Letter from Leon Conover

NY Forward Grant Important to All

In recent years, Doubleday Field and its approach have been renovated; sidewalks have been upgraded on Main and Pioneer streets; Pioneer Park has been redesigned, and much more. The result is a more appealing downtown, and it has all been done with public dollars and much work from a few very committed individuals. We should all be grateful for what they have accomplished.
We now have a unique opportunity with a sizable $4.5 million grant from NY Forward to continue the momentum of revitalizing our downtown. The grant is designed to go beyond visual appeal and create investment in areas that directly contribute to the vitality of our community by leveraging public funding with private investment. It’s an opportunity to build on prior work in the public sector through cooperation between the public and private sectors.

In assessing how effectively the money from the grant will be spent, an important measure will be how many dollars of private investment each dollar of public money generates. The dollars that count most will come from building owners committed to seeing their properties used to the fullest year-round. This is the fastest way to create a vibrant Main Street, the heart of our community, and where most of this investment should be focused.

We are not close to the level of vitality we can have. We once had 1,000 more residents, and we now have unoccupied apartments. Our institutions draw crowds in summer, but downtown is quiet in winter. We shop everywhere except downtown. So, we need development that benefits everyone—resident families, visitors, employees, and property owners—in every way, from more apartments and offices to year-round shops.

The impact of the grant will be determined by decisions and constraints considered during the next few months. What ratio of public to private dollars is acceptable? How can we best incentivize property owners to invest in their buildings to ensure their apartments and office spaces are all rented? How will the Village of Cooperstown use a portion of the grant to meet the parking needs associated with such development? Will the nature of development under this grant be part of a better vision for downtown?

Everyone has an interest in how these public dollars are allocated, and we should urge everyone to participate by asking the hard questions and keeping those few who will be deciding accountable. Let’s get this right! It’s a vast, unique opportunity, and I encourage more people to attend the public hearings. I also invite our local papers to follow this issue more proactively.

Leon Conover
Cooperstown