Mike Murphy hopes to advance Main Street progress in fifth term as Dryden village mayor

Mike Murphy has been serving as the village of Dryden’s mayor for close to 10 years. 

Murphy, who defeated Republican candidate Tom Corey by a 159-to-54 voting margin in last month’s village election, is getting set to enter his fifth term as mayor.

“I’m very pleased,” Murphy said. “I really like this village, and I’m pleased [the residents] reelected me.”

Murphy said this could be his last term as mayor, but he is uncertain about the final decision.

Aside from his eight years as mayor, Murphy served one year as a fill-in and was on the village board of trustees for five years.

“I’ll be 82 when I’m done with my [fifth] term, so my decision could change,” he said. “My family might want me to slow down, but we’ll see how things go. I’m still in good health, but I don’t want to be mayor if I’m not in good health.”

With two more years locked in at the helm, Murphy is guiding a small and rural Dryden village in a new direction.

The village was recently awarded a $4.5 million NY Forward grant. The program, which is spearheaded by Gov. Kathy Hochul, was created “to invigorate and enliven downtowns in New York’s smaller and rural communities, the type of downtowns found in villages, hamlets and other small, neighborhood-scale municipal centers,” according to the state’s website.

“We are incredibly excited and grateful to announce that the village of Dryden has been awarded [grant funding],” Murphy said in the past. “This achievement represents the culmination of a collaborative effort between the village board [of trustees], our dedicated staff, the Dryden Business Association and passionate community members.”

While other parts of the village are in “good shape” — including North Street with its pharmacies, a grocery store and more — Murphy said Main Street is “showing its age.”

Murphy noted that most of the buildings on Main Street are over 100 years old and haven’t seen much of an upgrade in the past century.

With 12,000 to 13,000 cars going through the village on a daily basis, Murphy wants to improve Main Street as much as possible.

Plans for NY Forward-funded projects will begin in May, Murphy said.

“The impression when you drive through the village is night and day. The part that sticks out is Main Street, so the [NY Forward] grant will help to upgrade it,” he added. “It won’t just be the exterior, either. The buildings will be updated to modern technology and style that people like. It was so expensive to do that people weren’t doing it.”

Murphy and other village officials are also preparing for Ezra Village, a projected 749-unit apartment complex, to soon make its way into the Dryden area.

Ithaca-based developer Rocco Lucente has developed the apartment complex for the village. The Lucente family has created numerous apartment complexes, more recently the Village Solars apartments in Lansing. Developing major projects for over 40 years, the Lucente family has built the East Gate Apartments, Hanshaw Corners townhouses, Sanctuary Drive subdivision, Briarwood I subdivision and more.

Ezra Village, which is anticipated to cost over $70 million, will be located at the corner of Mott Road and North Street and span 42 acres. The project will be spread out over a period of anywhere from 11 to 15 years, with about 72 units built in each of the project’s 10 phases.

Named after Ezra Cornell, co-founder of Cornell University, the proposed apartment complex ties into the university and the large number of village residents who work there.

“That will be gradual so it’s not destroying the community, but these people will add more vitality and they’ll be more involved in things,” Murphy said. “They’re picking to live in a rural, small village that has community spirit.”

Murphy said Ezra Village is a big piece of what the village is trying to accomplish with affordable housing.

“If we increase housing options, people will come here,” Murphy said. “We’re helping with what Tompkins County is trying to achieve with affordable housing.”

With the Main Street revitalization projects and Ezra Village in Dryden’s future, Murphy is looking forward to making the village a “nicer place to live.”

“The cost of everything is going up, so we want to help people as much as we can,” Murphy said. “It’s uplifting and it will take us to the next step. We want Dryden to be the place to bring small businesses or housing to the area because there will be a demand.”

Murphy, who has always seen the village as a great place to raise a family, wants more for the area.

“I want this place to be as good or great as it was before,” Murphy said. “It’s still very good, but Main Street used to be vibrant. I want to represent what we are and encourage more people to go on Main Street.”

Dryden Dispatch appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.