Roch-a-Cha Rant

Rhinos, Paetec Park Still Have Future, Now Will You Support Them?

2008-03-21T15:33:00.002-05:00

The importance of Utica businessman Rob Clark's rescue of our once-beloved Rhinos Football Club should not be underestimated. Had this community lost the Rhinos, we would have lost a part of soul. Okay, maybe I am guilty of overestimating this a bit, but anyone concerned with resuscitating our city should be breathing a big sigh of relief today. If you're reading this Mr. Clark, and I'm sure you are, thank you for saving the green-and-gold. I wish you all the best in this endeavor and hope that your investment pays dividends down the road.

Now that this is settled, I wonder if Metro Rochester will step up and ensure that Rhinos FC is here to stay. The Rhinos were once the talk of the American soccer community. We averaged more than 10,000 fans per game, we brought home championships, and beat up on MLS squads. Heck, we were a shoo-in for MLS expansion one day (I remember the chant "Mission: Stadium, MLS"). Since the construction of Paetec Park however, much of the lustre has worn off. The stadium is not the major league product we thought it was going to be, ticket and concession prices have skyrocketed, victories are not as forthcoming, and most importantly, the fans stopped coming. Then came the rumors, followed by the lawsuits, then the bankruptcy. I certainly wouldn't have blamed Rhino fans for staying away from Paetec Park if the league had stepped in to run the team. But thankfully it did not have to come to that and now it is up to us to ensure that it never does.

Although purely perception, concerns about the stadium's location have had an impact on the fan base. Although I have walked to Paetec Park numerous times from my home in Corn Hill with nary a peep from the evildoers lurking in the shadows, the average suburbanite honestly believes that they will be robbed if they attend a game. Unfortunately, we need to address this perception and it sounds like Mr. Clark is alreadly working on it. He has pledged to work on the parking situation, enhance security, and replace concessionaire Delaware North with someone new (hopefully the replacement is nice enough to keep High Falls Brewing products on tap). The guy has been listening to the fans - isn't that a nice change?

The City has a role to play as well. My understanding is that the City will finally allow the state funds to flow so that Paetec Park's luxury suites can be built. This will enhance the facility and bring in a new revenue stream for the team. Hopefully these funds can be stretched, or additional funds secured, to finish other key aspects of the stadium (e.g., locker rooms, box office, team store, etc.) as well. The stadium will never be fit to host a World Cup match but who knows, with the right leadership, maybe we can start dreaming of MLS once again. I plan on attending my fair share of Rhino games, hopefully I'll see you there.

How to Salvage Renaissance Square (and Credibility)

2008-02-17T10:47:00.008-05:00

Criticism has been hurled at every aspect of the Renaissance Square project since Day One. Opposition to an underground bus station was loudly voiced, so the designers came up with a plan to move it to the surface. Many were concerned about the prospect of historic structures being demolished, so the designers came up with a plan to integrate the Edwards and Granite buildings into the project and spare the Cox Building. There were worries about increased transit travel times due to left turns needed to navigate the one-way streets, so the designers came up with a plan to convert St. Paul and Clinton to two-way traffic. The arts community was angered by a plan to subsidize the Broadway theater and ignore other local arts needs, so the designers came up with a plan to include three theaters: big, medium, and small. For every major criticism, a decent solution was devised. Until now.

Much to the delight of its detractors, it appears that the Renaissance Square project is nearing its demise. The "starchitect" hired to guide this project to fruition, Moshe Safdie, has been fired; his vision simply unattainable for the arbitrary $230 million limitation we placed on him. The FTA continues to sit on the project's review, seemingly unwilling to approve its construction. The "Performing Arts Center" component now cut from three theaters to two seems to have not attracted the private investment needed to make it happen. At best, the comedy of errors that Renaissance Square has become is an example of how not to manage a major public development. At worst, it is yet another in a long line of mismanaged boondoggles that have plagued this community over the past three decades.

An opportunity to inject a $230 million investment into the most unsightly block of downtown Rochester may be lost. The most visible face of this community to visiting businessmen and conventioneers will continue to be that of neglect and economic devastation. But does it need to end here? As a long time defender of the project, and someone who continues to see the revitalization opportunities that it would create, I simply cannot stand by and let this project die. I have a plan to save this project and, in so doing, save some semblance of credibility for the County Executive and her staff.

A quick look at the budget shows that both the transit center and the MCC campus are paid for. In theory, we could break ground tomorrow on these components. Of course, it's not that simple. Despite the fact that no money has been raised toward the performing arts component, the public will not allow Renaissance Square to move forward without it. A new wrench has been thrown into the mix in the form of the redevelopment of Midtown Plaza. The need to close the 1,800-space parking garage at Midtown has prompted the need to keep the Mortimer Street Garage open. Mortimer was expected to be torn down as part of the performing arts center. If Mortimer stays, the Broadway theater likely cannot fit on the site. While most see this as an opportunity to kill the project, I see this as an opportunity to move forward.

First off, the cost can be reduced significantly by eliminating the large theater. Less cost = less fundraising = one obstacle removed. Secondly, removing the large theater from the scope of the project will provide an opportunity to save the historic buildings at the corner of Main & Clinton. Between the Midtown redevelopment and the reimagined Renaissance Square, finding a developer to restore these buildings into retail, restaurant, office, hotel, and/or residential use should be quite easy. More historic buildings saved = less opposition = another obstacle removed. Third, the arts community's own studies show that the most pressing theater need locally is that of the small "blackbox" theater. According to a recent Democrat & Chronicle story, the 2,800-seat Broadway theater would be in use only 170 days a year while the 250-seat blackbox theater would be used 331 days a year and has the added benefit of helping ensure the survival of Downstairs Cabaret and other smaller arts organizations in our city. Keeping the blackbox theater = support of the local arts community = yet another obstacle removed.

This project is too important to let die. We cannot afford to turn down an opportunity to invest $200 million in a long-declining eyesore in downtown. With Midtown being redeveloped into the home of thousands of workers, hundreds of units of housing, and new retail and restaurant space, we cannot afford to allow the iron wall of buses to continue clogging Main Street literally choking away any chance at revitalization. Renaissance Square will provide an enclosed and controlled transfer center for RTS and Greyhound/Trailways. That reminds me, Greyhound/Trailways needs to move from Midtown, this will give them a proper home. Midtown is also prompting Wilmorite to develop plans to revitalize the Sibley Building, however these plans cannot be implemented until MCC is out. If Renaissance Square is cancelled, it will be many years before MCC can find a new downtown home. Or worse, MCC could choose to leave.

I am proposing that Renaissance Square move forward with the transit center and MCC campus intact and as designed. The performing arts component would be reduced to include only the blackbox theater. The Mortimer parking garage will remain and the historic buildings at Main & Clinton will be restored to their former lustre. This plan will allow the project to move forward with little additional funds needed. A fundraising effort to support the original vision of three new theaters (big, medium, and small) will be commenced with a goal of raising up to $100 million. This will also give the community more time to determine the appropriate locations for the medium and large theaters, though I envision them at Midtown and/or the "Block F" site cater-corner from the Eastman Theater. Most importantly, this will give our elected officials the opportunity to save face. It will show that all of the work done to date, worth some $15 million of our taxpayer dollars, has not gone to waste.

Welcome Downtown, ESL

2008-02-09T19:13:00.001-05:00

A big name in the local financial scene, ESL Federal Credit Union, revealed plans on Thursday to move their corporate headquarters to a new building in downtown Rochester. The new six-story 180,000 square foot building will house more than 300 ESL employees, including 30 new hires over the next three years. ESL follows Paetec Communications as the latest locally-based company making the move to our rejuvenating center city.

As one of downtown's biggest boosters, I'd like to thank ESL for their commitment to this community. They could have very easily chosen to locate their headquarters in a non-descript suburban office park like other local corporate icons such as Paychex, Constellation Brands, Global Crossing, or their main credit union rival, Summit FCU. Instead however, they chose to make a bold statement about both their own corporate future as well as the future of this city. In doing so, their investment will contribute to the vitality of our region's most important destination. If only five percent of those 330 employees decide to take up residence in the downtown area, that's another 17 apartments or condos occupied. As downtown increases in attractiveness, that five percent will surely rise. The same cycle that leads to disinvestment also can lead to investment when you start turning that wheel in the other direction.

Once again, thank you to ESL. Their plans are contributing significantly to the air of optimism spreading across Rochester. Now then, I must be brutally honest with my assessment of the proposed design for their new headquarters. First, the main entrance and street frontage along Chestnut Street are phenomenal. The curved, collonade concept is a daring vision that is quite surprising given the relatively tame designs typically produced by LaBella. I am however, quite worried about the streetscape. If it is anything like the side street/parking garage entryway view in the above image, I can't help but be concerned. This could become another Excellus Blue Cross/Blue Shield Building -- nice looking from one side, but completely lifeless on the other three. My worries are magnified by the roofline of the ESL Building; it looks eerily reminiscent of the roofline of the Excellus Building.

If it wasn't obvious, I feel that the Excellus Building is one of the worst buildings ever built in Rochester. It pays no attention to the streetlife and turns all of its attention inward. South Avenue will never be a lively street if that building cannot be retrofitted to bring retail to the streetfront or, at a minimum, some dang windows! In that respect, ESL is indeed vastly superior; at least there are windows. But why can't we have a building that has first floor retail on all of its street frontage? It seems to me that the corner of Woodbury and Chestnut would be a great location for a restaurant. It's across the street from one of the top tourist attractions in Upstate New York (the Strong National Museum of Play), has great accessibility and visibility, and would have very little competition because all of the other lifeless office buildings in its neighborhood lack retail/restaurant space.

I may be rushing to judgment. Perhaps ESL is planning first floor retail besides the new bank branch. But none of the news articles that I've read on the subject have mentioned it and none of the renderings that I've seen highlight it. I'm not a "beggars can't be choosers" sort of guy. I don't believe that any city should just approve every development it comes across simply because it's better than the alternative. That goes against every tenet of quality city building. And while a bank branch is better than an office, and ESL certainly is entitled to have a branch at their headquarters, it isn't the same as a store or a restaurant. Banks are only open business hours, they're usually drab and lifeless, and they're almost always oversized. Retail and restaurants, on the other hand, are open during the evenings, usually have vibrant window displays and entryways, and they typically take up less space. The more streetfront retail space, the more sidewalk activity.

I say these things not because I'm against the ESL headquarters. On the contrary, if it gets built as designed, it will still be a great improvement over the pothole-strewn surface lot it will replace. The building's design is not boring and boxy, but rather, displays an exciting facade that would be unique in our region. I am simply pointing out that there is always room for improvement. If it's not too late, I would encourage the good folks at ESL to consider allowing for first floor retail space. It would be good for the employees, good for the clients, good for the long-term viability of the building, and good for the downtown community at large. And would it be too much to ask at least some employees to walk, bike, carpool, or take public transportation to work? Oh well, I'll save the downtown parking fallacy for another rant.

Passport to Insult

2008-02-02T11:50:00.000-05:00

A new day has dawned on our northern border. For the first time in our peaceful history, Canadians and returning Americans now need a passport to enter the United States. Supposedly, this will bring increased security for all Americans. I guess Washington thinks Ottawa is so unsophisticated that they just let in every Ali, Mustafa, and Omar that wants in. Thankfully Bush and Chertoff are keeping us safe! No more Canadian terrorists will be able to gain entry into this sacred land, at least, not without a passport. What a sham. What a disgrace. What an insult. Canada is America's best friend and has been for nearly 200 years. Our economies are inseparably intertwined. Our cultures are all but indistinguishable. We are they and, for the most part, they are we.

So why is it that the geniuses in Washington feel the need to continue shutting us off from the rest of the world? As we put up walls along our southern border and bureaucrats along our northern one, our counterparts in Europe are erasing their international borders. How are they doing this without provoking a single terrorist act? Beyond the fact that the terrorist threat is blown way out of proportion in this "home of the brave;" the Europeans are creating a continental standard for travel and immigration applicable across the entire European Union. Imagine that, nations working together to secure each others' citizens. Apparently, that's just not the American way.

Most of the northern border is already porous. Why would these crazy terrorists, whoever they are, choose to enter the US through a secure border crossing when they can just walk across a farm field in Maine or North Dakota? It seems logical to me that, instead of damaging northern border economies and fraying international relations, we should be pursuing greater ties with our friends to the north. Why not work together with the Canadian government to create one standard for travel and immigration to and from North America? Then we can open our borders from coast to coast. No more tolls, no more border guards, and no more need for passports. It may sound like it, but this is not some fantasy land with gingerbread houses and rivers of chocolate. This is Planet Earth 2008 and America is falling further and further behind the rest of the world.

The reality of our global economy is that we in Rochester are as tied to Toronto as we are to New York City. By adding another roadblock between us and Toronto, we hamper a significant part of our regional identity. The good ol' boys from Texas who make these rules may not understand it, but we sure do. It's bad enough that we make good people from many foreign nations that do not share borders with us jump through hoops to be allowed entry into this great country. But it's downright insulting that we would do this to our friends in Canada. I hope that Ottawa returns the favor and makes it harder for us to enter their land. Besides, don't they have as much to fear from us and we do from them?

Brown Square Park Festival Site: Why?

2007-12-29T09:52:00.000-05:00

This morning's paper contained an article on the City Department of Community Development's study of moving the "Downtown Festival Site" to Brown Square Park. I saw the Request for Proposals (RFP) for this project a while ago and it perplexed me. Why consider moving the site from its current home in High Falls to the far-removed Brown Square neighborhood, especially when the City is in the middle of investing millions in bringing back Manhattan Square? There is much to dislike about this ill-conceived plan that the D&C article did not bother to mention. As usual, it's up to me to cut the BS and get to the heart of the matter.

First things first, it's true that Brown Square used to be home to numerous ethnic festivals way way back in the day. Italian, German, Irish, Puerto Rican: the same ethnicities that settled the neighborhood were the same ethnicities celebrated at summertime festivals at the park. All of these festivals have since moved to other sites: Italian and German are held in Gates, Irish in Irondequoit, and Puerto Rican now held a stone's throw away at the Frontier Field VIP lot. Although I've always wondered why these festivals choose to locate where they do, does a return to the long-gone past make the most sense for our city and region?

The RFP for the Brown Square Festival Site study is fraught with shortcomings. First off: contrary to Commissioner Vazquez's thinking, Brown Square is not even downtown. Why move the "Downtown Festival Site" out of downtown? Shouldn't we locate such an important facility in a location that would maximize its contribution to the economic development prospects of our city? Sadly, there is very little opportunity for spin-off from a "Brown Square Festival Site." Much of the neighborhood has been turned into an industrial park or, even better, surface parking lots for Kodak Office. Across Verona Street from the park is the City Animal Shelter and cater-corner is an elementary school. If we move all of our festivals to Brown Square, most patrons will drive in, park at the area lots, enter the park, watch the musicians, eat the food, and then head back to their cars and drive off. This is not the type of situation that we should be encouraging. It is short-sighted, contrary to the tenets of successful city-building, and pandering to a neighborhood disappointed by the construction of Paetec Park.

Furthermore, the RFP does not call for any study of the surrounding parcels to determine their highest and best use should the festival site move to Brown Square. If we truly want to make Brown Square a successful area, it will need an influx of housing, retail, and services. It will need to shed its current suburban industrial park appearance and morph into what an attractive city neighborhood should be. For instance, why is there no consideration of the adjacent rundown industrial parcel to the immediate west of Brown Square Park along Oak Street? For Brown Square to truly be a "square," it needs to have streets on all four sides. As such, this parcel should be absorbed into the park thereby making it accessible on all four sides and maximizing its ability to contribute to the neighborhood's revitalization. As the City learned during the early years of the MusicFest, Brown Square in its current form is not spacious enough to accommodate large crowds. What will happen if and when these festivals outgrow Brown Square?

While I support the concept of improving Brown Square Park as a centerpiece for a neighborhood on the cusp of renewal, it is simply not the right location for a regionally-significant festival site. It seems to me that if we really want a "Downtown Festival Site" that will attract our region's best festivals and allow them all to prosper, such a site must be located in an attractive setting closer to the heart of downtown. The site should be visible from afar and easily accessible to all. It should provide significant opportunity for economic spinoff, creating opportunities for retail, restaurants, hotels, and housing. There is really only one location appropriate for such a facility: Manhattan Square Park. As I mentioned earlier, the City is in the process of spending millions on fixing up the park to bring it back to its former glory. What better way to ensure such glory than to make a commitment to it in the form of its dedication as the Downtown Festival Site? With the coming redevelopment of Midtown Plaza into the bustling home of Paetec's 1,200 employees, hundreds of units of new housing, new office and retail space, restaurants and hotel rooms, the siting of our region's most prominent festivals at Manhattan Square may finally bring us the vibrant urban environment so many of us want.

Winter Returns, As Do Same Old Complaints

2007-12-17T18:16:00.000-05:00

If you're lucky enough to live in the beautiful Rochester area, or much of the upper midwest and northeast, you know quite well that winter weather has returned for the season. It's a great time of year: the holidays, football, ridiculous utility bills, back-breaking shoveling, the lovely sound of rock salt cracking beneath your boots. Ahhh yes, winter is everyone's favorite season for so many reasons; and one of those reasons has to be winter driving.

There really is nothing quite like driving in a snowstorm. For most of us, that means clearing snow off your car before getting going. When you've got a foot of snow to clear, and it's 10 degrees out, you turn into one of the most productive people on earth. Once you've cleaned off your car and hopped in, you turn on the heat and it blows cold for a minute. Now that's refreshing! Time to put the car in gear and head to work, home, or somewhere in between. Your engine fights you for the first few minutes as it struggles to warm up but that's the least of your worries. With the icy roads, you're more concerned with making sure you get from Point A to Point B in one piece.

Of course, not all of us have to deal with this routine on a regular basis. As a walker, I simply have to layer up, throw on my boots, and I'm on my way. Sure, it's a pain in the ass dealing with the often unshoveled sidewalks, the slush-filled intersections, and the constant feeling that you're about to slip and fall; but it's a hell of a lot better than risking your life in an unreliable commute by car. Every day I cross over 490 (lesser known as the Erie Canal Expressway) on my walk to work, and during these past few wintry weeks, I've noticed just how slow traffic moves. This brings me to my point: we don't have to live this way.

It seems to me that, given our long winters, it makes perfect sense that we live in denser, less spread out communities. There are many reasons for this. One, more of you will be able to join me on the sidewalk using your God-given non-polluting mode of transportation to get to work. Two, alternate modes of transport such as transit become a lot more viable when they serve dense neighborhoods and as a result, you'd be more likely to want to take the bus. Three, if we live closer to each other, there will be fewer roads to plow and a lot less stress on public budgets (lower taxes, anyone?). Four, if you still must drive, your commute will be much less lengthy and probably much more reliable. I'm sure there are many more reasons why a more denser community is preferable in our winter climate, but I'm not going to bore you with them.

The point is, if you don't like it, you can change it - you can move. I don't understand why the City or the Downtown Development Corporation hasn't started sponsoring billboards on the expressways around downtown with the slogan "If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home By Now." Take it from me, it's a nice feeling to find yourself moving as fast as the vehicles around you and you're not spending a cent on gas nor are you putting yourself at risk of serious injury (so long as you watch where you're going). Not that the fact is being lost on everyone. We've added thousands of units of housing in and around the downtown area in recent years and thousands more units are planned or underway. But it still amazes me how much sprawling development we continue to see on our periphery. I just can't see the attraction, especially given our unique climatological situation, to living so far away from everything. Furthermore, the more of you that make that uninformed decision, the more we all have to pay to subsidize you.

A lot of us complain about the weather and a lot of us complain about people who complain about the weather. Either way, it's easy to complain about something you cannot change. We can't change the weather and we can't change how people behave; but we can change how we live. So why complain about those things that are caused by our own choices? Why complain about things we actually can affect? Next time you find yourself stuck in weather-related traffic congestion, ask yourself, have I made the right choice?

Tomorrow "We" See How Stupid "We" Are

2007-11-05T20:38:00.000-05:00

Election Day 2008 is tomorrow. Despite having no real race for County Executive, this has turned out to be a very intriguing year for local politics. Monroe County Republicans have seemingly done everything they can to hand the County Legislature to the Democrats. By ignoring the obviously unethical practices of the Water Authority that limits dissent and serves as a staging ground for GOP golden parachutes; by obstructing any attempts at addressing the shortcomings of COMIDA which has produced the unwanted double-wammy of no job growth and unsustainable suburban sprawl; by refusing to consider the many real answers to the County's budget problems proposed by the Democrats and subsequently celebrating the shady, anti-democratic methods behind Maggie's F.A.I.R. plan (which I am almost ashamed to admit that I support); and now the despicable, racist, xenophobic political mailer produced by the Monroe County Republican Committee which basically claims that County Democrats support terrorism and that all Arabs are terrorists (see images below borrowed from my good friends at RochesterTurning).

I can write the counter-mailings: "County Republicans want your children to die for Texaco," "County Republicans Support Substandard Health Care," "County Republicans Know What You Did Last Summer."

This frankly should be a cakewalk for the Monroe County Democratic Party. Republicans at all levels of government have shown nothing but disdain for the Constitution, distrust of the People, and an uncanny ability to allow private corporations to control every aspect of our lives. Their mantra of "profit above all - health, safety, and well-being be damned" has outworn its welcome across this country. This region missed out on its last chance to show that we are a part of that newfound spirit during the 2007 election, when we returned three failed Republican incumbents to Congress. Maybe we just didn't realize how fraught with incompetence and corruption the local Republican leadership is. Well, unfortunately for us, they've reminded us in a big way. Tomorrow we shall see if we have learned from our mistakes. Will we prove ourselves to be mindless sheep of the status quo flock or will we come out and represent ourselves like the intelligent, hard-working, progressive community that we really are? I know I'll do my part; please do yours. Vote Democrat tomorrow - it's your duty.

