A famous quote from an old Tupper Lake mayor who spoke at a conference of mayors in New York City. The entire quote is “New York City will never amount to much, it’s too far from Tupper Lake.” When asked by a reporter, “what’s in Tupper Lake?”, the mayor said, “mostly spruce and hemlock”.
There are 130,000 year round residents inside the Adirondack Park Blue Line - a six million acre area that consists of public and private lands. That’s an area larger than the state of Vermont. It’s an area that often finds the environment and economy at opposing ends.
In the real estate business we see a large swing of values within a short distance. You can be in the middle of a village where the homes are very affordable, especially by downstate standards, and within a mile you might have lakefront homes that are valued well over the $1M range. Yet, afforable housing can be a real issue for many locals.
Like many areas, there are groups that are heavily involved with affordable housing. The St. Lawrence Housing Council is one such group that offers mechanisms for those who want to own a home, but simply can’t generate closing costs, and funds needed for repairs.
So, if those of you who live in NYC want to live in an affordable housing area, come check out the Adirondacks.