COOPERSTOWN—The Village of Cooperstown was selected by the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council to receive a $4.5 million award from New York State through the NY Forward program. Investment from this program will allow Cooperstown to develop a Strategic Investment Plan and implement key catalytic projects to advance a community vision for downtown improvements. Projects selected for funding will transform the community and support a vibrant local economy.
The Local Planning Committee is co-chaired by Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh and REDC Member Ken Meifert and consists of 12 other members representing a diverse array of the Cooperstown community.
The $4.5 million NY Forward grant is another great accomplishment by the Village of Cooperstown’s Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh, Deputy Mayor Cindy Falk, the village board and administration, and other major, local, participants.
The sustained, upward trajectory of multiple multi-million dollar grant accomplishments began when Jeff Katz was first elected mayor of Cooperstown in 2012. Village trustees Ellen Tillapaugh and Cindy Falk were there from day one of Cooperstown’s new beginning with Jeff’s mayoral leadership, and the momentum continues now with Ellen and Cindy’s leadership.
The development of the Strategic Investment Plan to develop and revitalize the downtown area is a major requirement for the intended use of the grant money and that plan formulation is under way.
Main streets and retail storefronts are the face of every community, but how does a retail concept and experience—that has been in place and relatively unchanged for centuries—get revitalized? Paint and signage and a movie set ambiance will go a long way, but it will not substantially change the existing tourist, retail, and local economic matrix of income vs. expenses.
Strategic Investment Plan Follows Selection of Committee Members
By DARLA M. YOUNGS COOPERSTOWN
The next seven to 10 months will be busy ones for the Village of Cooperstown, as officials work with the Department of State to identify projects that will be funded by a $4.5 million NY Forward grant. The award was announced on Thursday, March 2 during a special press conference held at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
According to the Village of Cooperstown website, the award implementation process begins with the development of a Strategic Investment Plan to develop and revitalize the village’s downtown. That plan will be the responsibility of a DOS-approved Local Planning Committee.
Cooperstown Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh proudly displays the village’s giant check representing an award announced last week of $4.5 million from the first round of the state’s new NY Forward program. Shown with Tillapaugh, from left, are Assemblymember Chris Tague, Village of Sharon Springs Mayor Douglas Plummer and Senator Peter Oberacker. Photo provided
Villages of Sharon Springs, Dolgeville Will Receive $2.25 Million Apiece
By DARLA M. YOUNGS
COOPERSTOWN
Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh didn’t know the Village of Cooperstown was to receive $4.5 million until Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez announced the award right in front of her during a press conference last week.
State dignitaries and area officials had gathered on Thursday, March 2 at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, where it was revealed that the Village of Cooperstown will receive $4.5 million, and the Villages of Sharon Springs and Dolgeville will each receive $2.25 million in funding, as the Mohawk Valley winners of the first round of NY Forward.
COOPERSTOWN—During a press conference held earlier today at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, it was announced that the Village of Cooperstown will receive $4.5 million, and the Villages of Sharon Springs and Dolgeville will each receive $2.25 million in funding, as the Mohawk Valley winners of the first round of NY Forward. Building on the momentum of the state’s successful Downtown Revitalization Initiative, the $100 million NY Forward program adopts the same “Plan-then-Act” strategy as the DRI to support a more equitable downtown recovery for New York’s smaller and rural communities.
COOPERSTOWN – Reach out and be inspected, so you can reopen, county Board Chair David Bliss, R-Cooperstown/Town of Middlefield today advised operators of gyms and fitness centers.
“Normally we don’t issue permits to these establishments, so the Health Department may not be aware of every facility looking to reopen,” said Bliss. “We need them to contact us so we can work with them and get them open as soon as possible and make sure they are in compliance and help any way that we can.”
The businesses should e-mail business name, specific business type, location and owner’s name (and contact person) to the county Health Department at bondh@otsegocounty.com (and meet other requirements detailed below.)
COOPERSTOWN – With by-reservation tours, enhanced safety measures and reduced contact, Hyde Hall has announced that they will be open for tours on Wednesday, July 1.
“Hyde Hall has more to offer than ever before,” says Jonathan Maney, Executive Director. “Explore history with us and see fascinating things that you cannot find anywhere else. We are excited to share this beautiful New York treasure!”
Editor’s Note: Here are three excerpts from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 111th and last of “daily briefings” that became part of New Yorkers’ lives since the day of his emergency declaration Friday, March 13, as the coronavirus epidemic loomed, until Friday, June 19. He will continue briefings on an as-needed basis.
Today, we have done a full 180, from worst to first.
We are controlling the virus better than any state in the country and any nation on the globe. Even more, by reducing the infection rate, we saved over 100,000 people from being hospitalized and possibly dying, just think about that.
It is an unimaginable achievement.
I’m so incredibly proud of what we all did together, and as a community. We reopened the economy and we saved lives. Because it was never a choice between one or the other, it was always right to do both.
•
I ask myself and today I ask you: Why did it take a crisis to bring us together?
Why does government usually appeal to the worst in us rather than the best?
Why do our politics today play to our fears and weaknesses rather than appeal to our strengths?
Why doesn’t government challenge us to reach higher and speak to our better angels?