Wegmans Boycott Comes to an End

2007-10-29T20:49:00.000-05:00

You read that title right. My self-imposed boycott of hometown favorite Wegmans has met its end. Not that I've actually patronized Wegmans since I lifted the ban, but I will no longer refuse to shop there. Is this a sign of a more mature Man About Town? Certainly not. But two recent gestures of good will on the part of Wegmans has prompted me to announce that I will no longer judge you for being a Wegmans shopper.

First off, I recently learned of multiple donations to neighborhood associations in the City of Rochester by Wegmans. These donations to Swillburg and Corn Hill are just the tip of the iceberg for Wegmans as they gave more than $1.6 million for "area-wide and neighborhood contributions" as well as another $1.4 million for "community events" chain-wide in 2006. If you know of other noteworthy contributions that Wegmans has made to groups within the City of Rochester, I'm interested to learn more. The more I know of, the more likely I am to shop there once again.

Secondly, I have to thank Wegmans for not only allowing the City to bring in a competing grocery chain for their closed Dewey/Driving Park store, but for actually helping make it a reality. Wegmans donated the site to the City with no restrictions and, as a result, the City was able to find investors willing to bring Price Rite to town. Not only that, but the City swung a $425,000 profit on the deal! That profit will be used to spruce up the Dewey Ave business district, breathing new life into the neighborhood and hopefully stabilizing what should be a thriving working class commercial center.

These are great things that Wegmans has done and is doing. There is no denying that. However, I still need more from them before I return to being a full-time Wegmans shopper. Luckily for Danny & Co., I'm easy to please. My only request: bring a full-size Wegmans to the south side of the City of Rochester. The closing of the Mt. Hope Avenue store still stings for residents of the south side and we've all gotten pretty used to the Brighton Tops store by now. But I'm willing to bet that most of us are more than willing to become Wegmans customers once again, if they return to the neighborhood. And wouldn't you know it, I've got options for them to consider.

The first potential location for the Big W: the long-rumored Psych Center site on Elmwood Avenue opposite Goodman street. A developer is planning major investment in the tower there, bringing affordable apartments geared towards college students to the huge structure. I have to assume that the apartments will be much more attractive to would-be tenants if a large commercial plaza containing a Wegmans were right in their backyard. I understand that local residents are opposed to such development due to fears of traffic, noise, and light pollution. But I've taken a long look at this site and I see no reason why this project could not be designed to minimize negative community impacts while maximizing city-wide benefit.

A second option for Wegmans is the CityGate property. This project, to be developed by Costello at the site of the former Iola campus at Westfall Road & East Henrietta Road, has been shrouded in mystery. I understand that it is Costello's intention to create a walkable mixed-use neighborhood with shops, restaurants, offices, and a mix of housing styles. While it may be impossible to make a Wegmans store "walkable," there certainly is plenty of room on the former Iola campus for a Wegmans or two. I'll settle for just one, thank you.

But it is my third option that has the most potential for overall benefit to the City. I propose that Wegmans purchase the Monroe County Department of Health property at the corner of Westfall Road and Mt. Hope Avenue, demolish the ugly high-rise that houses the Health Department offices, and construct a full-sized Wegmans with at least one restaurant outparcel fronting Mt. Hope. Under my plan, most of the County Health Department would move to the vacant, County-owned Terminal Building downtown on West Broad Street. Any remaining offices would move to unutilized space at the Civic Center.

The word on the street is that Monroe County wants to knock down the Terminal Building and replace it with a surface parking lot. If you're familiar with the Broad/Plymouth area, you know the last thing needed there is more surface parking. My plan would bring significant tax benefits to the City, revitalize a historic downtown office building, and embody a commitment to the City of Rochester on the part of Wegmans. It's a win-win-win for pretty much everyone involved. And best of all, it will make me a loyal Wegmans shopper once again.

An Easy Way to Keep Dumb Criminals Behind Bars

2007-10-18T20:12:00.000-05:00

If you've ever had the pleasure of taking a leisurely stroll around the lovely Monroe County Civic Center, you've probably had the joy of seeing litter strewn about in a sadly predictable fashion on many adjacent streets. Beyond the typical Wendy's bags and discarded Watchtower literature, the most common form of trash you'll find are clear plastic bags. But these aren't just any plastic bags, look closer and you'll see that these bags contained the possessions of a recently-released inmate of the County Jail. Or rather, a recently-released dumb inmate of the County Jail.

True, most criminals are dumb, especially those that get caught. But these are the type of criminals who, upon getting released from prison, immediately litter our city's sidewalks. These are the most braindead of the dumb criminals. It stands to reason then that these are the types of criminals that are the most likely to be repeat visitors to our area's most exclusive resort. Litterbugs piss me off, but these assholes take the cake. The funny thing is, with minimal effort, we can put these geniuses right back in the slammer. You see, these bags have the inmate's name on them in big bold letters. If these shit-for-brains can't figure out that they shouldn't leave trash displaying their personal information on the streets immediately outside the jail, then we should throw them back in jail before they commit a much worse crime.

My suggestion is a simple one: any time one of these bags is found, the police should be immediately notified and dispatched to the former inmate's home to arrest him or her for the offense. These offenders should be put back in jail for a minimum of three months for showing depraved indifference for our community. If we are serious about "zero tolerance" then we should at least show no tolerance for this form of littering. This is a simple and easy way to get some of the most ignorant scum in our community off the streets before they have the opportunity to really harm an innocent person. And if that doesn't help, there's always the death penalty...

Say No to No Tolerance

2007-10-12T19:24:00.000-05:00

It's Day Four of the City's asset freeze caused by our lily-livered mayor's decision to kowtow to his police buddies (who are getting quite the handsome raise). Does anyone actually believe that the current police state imposed on this city will do anything long-term to curtail crime? Give me a friggin break! I know I'm not the only city resident pissed off by this decision. More police do nothing to prevent crime. You know what actually prevents crime? Jobs, hope, economic opportunity. These are the things that we need to be investing in. How about our popular Mayor go and sit down with the assholes on the COMIDA board to talk to them about how their decisions are decimating our city? How about he go and address the Ontario County Board of Supervisors and give them a piece of our collective mind? Oh wait, there's a travel freeze on city employees.

You see, the "growth" that we're experiencing locally is almost exclusively coming at the expense of those who need it most. Why do we continue to allow jobs to move out to the periphery of our urbanized area? Why do we get excited about new manufacturing facilities popping up in Avon, Canandaigua, and Ontario? You tell me how these facilities will ameliorate the situation for the chronically-impoverished in our city? Would someone please give me a realistic long-range plan for addressing our city's poverty crisis!??!!??! Sending every uniformed officer into the streets to arrest every non-conforming individual they encounter will not help. Sure, there may be a two-week lull in violent crime (although there hasn't been much of a lull at all so far), but what happens next month? What happens when these degenerates are allowed back onto our streets and back into the gangs, drugs, and guns that they were involved with before incarceration?

I can remember the late-1990s, when crime in Rochester was at decades-long lows. Why was crime so low? Because the economy was thriving. People had jobs, people had hope, people had opportunity. Where are the jobs, where is the hope, where is the opportunity? Wherever it is, it's nowhere near the homes of those who need it most. There is no other way; we must reverse these trends. As much as I hate the guy, I can admit that Giuliani did clean up New York City. The overall crime rate in Rochester is roughly equivalent to those in New York's worst 'hoods nowadays. How did he do it? Through gentrification; through leveraging his city's wealth to create opportunities in inner city neighborhoods. By reaching out to the corporate elite and encouraging them to invest in "America's City." Can we not even try to do the same here? While our current City administration is busy wasting tens of thousands of our tax dollars on police overtime, there are dozens of small businesspeople wishing they could get tax breaks. For every "criminal" arrested tonight, there is a company willing to invest in our city if we'd only engage them. Throwing money at the RPD is nothing more than spinning our collective wheels; we need real economic change, the type of change that cannot be created by the City alone. Maggie and Minarik, please look into your souls and do the right thing. Leadership isn't about getting re-elected; leadership is about doing the right thing and letting the people decide if they agree. The suburbs have a key role to play; sadly, their elected officials are too selfish to give a damn.

This Just In.... Local Residents Are Morons!

2007-10-08T18:55:00.000-05:00

First off, I apologize for being gone for so long. I've heard from many of you that I need to get back on my soapbox for the sake of this city. So, at least this one time, I'm back. Secondly, to those of you whom I offended with my last post, I too apologize. But you need to understand, this is my blog, I choose to say whatever the hell I want to say, your feelings be damned. If you don't like it, that's fine, don't read my blog. Go check out the Christian TV network or Nickelodeon - ain't no bad words there and lots of hugs and bunny rabbits too. But, if you're willing to strap on a pair and deal with the realities of life in modern America, than read my opinions whenever I find the time to post them. I guarantee I will elicit some type of feeling in your mind and body. But guys, please no more nudie pictures, I don't swing that way.

So apparently WHAM ran a Voice of the Voter poll recently on the topic of Metro Governance. You know, that very same topic that supposedly scared suburban voters from choosing Bill Johnson four years ago. Well, now 70% of voters support some form of consolidation. Guess I was right in assuming that suburbanites didn't vote for Bill because they didn't want a black man as County Exec. But enough of the race card, I've played that enough. Let's get to the heart of the matter. You suburbanites are twisted sons of bitches. How the hell do you go from getting deathly scared of PacMan eating up your local communities to agreeing with Bill Johnson? All in less than four years?!!?!?!? Worse yet, I guarantee if there were a black man running for County Exec under the exact same platform, he too would get destroyed at the polls. Crap, there I go again with the race card. Sorry about that.

Hmmm....so looking at the WHAM-TV story, we find that while voters support government consolidation, they don't want to see their local Mayor or Town Supervisor lose their jobs. They went to East Rochester, the poster child for everything that's wrong with home rule laws, and they found that folks there just don't want to see their local Village officials and police officers (insert Italian name here) lose their jobs. And yet, they're so damn tired of all these taxes! It costs $1.1 million for the Village of East Rochester to have its own superfluous police department. Given that there are roughly 2,774 households in the Village, that means that each homeowner must pay $462 per year for police service alone. But wait, of those 2,774 households, a high percentage of those are renters. There are only 1,764 owner-occupied housing units in East Rochester. This means that every homeowner in ER pays close to $620 a year for their police department. That's just nutty. There's a Monroe County Sheriffs Department substation practically in the Village. Why do they need their own department?

Matter of fact, why does anyone need their own department? As a City of Rochester homeowner, I would be more than happy to give up having a City Police Department to make way for a Metro Rochester-Monroe Police Department. This would save County taxpayers hundreds of dollars a year without losing any amount of security. But I guess that just makes too much damn sense. It goes far beyond police of course. Why the hell is there an East Rochester School District? More people live with a 1/2 mile radius of my house than live within the entire Village of East Rochester. Do they really need their own schools? What is so wrong about Metro schools? If they're good enough for the low-tax southern states, aren't they good enough for us? How about splitting the county into four districts by quadrant? That way, the rich folks in Brighton, Pittsford, Perinton, and Mendon would pretty much keep their high standards and their kids won't have to share classrooms with smelly Gates kids. But no, we love our kids. 58% percent of voters think we should not do anything to our schools. But of course, those same folks constantly demand a cut in their school taxes!

The fact is, you can't have cake and eat it too. You can't go around talking shit about Rochester, Monroe County, and New York State and how high the damn taxes are without being willing to accept some changes in your community. Metro government can and will cut taxes. It can and will improve our economic standing. It can and will bring us closer together as a community. You're a complete and utter moron if you say "I can't stand the high taxes here in Gates, I can get the same relative quality of life in Georgia for a fraction of what I pay here" out of one side of your mouth and out of the other side say "don't you dare merge our governments or take away our police!". You have to be willing to bite the bullet. You can't make an omelette without cracking a few eggs. Get over your parochial attitudes for the sake of our community as a whole! The folks in the Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky area bit the bullet a few years back and merged their City and County governments. The result: lower taxes, lower crime, economic growth, and a growing population. That can happen here too, if we are willing to do what it takes to make it happen.

Excuse My French, But...

2007-08-10T21:44:00.000-05:00

If you're one of those self-righteous white assholes who keep telling me that I am making a mistake if I do not raise my kids in the suburbs, FUCK YOU. I happen to be among the small minority of enlightened individuals who realize that you don't solve problems by running from them. Fuck Penfield. Fuck Perinton. Fuck Webster. Fuck Perinton. Fuck Spencerport. And fuck you. I am sick and tired of hearing the same old shit from you. "You can't raise a child in the city." "The city is a warzone." "City kids are a bunch of worthless niggers."

Say what you want (and that last one is for those of you who think it but are too weak to just admit being neanderthalesque bigots), but every year, dozens of bright young men and women (of all races, ethnicities, and genders) graduate from our city schools to ultimately become doctors, lawyers, writers, actors, politicians, and other active members of our society. And, despite the constant condescension that they must deal with from naive assholes like you; they do end up making it. I know, I know. It's almost laughable to think about a Rochester City School grad being an honors student at the University of Rochester, let alone Harvard. But guess what? It happens year in and year out. Those of us that give a fuck about the future of this city will continue to live here and continue to raise our children here. You armchair quarterbacks who front like "liberals" but reside in Pittsford because you "want the best for your kids" can simply go fuck yourself. If you are like-minded, I encourage you to join me. This city is nothing without the commitment of people like you. And the rest of you, enjoy watching your community crumble, and thank you for being such great Christians. Now rot in Hell.

Suburban Parking Woes: Improved Transit Service Can Help

2007-08-02T07:43:00.000-05:00

In just the past week, the Town of Pittsford has been in the news for two separate stories related to parking shortages. One is a seasonal issue, the Buffalo Bills Training Camp, which only lasts for a month between late July and late August. Two designated off-site parking lots (at Pittsford Sutherland High School and East Rochester High School) are not large enough to handle the number of fans that the Bills attract to the St. John Fisher College campus. Not only are these lots not large enough, but they are not appropriate places to direct such large throngs of traffic. Both of these schools are located in already traffic-clogged, densely-populated villages. As the above-cited article points out, once these lots fill up, fans are parking illegally on narrow village streets, causing a very unsafe situation should emergency vehicles need access them.

The other Pittsford parking problem is occurring at Pittsford Plaza, associated with the opening of some sort of upscale chain restaurant and the continuing redevelopment of the plaza. According to the plaza's owner, the property is operating at "the max" right now and with a bunch of new stores coming soon, one can surmise that the parking situation will only get worse. Apparently, shoppers are being forced to park in lots across busy, high-speed Monroe Avenue and walk (the horror!) to their destination at the Plaza. Unless they want to kill the burgeoning future of Pittsford Plaza and the entire Monroe Avenue shopping district around it, this parking shortage issue must be resolved.

This prompts the question, why must we drive everywhere? It's a simple equation, if more people choose to walk, bike, or take public transportation, there will be more parking spaces available for those who choose not to. But it seems that very few of us are selfless enough to make the choice to change our lifestyles. The reasons behind our apathy toward alternative modes of transportation are completely understandable. Cars are just too damn convenient, even with soaring gas prices, increasing traffic, and parking shortages at key destinations. There are ways to address this problem, but they will all be met with defiant opposition from those who fear change and a perceived assault on their "way of life."

For one thing, the only place that should be free for you to park is your own driveway. If there were a charge to park at every space in the area, people would begin thinking about making changes. Why do you think you have to pay to park in Downtown Rochester? This is about supply and demand; it's basic capitalism, folks. If you had to pay to park at Pittsford Plaza, wouldn't you think twice about driving? Maybe you'd park somewhere else and walk over; maybe you'd hop on your bike and ride over; or maybe you'd take public transit. Then again, if the parking fees were reinvested in the Plaza to create a more appealing destination, it could have the opposite effect. When the Old Pasadena shopping district in southern California instituted paid parking and used the proceeds to improve the streets, sidewalks, landscaping, etc., it dramatically increased the number of visitors coming to the once-struggling district. Therefore, putting an end to free parking is only part of the answer.

Creating a viable bicycle/pedestrian environment with safe, well-maintained, and appropriately-marked bike lanes, sidewalks, and crosswalks will ensure that those who would choose to walk or bike to their destination have the ability to do so. This is simply not the case on Monroe Avenue in Pittsford or any of the other suburban commercial strips in our area. I recently had the pleasure of strolling along Jefferson Road in Henrietta when I dropped my car off for service for a couple of hours. I can safely say that, as long as I have a choice, I will never do this again. Unfortunately, many lower-income individuals in our community have no choice. So long as we want our office bathrooms cleaned and our chain restaurant food microwaved, we should provide an environment that allows our neighbors of lesser means the ability to walk to their jobs with dignity, and safety. Not to mention those of us who actually enjoy walking!

Finally, and quite obviously, our transit system does not come close to serving the needs of shoppers on Monroe Avenue or visitors to the Bills training camp. Current RTS service is almost entirely focused on rush hour commutes; this does nothing for your average suburban shopper (I should note that bus service within the city is generally pretty good; unfortunately, it is all but impossible to live your life entirely within the city limits these days). By instituting express bus service on both crosstown and hub-and-spoke routes, we can begin to serve these other trip purposes. Beyond that, we need to have a serious discussion in this county about planning for a county-wide light rail system. Yes, it's expensive and no, it is not a money-making venture, but unlike bus service, permanent reliable rail service can have a profound long-term impact on tourism, commuting, and car ownership in a community. While the City of Rochester has supported the concept of light rail transit service for a long time now, such a service cannot be limited to just the city if it is to be successful. It must be a complete system, stretching north, south, east, and west to key destinations all across the county. This means not only Charlotte, Kodak Park, Downtown, and the University of Rochester/Strong Hospital; but also RIT, Marketplace, the Airport, SUNY Brockport, the Villages of Fairport, East Rochester, Pittsford, Spencerport, and Brockport, etc. This requires the support of our area's major institutions and suburban governments; support which, to this date, has been entirely non-existent.

Think about it, if there were a light rail line running on the former Auburn Line through Pittsford, potential Pittsford Plaza shoppers could hop on a train near their home, get off at a stop on the other side of Monroe Avenue, walk along newly-constructed sidewalks, cross at newly-marked crosswalks, and enjoy their afternoon or evening at Pittsford Plaza. Similarly, if there were a light rail line running along the CSX mainline through East Rochester, Bills fans could get off at the Linden Oaks stop, and take a shuttle from there to the College. This would cut down on the amount of asphalt needed at our destinations; that would allow developers the opportunity to build on that wasteful asphalt; and that would allow our local governments to increase their respective tax bases. Sounds like a win-win to me, so what's the hold-up?

John Lightfoot for County Executive!

2007-07-28T21:37:00.000-05:00

What? Too soon?

Oh well, if they can't find anyone with the cojones to run for County Exec, let's hope that the Dems can find someone suitable to fill Lightfoot's soon-to-be-open seat on City Council. Not that his replacement would have large shoes to fill; the guy never deserved to be elected in the first place. Isn't it amazing what name recognition can do? Two prior DWI convictions weren't even brought up during his campaign? Is there anyone in our local media who even bothers to try to do their job? His brother Willie Jr., on the other hand, is a brilliant and well-dressed man whose talents are better suited for City Council than the County Leg. Maybe he's interested???

So all of you Democratic insiders, feel free to voice your opinions on the matter. Even better, if you have any privileged information, feel free to post it here. Allow me to suggest a few names: Wade Norwood, Saul Maneiro, and Dennis O'Brien. I know all three of these individuals in various capacities and all would make (or in Wade's case, have made) excellent candidates. First, it would be great to have Wade back in the public eye. He was a strong voice of reason on the Council in years past and I'm sure he's learned valuable information as a member of the Buffalo Control Board. Besides, who doesn't enjoy hearing the guy speak? Maneiro was the best candidate not to get elected a couple years ago when Lightfoot was able to steal a seat using his last name as his only selling point. Given the increasing influence of Latinos in Rochester today, having a second Puerto Rican on the Council is a good thing. Finally, Dennis O'Brien is a name you're seeing more and more these days. He's young, he's Irish, he's liberal, and he's helped keep Dave Koon in power in the Republican eastern suburbs for years now. All three of these gentlemen are quality choices for Council. I'm sure Minarik has someone willing to run for the Dark Side, let's be sure that the Council remains our local bastion of liberal sensibilities. What are your thoughts?

Reader Feedback Wanted

2007-07-25T08:14:00.001-05:00

It's time for some personal interaction with you wacky people... So I added a poll feature yesterday evening and thus far, I have received only one response. The worst part is that the response wasn't even mine. Is it not working properly? The last thing I want is to look like a hick who can't figure out the whiz-bangs and doo-dads of this intarnet thing. I am not a tech geek; it took me nearly an hour to figure out how to get the poll roughly where I wanted it to go. It's still not perfect; I wanted it placed in the sidebar underneath "About Me" but when I did that it pushed the sidebar all the way to the bottom of the page. WTF! Also, I haven't switched to the new-fangled Blogger template because I couldn't figure out how to keep my hit counter when I made the switch. It really is quite embarrassing that I can't figure this stuff out. Regardless, if you have any suggestions for the site, or know how to make the whiz-bangs and doo-dads do what I want them to, please let me know. In the meantime, I'll do my best to issue at least semi-regular rants to anger up the blood.

UPDATE: I fixed the poll problem, so have at it people!

Dairy-Based Baked Goods Mill: Enough is Enough Already!

