Policy decisions have consequences.
The town I grew up in and called home up until the last decade or so, had some news that drew a lot of ire from residents. That’s hardly unique when your hometown is also home to one of the largest landfills in the northeast. But still, seeing the squabble play out on social media with few reminders of what led to this moment was telling.
A plot at a busy corner in Seneca Falls will be the home to a new, large-scale Byrne Dairy gas station and convenience store. The store is a carbon copy of locations peppered across the Finger Lakes and Central New York—where the chain is strongest. Just a few weeks before opening, residents learned that a much smaller Byrne Dairy location, which has operated in the former village of Seneca Falls on Fall St. would be closing in early-October.
Residents lamented the loss for the former village, which serves as the population hub for Seneca Falls, despite the new location being far busier. It sits at the intersection of two state roads, which serves as a hub for motorists moving east-and-west along 5&20; and coming south into Seneca Falls and Waterloo via 414. The new location makes sense for Byrne Dairy; as does closing the smaller, older location in the former village. However, so does the criticism of its loss and what that means for the people who live there.
The current (soon-to-be-former) Byrne Dairy on Fall St. sits at the site of an old garage. It’s been a small convenience store as long as I’ve been alive; and after talking to some of the old-timers about it—there will probably be some remediation necessary at the site if anyone wants to alter it from its current state. It’s a very small, but very walkable option if you live in the former village and need to grab some quick food items. It’s well-stocked, and while prices are significantly higher at that location, than say, Walmart, that convenient location makes it a good option for those who don’t have transportation.
There was a time not that long ago when the Town had an opportunity to host an expanded Circle K convenience store and gas station. It was proposed for the Huntington Building corner. That proposal was defeated by a group of preservationists who argued it was out of character for that historic neighborhood and unnecessary. At the time, there were two nearby Circle K stores (on opposing sides of the Huntington property) that would’ve been merged to become one.
Shortly after the proposal was defeated, Circle K shut down the convenience store that had more food options and was shopped the way Byrne Dairy is today. The Huntington Building has become a perfectly suitable senior housing complex that will open very soon. But, the neighborhood hasn’t undergone a transformation. In fact, that senior housing project is the only notable thing that’s happened in that stretch of Fall St. despite the Town winning the state’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative and preservationists promising it would be a trigger for more walkable development.
Back when this debate was playing out—before a decision was final—I was still writing my In Focus column for the Finger Lakes Times. The community was lumped into two terrible cohorts: Pro-Convenience Store and Pro-Historic Preservation. I wound up writing a few columns about this topic, and even appeared on WXXI’s Connections with Evan Dawson, alongside some folks who were working to “Save the Huntington." I was lumped into the ‘Pro-Convenience Store’ crowd because I acknowledged a few things:
Around 10 years prior the former Village lost its last grocery store, which made convenience stores all the more important for folks who didn’t have transportation to drive 10-15 minutes or walk 35+ up a very busy 5&20 to shop at Tops or Walmart.
The Town’s socio-economic makeup was changing and the warning signs were clear as day. The Town’s updated comp plan confirmed worrying trends: An aggressively aging population (35.6% over 55). Growing numbers living in poverty (14% of households). And a lack of reliable transportation (12% of households).
One-dimensional policy that ignores context of reality is bad. Especially when community planning is poor or there are other issues creating a vacuum. Preservation is always preferred, but sometimes reality dictates another path. Oftentimes, a middle-ground can be found, it just takes some hard work.
Present day I serve on the Village of Webster’s Historic Preservation Commission. I don’t write a column for the Finger Lakes Times. And my beat reporting days that kept me covering of stories like that one at FingerLakes1.com are long-gone. That said, I spend my days on the business side of our publishing business at FingerLakes1.com and have gotten involved in community preservation—Historic Preservation, Parks & Recreation, etc., which gives me new appreciation for the actual work necessary to keep a business running and community thriving.
I say actual work, because the easiest way to avoid one-dimensional policy that hurts a community, is by putting in the work after winning your desired outcome. After the Circle K project was defeated no one sat down and said, “Well, what can we do now to address the need for a walkable grocery or convenience store?” It was, “We don’t need that. End of story.”
As my cusp Millennial/Gen Z wife would say, “Denial is a River in Egypt!” quoting one of the many viral TikTok’s she’s sent me. Denying Seneca Falls needed a walkable grocery or convenience store 5+ years ago created a scenario where the loss of an even smaller one present day is all-the-more devastating. One worker at the old store reached out—asking for this issue to be publicized—because they lacked the transportation to go work at the new Byrne Dairy. A town official asked residents to voice their frustration to Byrne Dairy’s corporate offices about the closure.
Both, I think, were intended to convince Byrne Dairy to keep the store open. But, keeping that small, aging store open is opposite to good business sense when you have a new, larger operation right up the road. One that will attract multiples of more customers to replace those who do not have reliable transportation to it.
It leads me to this question: How walkable is a community if it doesn’t have any access to pantry items or quick dairy that you might pick up at a place like Byrne Dairy on Fall St.?
Walkable doesn’t just mean place housing in populated areas near downtown. It means an economic development strategy that accounts for the need to have a grocer or marginally decent convenience store. It means housing policies that prevent single family homes from turning into rental units, so families can plant real roots and not be month-to-month residents. It means Historic Preservation that says “Here’s how this idea can be better,” instead of simply saying, “No, thank you. Best of luck elsewhere.”
As I plant my roots in a community that has planned and made a lot of good policy decisions—I’m watching the one I called home for the first 20-something years of my life live the consequences of the bad ones. It’s disappointing, but a cautionary tale for any community that is wrestling with these challenges.
Odds & Ends
Miss my last post about the notion that people just don’t want to show up to local government meetings? Check it out by tapping the button below!
Say Hello
Have something to say? Comments are turned on, and I’d love for you to leave one if you feel so inclined. If you’d rather send an email—whether it’s a thought on a topic discussed in the newsletter or just an idea that you’d like explored a little more—that works too! Tap the button below and it’ll launch an email that I’ll certainly see within 24 hours.
