Comedian Michael Ian Black, currently filming the new Comedy Central series Michael and Michael Have Issues, was in Utica a few months ago and took to his blog about the experience.

Black felt that Utica had “nothing to offer anybody.” Ironic from someone who was raised in Hillsborough, New Jersey which isn’t exactly an urban center itself.

Black went on to say, “So what you get is one of those cities that looks like I think all Earth cities will look about a thousand years in the future when we have finally annihilated ourselves and the only evidence left of our existence are the crumbling husks of our former civilization. That’s Utica – the city of a shitty tomorrow, today.”

This is a common misconception made by downstate visitors who only spend a few hours upstate and ultimately it reinforces negative stereotypes about upstate NY and the people who live here.

What do you think of Black’s comments? Are they valid?