2007-07-24T12:02:00.000-05:00

Clearly there is not enough going on in the Rochester area. No exciting discoveries at our research institutions. No titillating controversies in our local political arenas. No economic development advances improving our regional standard of living. Nothing of any real importance to the general populace is occuring around these parts. There must not be. Why else would the opening of an all-but ubiquitous chain restaurant be the most heavily covered story in town?

Every pre-programmed mass-consumer in the area is ever so excited about the grand opening of our first Cheesecake Factory restaurant. The way the media is treating it, this is the most exciting event in our area since PF Chang's opened at Eastview a couple of years ago. As we all well know, you're not a real city until you have your very own big-name chain restaurant where you can dine like other mindless wannabe bigshots in every other large city in the country. This begs the question, why does the opening of a chain restaurant get so much free local media coverage while many locally-owned restaurants have to beg the media to mention them or pay for advertising out of their pockets? It's utterly ridiculous and completely unfair. These guys even used illegal immigrants to build the restaurant. How's that for giving the local community a big middle finger?

I don't care how good their jalapeno poppers or extreme nachos are, they're no better than anything you can find in any number of locally-owned restaurants. You status-obsessed brainiacs just don't get it. Didn't the recent purchase of Applebee's by IHOP turn on the lightbulb in those thick skulls of yours? All this chain food is garbage, no matter how much avocado they use. Frozen ingredients, focus group tested food items, waiters reciting scripts written by marketing executives, etc. It's nonsense! There are 125 other locations for the damn company, you are not special for having eaten there nor are we special for having one!

This is a company more than it is a restaurant; it's traded on the goddamned NASDAQ under CAKE. When you eat there, you line the pockets of some rich corporate asshole in California rather than helping your neighbor. These chains do nothing to help our economy or our quality of life. Just look at the rotting former Bahama Breese, er, Breeze on Jefferson Road in Henrietta. That got a lot of media attention too, but it took about a year for that once next big thing to shut down. The same godless corporation that owns the Bahama Breeze concept (yes, they're called concepts, not restaurants) also owns Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and Smokey Bones BBQ. Do you see the trend here? It's pathetic!

I suppose that Cheesecake Factory is in the upper echelon of national chain restaurants but that does not excuse our local media for hyping their arrival. You've got to wonder how much loot The Cheesecake Factory Corporation paid for all of this exposure. It's a shame that we've lowered ourselves to this. That we're supposed to be excited when a restaurant with lookalike locations from Boston to Birmingham to Beverly Hills arrives with their grossly oversized entrees and overrated desserts. We're supposed to be thrilled that our suburbs look even more like everywhere else in this increasingly-godforsaken suburban nation. Enjoy it while it's still "cool" to eat there, you brainless sheep. Will we get this excited when Hard Rock Cafe, California Pizza Kitchen, and Waffle House come to town too?

Missing Girls Alert! Please Read!!!!

2007-07-13T16:13:00.000-05:00

There are two fifteen year old girls missing in our community. They ran away from their homes in Chili on June 12 and were last seen in the Monroe Village area (on both Meigs Street and Averill Avenue) of the City of Rochester. If you have seen these girls, or have any information on their whereabouts, please contact the authorities.

UPDATE: The girls were found late last week safe and sound. Their parents can now sleep at night and hopefully their girls learned a valuable lesson.

Maggie's Lies Getting Bolder and Bolder

2007-07-13T07:44:00.001-05:00

Before this election year, I actually had the foolish notion that Maggie Brooks was doing a decent job as County Executive. There were a series of job announcements, the airport was drawing record passengers, and the relationship with the City was its best in recent memory. What happened? Maybe I'm just a weak-minded liberal who has fallen prey to the evil Democrats' sniping at her record, or maybe I'm a free-thinker who sees through all the bullshit that the GOP shovels at us, but regardless, I am no longer of the mindset that Ms. Brooks is deserving of her powerful position. Among the many issues that the local GOP has bungled, twisted, and lied about over the past year, the latest is the County's precarious financial position.

Monroe County's bond rating has been downgraded once again and is now only two levels above junk status. Beyond the fact that the City of Rochester has maintained a far-superior bond rating, there are third-world nations with better bond ratings than our wonderful County. A poor bond rating leads to higher interest rates on County projects. As logic would have it, the higher the interest rate, the more money County taxpayers must ante up every year. As the Republicans have it, taxpayers have nothing to worry about. As the illustrious John Durso put it on Tuesday, "We are concerned about the interests of property taxpayers on Main Street, and unfortunately that does not sometimes coincide with the interests of Wall Street ... This news is not unexpected, but it will not stop us from continuing to move forward to protect property taxpayers in the future." As if maintaining a positive fiscal outlook is comparatively harmful to taxpayers.

Today however, Maggie Brooks ratcheted up the debate by defending her record against her Democratic assailants with outright lies. Said Ms. Brooks, "We've balanced our budget every year ... We've reduced discretionary funding this year by $400,000. We've cut the cost of government. We have more jobs in our community than when I took office ... I don't think that to me signals a community that is on the verge of bankruptcy." She then added, "The Democratic caucus should be directing their ire at Albany and instead of saying, 'Maggie Brooks, when are you going to solve our budget crisis, (ask) Albany when are going to give us control over more than 20 percent of our budget?." Fair enough. Except that balancing the budget based on one-shot revenues such as tobacco settlement money is a band-aid, not a solution. Likewise, the proposal to take sales tax money from the City, towns, and villages is just shifting the burden, again not a solution. The County has indeed cut the cost of government, but they've done so by cutting services from those most in need. Who cares about them though, they don't vote and they certainly don't vote Republican. I agree with Maggie that we should be directing our ire at Albany and demanding more from them. However, in the absence of improvements at the state level, the County must do what is necessary to ensure its own fiscal stability; and so far, it has not.

But it is the fourth of those claims where Maggie makes herself look absolutely foolish. "We have more jobs in our community than when I took office." Really? I'm not sure where Maggie is getting her numbers, but from the numbers that I've seen, she's way off. Ms. Brooks took office on January 1, 2004. According to the Department of Labor's Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Monroe County was home to 388,027 jobs in December 2003, the month prior to her taking office. By December 2006, the most recent QCEW data available, there were 384,879 jobs in Monroe County. By my math, that's a drop of 3,148 jobs or nearly 1 percent. Fuzzy math indeed. It is true that the Rochester Metropolitan Statistical Area has added jobs since Maggie took office. But I don't think she should be taking credit for the hard work of Livingston and Ontario counties. In fact, she should be ashamed at how many businesses are moving to our neighboring counties to avoid the inept leadership she and her party have provided us since Jack Doyle took office.

The Democrats have put together a solid package of reforms that would cut the County's deficit and lead to long-term benefits. The Republicans claim that "everything is on the table" but scoff at Democratic suggestions like abolishing the Water Authority or Kent Gardner's proposal in the Rochester Business Journal to slice funding from the school districts. This leads to the obvious question, which party has your best interests in mind? The choice is clear which way you should vote come November, if only the Democrats would put a name in their column.

Finally, Brilliance on the D&C Forums!

2007-07-11T10:46:00.000-05:00

If you're like me, you're growing very tired of reading the incessant anti-Rochester babble on the Democrat & Chronicle's web boards. It's sad that our public forums are used almost exclusively as pulpits for preachers of negativity. Not that this is unique to Rochester nor is it unique to the internet/blogosphere. The venomous nonsense spewed forth in the online forums of the Buffalo News and Syracuse Post-Standard is equally ridiculous and for that, we should all feel shame. The state of public discourse in America today has declined to the point at which honest debate can no longer take place between regular citizens.

Despite all of this, there are a handful of hardy Rochester-backers out there carrying the torch of enlightenment to the ill-informed masses. This post is dedicated to the brilliant words written by loyal Rant reader Itchy in a forum discussing the Broad Street Tunnel project. Thanks to Itch for taking the time to pen such a scathing commentary on the wretched swine out there that never miss an opportunity to try and bring us down.

"Naddering nabobs of negativism. They mean nothing. They would complain about the downtown of any city they lived in. They'll never spend a dime there, or walk the streets and enjoy our city's beauty and history and vibrancy. They cheer any setback or decline, and purposefully ignore any progress. This has become a matter of dogma with them. They hate and fear our city; they hate and fear our people. They care nothing for art, for culture. They are barbarians. They contribute nothing to Rochester, and are of no consequence. Pay them no mind. They are nothing more than a mosquito, buzzing in your ear. Away, mosquito."

Revisiting the Downtown Casino Question

2007-07-10T10:35:00.000-05:00

A surprisingly large percentage of the region's populace is convinced that there is only one sure way to revitalize Downtown Rochester. This project would bring thousands of visitors downtown on a regular basis. It would guarantee hundreds of millions of dollars in investment and would provide an answer for the question of what to do with Midtown. However, an equally large cohort is convinced that this "one sure way" is a nail in the coffin of a vibrant downtown. It would increase crime, lead to serious mental health problems, and would provide little to no economic spin-off effect to the rest of downtown. This incredibly divisive concept is, of course, casino gambling.

Back in 2004, local developer Wilmorite revealed plans for a $500 million casino hotel complex spread over 35 acres of Downtown Rochester (see rendering below). Both the Sibley Building and Midtown Plaza would have been incorporated into the project. Wilmorite, who had been active in courting Indian casino development business elsewhere, was working with the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma on the Rochester project. Local business and political leaders, and the general population, were split on the issue. Democrats, led by then-Mayor Johnson, were adamantly opposed to the concept. Most social service agencies and small business owners joined the Democrats in opposition. Republicans and big business, led by the Greater Rochester Visitors Association and Rochester Business Alliance, were generally in favor of the plan. Ultimately, without support from the City of Rochester, New York State chose not to pursue an Indian casino in Rochester.

Like the rest of you, I too have been torn by this issue. I see both the positives and negatives of having a large casino hotel complex at the heart of our "Central Business District." As I see it, the positives are many: increased activity, improved appearance and perception, thousands of new jobs, more entertainment options, and a real solution to the Midtown question. On the other hand, the negatives are painfully clear: gambling addiction, opportunity crime, maxed-out entertainment dollars, and the undesirable situation of having a sovereign nation controlling prime real estate at the heart of the city. In the end, I came to the conclusion that although the positives outweighed most of the negatives, the thought of ceding a large chunk of downtown to a sovereign and non-taxable nation was simply too much to accept.

After a three year hiatus, the issue is back in the public eye once again. State Senator Joe Robach has introduced legislation to bring the issue of casino gambling to referendum by New York voters. He feels that Indian nations should not be given exclusive access to developing casinos in the State. Under his plan, New Yorkers would vote on whether to give individual counties the power to allow privately-developed, and taxable, casinos. I am in complete support of this proposal. The idea of allowing a sovereign nation to control land at the heart of our cities is obscene. What would Niagara Falls and/or Buffalo do if the Senecas decided to do something other than operate a casino on their land that would otherwise be illegal in those respective cities? Did the treaties New York State signed with the Senecas control for that? If we are going to have casino gaming in our cities, the economic benefits of that gaming should accrue to the city which hosts it, not to a sovereign nation with little stake in the community.

Past studies have shown that there would be tangible economic benefit to having a casino in Downtown Rochester. Despite the ill effects a casino can have on a community, if done properly, a casino can indeed be a positive addition to a city's entertainment repertoire. With all of the attention being placed on the growing tourist trade in the Rochester area, this certainly wouldn't hurt. I would be hestitant to accept a downtown casino if it did not meet the following conditions: make full use of the Midtown Plaza site, redevelop the Midtown Tower as the casino's primary hotel, build the mid-sized theatre that would be home to Garth Fagan Dance with little to no public dollars, pay full taxes for the casino property, and give the majority of the 1,300 or more jobs to city residents. If Wilmorite, or some other developer, was able to meet these conditions, how could we possibly turn it down? Then again, what if they fail?

The Broad Street Question, Part 2

2007-07-09T09:13:00.000-05:00

In a John Kerry-esque manner, I recently questioned my own support for the Broad Street canal re-watering proposal. According to this weekend's Democrat & Chronicle article on the issue, the City of Rochester may also be rethinking their initial interest in the project. I do not want to reiterate my concerns about the canal, but have faith dear friends, I will not flip-flop again on this topic. This short post is meant to piggy-back on my earlier post by providing a visual if not contextual reference to what I envision for a new Broad Street. This vision incorporates a water element (though not a navigable canal) that pays homage to the former canal's alignment and significantly beautifies the corridor while also maintaining vehicular traffic and avoiding construction of costly liftbridges.

The following images are of the new neighborhood of Hammarby Sjostad in Stockholm, Sweden. The water element in these pictures is quite reminiscent of the water feature I envision for Broad Street. As a note, Hammarby Sjostad is an eco-village and as such, this particular canal is actually a rainwater collection channel. Rather than the beautiful landscaped parks that abut this canal, my vision has one traffic lane in each direction, with a center turn lane, and parking lanes on either side abutting the "canal." There would be sidewalks on both sides of the water feature, as well as a sidewalk on the other side of the street. The water could be channeled through inexpensive culverts underneath the various cross-streets. The "canal" could be illuminated at night and during the day, interpretive features would tell the tale of our former downtown canal. In my humble opinion, this achieves the best of all worlds. It preserves a portion of the tunnel for future transit use, it maintains necessary vehicular movement on Broad Street, and it provides a unique feature that can bring investment to the corridor.

4th of July: The Best of America on Display

2007-07-05T08:09:00.000-05:00

I was among the estimated 200,000 or so folks who packed Downtown Rochester last night to witness the City's Red, White, & Boom fireworks display. As always, it was a very impressive show; my ears are still ringing from the loud booms in the humid night sky. I must give a thumbs-up to Mayor Duffy and his crew for assembling a great event. Fireworks are our way of remembering our National Anthem's verse, "And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air," and it seems that Americans more than any other nationality, love their fireworks. But maybe we love them a bit too much.

Lost in the frenzy of getting a great spot from which to watch the display was the fact that we were supposed to celebrating our nation's 231st birthday. Love for our nation should include respect for its laws, at least on this one day of the year. Instead what I saw were incredibly rude drivers, foul-mouthed suburban teenagers, and brazen disregard for a city neighborhood and its laws. The way my fellow Americans treated my beloved Corn Hill neighborhood was despicable. Everywhere, cars were parked illegally blocking streets and causing interminable traffic jams. Wealthy suburban white teens with their collars popped were hollering swears at each other from their nice cars while families with young children walked along the sidewalks of Atkinson Street on their way to watch the fireworks. Litter, public drunkenness, illegal fireworks; you name it, it was on display last night.

At some point yesterday evening, I remarked on how nervous I felt knowing that drunk morons and/or their children were setting off powerful fireworks that could touch off a fire destroying one of the neighborhood's many historic homes. Sure enough, the news this morning noted one incident in the city, on Wilkins Street, that nearly destroyed a home. What's worse is that firefighters arrived to find fireworks stuffed in the fire hydrants. The blaze was maximized, and a family's possessions significantly damaged, by this utter lack of respect for community. Firefighters also noted that they had a number of people with fingers blown off due to ignorance on how to handle fireworks.

As a nation, our priorities are all out of whack. We are a nation more concerned with Paris Hilton's jail time than with the thousands of soldiers, rebels, and innocent civilians dying in Iraq. We are a nation of have-nots ruled by a handful of haves. The newest generation of Americans will be the first in our nation's history to have a shorter life expectancy than its parents. We complain about gun violence, but do nothing to control guns. We complain about gas prices, but do nothing to control consumption. We complain about health care costs, but do nothing to control HMOs. All of this makes me wonder, is this a nation worth celebrating any more?

100th Post Considers City's Competing Priorities

2007-06-25T11:11:00.000-05:00

It took about a year and a half to get to this, the 100th post of the infamous Roch-a-Cha Rant. Although it often strays quite a bit from its original intent, I'd like to think that I have succeeded in generating useful discussion amongst my target audience. If you haven't noticed yet, I added a hit counter back in mid-May and have already exceeded 1,000 site visits since then, including 25 international visitors. I have no idea what that means in the blogosphere, but it's impressive to me. Thanks for taking the time to listen to me bitch and moan and occasionally come up with good ideas. Whether you agree with me or not, it's good to know you care. But enough of that, on to the good stuff...

This past Saturday, Downtown Rochester played host to one of the fastest-growing cycling events in North America, the Saturn Rochester Twilight Criterium. In only its fourth year, the event attracted an estimated 35,000 visitors to the streets of Rochester. The event provided an economic shot-in-the-arm for those restaurants that are lucky enough to be located along the course. I doubt Simply Crepes or He's have ever been busier. It is truly electric to watch some of the best cyclists in the world fly by you at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour. Actually, it can be quite dizzying for spectators so it's best to have a few beers during the race to keep you on the level. Good thing the JW Dundee's beer tent was dispensing pints of fresh-brewed hometown goodness. Too bad that beer tent isn't open year-round.

The Crit has become one of the premiere events on the North American cycling calendar. We should be proud of our ability to host one of the top LPGA events in terms of both attendance and purse on the same weekend and still bring out record breaking crowds for this event as well. As Australian female pro Jessie MacLean said, "This is the best race I've been to, I've never raced in front of a crowd like this." That is a sentiment shared by all cyclists and it is a testament to the people of our city as well as to the potential of this city to be a vibrant and energetic place. As a note, Aussies won both the men's and women's races, with Australian Olympian Hilton Clarke winning the men's pro race for the second year in a row. I'm thinking an Australian-themed bar might do pretty well down there, at least for one weekend.

As great as this race is, it faces an uncertain future. If conceptual plans were brought to fruition, the finish line on the very street this race uses would be no more. Last year I voiced my support for the Broad Street Canal concept. In theory, this project would remove Broad Street from South Avenue all the way to Brown Street and restore the original alignment of the Erie Canal. This remains a great concept, and I applaud the gentlemen behind it, but it clearly has its shortcomings. The Criterium may be internationally televised next year, attracting thousands more spectators, and it is likely that it will be expanded in the near future to a full weekend of festivities. Is there any way that this race could co-exist with a canal on Broad Street? Sure, but the race would be significantly altered and would definitely lose the exhilarating turn at Irving Place that is the signature of the course.

Maybe a compromise can be reached that incorporates the history of the Erie Canal's original path in an interpretive manner. Perhaps a narrow channel of some sort could run along Broad Street mimicking the former Canal's path and tying into my proposal for a Canal-themed public square on what is now a surface parking lot bounded by Plymouth, Broad, Main, and Washington. Interpretive signage and kiosks could be placed along the entire length of the historic alignment, with pictures and stories to help guide the way. I recognize that this goes against my earlier sentiments, and I hate to contradict myself, but that is what planners and economic development types do; we look at the pros and cons, we examine feasibility, cost effectiveness, and impacts, and we make recommendations that sometimes go against our initial thoughts. I still feel that the Canal proposal deserves to be fully studied and I would certainly not be against its development should it be proven feasible. But there is something about this Criterium that leads me to believe it can become a signature event for our city and its revival. Is it wise for us to pass on such a sure thing?

Bring Back the Yellow Bus!

2007-06-16T09:26:00.000-05:00

Unsupervised kids make dumb decisions. This is not a surprise. When hundreds of unsupervised kids crowd together, they have the potential to make a lot of dumb decisions. This is the case with teens all over the world. They're easily influenced, they're emotional, they're confused; in other words, teens should not go unsupervised. Especially on school days. But that has been the case for the past twelve years for hundreds, if not thousands, of Rochester City School students on a daily basis.

The City School District contracts with the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority through its Regional Transit Service subsidiary to provide transportation to and from school for large numbers of students throughout the City of Rochester. The District purchases bus passes for its students to use on any RTS bus at any time of day, although the passes are intended to be used only for accessing their respective school. Most of these students must come to Main Street in Downtown Rochester every day to transfer buses. This is where the trouble comes in.

For one thing, this is a recipe for truancy. Think of the temptations these kids must face every day not only on the bus, but while waiting for the bus in the middle of downtown. It is a miracle that most of them actually make it to school. Given all of the challenges that kids being brought up in tough inner city neighborhoods face, why are we making it even more difficult for them by forcing them to deal with our ineffective public transportation system? The answer, of course, is to save money; which is apparently much more important than anything else.

The bigger issue though, as I alluded to earlier, is piling many hundreds of teens from all over the city onto the sidewalks of Main Street. This is a recipe for delinquency. WHAM-TV called it "chaos," WROC-TV said it was a "brawl," and RNEWS described it as a "melee." "It" was the most recent instance of students fighting on Main Street in broad daylight while waiting to make their transfers. Disturbances such as this happen more often than the District, the Police, or RGRTA would like to admit. The fights, drug use, and other disturbances that are cultivated by cramming so many kids from all over the city into one downtown block have destroyed any hopes of a "renaissance" at Main & Clinton. Most businesses within earshot of the Liberty Pole have packed up and left, those that remain are struggling; the current situation is the main reason why so many downtown workers feel unsafe (real or perceived).

Can you remember what Downtown Rochester was like in 1994, the year before this program began? Although it was the year that McCurdy's and B. Forman closed their anchor department stores at Midtown Plaza, the Main & Clinton area was still full of smaller shops catering to workers and city residents. The Sibley Building had been renovated by Wilmorite and was home to an active retail environment with national chains such as Champs Sports and Lerner New York fronting Liberty Pole Plaza. Twelve years later and Midtown is hanging on by a thread. It is still home to a number of stores but few area residents think of it as a viable place to shop. The Sibley Building is nearly empty, with artwork filling the windows that face out on Liberty Pole Plaza. There is no doubt that the ill-conceived school transportation program either hastened the decline of Main & Clinton, or was the last nail in its coffin.

A City School education was also much different in 1994 than today. The schools were more diverse, they were less impoverished, and the kids were performing better. While we don't know to what extent this transportation program has contributed to truancy and delinquency, logic indicates that forcing impressionable youth to ride city buses with adults every morning and transfer in the middle of a busy downtown area with thousands of complete strangers is liable to tempt even the strongest of young minds to forget about school. Suburban kids with their big yellow buses aren't forced to do this, why should our kids?

