one street,' Picente said. 'It's about all of it. The Cornhill Revitalization Project talks about work, detail, and getting into the neighborhood like it should be. This was a vibrant neighborhood. I remember that well. And it will be again.'
Galime seconded that, saying the Empowerment Center was the 'first taste.'
'This is going to be the example of what is to come when the James Street and West Street facilities are active,' he said.
Galime said in 2015, he ran for council president and walked the streets of Utica.
'Cornhill was one of the places I spent most of my time, just listening to what people said,' the mayor explained. 'And one of the things that was overwhelmingly said was that we needed to wake up buildings for the community. Because where did the boy and girls clubs go? Where did the Y go?'
And in 2019, the need had just grown stronger. Something 5th District Utica Councilor Venice Ervin, who represents the Cornhill area, knows personally.
Ervin said he grew up and remembered little league baseball, pop warner football, and so much more.
'All the schools were open at night when I was growing up,' Ervin said. 'The Cornhill Revitalization is going to give so much to our youth and put pride into our neighborhood.'
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Cornhill Empowerment Center first step of many to revitalization
