Let’s face it, Fulton receives a lot of bad press. Far too often the people of Fulton use the mayor and the school system as a scapegoat for all of their problems. I hate to break it to you, but the main problem lies with the heart of the city; The People. We simply cannot rely on the administration to completely change the future of Fulton. It’s time that the people actually begin to take responsibility and hold themselves accountable.
It’s not a difficult task to take care of your homes and yards, regardless of homeownership status. Fulton Block Builders has taken the initiative and attempted to revive property values, but the folks interested in participating in this program make up the minority of the city. These efforts will be diminished by the majority of the city which has overgrown lawns filled with trash and siding with peeling paint. Nobody is taking the initiative to change the narrative surrounding the city. With the exception of 1-2 appealing neighborhoods, nobody in their right mind would ever want to move to Fulton, all they have to do is take a quick drive down First or Oneida Street. Instead of blaming the mayor and school board for your problems, start by holding yourself accountable. Hold your neighbors accountable. Hold your friends and family accountable.
As someone who grew up in Fulton and eventually left (a story far too common), I cannot see myself ever returning. Fulton in its current state is no place to raise a family. In all honesty, the school boards and city legislature can only do so much, with the people of the city working against them, no significant changes will ever be made. It’s time for the people of Fulton to do better. Otherwise, the City will continue to carry the stigma it always has.
-A Disappointed Ex-Fultonian
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@DEF: Uhhh, I think the door hit you hard on the head when you departed. Do you know who else departed? Nestl?s, Birdseye and Miller. You want familes who have trouble putting food on the table to pay for lumber, concrete, siding, plumbing and paint? Nice try. Attitude does not equal cash and money doesn’t grow on trees. Take a look at the vehicles in those same yards. Not a Bentley or Mercedes in sight. While driving around, did you notice that the patches on the roads have patches? Like my Dearly Departed Yiddish grandmother used to say: “You can’t make chicken soup out of chicken drecht”. The entire region is depressed, not just Fulton. Some indications: home ownership has declined, Oswego County leads the state in drunk driving death risk, domestic vilence is a huge problem, and the sherrif thumbs his nose at the Hatch Act and gets the A-ok from his boss. Your put-down directed at people who have recently moved into one of “those other neighborhoods” is a slight and not well received from this 50+ year resident. I hope your gated community with hefty yearly membership fees, fares well. bye-bye.
I agree with Ariel regarding the depressed state of affairs in Oswego County and beyond. The culprit in this is New York State and its punitive taxes. I grew up in Fulton and went to college in Rochester. I had my pick of technical jobs after I graduated back then because there were so many companies in the Syracuse area.
I eventually created my own tech company in Syracuse and it was fortunately very successful. I ran it for 14 years until I sold it. But every single year in business I saw a new tax or regulation imposed by NY and the general attitude out of Albany towards business was negative. I met with two governors over that time and neither could or would do much to improve the business climate.
After I sold the company I immediately formed another. But I had learned my lesson about doing business in NY. I moved it to South Carolina and found my business and personal tax burden dropped over 20%. That company spun off another firm which is now owned by my son. And it is also in South Carolina. He grew up in NY but said he would never move back.
I still have family in Fulton and occasionally come back. It is sad seeing the degradation of the community due to less opportunity and less money. It’s not the people who have changed – it’s the government and NY has a bad one at that – and primarily in Albany.
BTW – I live in a gated community and love it, lol. My property tax bill is 25% of what it would be in NY and my yearly HOA fees are insignificant.
. @Scott: You pay for it with your poor South Carolina health care and schools. Quality of life is just as important as big bank accounts. Attending our State University system is 50% less expensive than SC’s, for in-state students.
Complete nonsense, ariel The South Carolina schools are just fine – my son went to the College of Charleston and daughter to Clemson- both state schools. They blow away NY state colleges. The cost- $14K with room and board on the ocean in Charleston. More like Club Med than Ice Station Zebra in NY.
As for health care, I’ll live longer down here than up in NY, haha. Zero wait in the hospitals and the service is impeccable. Methinks you never left the state Ariel. All you are doing is mouthing the union line.
Not my fight but you might want to scale back the ignorance and arrogance, the lady has an opinion so do you . I think you’re a bit over zealous on calling it complete “nonsense” as frankly her words have a great deal of meaning and truth; see the facts as attested by the US news magazine. It’s too bad because you made some fine points initially. I get that you love your new “home”. So-much-so that you’d get on here and batter your former home town and state and its’ people who do care. You made it big, Congrats on your hard work. You might want to add a little humility to your success. I love Greenville and Charleston too. You may not like the weather but many do enjoy the Adirondacks year round or Lake Ontario or the many other treasures we have here in New York. Why disparage what some may like even if you don’t ?
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-york;https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/south-carolina
Lived here 50 years. I agree! Thanks for sharing. I do continue residing here in Fulton.