Then there is the legal issue. Laidlaw Transportation Services, the folks that run the big yellow buses, have been suing RGRTA for years claiming unfair competition. Their argument is that RGRTA is heavily subsidized by State and Federal transit funds and therefore should not be allowed to compete with the private sector for service provision contracts. It stands to reason that there is absolutely no way any private firm could match what RGRTA charges for their services. This past January, FTA sided with Laidlaw and issued a "cease and desist" order against RGRTA. It remains to be seen what will come of this order; it is currently being appealed. If all goes well, the yellow buses of Laidlaw will replace the red, white, and blue ones of RTS next school year.

Furthermore, if we want to ensure the success of Renaissance Square, the largest construction project in our city's history, we cannot allow this transportation program to continue. Even if a police substation is built into Renaissance Square, and I surely hope one is, the few officers assigned to it would be hard-pressed to control a disturbance involving hundreds of kids in such tight confined quarters. I continue to fully support Renaissance Square and think it will have a profoundly positive impact on the attractiveness of our Center City. However, this program has the unique potential to render that impact dead on arrival before the ground is even broken.

Although this service is saving the District millions of dollars annually, it remains a losing deal for nearly everyone involved. The City is losing substantial amounts of property tax dollars at the Sibley Building (thanks Wilmorite!) and sales tax receipts throughout the Main & Clinton area. The kids who are forced to use this service are losing out by not being given a worry-free trip to school and back. The people of Rochester are losing out on what has the potential to be a thriving urban core. All of these issues have the potential to be at least partially addressed by stopping this program. We cannot afford any more ironic "chaos," "brawls," or "melees" at our Liberty Pole.

Rochester's Economic Limbo: How Low Can We Go?

2007-06-08T13:02:00.000-05:00

In a recent post, I noted that for most of the past half-Century, the Rochester area has been the jewel of Upstate New York. Jobs, population, and income growth consistently outpaced our upstate neighbors and that smugness that we are so well known for became firmly entrenched in our collective psyche. Guided by Eastman Kodak, Xerox, and other super-sized manufacturers, our elected officials and economic types went about their merry lives with little care for the future. We were a region of Alfred E. Neumans, responding with "What, me worry?" every time a local firm moved out of the area (e.g., Stromberg-Carlson/General Dynamics, Champion, French's, etc.) taking pieces of our former vitality with them.

By the 1980s, the Rochester area had, for all intents and purposes, stopped growing. Sure, we weren't shrinking like the other Rust Belt metropolises that surrounded us, but when compared with the nation as a whole, we were dead. Our venerable Big Three had passed their peak and were on a decline that would practically bring this region to its knees. But our smugness remained. It reached the point where the typical response to questions regarding our economy were met with, "at least we're better than Buffalo." Fast forward 20 years and very little has changed; except that we are doing worse than most of our Upstate friends and neighbors. Sadly, I think we've reached the point where we can no longer say, "at least we're better than Buffalo."

This morning I opened the virtual pages of the online news world and in the Buffalo News, I found a rendering of another physical manifestation of Buffalo's increasingly revitalized economy. The former Thaddeus J. Dulski Federal Office Building, an empty 15-story, 470,000 square foot office building built in 1971 that once housed some 2,000 government workers, will be completely redeveloped into a mix of Class A office space, luxury condominiums, and upscale hotel space. Uniland and Acquest, the project's developers, purchased the building at auction for $6.1 million; they now plan to invest at least $60 million into its sleek future.

Below: Dulski Today

Below: Dulski Tomorrow

This is not the only high-profile addition to the new Buffalo. A 10-story Federal Courthouse designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox is under construction next to their classic City Hall. A UK-based developer is redeveloping the historic Statler Towers into a mix of office, hotel, and residential space and is moving ahead with plans to build Upstate New York's new tallest building, the 40-story, 600-foot tall Buffalo City Tower, on a nearby lot. Further north of downtown, Uniland has unveiled plans for a 23-story luxury condo tower at Gates Circle. Bass Pro Shops has signed on to be the lead anchor in a major mixed-use development adjacent to HSBC Arena tentatively known as CanalSide. A high-rise condo building is going up along the waterfront and the local Blue Cross/Blue Shield is finishing up their new headquarters downtown as well.

Below: New Buffalo Courthouse

Below: Buffalo City Tower
Below: Gates Circle Condos

But let's get back to the Dulski Building and how it relates to Rochester. You see, we have a similar situation here in Rochester, except there are no developers coming to our rescue. The nearly-empty, long-deteriorating eyesore that is the Midtown Tower is begging for this sort of investment. Built in 1962 (and renovated in 1980), the 17-story 240,000 square foot tower stands as a monument to our city's collapse. A recent report issued by the City of Rochester indicated that the building should be rehabilitated and the common sentiment is that it should take on a form similar to what is taking place at Buffalo's Dulski Building. The current New York City-based owners of the Midtown Plaza complex want out, but the City of Rochester passed on the chance to purchase it. No local developers have stepped forward either, meaning that this property will likely move on to the next out-of-town management firm looking to make a quick buck at our expense. Does anyone have Uniland's phone number? They have a relatively sizeable presence in the Rochester area already; maybe they'd be interested.

If I'm not mistaken, a few years ago excellent local architect Bud DeWolff developed a concept design for a new Midtown Tower very similar to the Dulski. It would be re-skinned in glass and reborn as office and/or residential space with a hotel on top. Although this vision has gone nowhere, it should not be considered a pipe dream. There is a need for a new hotel in Downtown Rochester, either one that is focused on leisure travelers rather than business travelers or one that is dedicated to extended stays (i.e., all suites). There is a fast-growing office tenant downtown that is in need of additional space as well. CGI Communications may need to leave its Granite Building headquarters soon, not only because of Renaissance Square, but because they're simply running out of room there. Combine these two, and boom, you've got yourself a viable project.

But alas, there is no project. And there is no tangible sense of revitalization in Rochester. Our leaders claim to be committed to reversing the exodus of our young people, but despite countless reminders that young people prefer vibrant urban places, the only development we have around here are Wal-Marts and Targets on the fringes of suburbia. There is not a single construction crane mixed into our downtown skyline. Is this how our local elected officials and appointed economic development officials should earn their paycheck? It's easy to point out that the Buffalo area is still losing people and possesses far from a booming economy. But it is a good sign when deep-pocketed developers are willing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into your city. Will Smugtown get its act together or will we simply move on to saying, "at least we're better than Elmira."

Violent Crime, In Perspective

2007-06-06T10:48:00.000-05:00

Violent crime in the City of Rochester is way too high. This is common knowledge, even to nutty liberals like myself. The crime rate is viewed as one of the main reasons people decide to move from the City to the suburbs or other "safer" cities. It is also cited as one of the chief reasons many residents of the surrounding suburbs and rural areas choose not to patronize the City's restaurants or cultural destinations. I acknowledge the issue and do not disagree that we must find a way to reduce crime in our fair city. That being said, this logic is somewhat dubious. While the recently-released preliminary 2006 FBI Uniform Crime Report backs up the claim that Rochester is indeed a relatively "unsafe" city, an analysis of the data shows that we are far from the least safe city in America. Beyond that, many fast-growing, supposedly desirable cities have violent crime and/or murder rates higher than ours.

Amongst 245 cities with populations higher than 100,000, Rochester's violent crime rate ranks 27th (this particular statistic is not calculated for nine cities, including Chicago and Minneapolis, so that ranking may not be entirely accurate). Many of the usual suspects are "above" us on that list, such as Flint, St. Louis, Detroit, Memphis, and Oakland. However, a number of tourist-friendly and booming cities also have violent crime rates that exceed ours. These include such wonderful places as Orlando, Baltimore, Atlanta, Nashville, and Boston. On the flip side, and not surprisingly, the safest cities (those with the lowest violent crime rates) are mostly large affluent suburbs such as Irvine CA, Amherst NY, Cary NC, and Gilbert AZ. The following lists show the 25 most violent and 25 least violent large cities in America in 2006.

25 Most Violent Cities (per 100,000)

Flint, MI
St. Louis, MO
Detroit, MI
Memphis, TN
Orlando, FL
Oakland, CA
Miami Gardens, FL
Little Rock, AR
Baltimore, MD
Philadelphia, PA
Atlanta, GA
Cleveland, OH
Nashville, TN
Miami, FL
Springfield, MA
St. Petersburg, FL
Stockton, CA
Washington, DC
Kansas City, MO
Buffalo, NY
Baton Rouge, LA
Birmingham, AL
Boston, MA
Milwaukee, WI
Pompano Beach, FL

25 Least Violent Cities (per 100,000)

Irvine, CA
Amherst Town, NY
Cary, NC
Gilbert, AZ
Sunnyvale, CA
Provo, UT
Thousand Oaks, CA
Bellevue, WA
Simi Valley, CA
Santa Clara, CA
Centennial, CO
Arvada, CO
Glendale, CA
Carrollton, TX
Overland Park, KS
Sterling Heights, MI
Norman, OK
Huntington Beach, CA
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Scottsdale, AZ
Corona, CA
Orange, CA
Peoria, AZ
Coral Springs, FL
Richardson, TX

While similar to the violent crime rate, the murder rates for the full list of 254 cities with more than 100,000 in population does shift. Rochester, the great marksmen that we are, moves up a few notches to #22. America's most murderous big cities include all the familiar places with some fun exceptions. There were nine large places in the USA that did not register a single murder last year, including two "real" cities (i.e., not suburbs): Ann Arbor MI and Fort Collins CO. The following are lists of the Top 25 Most Murderous and Least Murderous cities in the USA.

25 Most Murderous Cities (per 100,000)

Gary, IN
Detroit, MI
Flint, MI
Birmingham, AL
Baltimore, MD
Richmond, CA
Richmond, VA
New Orleans, LA
Newark, NJ
St. Louis, MO
Oakland, CA
Kansas City, KS
Inglewood, CA
Little Rock, AR
Washington, DC
Cincinnati, OH
Philadelphia, PA
Baton Rouge, LA
Buffalo, NY
Kansas City, MO
Dayton, OH
Rochester, NY
San Bernardino, CA
Atlanta, GA
Orlando, FL

25 Least Murderous Cities (per 100,000)

Ann Arbor, MI
Arvada, CO (tied for #1)
Cary, NC (tied for #1)
Centennial, CO (tied for #1)
Fort Collins, CO (tied for #1)
Naperville, IL (tied for #1)
Overland Park, KS (tied for #1)
Thousand Oaks, CA (tied for #1)
Woodbridge Township, NJ (tied for #1)
Pembroke Pines, FL
Corona, CA
Torrance, CA
Orange, CA
Sunnyvale, CA
Burbank, CA
Ventura, CA (tied for #15)
Edison Township, NJ
Glendale, CA (tied for #17)
Huntington Beach, CA
Garland, TX
Peoria, AZ
Fullerton, CA
Irving, TX
Coral Springs, FL
Plano, TX

I only bring this up to a.) acknowledge that Rochester does have a very serious problem with violent crime and that it must be addressed if we are to ever truly revitalize our city; and, b.) to point out the hypocrisy of the area residents who say they will not enter the City of Rochester because it is so violent but have no problem taking their families to Baltimore or Orlando for vacation. And yes, Orlando's crime problem does reach into the Magic Kingdom.

Build Now-NY, But Not Here

2007-06-01T09:28:00.000-05:00

The Rochester area's economy seems to be slowly but surely getting back on track after a God-awful first half of the decade. For the first time in Lord knows how long, Rochester has been trailing its Upstate neighbors in job growth. I don't mean just Albany, Ithaca, and Syracuse; I mean Binghamton, Buffalo, and Utica too! The only area performing worse than Rochester recently has been Elmira; but that city has been on the fast track to Ghost-towndom for most of the past century (note: i mean no offense to the good people of Elmira and Chemung County, only to those in charge of their sinking ship). The troubles of Upstate NY are well-documented and I have ranted on them before. But sometimes, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Or rather, our local elected officials and their appointed bureaucrats.

The Build Now-NY (BNNY) program has been around for years. According to the Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform: "(BNNY) is a competitive grant program that has been helping local communities grow jobs for years. The program has distributed just over $4 million to help local communities pay for professional services related to engineering studies, environmental assessments, and legal support. The impact has been phenomenal. Since 1999, over 8,750 new or retained jobs have been developed on (BNNY) sites." This is a pre-permitting program, which eases the way for developers to attract businesses to local industrial/commercial parks and sites in the state.

A subset of BNNY is the Shovel Ready Program. Again according to GORR, "Having an economic development site certified as a "Shovel Ready Site" means that the local developer has worked proactively with the State to address all major permitting issues, prior to a business expressing interest in the location. This advance work creates a site where construction can begin rapidly, once a prospective business decides to develop a facility there. By reducing the time it takes a company to begin construction of a new facility, New York State and its local partners are able to provide valuable savings to the business and job opportunities for local residents." Any economic development professional worth a damn will tell you, if you're not shovel ready, you're not competitive in today's fast-moving economy.

I'm not going to get into the semantics of BNNY or the Shovel Ready Program. I will simply sum things up by saying that this is one of the few programs available in this state that helps level the playing field between Upstate NY and our domestic and overseas competition. Given the Rochester area's recent economic struggles, one would assume that our well-paid, politically-appointed economic development gurus are doing everything in their power to ensure that our region is competitive, including having a plethora of BNNY and/or Shovel Ready sites available to prospective employers. Sadly, and not surprisingly, you would be wrong.

A quick perusal of the BNNY/Shovel Ready programs indicates that there is only one BNNY site in Monroe County, the Rochester Technology Park, and it does not have Shovel Ready certification. Beyond that, in the entire nine-county Rochester/Finger Lakes region, there are a total of 14 sites, only one of which is Shovel Ready. What's more infuriating is that, of those 14 sites, nine are located in either Genesee or Livingston counties. Is it any surprise that these two counties have been making waves in attracting employment? Is it just a coincidence that the only Shovel Ready site in the region attracted a major Barilla plant last year? This is a serious shortcoming in our economic development deck of cards and the blame can be wholly placed on our local elected officials who talk a good game, but have absolutely no concept of follow-through.

Just take a look at our friends to the west in Erie County. There are 15 sites, of which nine are Shovel Ready. You read that right; 15 sites in a county of 950,000 and only 1 site in our county of 740,000? Dare I be so bold as to suggest that having such a wide array of sites was key in Erie County landing Geico, Citibank, and other major employers in recent years? The folks out there finally have their act together while we still sit in denial thinking that we're doing just fine. Need more proof? How about the fact that there are seven BNNY/Shovel Ready sites in Onondaga County. The Syracuse area has been leading all Upstate metros for the past few years in job growth; am I crazy to suggest that this could be playing a part? Hmmm...seven sites in a county of only 460,000 people and we can't muster up two? No wonder we're barely squeaking out job gains when, given our incredible assets, we should still be the jewel of Upstate. Our leaders should be ashamed of themselves.

To be fair, my understanding from anonymous sources is that there are two BNNY/Shovel Ready sites in the works in Monroe County. I won't say where and I won't say who is putting them together (that is confidential information and I don't want to get anyone in trouble), but I will say that the sites are in rural portions of the county. As if we haven't learned anything from all these years of vitality-draining suburban sprawl, we now are going to focus our economic development efforts at further decimating our urban core. This sounds an awful lot like our genius decision to build our Center of Excellence out in Canandaigua. Are we just dumb or is there rhyme and reason to all of this?

I should point out that this pathetic situation is not all the County's fault. Why hasn't the City of Rochester done anything to create Shovel Ready sites at its industrial parks, such as 14621 or the Outer Loop? There are BNNY/Shovel Ready sites in the inner cities of Albany, Buffalo, and Syracuse; why not here? Are we waiting to hit rockbottom before doing something about it? Oh well, at least the City did the smart thing by transferring some Empire Zone acreage to Monroe County to land the CareGuide expansion. Shit, I guess they screwed that one up too. Does anyone else get the feeling that there is no pilot flying this plane?

In Any Other City...

2007-05-30T14:34:00.000-05:00

If you're like me, you find yourself using the phrase "in any other city" rather often to precede a disparaging comment about Rochester. I do it quite often, usually to express my frustration at our snail's pace revitalization. I came across a great photo of a long-abandoned building on Maszman Speaks! that made me think: in any other city, this would be the coolest place to live or work.

According to Maszman, this is RG&E's abandoned Powerhouse #4. Imagine living in the river gorge, immediately adjacent to High Falls. You'd take the elevator down to get to your office or apartment, but you wouldn't be in the basement. This would either be ridiculously awesome or just plain ridiculous. Much like Buffalo's storied grain elevators, this structure would likely be very difficult to convert to modern usage. But I can guarantee, in any other city, this would be a sought-after address. At best, we'll have to wait until local developer Ben Kendig (or some other intrepid soul) can figure out how to make this work, as he has with so many other local landmarks. At worst, it will continue to decay alongside our postcard attraction as further proof of our area's inability to get anything right.

Your Taxpayer Dollars At Work

2007-05-15T17:05:00.000-05:00

"County spokesman John Durso ripped Morelle’s proposal, saying Morelle has been part of a state government with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver that has led to record increases in state spending and additional burdens on local governments.“This is nothing more than election year politics from the Democratic county chairman desperately seeking to draw attention away from the failures of his own party,” Durso said."

These are not words that should be uttered by any public servant, let alone the Monroe County Director of Communications. Yet, in a news update today, there it was. Personally, I expect at least a tad more professionalism from a member of the County Executive's senior management team. The Director of Communications should focus his or her public statements on county government issues like taxes, infrastructure, or social services. Furthermore, the Director of Communications should not be running off his or her mouth to reporters without first checking with his or her boss to ensure that it is an official position of County government. This reflects remarkably poorly on Maggie Brooks' leadership ability. While I would like to give Maggie the benefit of the doubt, I simply cannot in this instance. This should have been expected when she allowed Steve Minarik to give such an important position in County government to an unaccomplished disgraced political hack like John Durso. She acquiesced in his appointment, and as such, she is complicit in this despicable situation.

The above photo shows Durso at one of his finer moments (photo taken from Musings of a New York College Republican). From what I gather, Mr. Durso was not liked by anybody in the GOP, except for the only person hated more, our beloved Steve Minarik. According to the "Musings" blog, run by Republican-Conservative younglings, Durso was a much hated person in Albany:

"Durso will be best remembered for his obsession with the College Republicans (despite having been out of school nearly a decade), his mishandling of the audio equipment at Jeanine Pirro's August announcement in Albany (even though he was "never there"), his inability to identify female acquaintances of Howard Dean in press releases and his capacity for extorting paychecks from the NYGOP in return for doing so little work."

Prior to being shipped back to Rochester for being completely inept, Minarik sent us a gift in the form of Mr. Durso. Knowing that Minarik's short stint in Albany was coming to an abrupt end, Durso used his political love connection with Minarik to land a sweet gig here in beautiful Monroe County. Had he stayed on with the State GOP after Minarik was kicked out, he would have been shit-canned. Instead we have the pleasure of paying him more than triple the County per capita income to make purely political statements that have nothing to do with County government whatsoever.

A political operative with no relevant experience is being paid a generous taxpayer-funded salary to cause division in this community. Need I remind you that the vast majority of residents in this County are Democrats or independent? What other incompetent people are in positions of power in Monroe County government? How much influence over public policy does disgraced fat guy Steve Minarik have? Does John Durso deserve $90,000 of our hard-earned money and a prominent position in our government when he wasn't even good enough for a leadership position in his own party? This must become a campaign issue; I hope it just has.

UPDATE: The evening news telecasts all had quick snippets of Mr. Durso making a complete ass out of himself. The following is his quote from WROC-TV: "It is not a serious attempt to influence the policy of Monroe County and to be perfectly frank, Monroe County residents deserve better." John, you are absolutely correct; we deserve much better than you. Madam County Executive, I hereby offer my linguistic services as your Director of Communications. Heck, for $90,000 I'll make even more off-the-wall comments than the man-child you have in place now.

UPDATE, PART 2: RNEWS has a video where you can see Durso first-hand. My God, it's horrifying to think that if I had sold my soul to the Republican Party, I too might be ripping off the taxpayers to the tune of nearly six-figures while complaining about budget deficits and unfunded mandates.

Infotonics: Center of Embarrassment

2007-05-10T11:49:00.000-05:00

The huge news out of Albany today is that New York State is giving $300 million to International Sematech, one of the world's most influential high-tech research outfits, to locate their global headquarters in our capital city. Sematech is currently based in Austin, TX and is widely credited with creating the economic boom that doubled the size of the Texas capital and putting the city in the global knowledge city lexicon. Simply put, "Smallbany" will never be the same and Rochester's status as THE high-tech center of Upstate New York is in peril. The sad fact is, if this region had its act together years ago, we could be sharing similar success.

Way back in 2001, then-Governor Pataki established a program to create five "Centers of Excellence" across the state that would leverage hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment and thousands of new jobs. The five original locations were in Albany (nanoelectronics), Buffalo (bioinformatics and life sciences), Long Island (information technology and software), Rochester (photonics and microsystems), and Syracuse (environmental systems). Rochester's Center of Excellence (CoE) in photonics and microsystems, or infotonics, combined the resources of the University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Eastman Kodak, Xerox, and Corning, among many others.

