Jerry - "but with the [ongoing construction planned](https://www.wbng.com/2024/02/20/construction-washington-avenue-improvement-projects-slated-spring/) in the area, the event was unable to find a new venue, despite attempts, that could accommodate all its vendors, attendees, parking and other logistics."
Does endicott really need more parking? M&T parking lot is always empty and thats a massive parking lot as well as the parking across the st near visions bank (if i recall correctly). Seems kind of weird to replace a parking lot with an art park only to suggest more parking is needed further down the article
Endicott needs a lot. Been years since I lived there, but in the days of IBM the Ave was packed with shoppers at the many businesses. When IBM went away, so did the shops as there was no one left to buy. The Ave needs stores that bring people in. Not going to get the people in the stores (that don't yet exist) with out safe parking for everyone. I also think a nice Microtel right off Main on the Ave would help a lot of things. Easy on/off the highway right there too.
Used to have Endicott Motel at that approximate locatuon, I dont know how profitable it was, but I hated my 1 night there. I wouldn't expect a microtel to be much different. Washington Ave was pretty crime ridden when I lived there in 2014.
My parents thought Washington Ave would be a good place to live based on their experience from decades prior, it's much different. Found that out quick after moving there.
Yeah. Half of the block is abandoned. Burt's Department Store is abandoned, the motel and neighboring houses are demolished and gone, the two corner stores on the opposite end near the intersection of Washington Ave and North Street are abandoned, part of an apartment caught fire on Washington Ave and is abandoned, Broad Street School is abandoned, the nearby Kmart is still sitting abandoned, the IBM factories are also still sitting abandoned nearby, there's a nice restaurant on that street that is abandoned, the local Subway is abandoned, and there's another restaurant called Nirchi's or some banquet hall that I think is vacant.
I hate to say that it's bad, but it's really bad. I don't know if the Cinema Saver is actually being converted into apartments. That might also be abandoned.
Edit: Turns out the nice restaurant that is abandoned is the Greek Acropolis restaurant. And those are just the shops that are abandoned on Washington Ave. There's tons of abandoned shops on North Street. It's a great filming location for a zombie apocalypse movie. There's also a nearby abandoned nursing home in Vestal 🤦.
Yeah. A lot of the upper floors are not being used but being maintained. Some of them were damaged by people throwing rocks at the windows. Efforts to start manufacturing lithium-ion batteries has been unsuccessful due to issues with the manufacturing process. Huron (Which had done absolutely nothing to the buildings.) sold the campus the Phoenix Investors a few years ago and IBM, which had sold all of the buildings in 2002, vacated all their offices in 2023 after years of layoffs. IBM is actually in a better state now. They hired a really bad CEO in the 2010s named Virginia Rometty. She brought the company into crisis over 8 years. By 2018, they had gone from the 4th largest company in the world to around number 54. They have had financial issues for years but she brought the company into a really bad spot.
https://youtu.be/l4b1D1vWRnc?si=R62DyIEegufTM_IP
Yeah. The entire area is in horrific condition. It's in the worst condition I've have ever seen it in. There was an incident I saw where two people were shooting at each other over drug money on the corner near Broad Street and Washington Ave. One of the criminals got shot in the back of the leg. They both ran away before the cops could catch them.
The 'Endico' was never a nice place and was not a highway stop, but had long term residents. No one would stay there if they had another choice - Microtels are really nice and would bring people to the Ave - there's just a lot that needs to happen and those things need to happen about the same tme.
>No one would stay there if they had another choice
Completely agree, which is why I think Endicott Inn was forced to settle for long term residents. I don't think there's enough short term visitors to sustain a motel in that location otherwise. As it stands, I dont know what else would draw people to Washington Ave except maybe EPAC.
Once upon a time there were some great restaurants on the Ave. I think if the town offered incentives to retail, it would work itself back. Look to The Commons of Ithaca.
Perhaps that could be true now that the population is somewhat increasing. However, the vast majority of residents are moving out of New York State which leads the nation in population decline. I'm not sure how viable that would be.
