“One thing Marcy has over any other town in our area is our infrastructure. We pretty much have every amenity that a city would have,” says Town Supervisor Brian Scala. Notably the town has achieved an extraordinary 33 tax decreases in 34 years. Economic Development Coordinator, Zoning Board Chairman and Deputy Supervisor Carl Annese shares, “The state holds 72% of the non-taxable parcels. So, 72% of the property in town is tax exempt because it’s state owned. It’s $1.8 billion in assessments that are not taxed in Marcy.” ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND DOWNTOWN IDENTITY Despite its modest size, Marcy is ideally located, both geographically and economically. . Major highways like the New York State Thruway, Routes 49 and 12, intersect the town.“One thing we always say is that we’re out in the middle of nowhere, but we’re right in the middle of everything,” portrays Annese “You have to work very hard if you don’t want to pass through the town.” Marcy is positioned with proximity to surrounding communities, making it unnecessary to bring many retail offerings into the town. Scala details, “We always say we’re closer than you think, because of all the retail.You go 1.2 miles and you’re into a retail hub. We’re so close to everything, so that’s why a lot of it can’t get duplicated in our town, because the businesses are that close.” Although the municipality does not have a traditional downtown, plans are underway to revitalize the main street area.“We definitely have a master plan,” Annese remarks.“Our main street, it’s more of a main thoroughfare where there’s a little bit of retail. It’s starting to build a little bit, but it’s a lot of wholesale businesses, a lot of supply houses for contractors, and a little bit on the very light industrial side. Most of the retail is in neighboring towns.” Marcy even boasts a regional radio network, with three stations operating out of the same building on the town’s Main Street. “What is interesting is that it is a major network of radio stations for all of Central New York, all of Oneida County, and that is done out of Marcy,” boasts Annese. 31 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 05 MARCY, NY
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