NY: State official visits Oneonta transit hub downtown

New York Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley visited the city of Oneonta's downtown and transit hub Tuesday, April 28, attending a ribbon cutting and touring the new bus station.

The transit hub opened for business Dec. 1 after Oneonta Public Transit moved into the space, according to Daily Star archives. Since then, community members and visitors have been taking buses to and from the 47 Market St. terminal instead of along Main Street.

During his tour, Mosley saw some of the streetscape improvements on Water and Market streets, in addition to the new staircase tower and elevator at 47 Market St., Muller Plaza and The Ford on Main building at 186-212 Main Street. These projects were part of the city's $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative.

Mosley said Tuesday that when a city increases its economic vitality and activity, it grows its tax base to reinvest that money into the people who live there.

"Now more than ever, more people, more young people, they want to live in their downtowns because it's readily available in terms of services, in terms of amenities," Mosley said. "We understand that when we revitalize downtowns we revitalize towns as a whole."

Mayor Dan Buttermann said during his speech before the ribbon cutting that about 10 years ago, Oneonta was awarded a $10 million state DRI grant, which he called a "catalyst for change." Buttermann added that this led to $13.8 million in additional state and federal funding, $7.6 million from Oneonta and more than $28 million from private investment. This has contributed to the establishment of 100 new housing units downtown in the Dietz Street lofts and the Ford on Main.

"In short, Oneonta is the hub of central New York and will continue to be the place to live, to do business and to be entertained," Buttermann said. "This is the city of the hills, a place for everyone, and we are thankful that our state and our county partners see that too, and will continue to help us build and grow Oneonta to be the place and home for even more people."

The new bus station has 115 parking spaces with six accessible spaces reserved. Twelve of the spaces include Level 2 electric vehicle charging ports.

The project began in September 2023 with the demolition of the two-story parking garage, Daily Star archives stated. The streetscape portion of the project rebuilt Market Street from James Georgeson Avenue to Main Street. This included a new subbase, base, binder and top for the road itself. The city additionally narrowed the roadway, built bumpouts at street corners and established raised crosswalks while incorporating tree planting, new curbing, new sidewalks and new lighting.

David Hotaling, the city's transportation director, said Tuesday that he was happy to see everyone gathered at the transit hub for the ribbon cutting. While there has been some "growing pain" throughout the past few months, he said, the building and transit system have already served the community well. Hotaling added that it has seen more foot traffic than in its previous location, and he believes more riders as well.

"There is more connectivity," Hotaling said.

City Administrator Greg Mattice said it was a good time to do the ribbon cutting with the college students from Hartwick College and SUNY Oneonta still in town, as they are "a big part of our ridership for OPT."

He added that a lot of work went into the various downtown projects, with plans changing and finalizing throughout the 10-year process.

Carol Dean, who has lived in Oneonta since 1987, said she takes Trailways buses to New York City from Oneonta about once a month to see shows. She said she was able to get the discount on her tickets provided for senior citizens by buying them directly from the transit hub office Tuesday.

She said the new location has been helpful for her so far.

"For the convenience of being able to just leave my car here in this wonderful parking lot, it's just very, very easy," Dean said.

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