photo of Syracuse’s downtown Armory Square (syracuse.com)
“I want to develop artists, not destroy them, and they simply can’t afford to live and work there anymore.”
This quote is from a New York City gallery director who decided to move his operation from Brooklyn to Detroit. The quote appeared in a recent New York Times piece about creatives landing in Detroit and the ways they have parlayed their liberation from the exorbitant costs of New York into huge contributions to the revival of the poster child for “rust belt” cities.
This story made devotees of the revitalization of Upstate New York “rust belt” cities actually on the route between New York and Detroit–Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo–wonder if they can capture some of the exodus too. Buffalo has received some love in the media lately as a magnet for itinerant creatives (yes, and hipsters) fleeing the Big Apple, but Syracuse and Rochester have not been widely considered yet as solid destinations for those seeking that elusive combination of urbane and affordable. (And those pooh-poohing Rochester can’t say it’s about the lack of jobs anymore–Forbes magazine recently rated Rochester one of the best places to land employment these days.)
Do you have thoughts on why this is? We’d love to hear them.
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