Barnes Ave. Rehabilitation and Access to Utica Marsh

Press Release and Video of Stakeholder's Meeting

The City of Utica is submitting a New York State Consolidated Funding Application (NYS CFA) through the Department of State’s (DOS) Brownfield Opportunity Areas (BOA) Program. Funds are available for projects that establish or implement strategies for community redevelopment of areas affected by historical disinvestment, vacant and blighted properties, and the presence or potential presence of brownfields — which largely represents the Barnes Ave. neighborhood, bounded by Platt St. to the west, Schuyler St. to the east, Oriskany St. W to the south, and the CSX rail line to the north.

The Barnes Ave. Bridge, owned by CSX, was closed as a result of unsafe structural conditions in 2014. CSX has received $950,000 in funding from the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to demolish the bridge, and we see this as a golden opportunity for the City to engage residents on what they would like for their neighborhood — whether that is re-establishing a traditional street grid, creating greenspace along Barnes Ave. in lieu of bridge abutments, or installing safety measures between the neighborhood and rail line. The City will develop design and construction documents that align with the community vision and our BOA. We will contemplate those essential things every neighborhood needs: green streets, common land, and a strong subculture. This project will advance community stabilization and revitalization in a former industrial corridor that has been plagued by brownfields, blight, and poor planning practices.

 An online survey is also available: https://app.opinionx.co/e334e216-90ea-4f76-a8d1-75f205d4cd03.

On July 29, 2025 There was a presentation to gather stakeholder's ideas regarding a Rehabilitation of Barnes Ave and what to do about access to the Utica Marsh. Presenters were Carrie Martin AICP an environmental sustainability planner, Utica Mayor Michael Galime, Chris Lawrence, City of Utica Planner , and one other.  

Video documents that meeting in full.

CSX has informed the City of Utica that they will be taking down the Barnes Ave. bridge.  Participants at the meeting, including some neighboring the area, seemed to indicate that they did  not want a pedestrian bridge or other access as a replacement.  Question then becomes how does one gain access from Utica to the Utica Marsh?  Chris Lawrence informed us that access from Harbor Point is blocked.  

Morris Matters thinks that  the marsh is a great natural resource that has never properly been utilized for the benefit of the community.