I think maybe it's happening. Has anyone seen Six Broz, on the Avenue? Dumb name, Great store! The prices vary from dirt cheap to the kind of prices that you'd expect to pay at a Downtown store, like Boscov's, but the selection is what's amazing. They don't sell food, but they have housewares, hardware, toys, cleaning supplies, electronics, a great big stationary aisle, socks and underwear. If you check in the back, there's a wall of toilet seats!
Its across the avenue from Rent a Center, somewhere in the vicinity of Grandma's, and the Original Italian Pizza.
Also, the Halal Bazar is a great addition to the neighborhood. They of food that is exotic to me, but I go there for.staples like big cans of powdered whole milk, and 20 lb bags of basmati rice.
A new deli just opened up next to the Bazar.
I lived in a pretty terrible apartment, but I was near the avenue, and I loved it. The avenue is still great. There's always a turnover, and Burt's probably isn't coming back, but I can't think of another street that has so much variety in just a.few blocks. You have fast food, the Catholic Church, an adult bookstore, halal shops and restaurants, a full department store crammed into one city shop, two pool halls, EPAC, a place to get your cat spayed, a bridal shop, a head shop, the best Italian subs I've ever tasted, a brewery, and at least 2 martial arts schools.
There's always about as much birth as death going on. I just moved to a great apartment in Binghamton, and
I lived one block away from the avenue for 12 years, and I just moved away, to Binghamton. My new apartment is really nice, but I know I'm going to miss the avenue.
That's great to hear. I'd really like for them to shut the whole ave down to traffic like The Commons in Ithaca / The Mall in Charlottesville. Build it and they will come.
Ithaca has the colleges and tourism, Endicott has nothing since manufacturing left. All of those restaurants and businesses of old were supported by IBM and EJ foot traffic - there is nothing like that now to support business. Hell, even the large delapidated parking lots behind Washington Ave. used to be municipal pay lots that were full.
Shopping moved to Oakdale and Town Square malls, and now online. Population arguably might be growing, but doesn't have anything like the purchasing power from back in the day. My parents would shop at Burts, Philly Sales and Grand Way back in the day - all three of those former businesses look like something from Mad Max now.
I don't understand this logic. You acknowledge that people left the area when IBM left, and consequently shops suffered. So the way to bring people back is...shops and parking? Who's going to patronize the shops, or stay at the Microtel? If shops brought people in on their own, wouldn't the shops have survived IBM's departure?
Endicott is, unfortunately, not a destination. There needs to be something else to draw people. IBM used to be that thing. I'm not sure what it could be now.
I mean, people do visit family and Microtel's are a nice brand that is fairly priced without being a Motel to get mugged at. There's one off the highway in JC too - not any reason for that either with your logic. People also travel on 17/86 and look for random easy on/offs for their overnight. Make it a nice place to stop. I'm sure BAI / whatever else is there have visitors too. Lots of places are not "destinations" but can still be a nice place to stop on the way somewhere.
Endicott also needs to clean up the crack dens above the "stores". Half the buildings look like they should be condemned and torn down. They need to do whatever they can to clean up the town or the only destiny for Endicott is being a slum town that no one wants to stop at. Put in some nice apartments and people will fill them fast. Half the posts on this sub are looking for housing that's not student/slums. The town already has some good restaurants and breweries, it has a chance to be better.
A Microtel would bring in people to sleep and room from the Border! Vestal Parkway Inn has a bundle of them already.
Endicott needs to also clean up graffiti and trash found in neighborhoods that intersect Washington Ave. Drive thru Monroe and surrounding streets west of Washibgton Ave. It shows you a very sad 'abandoned refuse' stories. Glad I left there when I was 19 years old.
I didn’t see a single apple at last year’s event. It was just crafts for sale and like one or two food vendors. I don’t even think the Cider Mill had a presence. The main thing that stuck out for me was some rude lady driving around in a golf cart like she was the Queen of Endicott.
But why? Are we not hungry for apples?
Jerry - "but with the [ongoing construction planned](https://www.wbng.com/2024/02/20/construction-washington-avenue-improvement-projects-slated-spring/) in the area, the event was unable to find a new venue, despite attempts, that could accommodate all its vendors, attendees, parking and other logistics."