Unfortunately, the CoE is not located in Rochester; it's not even located in Monroe County. The 123,000 square foot former Xerox facility which houses the Infotonics Center (see pictures below) is 22 miles from downtown Rochester as the crow flies, in the high-tech hotbed that is Canandaigua; where cows easily outnumber college graduates. Why was it built there you ask? The long answer is that Xerox had just shut down their inkjet manufacturing plant in Canandaigua, there was adequate clean room space, and it would be inexpensive to start operations quickly. This, we were told, would ensure its success. The short answer though is that the folks in charge were idiots. This site was chosen despite the painfully obvious objections of a few smart folks who noticed that we cannot realize the full potential of this type of facility if it is not accessible to the students and researchers that would make it thrive. Monroe County, working with Eastman Kodak, gifted land in Canal Ponds Business Park in Greece to the facility and City officials rallied for a location in close proximity to the University of Rochester. Those cries went unheeded and the most shortsighted conservative approach won.

Our facility was the first CoE to open and will likely be the last one to succeed. As was reported in last week's Rochester Business Journal, the Canandaigua Infotonics Technology Center (the former Center of Excellence), has so far failed to live up to its promises. The Center struggled financially for its first few years, nearly shutting down last summer, and only recently has begun to attract research dollars and spin off new firms. This facility was supposed to create 5,000 jobs over ten years; six years after opening, it has created less than 100. Is there a relation between its far-flung location and its inability to generate jobs or investment? I think so and I am going to prove it as best I can.

Sematech's decision to relocate to Albany is a direct outgrowth of their Center of Excellence, now known as Albany Nanotech. Not only has this facility generated some 2,000 jobs already, but it has led to a commitment for a major AMD "chip fab" facility in the Capital District, generated invaluable press for the Albany area, and now landed the headquarters for Sematech. The Albany Nanotech complex will soon comprise 750,000 square feet of space. Albany's CoE has already met and is now exceeding the goals set in 2001. Was this facility built out in Coxsackie or Ballston Spa? No, this facility was built immediately adjacent to the University at Albany at the heart of the capital region in close proximity to the students, researchers, and visitors that would be using it. Furthermore, it was built in plain sight of both I-87 and I-90, so tens of thousands of commuters can see the great growth that such a facility was bringing to their community (see pictures below). Their buildings were built in 2004 and 2005, with another set to open in 2008. Albany may be the brightest star, but they're not alone in their forward-thinking approach to developing their CoE.

Our friends to the west in Buffalo got it right with their CoE. Despite not coming up with a fun new name (it's still the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences), the Buffalo CoE is booming. Had they taken our wise approach, they would have built in Darien, Lockport, or Springville; far from those who would staff or visit it. But Buffalo took the long road, making the smart decision to build on an infill site immediately adjacent to the Roswell Park Cancer Center, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Center, and Buffalo General Hospital (collectively, it's called the Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus, or BNMC). New facilities for Roswell and Hauptman-Woodward were built concurrently with the 400,000 square foot complex that houses the CoE, generating the feeling of a thriving urban environment (see picture below). The BNMC is located adjacent to downtown Buffalo and is convenient to the MetroRail subway, meaning even lower-income folks can get there easily. The Buffalo CoE opened in 2006 and is already credited with directly creating 100 jobs, bringing at least three new companies to Buffalo, and being a beacon of hope in a city long-suffering from economic decline.

Our pals to the east in Syracuse are still early in the process, but if their plans come to fruition, they're poised for great success. The Syracuse CoE, officially called the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental & Energy Systems, is under construction today. While only 60,000 square feet (to start), its design makes a statement many times its size (see picture below). Despite the obvious logic of building this facility in Auburn, Fulton, or Oneida, the Syracuse CoE is being constructed on a former brownfield site adjacent to downtown Syracuse and Syracuse University. An intermodal transportation center will be built at the site as well, increasing the connection between the CoE and the community.

What do all of these other Centers of Excellence have in common? They all built new, they all located in established urban locations, and they all have striking designs. Oh yeah, they are also all highly successful. What is the Rochester area stuck with? Nothing. Even if the Infotonics Center turns a corner and grows some jobs, they'll likely be located out in Canandaigua inducing unwise suburban sprawl and leading to abandonment of the City of Rochester and Monroe County. This is a lesson for us all. The shortest path between two points may not always be the wisest. I can't say for sure that the Infotonics Center would be an unchallenged success had it been built closer to Rochester, but if these other facilities are any proof, we sure as hell missed out on a golden opportunity.

FYI, compare each CoE website if you need further evidence of the Infotonics Center's inferiority: Albany Nanotech, Buffalo CoE, Infotonics, and Syracuse CoE.

RIT Teaches Corporate Welfare to Us All

2007-04-19T07:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's Democrat & Chronicle contained two stories regarding the April meeting of the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency (COMIDA). One benign story was tucked away in the Business section and detailed expansion plans for local tasty beverage maker Custom Brewcrafters. The expansion will allow CB's to begin bottling their beers for purchase at local stores which, as an alcoholic-in-training, is a great thing. The article also summarized other decisions made by COMIDA at the meeting, including the subsidization of yet another City company's move to the suburbs (Mirror Show Management). Will the City of Rochester be compensated for the poaching of a growing business from within its boundaries? Absolutely not, but I have ranted enough on that topic...for now.

The other, much more touchy story dealt with the approval of $7.9 million in property, mortgage, and sales tax breaks for local retail developer Wilmorite to build the long-discussed Collegetown development on RIT's Henrietta campus. The 60-acre project will consist of 300 apartments for RIT students and 67,000 square feet of retail space, including a large new Barnes & Noble outlet that will double as the main RIT campus bookstore. Rather than take the form of a typical suburban strip mall, the project will appear more like a small urban village with multi-story buildings containing retail on the first floor and apartments above (see rendering below). Sidewalks and green space will add a walkable, livable touch to this project. It's not the project itself that I have a problem with. The project will be great for RIT and its students. But any objective citizen can see that this project is completely unworthy of such lavish tax welfare.

For one thing, retail is not a wealth-generator for a community. As opposed to manufacturing, research & development, health care, and tourism-related investments which bring new money to a community in the form of career-building employment, intellectual expansion, and new residents and visitors, retail development simply serves the existing market. Given that this region as a whole is not growing, Collegetown will more than likely siphon shoppers from other existing retail areas in our community thereby harming the long-term prospects for other areas that will likely require tax breaks of their own in the future to remain competitive. The only form of retail that would merit these tax breaks would be a destination-type retailer, such as an Ikea or a Cabela's, which draws shoppers from outside the immediate marketplace.

If this project were being built on a brownfield or grayfield or as part of a larger revitalization project for the City or a village, it would be getting a big thumbs-up from me. Infill projects such as these are typically much more expensive to build and the tax incentives provide a level playing field between them and their greenfield suburban counterparts. Problem is, this project is a suburban greenfield development. Furthermore, it is an incredibly attractive project for any would-be developer. It rests on a large undeveloped plot of land in a fast-growing suburb along an established high-traffic commercial corridor adjacent to a major research university that is providing a guaranteed tenant base. Given these key indicators, most developers would jump at this opportunity. Monroe County taxpayers should not be subsidizing a wealthy developer's highly-profitable project. It would be built regardless of the extravagant tax incentives being thrown at it. We should be outraged.

Believe it or not though, that's not the worst thing about this irresponsible COMIDA decision. It is this writer's humble opinion that giving tax breaks to Wilmorite is a criminal act. Wilmorite is no stranger to sucking at the government teet. In 2005, Wilmorite received $3.3 million in tax breaks for its highly-successful Mall at Greece Ridge, despite paying less than $100,000 in actual wages. They obtained Empire Zone status for their upscale Eastview Mall property as well, receiving $1.6 million in tax breaks in 2005 despite actually cutting a position there. You see, it is the tenant within the mall that actually creates jobs. With tenants, Wilmorite makes money; without tenants, Wilmorite just abandons their property. They did it with the Irondequoit Mall and they are doing it with the historic Sibley Centre in downtown Rochester.

It is with the Sibley that the question of legality comes into play. In 2002, the Sibley Centre was designated an Empire Zone by the City of Rochester in the hopes that it would encourage investment at the property. Instead, Wilmorite claimed more than a half-million dollars in tax breaks while racking up some $11.5 million in taxes and fees owed to the City of Rochester. While you or I would have our possessions taken from us and our lives destroyed if we were to owe such money to the government, Monroe County is actually throwing money at Wilmorite. How is this allowed in modern society? What happened to Republican morals? At a minimum, would it not have been prudent to attach a caveat to any tax agreement on Collegetown calling for Wilmorite to either pay the City what they owe, or begin reinvesting in the property?

The Sibley is a highly visible building and, along with Midtown, it is the linchpin to any true economic renaissance downtown. The Urban Land Institute has seen the potential of Sibley; it is in a perfect location for a mix of apartments and condos overlooking Liberty Pole Plaza and the entire East End district. With the coming of Renaissance Square, the marketability of the Sibley becomes even greater than it is today. While MCC will move its campus from Sibley to Renaissance Square - this should not be viewed as a negative. It will open up enough space to make a residential conversion feasible. Removal of the bus transfers from Main Street and Liberty Pole Plaza will make the first floor retail much more attractive to would-be shopowners and restaurateurs. Furthermore, there are opportunities to bring the SUNY EOC and Empire State College to Sibley, making up for the loss of MCC as a tenant. Sadly though, COMIDA does not have foresight; they only see the dollar signs placed in front of them. The community is being raped over and over again through this questionable deal. I hope the voters remember this come November, when Maggie Brooks is up for re-election.

Race, Crime, and the Shopping Mall

2007-04-12T07:45:00.000-05:00

The big news this week has been the sale of the Medley Centre in Irondequoit. To the uninitiated, this is the property formerly known as the Irondequoit Mall. Remember the signs on the 104 Expressway -- "Welcome to Irondequoit, Home of Irondequoit Mall;" those were the days, my friends. In a perfect example of much ado about nothing, the sale has touched off a modest controversy locally. The current owner, Adam Bersin, was given hefty incentives through the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency (COMIDA) to redevelop the property just a couple of years ago and it now appears that Bersin has made quite a hefty profit on the deal. The popular perception is that he did very little to deserve it; apparently Steve & Barry's, Target, and O'Boticario are not terribly well-respected in our humble burg. Some blowhards are going so far as to call it a swindling of Monroe County taxpayers.

As you well know, I'm all for criticizing COMIDA. This agency seemingly does whatever it can to harm the inner city and waste our tax dollars on increasing the ranks of dental hygienists. However, sometimes they do get it right. The fact is that the Medley Centre was incredibly distressed and, without the time and money that Bersin put into it, the mall would probably be abandoned and deteriorating today. While it is far from a bustling mecca of commerce, it has been stabilized and given a new lease on life. The new owner, Scott Congel of Syracuse-based retail magnate Pyramid, claims to have a $135-million loan to further redevelop the property. Despite the recent announcement of Bon-Ton's closing, I think this property has a bright future. Of course, I'm not a racist, classist, brainwashed dirtbag.

You see, the problem with the then-Irondequoit Mall wasn't the selection of stores or the design and layout of the property, it was the appearance of a large percentage of its clientele. The sad fact is that the demise of Irondequoit Mall can be entirely attributed to the unfortunate mental disease known as prejudice. One need only read the comments on the Democrat and Chronicle's chat boards to see how alive and well racial and class prejudice is in America's suburbs. It is plainly obvious that white suburbanites began to avoid Irondequoit Mall because there were more minorities and lower-income individuals shopping there than in Greece, Henrietta, or Victor. It's the same reason the suburbs grew and are still growing, white and/or higher-income folks do not want to brush shoulders with minorities and/or poor people. Like it or not, it's the truth.

The common refrain heard regarding the problems with Irondequoit Mall tend to focus on crime and gangs. True enough, at Irondequoit Mall you were more likely to encounter groups of five or more black city kids walking together than you would at Eastview. People don't realize that calling a gathering of young black kids a gang is wildly racist. You rarely hear the same insinuations when a group of eight white kids from the suburbs walk through a mall. While these black city kids may have been doing nothing other than hanging out with friends and sharing time away from the often-difficult environment in which they reside, these same white suburban kids were shoplifting, destroying merchandise, pouring detergent in the fountains, breaking into cars, drinking and smoking at the entrances, and harrassing your teenage daughters. I should know, I was once one of these precious suburban white kids. Thank you, America, for turning the other cheek to my actions; I guess I should have played for Duke lacrosse.

Furthermore, from what I understand, Marketplace Mall has always been the leader when it comes to crimes committed on mall property. Irondequoit only felt less safe because it was more Karl Kani than Karl Lagerfeld. I know I'm beating a dead horse with this rant, but shit like this really pisses me off. As News 10NBC pointed out last night, even Eastview Mall has its troubles with crime. Three drug arrests in one day; I guess we need to build a new mall even further out so that suburbanites can feel safe.

If you're like me, you hate shopping malls. They pretty much symbolize everything that is wrong with this country. But as much as I hate to admit it, they provide a good cross-section of middle America. What happened to Irondequoit Mall is what continues to happen in America's communities every day. We as a nation are growing further apart. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and the middle class is getting squeezed at both ends. City neighborhoods are dying while downtowns are becoming playgrounds for the rich. Inner-ring suburbs are dying too, as more minorities and/or poor people begin their trek out of the city and the existing white population must move to the next suburban outpost. This nation is heading for collapse if we do not rethink our way of life. Hopefully, rising gas prices and unrelenting global warming will finally force this lifestyle change. I think I'll just save myself the headache and avoid the malls as best I can.

Developer Drops Out of La Marketa; a Blessing in Disguise?

2007-03-30T07:48:00.000-05:00

This morning's paper contains a news brief stating that Buckingham Properties has decided to drop out as lead developer for the La Marketa development on North Clinton Avenue, or as it is more popularly known, Avenida Clinton Norte. Despite the City's efforts to knock down buildings and prep the site for development, Buckingham "can't make the numbers work." While some may choose to view this as a bad sign for the project's viability (and it surely is when viewed purely out of free market economics), I choose to look at it as a stroke of good luck for our city and for all small businesses in the area.

Now that Buckingham has abandoned the project, we may be able to preserve the two buildings at 804 and 844 North Clinton that help give the block its vibrant urban feel. As was described a couple of months ago, these two historic multi-story structures (one recently rehabbed, the other holding a long-time Chinese restaurant) were to be demolished to make way for Buckingham's vision of La Marketa. If the City decides to take over as developer of the project, these buildings can be preserved and/or worked into the development. Furthermore, as I pointed out in a previous post, what Buckingham proposed for La Marketa was a bastardization of the original vision for the development. They turned what was supposed to be a traditional Latino marketplace into a pastel strip mall, complete with a large parking lot out front. As we all know, nothing screams Boricua more than a new Payless and a Dominos.

This seemingly unfortunate event may prove to be a God-send IF the City's Economic Development Department does the right thing and returns this project to its original intent. A tiled-roof strip mall does not instill a sense of home for the large and growing population of Cubans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, and other Latinos that reside in our City. A large front parking lot does nothing to enhance the La Avenida neighborhood; most folks in that area will walk, bike, or take transit (or should be encouraged to). Lastly, the historic buildings that were "standing in the way" of progress, can now be preserved as a major component of this highly-important neighborhood revitalization project. If the City does not act appropriately, maybe Benderson will step in and provide this community with what it surely needs - a pastel tiled-roof Walgreens.

Wegmans "Dedication to City" Puts Residents in Danger

2007-03-27T07:42:00.000-05:00

Today's Democrat & Chronicle had a quick blurb about a large steel antenna falling onto East Avenue from the historic but now abandoned Doyle Security building (the news brief follows this commentary). This structure is one of many on the block between Probert Street and Winton Road that were purchased by Wegmans in their continuing attempt to force-feed suburban retail design into a city neighborhood. Prior to Wegmans' purchase, this was a well-maintained and fully-occupied building housing a responsible local business. Now, as Wegmans continues to struggle with the concept of adjusting their suburban big box model to meet the realities of serving the City of Rochester, and despite the building's historic significance and the fact that Wegmans has not yet been granted any approvals for building here, this building and others around it are being allowed to fall apart.

As is the case with any other landlord that fails to keep up his or her property, Wegmans should be given notice that they must maintain these buildings in a state of good repair or risk hefty fines. As far as I'm concerned, most of these buildings deserve to be saved from the wrecking ball. Wegmans can work around them or incorporate them into their new store design. Clearly though, the powers that be at Wegmans headquarters are more interested in seeing these buildings decline to the point of no return. Once they're gone, there will be little reason to fight their ill-conceived store expansion. That may please many of the 20-somethings in the Park and East Avenue neighborhoods, who can continue their typical suburban lifestyles for the few years that they live in the City before moving to the suburbs to raise their children. But to any of us who have chosen to raise a family in the City, this is a disaster. We do not want to see our City turned into a playground for suburbanites nor do we want any one of our City business districts turned into a sick caricature on suburban America. We do not want to see one of our grandest boulevards (East Avenue) turned into a high-speed, drive-through, big box suburban thoroughfare. One need only look at Mount Hope Avenue south of Elmwood to see the negative effects the imposition of suburban design has on a City street. If this City gives a damn about its future, it will hold Wegmans' collective feet to the fire and not allow this important business district to collapse.

Steel antenna falls on road

No one was injured when an 80-foot steel antenna came loose and fell from a building on East Avenue Monday evening, but the road was closed for more than an hour as the debris was cleared. The antenna, which once was used by the Doyle Security Co. at 1806 East Ave., near North Winton Road, fell from the 40-foot building onto the street below about 7:15 p.m., said Battalion Chief Mike Dupra.

Although there was heavy rain and lightning in the area, Dupra said it doesn't appear the antenna was struck. Some cables holding the antenna in place apparently failed, he said.
Crews from Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. removed the antenna, which belongs to Wegmans Food Markets since it purchased the building.

Quality Quotes on Amerks / Blue Cross Arena Debacle

2007-03-16T16:03:00.000-05:00

The following quotes were published in the online edition of today's Rochester Business Journal. Reading them, I had the eerie sense of deja vu. I felt like these folks had somehow reached into my brain, pulled out my thoughts, and put them to paper. Alas, unless I was remarkably inebriated and do not remember coming up with new aliases, these are in fact real citizens of the Rochester area. I just want to say thank you to Chris Fridd and Paul Nunes. Well said gentlemen, well said.

"...More so, if we do in fact have to further subsidize the Amerks, or any other team for that matter, to keep them in Rochester, then it should be the responsibility of this county, perhaps the five-county region, to subsidize the Amerks, not just the city of Rochester residents. I am growing increasingly tired of the welchers that move to or have always lived in the suburbs, as they groan in disgust at the increasingly underperforming city schools as a result of them taking/keeping their children out of these schools, and they turn around and expect that a poor minority in the city should fund their play time. Quite frankly...Piss Off!"
—Chris Fridd, lifelong city resident

"Without commenting on city support for these excellent sport teams, I’d like to see our local brewery’s products featured at all publicly financed sport facilities in Rochester. It’s mind-boggling that we promote Canadian (and other out-of-town) products to the detriment of High Falls Brewery’s fine products (e.g. Michael Shea’s, Honey Brown, Genny Cream). High Falls is a hometown business which employs taxpaying Rochesterians, the same kind of folks who support these teams. Also, High Falls should be supported as a matter of public pride. How many cities in the US can claim a premier brewery as its own? If we are keen to support our local sport teams, why not our local brewery?"
—Paul Nunes

Of course, I do pray that the powers that be save the Amerks. A year without AHL hockey in Rochester would be a very sad year for me.

Opportunity Knocking at NYMT

2007-03-12T08:19:00.000-05:00

Today's paper includes a short article about the New York Museum of Transportation (NYMT) and its potential closure due to sewer and water issues. Well over a year ago, I proposed moving the NYMT from its inaccessible and out-of-the-way Rush campus to the Main Street Armory adjacent to downtown Rochester. At that time, the Armory was just beginning its now-successful rebirth as a sports and entertainment venue. Given the number and quality of events that facility has since hosted and has scheduled in the coming months, I no longer believe that the Armory is the appropriate place for the NYMT. It just so happens though that another even more appropriate location is back on the market.

As you probably know, the Saddle Ridge Entertainment Resort in High Falls shut down a few months back. Since that time, Cordish's once-vibrant "High Falls Live" concept also shuttered its doors. City Hall recently released a report calling for the repositioning of High Falls from an entertainment district to a mixed-use village focused on new housing and office space. Given the announcement of the 80-unit Mills at High Falls development, the minimum six-unit renovation of the long-vacant Parazin Building, and the eight-unit renovation of the Parry Machine Building, it appears that this is indeed the right direction for High Falls to take. The question remains though, what to do with the large spaces that were once home to major entertainment venues? That's where the NYMT comes in.

It is clear to me that the High Falls HISTORIC District is the perfect home for a museum of transportaton. The building that once housed Jillians and Saddle Ridge happens to be a former trolley barn for the city's once-extensive streetcar system. It also (reportedly) served as a powerhouse for the mighty New York Central Railway. While the cavernous 40,000-square foot structure was too big for entertainment in this town, that size makes it well-suited for exhibiting old streetcars, steam locomotives, fire engines, etc. Frankly, it boggles the mind to consider why the NYMT is located way out in Rush, far from any semblance of transportation history. It is no surprise that the museum currently hosts only 6,000 people a year. If you've ever been to the museum, you know that the treasures contained within its walls are worthy of thousands more pairs of eyes. Having a new facility in High Falls, at the heart of the community, would guarantee significantly more patrons than it receives today.

The only attractive feature I see at the Rush campus that would keep it from moving is the closed track where patrons can ride a historic trolley. There is a possibility though that this could be improved upon by moving to High Falls. Given that the trolley barn is located immediately adjacent to the CSX main line; wouldn't it be fun to ride that same historic trolley between High Falls and the Public Market using the CSX right-of-way? Not only would the trolley serve a real transportation purpose, and possibly generate income for the museum, it would surely bring crowds of people to High Falls every Saturday morning.