Why can’t it motivate us by love rather than hate?
Why doesn’t government urge us to realize we are members of the same community, the same family? That we all benefit when we work together.
Isn’t that what we really showed over the past 111 days? That working together works. That the only way forward is if I protect you and you protect me.
I wear a mask for you and you wear a mask for me.
•
If you care for me and I care for you, we showed that in the end love does win. Love does conquer all. That no matter how dark the day, love brings the light.
That is what I will take from the past 111 days.
It inspires me and energizes me and excites me. If we could accomplish together what we did here, this impossible task, of beating back this deadly virus then there is nothing we can’t do.
We will be better and we will be stronger for what we have gone through. It shows us how capable we are when we are at our best. It shows us that we have great potential to do even more and we will.
Victor Jones, assistant director of the county’s Emergency Services Office, examines one of 600 two-gallon bottles (four pallets) of hand-sanitizer just delivered to the county’s Meadows Office Building in the Town of Middlefield. Any business that has filled out the affirmation requirement on forward.ny.gov is entitled to one two-gallon bottle and hand pump. Call 607-547-4227 or email klinglera@otsegocounty.com to arrange a pick-up time between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. (Jim Kevlin/AllOTSEGO.com)
Kim Weekes, Oneonta, above, settles into the hairdresser’s chair Saturday at The Hair Studio, 179 South Main St., Oneonta for a much anticipated wash and cut from owner Kelly Woessner as “Phase Two” of NY Forward arrived Friday, enabling stores and “personal services” to restart. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
Sue Fink shows off the hand sanitizer station at the front of Tin Bin Alley, contributed by the Cooperstown Distillery.
Kim Weekes, Oneonta, had been waiting for this moment for two months.
“I feel giddy, like a school girl,” she said. “It’s like a first date!”
Weekes, a client of Kelly Woessner at The Hair Studio in The Shops at Ford and Main, snagged a coveted appointment on Saturday, May 29, Oneonta, the first full-day retail and hair salons could be open under Phase Two of NY Forward.
“I’ve had clients since 7:30 a.m.” said Woessner. “And I’m booked out until the end of June.”
Main Streets in Oneonta and Cooperstown saw an influx of customers; not quite the rush of summer traffic, but a welcome sight through doors that have been closed for two months.
“It’s so good to see people,” said Laura Tolbert, All About the Girls. “I’m starting to feel more human.”
“Customers are hungry to come in and shop,” said LJ Alexander, LJ’s Sassy Boutique. “We’re not online, so we depend on the customer who walks in the door.”
To open, stores had to follow a series of strict guidelines, including cleaning procedures, access to hand sanitizer, social distancing and no more than 50-percent capacity.
“The cleaning guidelines alone are 10 pages long,” said Nate Roberts, Serenity Hobbies. “And we put a hard cap of 10 customers at a time.”
“We had to submit a plan and fill out a whole booklet,” said Tolbert. “If people from the state come by and check, you have to be prepared.”
“The Cooperstown Distillery brought over hand sanitizer,” said Sue Fink, who gave her daughter-in-law,
Lori, a day off from Tin Bin Alley. “Businesses are really working together, and it’s been so nice to see everyone. Everyone is being very respectful.”
At Tin Bin Alley, tape lines were placed on the floor to keep customers 6 feet from the counter, and customers read the price to the clerk to minimize contact. At L’il Sassy’s Boutique, the store was marked for a one-way traffic flow.
“I got an additional certification in sanitizing procedures from Barbicide,” said Woessner. “I want to make sure my clients feel safe.”
An executive order from Governor Andrew Cuomo allowed store owners to refuse service to anyone not wearing a mask. But if you left yours in the car, All About the Girls, has a box of paper masks at the front of her store, free of charge.
“I want people to feel safe,” she said. “It’s so good to see everyone, it makes us all feel human again.”
She’ll also throw in a free fabric mask – black or leopard print – with every purchase. “We’ve got your mask here, either way.”
In Oneonta, The Artisan’s Guild and Serenity Hobbies modified hours to abbreviate staffing and allow for cleaning. “I can’t be fully open until Phase Four,” said Roberts. “So much of what we do is event-based, tournaments and game nights, and that’s under recreation.”
If the region continues to stay within the state’s parameters, Phase Three could open in 14 days, possibly allowing restaurants to open for in-house dining.
“We’ve back in the swing of things,” said Alexander. “It’s fun again, and it will only get better.”
“You can’t tell under the mask,” said Weekes as Woessner began to snip. “But I’m smiling.”
Kim Weekes, Oneonta, above, settles into the hairdresser’s chair Saturday at The Hair Studio, 179 South Main St., Oneonta for a much anticipated wash and cut from owner Kelly Woessner as “Phase Two” of NY Forward arrived Friday, enabling stores and “personal services” to restart, and offices to do so on Monday. Inset right, Sue Fink, Cooperstown, shows the hand sanitizer station, including sanitizer provided by Cooperstown Distillery, at Tin Bin Alley, 114 Main St., Cooperstown. Though stores required customers wear masks and limit capacity to 50 percent, many reported greeting plenty of happy customers anxious to support local commerce. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