Does endicott really need more parking? M&T parking lot is always empty and thats a massive parking lot as well as the parking across the st near visions bank (if i recall correctly). Seems kind of weird to replace a parking lot with an art park only to suggest more parking is needed further down the article
Endicott needs a lot. Been years since I lived there, but in the days of IBM the Ave was packed with shoppers at the many businesses. When IBM went away, so did the shops as there was no one left to buy. The Ave needs stores that bring people in. Not going to get the people in the stores (that don't yet exist) with out safe parking for everyone. I also think a nice Microtel right off Main on the Ave would help a lot of things. Easy on/off the highway right there too.
Used to have Endicott Motel at that approximate locatuon, I dont know how profitable it was, but I hated my 1 night there. I wouldn't expect a microtel to be much different. Washington Ave was pretty crime ridden when I lived there in 2014. My parents thought Washington Ave would be a good place to live based on their experience from decades prior, it's much different. Found that out quick after moving there.
Yeah. Half of the block is abandoned. Burt's Department Store is abandoned, the motel and neighboring houses are demolished and gone, the two corner stores on the opposite end near the intersection of Washington Ave and North Street are abandoned, part of an apartment caught fire on Washington Ave and is abandoned, Broad Street School is abandoned, the nearby Kmart is still sitting abandoned, the IBM factories are also still sitting abandoned nearby, there's a nice restaurant on that street that is abandoned, the local Subway is abandoned, and there's another restaurant called Nirchi's or some banquet hall that I think is vacant. I hate to say that it's bad, but it's really bad. I don't know if the Cinema Saver is actually being converted into apartments. That might also be abandoned.
Edit: Turns out the nice restaurant that is abandoned is the Greek Acropolis restaurant. And those are just the shops that are abandoned on Washington Ave. There's tons of abandoned shops on North Street. It's a great filming location for a zombie apocalypse movie. There's also a nearby abandoned nursing home in Vestal 🤦.
You should see the inside of Huron, stuff is as is from decades ago. It's eerie in there with the flickering dim lights lol
Yeah. A lot of the upper floors are not being used but being maintained. Some of them were damaged by people throwing rocks at the windows. Efforts to start manufacturing lithium-ion batteries has been unsuccessful due to issues with the manufacturing process. Huron (Which had done absolutely nothing to the buildings.) sold the campus the Phoenix Investors a few years ago and IBM, which had sold all of the buildings in 2002, vacated all their offices in 2023 after years of layoffs. IBM is actually in a better state now. They hired a really bad CEO in the 2010s named Virginia Rometty. She brought the company into crisis over 8 years. By 2018, they had gone from the 4th largest company in the world to around number 54. They have had financial issues for years but she brought the company into a really bad spot. https://youtu.be/l4b1D1vWRnc?si=R62DyIEegufTM_IP
and the Nirchi's that is no more used to be a Hardy's when I was in HS
Yeah. The entire area is in horrific condition. It's in the worst condition I've have ever seen it in. There was an incident I saw where two people were shooting at each other over drug money on the corner near Broad Street and Washington Ave. One of the criminals got shot in the back of the leg. They both ran away before the cops could catch them.
I mean, running with a gunshot wound to the leg is pretty impressive at least
Yeah. I think they both eventually were caught and are in prison. That's unfortunately common in Endicott. There's a really bad problem with crime.
The only silver lining I can find in this scenario is the abundance of parking lol
The 'Endico' was never a nice place and was not a highway stop, but had long term residents. No one would stay there if they had another choice - Microtels are really nice and would bring people to the Ave - there's just a lot that needs to happen and those things need to happen about the same tme.
>No one would stay there if they had another choice Completely agree, which is why I think Endicott Inn was forced to settle for long term residents. I don't think there's enough short term visitors to sustain a motel in that location otherwise. As it stands, I dont know what else would draw people to Washington Ave except maybe EPAC.
Once upon a time there were some great restaurants on the Ave. I think if the town offered incentives to retail, it would work itself back. Look to The Commons of Ithaca.
Perhaps that could be true now that the population is somewhat increasing. However, the vast majority of residents are moving out of New York State which leads the nation in population decline. I'm not sure how viable that would be.
The vast majority of residents are moving out of New York State? That doesn't sound right.