Of course, CSX is not exactly known for their community-friendly policies; however, this would be a great opportunity for them to gain some positive exposure. There appears to be room along most of the CSX right-of-way to lay track for the trolley. I assume they can re-use the rails and ties from the closed 1/4-mile track in Rush for part of the roughly 1.5-mile trip. A modest State or Federal earmark could be easily obtained to pay for the station areas and any infrastructure needs. The uncertain future that the NYMT currently faces provides a great opportunity to bring crowds to High Falls, attention to a great little museum, and life to a very prominent structure. That's a trifecta our community can bet on.

Hyatt Regency Rochester: 15 Years and Still Unfinished

2007-03-09T16:47:00.000-05:00

I know I'm a little late with this post, but as the old saying goes, late is the true path of the righteous. Okay so I made that up, but it sounded good, right? Moving on... Last week's Rochester Business Journal featured a nice article about the 15th anniversary of the opening of the Hyatt Regency Rochester. Like many other high-profile projects in Rochester, the development of the Hyatt was a fumbled mess. The Hyatt began construction in 1987 but ceased after two years for a variety of factors that you can read up on somewhere else. The unfinished shell of the 27-story tower marred the downtown skyline for three years and was the butt of jokes then as the ferry is the butt of jokes now. All good things come to an end of course, and the Hyatt opened to the public in 1992 as the luxury convention hotel that downtown Rochester lacked.

The Hyatt is currently in the midst of a multi-million dollar renovation that is bringing updated rooms and common areas as well as an improved restaurant. Unfortunately, I think they plan on keeping Palladio rather than bringing in a new dining concept, which is certainly disappointing to any loyal downtowner. Regardless, the Hyatt will be returned to its original lustre of 15 years earlier and should please hotel-goers and the convention crowd. That being said, there is one aspect of the Hyatt that was never built and as such, the building should be considered to remain unfinished. The original design by architects Gruzen Samton Steinglass incorporated a crown on the top of the Hyatt. Take a close look at it next time you're in view of the building. It does seem a bit short and stubby, no? Now picture a brass-tinted shiny pyramid-shaped crown atop the hotel. To me, that missing crown is a glaring example of the Rochester area's inability to get things right the first time. While probably exorbitantly costly, the psychological benefit of completely finishing this building as it was intended would be priceless.

Between a Rite-Aid and a Hard Place

2007-02-22T09:21:00.000-05:00

Like many loyal Rochesterians, I'm torn on the design for the proposed Rite-Aid at Monroe & Goodman. True enough, there are things to like about this design. It is right up to the sidewalk, it visually (if not functionally) blends with the streetscape, it preserves the facade of the Monroe Theater, and creates four new, presumably owner-occupied, brownstyle-style townhouses. If you compare this design to the developer Rainaldi's past proposals for this corner, it is a near-miracle. However, it remains far from perfect (renderings below).

For one thing, this City created a form-based zoning code for a reason. Allowing this to be built would go against all of the hard work put in to developing the new code as well as all of the accolades it has received nationwide. Secondly, this design precludes the future use of the Monroe Theater as a community arts center, music hall, or even a moviehouse in the future. Furthermore, a drive-thru pharmacy is completely out of scale with the neighborhood and out-of-tune with modern-day urban design. On top of all of this, why the hell does a pharmacy (especially one with a drive-through) need so much parking?!?!?

That being said, I fear that if we do not approve this, we may lose an opportunity to clean up an eyesore in this once-vibrant stretch of the Monroe corridor. Much of the violent crime that has occurred on Monroe (not that this is a violent area) is committed by residents of the "rundown" apartment building at the corner of Monroe & Goodman that would be torn down to make way for this project (see pictures below). Anyone that has walked past this building has felt the change in community character once you get to this block. Not only is the apartment building a problem, the garbage-strewn vacant land that surrounds it gives an awful impression to visitors. Both of these negatives would be removed if the Rite-Aid is approved. But the Rite-Aid would create a new set of negatives, so how much is the neighborhood really being improved with this development?

So the question is, do we go ahead and accept Rainaldi's argument that his is the best proposal that will come to this corner or do we risk many more years of neglect at this highly important intersection? The community is absolutely correct to stand up for itself and assert its interests in the debate, as it has for years now. Look how far they've come with the design - it's so close to good, it stings. Maybe if the City denies Rainaldi one more time, he'll come back with a perfect design that addresses all of our concerns. For one, get rid of the drive-thru. As you can see in the following picture of a Walgreens in Chicago, drive-thrus are completely out-of-scale with urban neighborhoods. If the Town of Brighton doesn't allow drive-thrus, why should the City of Rochester?

Secondly, add real living space on the second floor and possibly add a third floor. While I have no doubt that Rite-Aid would prefer to have a single-story building all to itself, I don't buy the argument that they refuse to consider locating in a mixed-use building. Take a look at these pictures of various chain pharmacies in city neighborhoods across the country. Some are good, some are bad. But even Rite-Aid recently opened a store in downtown Sacramento, CA with real living/office space above it. If they'll do it for Sacramento, they can do it for us.

Thirdly, either significantly lessen the amount of parking, or make that parking open to the public - whether they are Rite-Aid patrons or not. Most importantly though, do not tear down any portion of the Monroe Theater. This building has a bright future as the focal point of a revitalized Monroe Village. While preserving the facade is a noble gesture, knocking down the former stagehouse renders it completely incapable of once again serving its intended purpose. To that end, I painfully recommend the denial of this development. Rochester is not alone in its battle with these chain pharmacies. Other cities have emerged from these battles with buildings that not only are points of pride for their neighborhoods, but will also stand the test of time. We deserve better, let's demand more.

UPDATE: We the people have lost this battle. This morning, the Democrat & Chronicle reported that the City Zoning Board of Appeals granted the seven variances needed for this project to move forward. If I were a pessimist, I would choose to dwell on the negative aspects of this; however, I would rather take the form of an optimist and suggest that, while not perfect, this project will be an improvement over what currently exists at the corner of Goodman & Monroe. Now let's just hope the developer sticks to his plans.

Why Don't We Ever Hear the Postives About RCSD?

2007-01-25T09:03:00.000-05:00

As I've said in previous blog entries, I'm sick and tired of hearing how you have to move out of the City when you have children. The schools are so awful, your child won't stand a chance! He or she will become a drug dealer by third grade. The high schools are war zones! I can sum all of this up in one word: BULLSHIT! It is simply not true. Not only is Wilson the top-rated high school in this region, it's among the top 30 nationwide. Wilson offers the International Baccalaureate program which is recognized worldwide as the most rigorous education program available. Through my college years, I had the pleasure of meeting numerous people from all over the world who were graduates of the IB program. You would think with my lofty Pittsford education, I would have been well prepared to match their intellects. You would be wrong. I know I want my child to be educated in such a world-renowned program.

If your child can't get into Wilson, but has a penchant for the arts, don't fret - send him or her to School of the Arts. Unlike in the suburbs, where the arts are the first to get cut; here in the City, we have an entire school devoted to the arts. The education program here is so vastly superior to what is found in the suburbs that there are actually suburban students who make a reverse-commute of sorts to attend SOTA. There are countless opportunities for City students throughout the district to interact with the private sector through internships, co-ops, and classes that are actually taught by successful corporate leaders. There are many positive things happening in the City School District. You just don't hear about them.

Sadly, and I know I'm going to catch a lot of flack for this, but I think those that choose to leave the City when they have children or when those children reach school age do so for other, less Christian, reasons. I think the fact of the matter is that these folks, typically young white suburban-educated couples, do so because they don't want their child to be a minority. They know deep down that it can be much more difficult to get by as a minority in this country and they do not want their children to ever feel "different". They do not want their child to be treated the way they know whites treat minorities. I know it's politically-incorrect to suggest that racism is part of the equation. But it is and there is simply no denying it. When I dare say this, I often hear: "well, Irondequoit is very diverse" or "Fairport has a large urban-suburban program". Okay, wow, so 5% of the student body is non-white? Get real!

Anyways, I'm getting sidetracked. I wanted to point out a story that aired on WROC-TV (Channel 8) last night that provides further proof that the Rochester City School District is a fine place to educate your child. The text of the story follows this paragraph, or you can follow this link to the video. This raises a number of questions in my mind. Why the heck isn't this front-page news in the D&C or being discussed on any other media outlet? Why do we only hear about the bad news when it comes to our City schools? Is it because the media wants to perpetuate the stereotype? Is there a hidden agenda to keep our City down? Probably, but I won't go so far as to say so. I'll leave that up to my some of my more liberal readers.

Rochester teachers are making the grade

Five Rochester teachers have earned national board certification, joining 28 others recognized as among the nation's top educators. We caught up with reading intervention teacher Roxane Gifaldi, of Roberto Clemente School Number 8 today.

"And it did take me two years, but I'm so glad that Charlie Hoff from #9 school called me on January 27th of last year and said just before the deadline. Come on Roxanne you can do it, do the retake, it'll be great," says Gifaldi.

Rochester has more nationally certified teachers than Monroe County's 18 suburban school districts combined. Rochester also has significantly more nationally certified teachers than the state's other large urban districts outside of New York City.

Where is Our State Office Building?

2007-01-24T13:14:00.000-05:00

Quiz time ladies and gentlemen! Can you name the one and only major Upstate New York city that does not have a downtown State Office Building? If you guessed Albany, well, you're an idiot. Buffalo? Nope, until recently they had two. Syracuse? They still have multiple buildings. Watertown? Utica? Binghamton? Nope, in fact, the tallest building in all three cities is, respectively, a State Office Building. Schenectady? Sorry but no, that city is home to one of the newer downtown State Office Buildings. Ithaca? Elmira? Jamestown? Maybe, but are they really major cities? I think not.

Sadly, I'm referring to our beloved Rochester. The biggest city that no one has ever heard of has been physically neglected for years by state government as well. Granted, we have numerous state offices all over town, many of which are found in a number of downtown buildings. But we have no central "State Office Building" unlike our peers across this state. We had the perfect opportunity to build one a few years ago when a fire at our regional NYSDOT office building on Jefferson Road in Henrietta forced most of the building to be emptied. However, in our infinite wisdom, we did not pressure the State to consider relocating the offices to downtown. Now, the Henrietta building has been completely refurbished and NYSDOT is operating in it at full capacity.

This missed opportunity need not be the end of this pursuit. The land on which I envision our new Rochester State Office Building being constructed is still available; bounded by Plymouth Avenue, West Main Street, and West Broad Street. It is the former home of the glamorous Hotel Rochester and is now home to a very unglamorous gravel-strewn parking lot. It sits directly across Plymouth Avenue from another gravel-strewn parking lot that was once home to a number of more useful properties. I envision that lot to be a new public square with a sculpture and/or water feature to pay homage to the Erie Canal that once flowed along its southern edge. Kitty-corner across Main Street from the building's future site is yet another surface parking lot, albeit a paved one. At this site, I envision a new parking structure to replace the spaces lost by these redevelopments. The new garage would have retail on the first floor and a residential component to screen the garage structure from pedestrians strolling the Plymouth Avenue Greenway.

Across Broad Street would be the home of the Rochester Institute of Art & Design, relocated from RIT's Henrietta campus. For more details on that, check out my post from many months ago on the subject. All of this combined would breathe considerable new life into the "West End." While it may seem like a pipe dream, the reality is that each and every one of these developments is very doable. It will take the City, County, and State, as well as private partners such as RIT and the current landowner (Peter Formicola), working in concert; but we can make this, or something similar, happen. The linchpin in bringing this vision to fruition is securing approval for the new State Office Building. We have let one opportunity pass us by recently, let's not miss out on what could be the last one for years to come.

That new opportunity is known as Governor Eliot Spitzer. I'm sure our new Governor understands the value of having all State offices located in downtown Rochester, not only for the economic jumpstart it would surely create, but for the ease of information sharing between local and federal offices that are mostly located in the downtown area. I'm sure he would be impressed with the plans for the lands surrounding the proposed building, and I'm sure he would be willing to investigate the feasibility of consolidating the NYSDOT and NYSDEC (currently in Avon) offices, plus additional ones, into a modest but attractive mid-rise structure here at the heart of downtown Rochester. Governor Spitzer, let us be the symbol for your new administration and the embodiment of your vision for a better upstate.

Say No to Wegmans at Midtown

2007-01-05T08:50:00.000-05:00

By now you've seen or heard about the consultant's report regarding the condition of Midtown Plaza and the costs related to its rehabilitation or demolition. Likewise, you've probably already formed an opinion regarding the "Made in Italy" Italian marketplace proposed for 400,000 square feet of existing Midtown space. Synthesizing the two, many of you have begun thinking about what should happen to the enormous facility. Perusing the Democrat & Chronicle's public forum, you find a wealth of ideas on the subject. Tear it down and put in a large park. Convert it to housing and hotel space. Build the mid-sized theatre there (yeah, that was me). Ikea. Crate & Barrel. Free parking. Wegmans.

That last one makes me wince. Why, oh why is everyone so infatuated with Wegmans? Sure, they're a local success story. Yeah, they're the "best" upscale grocery store in the nation. True, the Pittsford store is a magnet for shoppers and unimaginative tourists. But what has Wegmans done for the City of Rochester that should prompt our elected officials to bend over backwards for them? Let's check the scorecard. Wegmans used to be a neigborhood supermarket. At one time, there were at least five (and probably more) Wegmans stores in the limits of the City of Rochester (Mt Hope, Bay, Driving Park, Culver, and East). Now, there are two (East and Driving Park). The most recent store closing on Mt Hope caused a lot of pain for that neighborhood. I have already blogged on this subject in the past, so I won't belabor it here. I will note however, that the late Robert Wegman issued the following quote after having trouble siting a new store on Elmwood Avenue in the City and a new store in Henrietta, while being welcomed with open arms in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia:

“Our treatment in those areas is so much different than our treatment in Rochester that if you had a choice, you would say, ‘Why struggle the way we have to in Rochester to get the zoning or the opportunity to replace a store or even sometimes to enlarge a store?'' Wegman said.

That's a great way to show how much you care about the local community and its people. If they don't like our bland design and enormous parking lots, then they don't deserve our store! And now some folks out there want to knock down Midtown and replace it with a Wegmans????? Those who share this opinion should drive to downtown Auburn, NY to see how well a Wegmans fits into a downtown. It's embarrassing. If Wegmans can't figure out that their East Avenue store can be expanded without knocking down the historic buildings there by adding underground parking, then I can only imagine what they would do to a site at Main & Clinton.

Besides, Wegmans has already closed a store that was perfect for downtown. They have no interest in serving urban-minded people. If they did, surely they would already have a midtown Manhattan location. Don't get me wrong, if Wegmans wanted to change their ways or develop a new format store that would be proper for an urban downtown location, I would certainly support working with them to establish such a store in downtown Rochester. But the fact of the matter is that Wegmans has been nothing but a headache for the City of Rochester, and they do not deserve the red carpet treatment some are calling for.

Wal-Mart Increases Tax Base; Taxes Local Law Enforcement

2006-12-28T12:17:00.000-05:00

You know by now that I despise Wal-Mart. In fact, I hate virtually all forms of big box retail. It's ugly, it's wasteful, it's soulless, it's ubiquitous, and it's all but useless for anything other than more big box retail. But like many patriotic Americans, I save my most vitriolic emotions for the world's largest retailer. Whether it's because of the poor pay and benefits they give to their employees, their disregard for local zoning laws when siting a new store, their devastating effect on locally-owned small businesses, or the selfish and greedy nature of their founding family, Wal-Mart deserves all of the opposition they receive. Now there is a new wrinkle in the war on Wal-Mart and this one is a doozy.

An article in today's Albany Times-Union describes the effect a new Wal-Mart has had on the time and budget of a small town police force in Bethlehem, New York. That particular store has averaged roughly 392 police calls a year ranging from people locked out of their cars to brawls involving gang members. While the Police Chief denies that the Wal-Mart has had a significant impact on his department, the numbers themselves are undeniable. The vast majority of these calls, of which there are more than one daily, would not occur without the presence of the Wal-Mart. Remember too that Bethlehem is a growing affluent suburban area with existing retail plazas. What would the impact be on the Town of Lima should they approve a Wal-Mart in that humble little burg? My guess is that, beyond the influx of traffic that would drastically change the character of that community, the growth in crime would necessitate an expansion of the police force - which would certainly have an impact on property taxes, not to mention the quality of life.

The article also cited a union-backed group that studies the various aspects of crime at Wal-Marts in this great nation. Check out their site for more information and, as always, buy local!

Duffy Popular With the Blissfully Ignorant

2006-12-19T09:48:00.000-05:00

First, I'd like to apologize for the lull in posts. I've been very busy with personal matters which did not allow me the time to write. And now on to the incendiary post of the day...

The Rochester Business Journal recently ran a poll to gauge the public's opinion on Mayor Duffy's first year in office. Incredibly, the poll showed that 91% of respondents approved of his job so far. Are nine out of ten people in this area that dumb? No, just nine out of ten who happen to read the RBJ. I happily am among the one out of ten RBJ readers that see the glaring ineptness of this administration. Not that the RBJ readership should be seen as a reliable cross-section of Monroe County, let alone the City of Rochester. Like the folks who contributed to Duffy's campaign, most RBJ readers are wealthy white suburbanites. To them, having a malleable, aloof white man in the office of Mayor is far better than an educated, opinionated black man.

The fact is, Duffy has zero to show for his first year in office. Even his well-heeled supporters can't come up with a single thing to show as proof of his great work. Just look at the comments from the RBJ poll. There are heapings of praise for Mayor Duffy, yet not a single comment pointed to something tangible that he has done. This one quote summed up how completely wrong Duffy is for Rochester:

Duffy is doing a tremendous job. He’s accomplished more for Rochester in less than a year than Mayor Johnson did during his entire term. Another Rudy Giuliani! —Tamara Finch, KPMG LLP

Well Tamara, what exactly has he done? Crime is up, jobs are down, the ferry is still at the Port, the Broad Street Tunnel and Aqueduct projects are going nowhere fast, there has been no progress on the Inner Loop, etc. Mayor Johnson, on the other hand, oversaw the successful development of the East End and the turnaround of High Falls from a derelict wasteland into a successful office and (to a lesser extent) entertainment destination. Crime decreased significantly, population loss slowed to a trickle, innovative programs were introduced, and Rochester and its Mayor were nationally heralded for its turnaround. And your reference to Giuliani? Give me a break! Giuliani was and remains a complete fool; on second thought, maybe you're dead-on with that analogy.

I admit, it's only been a year and it is unfair to base judgment of a Mayor's competence on such a short moment in time. Truthfully though, I fear what the next few years will bring. I am very bullish on Rochester's future, but I am not so blissfully ignorant as to have a high opinion of this man at this time. Some of these nutjobs are even calling for Duffy to run for County Executive!?!!?!? Hopefully, Mayor Duffy will prove me wrong. But the only way he can do that is by appointing me to his inner circle. Somehow I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Rochester Law Enforcement Hits the Big Time

2006-12-01T09:23:00.000-05:00

Having grown up a huge rap fan, even going so far as to have my own posse known as Six Feet Deep (sorry folks, there are no recordings in existence), I was constantly reminded of the struggles of life in the inner city. More often than not however, those struggles were limited to the big cities where the majority of old school hip-hoppers hailed from; mainly NYC, LA/Compton, Oakland, Philly, Chicago, Miami, and Houston. Despite the undeniable allure of Tre-Z's "A Chip Off the ROC", Rochester never did make it to the big time of the rap game. Sadly, rap is all but dead today, dominated by untalented buffoons babbling on about money, drugs, and booty, instead of politics, crime, and the lost art of storytelling. But as usual, I digress...

Back in the day, a common phrase from the West Coast referred to the "Ghetto Bird". Ice Cube even had a popular hit by that same name. Being an ignorant white suburbanite at the time, I wasn't sure exactly what Cube, Dre, Ice-T, and others were talking about. The video for "It Was a Good Day" made it pretty clear, the Ghetto Bird is the police helicopter commonly employed in LA and other large West Coast locales, but rarely used in East Coast cities and certainly not in Rochester. That is, until this week. As Channel 13 reports, Chief Moore has partnered with the NYS Police to begin using their helicopters to patrol our city from above. This explains the helicopter-like noise I heard over my neighborhood earlier this week. I'm not sure how I feel about the institution of this intrusive form of policing. Sure, I want criminals on the loose to be caught, but what about my right to privacy on my own property? Hopefully this technique will have a positive effect on our city's crime rate, because it certainly will have a negative impact on the quality of life. Regardless, while Rochester may never have hit the big time in rap, we have finally arrived in the era of big city law enforcement.

Keep Your Light On

2006-11-27T08:39:00.000-05:00

It's incredible what a difference some lights can make. For a pedestrian, an unlit street can feel very unsafe; especially in an urban area. Install some pedestrian-oriented lighting and that unsafe perception is all but erased. Throw in some ornamentation and you've got yourself a "historic district". The same can be said for roadways. As a City resident, I'm used to having streetlights everywhere. It can be frightening to drive in the suburbs or rural areas, as cars fly by at high speeds and the only lights around are those emanating from the headlights of the vehicles themselves. Another somewhat less obvious area where lighting can make a world of difference is in the perception of a city.

Most of the world's famously photogenic cities light themselves up at night. You can tell which buildings are which due to their unique lighting arrangements that not only improve a building's nighttime appearance, but the appearance of the city in general. Here in Rochester, we seem to have a phobia of such shameless self-promotion. Just look at our night skyline. Most office lights are turned off and most buildings lack exterior illumination. The Bausch & Lomb Building does a good job, as does the Kodak Building, HSBC Tower, and Powers Building. But other prominent skyscrapers seem to be ashamed of themselves. That shame is then extended to the remainder of our city's skyline, making it appear that our city is empty and unwelcoming. This does not need to be the case.

