Upstate New York is a rather troubled area. Geographically speaking, the term includes the following wider areas:
- Buffalo
- Rochester
- Syracuse
- Albany
- Watertown
- Utica
- Binghamton
This listing encompasses the scenic Fingerlakes Region; most of the photographs in this gallery originate from here.
With economic growth lagging well behind the national average, even in a good year, it is no surprise that
upstate is deficient in a variety of ways. The region suffers severe job losses, transformation of good land to fallow land, scores of farms going out of business, abandoned homes, trailer parks that litter the (still very scenic) landscape, low industrial output, fragmented cityscapes, southward migration, the walmartization of its retail infrastructure, and so on. It's been that way for a while. A
report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York published in 1999 gives
upstate low marks for economic performance even in times when the rest of the state and indeed the entire country was pulling ahead with much higher GDP numbers. There is no reason to be nostalgic, however.
Upstate is a rugged place. People conduct their affairs in a straightforward manner. It is stating the obvious that New York state's most competitive asset in the global economy lies "downstream", in Manhattan. For those in charge, it would be wise - for once - to "look the other way" again and discover what
upstate can contribute in the context of industrial and agricultural production.
Thomas H. Hahn
Ithaca, NY