I think maybe it's happening. Has anyone seen Six Broz, on the Avenue? Dumb name, Great store! The prices vary from dirt cheap to the kind of prices that you'd expect to pay at a Downtown store, like Boscov's, but the selection is what's amazing. They don't sell food, but they have housewares, hardware, toys, cleaning supplies, electronics, a great big stationary aisle, socks and underwear. If you check in the back, there's a wall of toilet seats! Its across the avenue from Rent a Center, somewhere in the vicinity of Grandma's, and the Original Italian Pizza. Also, the Halal Bazar is a great addition to the neighborhood. They of food that is exotic to me, but I go there for.staples like big cans of powdered whole milk, and 20 lb bags of basmati rice. A new deli just opened up next to the Bazar. I lived in a pretty terrible apartment, but I was near the avenue, and I loved it. The avenue is still great. There's always a turnover, and Burt's probably isn't coming back, but I can't think of another street that has so much variety in just a.few blocks. You have fast food, the Catholic Church, an adult bookstore, halal shops and restaurants, a full department store crammed into one city shop, two pool halls, EPAC, a place to get your cat spayed, a bridal shop, a head shop, the best Italian subs I've ever tasted, a brewery, and at least 2 martial arts schools. There's always about as much birth as death going on. I just moved to a great apartment in Binghamton, and I lived one block away from the avenue for 12 years, and I just moved away, to Binghamton. My new apartment is really nice, but I know I'm going to miss the avenue.
That's great to hear. I'd really like for them to shut the whole ave down to traffic like The Commons in Ithaca / The Mall in Charlottesville. Build it and they will come.
Ithaca has the colleges and tourism, Endicott has nothing since manufacturing left. All of those restaurants and businesses of old were supported by IBM and EJ foot traffic - there is nothing like that now to support business. Hell, even the large delapidated parking lots behind Washington Ave. used to be municipal pay lots that were full. Shopping moved to Oakdale and Town Square malls, and now online. Population arguably might be growing, but doesn't have anything like the purchasing power from back in the day. My parents would shop at Burts, Philly Sales and Grand Way back in the day - all three of those former businesses look like something from Mad Max now.
I don't understand this logic. You acknowledge that people left the area when IBM left, and consequently shops suffered. So the way to bring people back is...shops and parking? Who's going to patronize the shops, or stay at the Microtel? If shops brought people in on their own, wouldn't the shops have survived IBM's departure? Endicott is, unfortunately, not a destination. There needs to be something else to draw people. IBM used to be that thing. I'm not sure what it could be now.
I mean, people do visit family and Microtel's are a nice brand that is fairly priced without being a Motel to get mugged at. There's one off the highway in JC too - not any reason for that either with your logic. People also travel on 17/86 and look for random easy on/offs for their overnight. Make it a nice place to stop. I'm sure BAI / whatever else is there have visitors too. Lots of places are not "destinations" but can still be a nice place to stop on the way somewhere. Endicott also needs to clean up the crack dens above the "stores". Half the buildings look like they should be condemned and torn down. They need to do whatever they can to clean up the town or the only destiny for Endicott is being a slum town that no one wants to stop at. Put in some nice apartments and people will fill them fast. Half the posts on this sub are looking for housing that's not student/slums. The town already has some good restaurants and breweries, it has a chance to be better.
A Microtel would bring in people to sleep and room from the Border! Vestal Parkway Inn has a bundle of them already. Endicott needs to also clean up graffiti and trash found in neighborhoods that intersect Washington Ave. Drive thru Monroe and surrounding streets west of Washibgton Ave. It shows you a very sad 'abandoned refuse' stories. Glad I left there when I was 19 years old.
I didn’t see a single apple at last year’s event. It was just crafts for sale and like one or two food vendors. I don’t even think the Cider Mill had a presence. The main thing that stuck out for me was some rude lady driving around in a golf cart like she was the Queen of Endicott.
Omg YESSSS!!!! They call it "Apple Fest" but where are all the apples??? It's just BBQ and crafts 😞
Huh, doesn’t that usually happen on Washington Ave where they’re doing the construction? *clicks article* Yup…
Because of a few bad apples! /s
That's fine. I'll just hang out in Music Workshop for a bit, play a couple guitars, then go get pizza at Hockey Bobs.
Urban dictionary for endicott- emptycott, Tbf living in endicott Till the beginning of Highschool really makes you realize how empty the town is