Every year around this time, when the sun sets before most folks have left work, one of our most prominent and recognizable skyscrapers forgets to turn its exterior spotlights off and the effect is wonderful. The Chase Tower should be easily seen at night, its' ivory vertical lines shining from the city's center. However, for the vast majority of the year, the Chase is nearly invisible, a glaring hole in our nighttime persona. Currently though, the Chase is basked in brilliant illumination at night. Filling that void and creating a relative sense of life and energy at our very core. If only they would do this year-round. Soon, they will adjust the timing of the lights and it will once again be dark at night. Why they do this I do not know for sure. I assume it is to save money on electricity and that is truly unfortunate. I suppose that is the reason why other buildings do not enliven themselves with light. Not surprisingly I suppose, the RG&E Building is one of the more brighter buildings in our downtown nightscape.

Wouldn't it be great if there were some way to provide free or discounted electricity for nighttime building illumination programs? Either through a special economic development-related RG&E program for buildings within Rochester's City Center or through a partnership with the City or RDDC, downtown building owners could feel secure knowing that their towers will be visible from afar and it will not cost them a dime. It would be good for the landlords, it would be good for the City, and it would be good for all area residents who maybe, just maybe, might begin to appreciate our city a little more as they see it in a new light.

Woodshed, Meet Mayor Duffy

2006-11-24T08:35:00.000-05:00

Every now and again, you read something that is so well expressed, you just have to tell someone about it. Reading today's Letters to the Editor, I had such a moment. If you haven't already read the following letter, please do so. Mr. Snover couldn't have put it any better. Duffy was a failure as Chief of Police and he has done absolutely nothing to garner our confidence in his first year as Mayor. While suburbanites certainly love having a white guy running the City, they're backing the wrong one.

Two salaries were missing from list
I was confused by the fact that neither Mayor (then Chief) Duffy's, nor his sidekick, Commander Girvin's salaries were provided on your Web site's 10-year Rochester police salary chart. I, personally, was the recipient of over $25,000 in overtime over the past two years. This money bolstered my pension and allowed me to retire after serving only 20 years on the force. The abundance of my overtime was generated by Chief Duffy's ill-fated and reprehensible decision to reduce the department from seven to two sections. This decision has resulted in continued violence, increased overtime and poorer police service to the members of the Rochester community.
I'm sure that Duffy will have the opportunity to continue his antics at his new position as mayor of Rochester. Now he calls for increased accountability of members of the department, after he demoralized, gutted it and left it in shambles.
That sounds a bit hypocritical to me. Unfortunately, his burning desire to leave a lasting legacy has come at the expense of the safety and financial well-being of the community he has sworn to serve.
—BOB SNOVER, PENFIELD
The writer is a retired RPD lieutenant.

An Empassioned Plea to the Big Three

2006-11-21T13:14:00.000-05:00

Dear Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch & Lomb,

As you well know, layoffs at your corporations in recent years have decimated Rochester's once-thriving manufacturing base and in so doing caused a ripple effect that has all but crippled our economic stability. While there are many local residents that blame you for the current state of our region, I do not. I understand that that is the cost of doing business in a global economy. The cost-cutting at your corporations has allowed you to become leaner and more flexible; more able to compete with your rivals across the world. All three of you are facing issues in various locations around the country and I would like to take this opportunity to offer potential solutions that would benefit both yourself and the Rochester area.

Bausch & Lomb, you have already emerged from your cost-cutting and have become a strong contributor to the new optics and biotech fields in which the Rochester area is a major presence. Your decision to expand the research and development facilities on North Goodman Street sends a strong message that your corporation is dedicated to the Rochester area and its long term health. I applaud you for this and I ask, is it possible for you to do just one more thing? Could you please move your lens solution manufacturing facility from South Carolina to Rochester? I know that the plant down there in Greenville has caused you significant pain and hardship. It is possible that the errors made at that plant could impact your bottom line for years to come. It is also possible that the ineptitude of the South Carolina workforce had something to do with this. If you move your plant up here, we will do everything in our power to accommodate you and to provide you with the most highly skilled workforce you can find.

Kodak, our old friend, it's been a long road for you. It appears that you are finally nearing the end of your cost-cutting program. Thousands of local employees have lost their jobs and the square footage at Kodak Park has declined considerably. It is my hope, and the collective hopes of Rochester, that when you reach the end point of this downsizing effort, you will be able to once again grow here in your hometown. There are numerous opportunities for you to jumpstart this rebuilding by restructuring your nationwide presence and moving some of your business back to Rochester. Specifically, your marketing division in Atlanta would fit nicely with Rochester's core competencies and would greatly affect the prospects for the State Street headquarters and its environs.

Xerox, you have gotten through with your cost-cutting very recently. While thousands lost their jobs locally, you did not bear the same criticisms as were lobbed at your crosstown compadre Kodak. You are still a major force in the Rochester economy, although unlike the other two, you are not technically based in Rochester. That is where I would like to ask you to please move your headquarters back home from Stamford. It has been reported that you will be vacating the large complex that has been your home for many years and moving to a smaller building. Why not save yourself some time and energy and move back to Rochester, where your headquarters would have a significant positive impact on our city's morale without being at all detrimental to your operations. Unlike most mid-sized cities, Rochester is a good place for corporate headquarters operations. Kodak, B&L, Paychex, Constellation Brands, etc. You would fit in perfectly here.

Thank you for your time. If you have any questions, you know how to reach me.

All the best,

Man About Town

2006 Election Review: For Shame!

2006-11-12T11:35:00.000-05:00

It was an exciting night last Tuesday, election night. The sweet smell of change was in the air from Florida, to Ohio, to Missouri, and to Montana. Even here in the Empire State, the election of Eliot Spitzer seemed to indicate that this great state may finally be on the home stretch of the long road to recovery. But amidst all that energy and excitement, the stale stench of complacency began to set in across Western and Central New York. While Democrats were being elected to Congress in once-unthinkable districts across the nation, the cursed Appalachia Now! mentality soiled that sweet smell of change here at home.

Despite seemingly insurmountable odds, the embarrassment to our region known as John Randy Kuhl narrowly edged the clearly superior Eric Massa. Other Republican Congressmen Tom Reynolds (i.e., the guy who deemed it more important to keep a Republican in office than protect young House pages from a sexual predator) and Jim Walsh both won re-election as well. Sure, liberals Louise Slaughter and Brian Higgins won easily, but they represent heavily Democratic districts. The news wasn't all bad for Massa, Maffei, and Davis; they easily won the more sophisticated urban counties they would have represented (i.e., Erie, Monroe, Niagara, and Onondaga). But the uneducated morons of the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions apparently didn't get the memo on removing the failed Republican establishment from office. Folks in the backwards Confederate counties of Allegany, Steuben, Cayuga, Wayne, Livingston, and Wyoming went for the Republican candidates by nearly 2-1 margins.

Not all of Upstate New York is afflicted with Appalachitis. In the Albany area, Democrat Kirsten Gillebrand brought down GOP incumbent John Sweeney; and in the race for an open seat in the Utica area, Democrat Michael Arcuri defeated Republican Ray Meier. Congrats to the progressive voters of those districts who recognized the need to halt the spread of neo-fascism that had spread across this nation in the wake of 9/11. But this blog is not about the Mohawk Valley or the Capital District, this is all about Rochester and we Rochesterians are pissed. These criminally-gerrymandered districts need to be fairly retraced to reflect the views of the constituents contained within them.

Just as the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions deserve to be represented by an ignorant, drunk, shotgun-wielding wifebeater like Kuhl; the good folks of Monroe County deserve to be represented by a progressive, informed, honest person such as Eric Massa. Much the same, it is unfair that Louise Slaughter should have to represent the cities of Rochester, Buffalo, and Niagara Falls while also technically representing the lakeside communities of Orleans County. Furthermore, why should anyone from Syracuse be representing the interests of suburban Rochester residents?

These districts are ridiculous and they are a decent excuse for how our region voted last Tuesday. But it is none the less insulting that two of the four Rochester-area Congresspersons did not carry Monroe County and only one of the four is from Metropolitan Rochester. It is my fear that our representation by these out-of-touch gentlemen will further isolate our region from the rest of mainstream America. Governor Spitzer has a lot of work to do if he is to cure this region of the bad case of Appalachitis that is killing it. Of course, five of the eight counties that Spitzer either lost or only narrowly won are in Western New York.

Crime Fighting Cameras, Yea or Nay

2006-11-02T12:03:00.000-05:00

Twice within the past week or so, the Rochester Police Department has announced plans to deploy CCTV surveillance cameras at high crime locations in the City of Rochester. These locations are along Lyell Avenue and the "La Marketa" area of Avenida Clinton Norte (North Clinton Avenue). A Letter to the Editor in yesterday's D&C got me thinking, are these cameras really worth their cost? Will these cameras have any impact at all on the overall crime rate in the City? The letter reads:

Pricey cameras to watch city streets
It sounds like another million dollars of our money is about to be wasted on crime-fighting cameras, costing $24,000 each, paid for with $500,000 of our money set aside by Rochester and $250,000 of our money coming from the state Community Capital Assistance Program, not to mention whatever the cost will be to hire people to monitor the cameras, move them around and maintain them. This seems like just another attempt by officials at election time to convince voters they are tough on crime.
They emphasize that the cameras will be highly visible. Well guess what, now that the bad guys know this, they'll just move down the street or around the corner.
If Mayor Duffy or Police Chief Moore were serious about crime prevention, they wouldn't telegraph their every move — unless, of course, it was an election year.
The cost of the cameras is enough to make one "shutter."
VINCENT P. YODICE, GREECE

Setting aside the obvious indications that Mr. Yodice doesn't want any of "our" (i.e., suburbanites') money going towards fighting crime in the City of Rochester, he raises a valid argument. A million dollars spent towards relatively unproven technology is a very risky venture (and we know all about risky ventures). One could make the argument that these monies would be better spent providing low-interest loans to small businesses that could then employ city residents and in so doing cut down on the hopelessness that exists in many city neighborhoods. One could make that argument, I do not.

If you happen to examine a map of violent crime in the City of Rochester, you would see that in many instances, these crimes occur directly on our City's main commercial thoroughfares. Corridors such as North Clinton, Dewey, Lyell, Jefferson, Hudson, Clifford, Arnett, North Goodman, Thurston, Genesee, etc. That leads me to believe that much of this crime is based on opportunity; opportunity that could be thwarted by the presence of these surveillance cameras. Take Dewey Avenue (north of Lexington) for instance, there is little to no crime on the residential streets that intersect with it, and yet Dewey is lined by shootings, stabbings, and assaults that have occurred over the past few years. Deployment of these cameras along this once-vibrant stretch of Dewey could cut down on such opportunity-driven crime dramatically, improving safety for pedestrians, and leading to reinvestment.

Maybe I'm over-generalizing a bit as far as the direct link between these cameras, crime reduction, and economic growth. And maybe these cameras won't have as pronounced an effect on North Clinton or Hudson Avenues (i.e., commercial corridors plagued by crime surrounded by neighborhoods overrun with crime) than they might on Dewey Avenue or Thurston Road (i.e., commercial corridors plagued by crime but surrounded by peaceful neighborhoods). But certainly these experiments which have the potential to save lives and generate investment are worth the million dollar chance that the City is giving them. Let's hope it works because, in many neighborhoods, we're running out of options.

The 2006 Roch-a-Cha Rant Endorsements

2006-10-26T08:03:00.000-05:00

In last Sunday's Democrat & Chronical, despite a headline encouraging reform in Albany, our local fishwrap endorsed incumbents almost exclusively. Sure, we have some quality representatives in Albany, but the fact is that reform starts by throwing out those who stand in the way of it. After becoming thoroughly disgusted by the lackadaisical effort put forth by the editors of the D&C, I realized that as always, if you want something done right, do it yourself. Therefore, below are my Roch-a-Cha Rant Political Endorsements for the 2006 General Election.

Governor
Eliot Spitzer (D, I, WF) - While I was unsure whether I would support Spitzer or Tom Suozzi in the Democratic Primary for Governor, the choice is crystal-clear now. Spitzer is a leader, he proved himself to be the finest Attorney General this state has ever seen and he will bring integrity to the Governor's office.

Comptroller
H. Carl McCall (D, Write-In) - My previous post explained why I cannot support Alan Hevesi in this race. My update on the post briefly explained why I cannot support J. Christopher Callaghan or Julia Willebrand. While John J. Cain's experience is a plus, his Libertarian ideals are far out-of-touch with reality. The only other remaining candidate, Willie Cotton, is the Socialist Workers candidate and I only support anarchy in the UK. Thus, let us turn back the clock to the previous NYS Comptroller, let's recall H. Carl McCall.

Attorney General
Rachel Treichler (G) - After being thoroughly disappointed by the Democratic Primary for Attorney General, in which Andrew Cuomo won on name recognition alone, I found the only other candidate who supports liberal ideals and actually has some legal experience. Treichler is a Harvard-educated Green who lives in the Finger Lakes region and is very active in Steuben County. Cuomo will likely win this election, and he'll probably make a decent AG, but he was not the best Democrat for the job and he is sorely lacking in experience. Jeannine Pirro had so many skeletons in her closet and they're now all out in the open. She is a joke. The Socialist Workers candidate doesn't even have a law degree and you already know how I feel about Libertarians.

US Senator
Howie Hawkins (G) - This is another election where the best Democrat did not win the Primary. Hilary Clinton should be punished like every other member of Congress who supported the "War". While Clinton has done many good things for the State, she chose the wrong path and refuses to admit her mistake. John Kerry lost the Presidency for that, she should lose her Senate seat. John Spencer is in the mold of a typical Republican, and that does not represent the views of the average New Yorker. Howie Hawkins is the ONLY true progressive in this race. He supports an end to the war, universal healthcare, renewable energy, living wages, repealing the Patriot Act, etc.

State Supreme Court Justice
Stephen Lindley (D, I, WF), Terrence Brown-Steiner (D), Clark Zimmermann (D) - Judges are elected to uphold the law and interpret in a manner which the people demand. Elect the Democrats because we've seen what happens when Republicans get a hold of our justice system.

Representative - 25th District
Dan Maffei (D, WF) - Maffei is against the war, for stem cell research, for health care reform, for enhancing Social Security, and against No Child Left Behind. He's also a qualified individual. Jim Walsh voted for the Iraq war - throw him out!

Representative - 26th District
Morton Wexler (D, Write-In) - I cannot in good conscience recommend voting for Jack Davis. The man is not fit to represent his district and he is far from a progressive. Of course, he's better than incumbent Tom Reynolds who believes that keeping a Republican child predator in office is more important than protecting teenage House pages. Wexler is a good Mayor, and I bet he'd make a fine Representative.

Representative - 28th District
Louise Slaughter (D, I, WF) - While I may agree with her on every issue, she is our most senior Representative and among the most fashionable women on Capitol Hill. Furthermore, she is one of the brave few who opposed the war in Iraq. For this alone, she deserves our support.

Representative - 29th District
Eric Massa (D, WF) - I've said it many times before and I'll say it again, John Randy Kuhl is an embarrassment to this region. He is an awful politician, an awful speaker, and an awful human being. Eric Massa is a rising star in the Democratic Party and he takes the correct stance on nearly every issue.

State Senator - 54th District
Michael Nozzolio (R, C, I) - Unopposed and he brings home the bacon.

State Senator - 55th District
Eugene Saltzberg (D) - Jim Alesi is an egomaniac. Whether he's fighting the Town of Perinton to block properly zoned commerical development next to his home or whether he's fighting the Town of Middlesex to move a town road just so he can have exclusive lakefront access at his summer home. We cannot allow such people to govern our state.

State Senator - 56th District
Joseph Robach (R, C, I, WF) - One of our most popular elected officials, he earned my respect when he stood up for the City of Rochester on the Senate floor and when he stood against Sheldon Silver in the Assembly.

State Senator - 57th District
George Maziarz (R, I, C) - His opponent Christopher Srock is woefully incapable of serving in the Senate. Maziarz has done some good for his district and his is not a name you hear in a negative light.

State Assembly - 130th District
Daniel West (D, WF) - Joe Errigo is one of the most partisan, anti-urban elected officials we have today. Dan West has the right ideas and the quality experience we need to create change in Albany.

State Assembly - 131st District
John Ferlicca (R, C, I) - Despite being a Republican, and despite living in god-awful Chili, Ferlicca has some good ideas and a thirst for change. Susan John has never been a strong leader and has made some poor decisions over the years. Ferlicca is married to an African-American woman, so he is clearly more open-minded than the average Republican.

State Assembly - 132nd District
Joseph Morelle (D) - The Chairman of the local Democratic party and our most powerful Assemblyman, Morelle has the best interests of Rochester at heart and his influential position will bring continued benefits to his district.

State Assembly - 133rd District
Wade Norwood (D, Write-In) - I can't understand why Daryl Porter did not primary David Gantt, the ineffectual, contentious, racist, do-nothing elder statesman of our State delegation. I can only suspect that he gave in to the idea of "party unity". Since he did not challenge Gantt, we are left with Carlos Coker, a brave young man who may some day grow up to be the next Republican mayoral candidate to be annihilated on Election Day. I support the man who should have been Mayor, Wade Norwood, as a write-in candidate for his former boss' job. Norwood combines Gantt's few strengths with a demeanor worthy of higher office.
State Assembly - 134th District
Philip Fedele (D) - Ever heard of Bill Reilich, me neither, which is pretty pathetic for an incumbent. We need leaders, not followers, to represent us.

State Assembly - 135th District
David Koon (D, I, WF) - Want to know how a Democrat can stay in power for so long in such a Republican-dominated district? By being an excellent representative who is both responsive to his constituents and true to his beliefs. Koon is a man of integrity and vision, and one of the few members of the Assembly who can point to real tangible successes in his life. Koon was one of the brave few who stood up to Speaker Silver, which makes him one of the incumbents friendly to reform in Albany. Plus, he'd make a heck of a County Executive.

Dems Should Throw Hevesi Under the Bus

2006-10-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

It may come as a shock to some people, but I am a rather reasonable person most of the time. While I have some wild and crazy ideas and I tend to lean far left on most issues, I consider myself to be very open-minded and I am not afraid to admit when I am wrong. That's why it should not surprise anyone when I say that, locally and statewide, Democrats should call for Alan Hevesi's resignation.

Let me preface that by saying that Hevesi has done a fine job as State Comptroller. He has greatly strengthened the State pension fund, which was certainly a challenge in the years following 9/11. He also strengthened local pension funds and exposed serious flaws in public authorities across New York State. He worked with Attorney General Spitzer to punish evil corporations that were robbing the public and he allocated funds to spur investment in the upstate economy. Certainly, based on those credentials, Alan Hevesi merits re-election. However, there is more to a man than the deeds that he does while in the public eye, and Hevesi's wrongdoings with State taxpayer dollars are simply unacceptable.

As much as I hate to admit it, the Republicans are 100% right about this. Mr. Hevesi's job was to protect the State against fraud and abuse, and yet he was committing those same violations on a daily basis. If he did indeed know that it was wrong to use a state employee to chauffeur his disabled wife around town (and how could he not know?), than this is not only unethical but borderline illegal. It is good to see that there are Democrats out there willing to take a strong stand against this type of behavior. Also encouraging is soon-to-be-Governor Spitzer's remarks that he is reconsidering his endorsement of Hevesi. But time is running short.

If Democrats are indeed the party of ethics and morals as we are claiming across the nation, than we must sacrifice a sure-thing election and ask him to step down. He has served us well as Comptroller and for that he can be saluted, but there is no good reason for Hevesi to continue on as Comptroller of New York State. He abused the power of his position and harmed all New Yorkers in the process. He violated our trust and insulted all of us. Other than his incredibly pretentious-sounding name, I know scant little about J. Christopher Callaghan, Hevesi's Republican opponent. But he is an upstater and he is Irish, so how bad can he be?

UPDATE: After watching last night's debate between Hevesi and Callaghan, I am not sure that I will be able to cast a vote in this race. It was quite evident that Hevesi is the better candidate, but the fact remains that he compromised his credibility by his dumb actions. Callaghan did not impress me as someone worthy of holding statewide office. He looked more like a high school science teacher than one of the most powerful officials in the state. There are other candidates in this race, and being of a liberal mindset, I should recommend that you consider voting for Brooklynite Julia Willebrand of the Green Party. But she really does not have the credentials or relevant experience necessary for this position. The other viable option is Libertarian John J. Cain, a former Zoning and Planning Board member from Rockland County with experience in worker's compensation issues.

Revitalize This Building, Please!

2006-10-17T12:49:00.000-05:00

There has been much hubbub this week surrounding Renaissance Square and its potential effect on downtown. Specifically, there are uncertainties regarding what effect it will have on the downtown housing market. As you probably know, downtown Rochester is increasingly becoming a mixed-use 24-hour neighborhood as hundreds of units of new housing have been added in recent years with hundreds more planned or under development. One of the main selling points of Renaissance Square has been its potential to spur additional development at/on underutilized buildings/land surrounding it. I support that claim, and believe it will lead to the development of potentially hundreds of units of student housing within walking distance of the new MCC campus.

The St Paul Quarter, the neighborhood most affected by any spinoff residential development, is already a hotspot for housing. The 2006 Rochester Downtown Development Corporation Downtown Housing Survey found that 99% of market rate units in the Quarter are occupied, making it the most competitive market in the Center City. Throw in all that Ren Square will provide, and the Quarter becomes all that more attractive to developers and their potential tenants. Thing is, there are very few opportunities left in the neighborhood for loft conversion as almost all floors of all buildings in our former Garment District have been converted to apartments or office space already. However, anyone walking along St Paul may not realize the vibrancy that exists in the neighborhood because they see one prominent building as glaring proof that we haven't yet "made it."

