Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr started texting his staff at 7 a.m. Monday, Aug. 11 after reading a New York Post article online.
By 9:35 a.m., his office had issued a statement from him calling the Post’s piece “a textbook example of lazy reporting and a preconceived narrative.”
The article’s headline called Utica “the most affordable city in New York.” And the article began by talking about the low median home prices, rents and cost of living in Utica. It gave some specific examples of the prices and number of bedrooms of homes on the market.
Picente did not object to the label of affordability. His anger likely began, though, with the second part of the story’s headline: “but no one wants to live there.”
After discussing affordability, the article went on to talk about Rust Belt deindustrialization and cited statistics on population loss, unemployment and poverty. It also included disparaging quotes from an anonymous Realtor and an anonymous home seller.
“Yes, Utica has challenges,” Picente acknowledged in his statement. “So does every city in America. But reducing an entire community to poverty statistics, population numbers and a couple of anonymous quotes — and then suggesting that “no one wants to live there” — does a tremendous disservice to the thousands of people who proudly call Utica and Oneida County home.
“The reality is that this community is moving forward.”
Picente also accused the article of using inaccurate statistics and a photo that’s not of Utica. The photo was later removed from the article.
Picente went on to mention some of the information left out of the Post article:
“And,” the statement added, “people from around the country and around the world continue to discover what we already know: this is a great place to live, work, raise a family and build a future.”
He urged Post staff to write about Utica after visiting the city and talking to people who are investing in the city and working to help it improve.
“Utica is not defined by its past and it certainly will not be defined by one poorly researched New York Post story,” the statement concluded. “We know where this community has been.
“More importantly, we know where it is going and I am proud to be part of building that future.”
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Picente blasts NY Post story that said ‘no one wants to live’ in Utica
Reporting by Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