The Journal-American Building at the southeast corner of St Paul and Andrews streets is a large brown building used as a office/warehouse for the Cook Iron Store Company, or CISCO for short. This building was previously home to the Rochester Journal-American newspaper, a Hearst publication that was one of three major dailies of its time. CISCO has owned the building for a whopping 70 years now and is a very successful wholesale construction supply company. I can only guess as to what has happened to the internal integrity of this building over the years, but on the outside you can easily imagine a wonderful mixed-use building bringing life and energy to this highly important intersection.

Sadly though, while CISCO has prospered over the years into one of our area's leading construction supply companies, they have neglected the exterior of this fine old building. Windows in the building are either boarded up or have been altered to be much smaller and less transparent than intended. While it is probably unintentional, the current state of the building gives a big "up-yours" to the happening neighborhood that has grown up around it. While I would hate to cause harm to a solid Rochester-based company, it is time to rescue the Journal-American Building from its current sorry state. This is a prime opportunity for any developer looking to seize upon the momentum generated by Renaissance Square. The City should do whatever it can to sweeten the deal for CISCO by arranging quality space, tax breaks, and other incentives to retain them as an employer while allowing this gem of a building to take its place among downtown Rochester's great revitalized buildings.

Note: the pictures are taken from SignWall, a very cool little blog that I have added to my links. If I can get my lazy ass to take some better pictures of the building, I will post them here.

Your Man's Take on the Ren Square Design

2006-10-12T11:48:00.001-05:00

Last night, your Man About Town was in full effect at the public unveiling of the "final" Renaissance Square design at the Clarion Riverside Hotel. No, I was not that dashing older gentleman at the front of the room. That was Moshe Safdie, the world famous architect for our city's most 'wow' development since God created the High Falls. But as Safdie pointed out, I should be wary of 'wow' as the true value of architecture is not in the initial reaction, but in the lasting effect it has on a city and its people. I think most any reasonable person will agree that this project will have an extremely positive lasting effect on Rochester, and quite a bit of 'wow' as well.

I was very worried heading into the event with all of the talk about cutting elements of the design in order to stick to the $230 million price tag. The situation was eeriliy reminiscent of Frontier Field opening without a roof, Blue Cross Arena opening without a videoboard, or Paetec Park opening with a trailer for a box office. If we're going to spend gobs of money on on a major public facility, can we please get it right the first time?!!?!?! Those fears were calmed quickly as a cool and confident Moshe Safdie took the stage to review the project. Firstly, none of the major elements of the complex have been eliminated or downsized. The bus station will accommodate the same number of buses, the Broadway roadhouse theater will still be 2,800 seats, and the MCC campus will still be large enough to accommodate an expansion of program offerings (and students).

Secondly, no "essential" features were cut from the design. The main change from the last design was the removal of a curved glass ceiling over the MCC courtyard. While that would have been a 'wow', it would have also further isolated the complex from the street life on Main Street. Now, the courtyard will be open to the air and open to the street. The other noticeable change is the slight downsizing of the black box theater from 500 seats to 200. If that works for the arts community, that works for me.

Finally, the designs speak for themselves. Below are a couple of pictures taken from WHAM-TV; I assume the entire presentation will be available on the Renaissance Square web site in the near future.

The glass-enclosed lobby of the Performing Arts Center is truly a gem. In geekspeak, it is simple yet elegant; in Rochester-ese, it's freaking sweet. This design brings abundant light and energy to what is now a dark and dreary corner of downtown. Another cool rendering is one that was not available online - the view from Stone Street looking north to the "urban room" or main entrance to the complex. The extensive use of glass gives the impression that Stone Street continues along its former axis north towards Andrews Street, and the design allows pedestrians to make that movement once again - through Renaissance Square. This will make Stone Street a very cool little street with Albert Paley's Genesee Passage to the south and Renaissance Square to the north. Maybe a restaurateur will make a go of it at the former Stone Street Grill.

No design is perfect of course. I am not wild about the use of red brick on the two front buildings as seen in the Main Street elevation. These buildings, as they are presented above, are far too similar to the buildings found on the drab and unexciting RIT campus. While I can appreciate the desire to blend the new buildings in with their surroundings, I would have preferred a stone exterior to echo the Granite or Alliance Buildings. Hopefully the renderings do not do these buildings justice. My other criticism is of the MCC library/computing center (fourth picture). I hope that the final design encloses these rooms in glass as I'm sure students would prefer not to be disturbed by the inevitable yelling, laughing, etc. of the bus patrons and general public milling around just two floors below. This would be an excellent concept in a fully academic structure, but in a public building such as this, it could have a negative impact on the learning experience of MCC students.

All in all, I came away from the presentation thoroughly impressed. My criticisms are minor while my support for this project remains undeterred. While I still believe that the mid-sized theater must be built on the site of the McCurdy Building at Midtown Plaza if we are going to maximize the public benefit of these projects; that is another battle for another time. Demolition for Renaissance Square should begin in earnest this Spring and construction should be complete by Fall 2010. Those four years can't come soon enough, for me, for you, and for our city.

Hockey Resumes in Rochester Tonight!

2006-10-06T12:05:00.000-05:00

The greatest sport on the planet returns to Rochester tonight with the start of the Rochester Americans' 51st season of AHL hockey. I hope most of you are already planning on coming to the Blue Cross Arena at least once this season. While Rochester has achieved the monikers of Baseball City USA and SoccerTown USA, this really is a hockey town. No matter how the Amerks play on the ice, they're guaranteed to have a decent and passionate crowd in the stands. We are consistently among the tops in minor league hockey attendance and this year promises to be no different. Plus, our area has produced three current NHLers (Brian Gionta, Marty Reasoner, and Rory Fitzpatrick) and three current AHLers (Stephen Gionta, Ryan Callahan, and Chris Collins).

While the majority of players on this year's Amerks roster are either rookies or new to the team, the Amerks return a number of top-notch crowd-pleasing players like Daniel Paille, Stefan Meyer, Clarke MacArthur, and Greg Jacina. Among the newcomers are future stars Marek Zagrapan, Drew Stafford, and Andrej Sekera. Finally, the goaltending is likely to be much improved over last year with the arrival of former NHLer Craig Anderson and prospect Adam Dennis. While they are not expected to contend for the Calder Cup this year, the 2006-07 Rochester Americans promise to bring plenty of excitement to the Flower City this winter and with the world of talent they possess, they may very well surprise us all.

If you are a casual fan or a newcomer to Rochester, I suggest that you attend a game against one of our arch-rivals to get a good taste for Amerk hockey. The Amerks' most hated foe is the Syracuse Crunch and those games are the most spirited as hundreds of hapless Crunch fans make the trip down the Thruway every game proudly displaying the world's worst team logo. Another fierce rivalry is with another upstate team, the Binghamton Senators. This rivalry stems from many years ago when the Binghamton Whalers/Rangers were among our most hated opponents. Another rivalry which has held over for years is with the Hershey Bears, the oldest team in the league and last year's Calder Cup champions. The other rivalry I recommend is a relatively new one, with the Manitoba Moose. In recent years, the Moose have consistently been among the top teams in the league and they have taken Rochester out of the playoffs on multiple occasions. For more info, check out the Amerks website.

Hope to "see" you all at the arena tonight and all season long.

UPDATE: It was a very successful weekend for these young Amerks as they went 2-0 outscoring their opponents 12-3. Next home game is this Friday (10/13) against Binghamton - be there or be lame.

"Alternate Reality Randy" Strikes Again

2006-10-06T09:22:00.000-05:00

As if we didn't already know how dumb Randy Kuhl is, he now claims that the Federal Government's response to Hurricane Katrina was a model of efficiency. This comes not long after he claimed that things are getting better in Iraq. I'm not as heated about the Reynolds-Davis race, although I'm quietly hoping for a Davis upset. While Reynolds has his faults, he is not nearly as embarrassing to this region as John Randy Kuhl. I just realized Kuhl's initials are JRK; apparently even his parents knew he was going to be a JeRK.

Check out the following link to see the video excerpt from yesterday's Kuhl-Massa debate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDKztvgDvfg.

UPDATE: I happened to drive through much of Ontario County this weekend and came across endless vistas of Massa signs and not a single Kuhl sign. Maybe some of the folks from RochesterTurning went around knocking them over. Just joking, but in all seriousness, the lack of Kuhl signs is a very good sign for our region.

Do Soulless Suburban Office Buildings Limit Creativity?

2006-10-04T08:31:00.000-05:00

In the news today, Current Communications cut the ribbon on their brand new office building in Henrietta. The company, which has grown from 2 local employees in 2003 to about 100 today, expects to add 180 new jobs over the next five years. Hopefully that is a conservative estimate and they actually add many more jobs to our vibrant telecom cluster. That is great news and I don't want to discredit it, however, a quick look at the building that they're moving into depresses me. It is a bland, architecturally worthless structure in a sea of bland, archtecturally worthless structures. As a community, we should demand better from our local developers.

The vast majority of buildings constructed in the suburbs are soulless and ugly. Take a look at the following pictures and see if you can guess where they are located and, for a bonus, who designed/built them. If you can, you are a remarkable human being.

A. B.

If you guessed A: Henrietta, B: East Rochester, C: Gates, D: Victor, E: Henrietta, and F: Canandaigua; you're correct! If you answered that a gerbil designed and/or built these buildings, surprisingly, you're wrong (though a gerbil probably could have). It blows my mind that these pathetic attempts at workplaces are what passes for quality these days. Don't employers want to harness the creative energy of their workforce? Do employers believe that their workers pull into the vast parking lots at these buildings and find inspiration? Do the "architects" of these sad jokes think that putting an arched awning on a shoebox creates a monument to innovation? Look, I don't want to over-generalize things. I admit that there are some good examples of office design in the suburbs, notably at Canal Ponds Business Park in Greece or Brighton Meadows Business Park in Brighton. Even then though, while the buildings themselves are attractive, bold, or in some way unique, they are still surrounded by an ocean of parking and rarely connected to the sidewalk or transit system and are not within walkable distance of, well, anything.

I understand why these structures are becoming the norm for office space in the area. They're cheap, quick, and easy to build and they're equally cheap, quick, and easy to demolish. This allows flexibility on the part of employers to downsize and/or expand at the same location. In theory this flexibility is a good thing. But what does it say about our economy that companies do not want to make a permanent investment? Gone are the days when companies looking to make a name for themselves here put up a new structure downtown for all the world to see. Nope, instead some of the area's best-known companies (Constellation Brands, PaeTec, Verizon Wireless, Paychex, etc.) make their home at sterile, uninspiring, nondescript suburban office parks. Have you ever tried to navigate through some of these parks? All of the buildings look alike and there are no sidewalks to get from the parking lot to the building. Is that really the environment we want for our employers, their workers, and their visitors?

It seems that COMIDA's answer to that is a resounding yes. COMIDA never misses an opportunity to throw money at a company making a move from downtown to the suburbs. Even if that company is only going to add five jobs and is not threatening to leave the county at all. Thus, the City of Rochester loses tax base while Perinton, Henrietta, or elsewhere in the county gains. Just this past month, COMIDA approved funds for Merrill Lynch to move their offices from the Chase Tower downtown (and other locations across the county) to a new 45,000 square foot structure to be built in the Route 96 corridor of Perinton. Shouldn't a global financial services firm that is looking to centralize their operations in one of America's great cities locate those new offices in the highly-visible downtown area of that city, not in what will undoubtedly be a bland, architecturally worthless structure barely visible from the road out of town?

This community needs to wake up. We are starving our center city and creating drab, uninspiring suburbs with no sense of place at all. Any of the buildings pictured above could be located in any Rochester suburb. However, the Bausch & Lomb Building, Clinton Square, the First Federal Building; those structures can only be located in one place - downtown. While suburban workers have to walk to the parking lot, hop in their car, and go to Applebees or Burger King; only downtown can workers get out of their cubicles and walk - to a variety of restaurants, to parks and scenic vistas, to lunchtime concerts, etc. It is the unique ability of downtown Rochester to mass large numbers of workers together that helps to foster the creativity that the Rochester area is so known for. Let's begin to take pride in our once-great city, America's First Boomtown, the Young Lion of the West, the Flour City, the Flower City. If we don't do it soon, this city and region will be nothing more than a graveyard of bad decisions, and worthless structures.

Use Ferry as Clean Transportation to Alternative Energy Capital of the World

2006-09-26T13:02:00.000-05:00

Our beloved fast ferry remains docked at the Port of Rochester, a sad reminder of our too-quick rush to establish ferry service and our too-quick rush to get out of it. It is becoming increasingly apparent that Euroferries does not have the cash to buy our boat in accordance with the terms that were so publicly announced earlier this year. Recent news stories have suggested that although there are numerous suitors out there, the ferry will not fetch nearly the amount that Euroferries was to have paid for it. And all the money that has been lost over the past year with the ferry sitting at port? That'll be eaten up by city taxpayers, of course.

This situation should reflect badly on Mayor Duffy's "all-star team" of advisors, especially Tom Richards, the man who brokered the deal. But Mr. Richards is somehow immune to such criticism. He managed to sell Rochester Gas & Electric to EnergyEast, a deal which led to the layoff of more than 1,000 Rochester-based employees, without nary a peep from local politicians or the media. Maybe that was because many local stockholders made out like bandits while the proud local institution was looted and its workforce decimated. It is pretty clear now that Richards took his poor business acumen to City Hall and promptly made a decision that is costing the city dearly with each passing day. Are there any solutions that will save the city money? Is there any chance that we will once again have ferry service to Canada's largest metropolis - one of the world's fastest-growing economies?

I can answer both of those questions with one response - yes. It just takes a little bit more risk-taking and a lot more "outside-the-box" thinking. The Democrat & Chronicle recently ran a series of articles under the heading of "Reworking Rochester". The idea was to promote some concepts that could halt the area's economic decline and foster growth in our key strengths. Those key strengths included biotechnology/optics, manufacturing, health care, and alternative energy. It is that last strength where the ferry could potentially play a unique role. We should consider scrapping the sale of the ferry and converting it to alternative fuels. If we are to indeed establish ourselves as a capital of alternative energy, having the world's largest alternative fuel vehicle would certainly be a mammoth exclamation point for the region. Is it feasible? I do not pretend to know whether such a large vessel could be converted, but I do know that this is not out of the realm of possibility. There is a push in the San Francisco Bay Area to convert their ferry fleet to biodiesel with one of the main selling points being the positive effect it would have on that area's alternative fuels industry.

It is likely that our elected representatives in DC and/or Albany could obtain Federal and/or State grants for doing this work with little to no direct cost to local taxpayers. It is possible that converting the ferry to alternative energy would increase its operating costs, thereby rendering it infeasible for commercial service. But who said the ferry must be used for commercial service at all? Instead, it could be a working laboratory for testing various alternative fuel technologies on the open water. Such a research project may have the potential to employ hundreds and further cement our position amongst the world's centers for alternative energy research. Granted, I could be completely wrong about this, but given the potential harm to city taxpayers that a decreased sale price would bring, isn't it worth at least looking into? We can either be an indebted city with a useless ferry terminal or a vibrant center of marine-based alternative energy research, which do you prefer?

You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

2006-09-21T08:23:00.000-05:00

This story from today's D&C was so good, I had to copy and paste it into the blog. Check it out:

Greece Chamber chief accused of lewdness
Alan Morrell, Staff writer
(September 21, 2006) — GREECE — Skip Beaver, the newly appointed president of the Greece Chamber of Commerce, has been arrested on a charge of public lewdness. Beaver, who was named to the post earlier this month, was arrested at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Genesee Valley Park, said Monroe County sheriff's Cpl. John Helfer, department spokesman.
Helfer did not have the arrest report immediately available but said Beaver likely was issued a ticket ordering him to appear in court at a later date.
The legal definition of public lewdness, Helfer said, involves a person who "intentionally exposes the private or intimate parts of his or her body in a lewd manner, or commits a lewd act in a public place" with the intention of being observed.
The misdemeanor charge carries penalties ranging from conditional discharge — a type of court-monitored probation — to 90 days in jail. Beaver could not be reached for comment. Neither could chamber or town officials.
Beaver worked for the Greece Police Department as a civilian employee for 13 years. The chamber has more than 700 members representing the business interests of the largest town in Monroe County.

Maybe it's just me, but don't you get the feeling that this is not a real article. Like Alan Morrell is a writer from The Onion who has infiltrated the venerable Democrat & Chronicle team. This story would be funny if it were just Joe Schmo, head of the Greece Chamber of Commerce, exposing himself in public. But it's Skip Beaver! C'mon, real people are not known as Skip Beaver, especially men; men never skip beaver. The fact that Skip Beaver also worked for the Greece Police Department for 13 years is icing on the cake. Furthermore, why would the town sentence him to a "court-monitored probation"? Obivously he likes being monitored and I don't want to know how he feels about probing. If I can find one, I'll post a picture of Skip Beaver. I'm sure everyone wants to know what he looks like...with his clothes on. Okay, that's enough immaturity for one day.

UPDATE: According to today's paper, Skip Beaver was caught engaging in a sexual act with a fellow by the name of Robert Irving. I guess he does indeed skip beaver. I wonder how the parents in Webster feel about this one.

UPDATE, PART TWO: I found a picture of the Beeve (from Messenger Post Newspapers)! See below:

Raising Funds for the Renaissance

2006-09-20T07:46:00.000-05:00

$36 million. Supposedly that is all that is needed to be raised from private sources in order to have all of the funding for Renaissance Square in place. At first glance that may seem like a lot of dough, especially in this era of economic stagnation. But in a region with large numbers of very wealthy individuals and the administrative and/or operational headquarters for numerous multinational corporations, raising $36 million should be a cake walk. As a downtown-area resident and worker, I couldn't be more excited for construction to get going on what will become the largest development project in the history of downtown.

This week, both the Democrat & Chronicle and WHAM-TV have run stories on Renaissance Square. The D&C points out that there will likely be a separate but coordinated effort to develop a mid-sized theater for use by Garth Fagan Dance and possibly the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. It is unknown exactly where this theater will be built. Most believe that the surface parking lot kitty-corner across Main Street from the Eastman Theater is the best site. But at least one developer has proposed a mid-rise apartment building on that site and, in general, that is a prime site for a private development project. Others, including myself, have called for the mid-sized theater to be built at Midtown Plaza where the McCurdy Building now stands. The theater could serve as a catalyst for the redevelopment of Midtown, which is in desperate need of such a spark. Either way, this new theater will be another significant addition to our Center City. It is expected that Moshe Safdie will be retained to design this facility to provide continuity between it and Renaissance Square. The project is estimated to need roughly $40-50 million in private funds to supplement yet-to-be-obtained public funds. I have no doubt that this community is more than up to the challenge of raising these funds.

The D&C hints that it will be difficult to raise these funds by calling it "massive" and "one of the largest efforts in county history." WHAM-TV too seems skeptical and decided to ask one of the project's leading detractors her thoughts. Louise Slaughter, whom I consider to be a great Congressperson, has been against Renaissance Square since its first incarnation as Rochester Central Station (a.k.a., the Bill Nojay Palace). Have her thoughts changed since then? Absolutely not. "I think the county is really buying into something that will eat them alive, because they're going to be responsible for the operating costs of it," she said. WHAM added that she "worries that Renaissance Square will "sink" like the ferry enterprise." With all due respect Madam Congresswoman, you supported the ferry project with millions of taxpayer dollars so you really have no business making such a comparison. Maybe it's possible that her lack of support is a good sign for this project, after all, Bill Nojay was against the ferry but is a big supporter of Renaissance Square.

Regardless, the timing is right to get the private fund-raising effort off the ground. The economy is turning around locally, businesses are embarking on major expansions, and there are thousands of job openings in the area. I have heard from anonymous sources that there have already been multi-million dollar private commitments to Renaissance Square. Hopefully we will learn who these generous benefactors are when the fund-raising effort holds its public kickoff. If you think this community will not be able to raise these funds, consider this: the Schuster Performing Arts Center (see picture below) in downtown Dayton, OH was built with more than $40 million in private donations. Dayton is a smaller and less economically prosperous city than Rochester; if they can raise $40+, we can raise $80 million without a doubt.

Construction is supposedly set for Spring 2007, although the first round of demolition (the Mortimer Street Garage) is likely to get underway this Fall. Renaissance Square will rid downtown of its ugliest block of real estate and replace it with a Moshe Safdie-designed architectural masterpiece. The iron wall of idling RTS buses will be relocated to the new central bus station, creating a much more walkable (and retail-friendly) Main Street. The new MCC campus will solidify this important post-secondary institution's presence in downtown and is rumored to be attracting considerable interest from out-of-town real estate developers keen on building student housing nearby. There may be some question marks about this project, but the benefits to our City and region more than outweigh the potential problems. We'll see the detailed renderings next month, and hopefully many of us will loosen up the purse strings and help support this incredibly beneficial development project.

Victory in Lima!

2006-09-15T08:17:00.000-05:00

The anti-sprawl movement in Greater Rochester has not had many success stories to point to over the years. Years after former Mayor Bill Johnson's heroic efforts to get the community thinking about sprawl, we as a region still have not decided to be smart about our growth patterns. Development has continued relatively unabated across our urban fringe, adding thousands of new homes and numerous big box retail plazas every year. This localized growth occurs despite a lack of real regional economic and population growth; thereby harming the region as a whole while only temporarily improving the tax bases of a handful of individual communities. It seems though that maybe this region is slowly turning a corner.

The Town of Victor, a posterchild for poorly planned sprawling development over the years, has apparently realized that too much growth can be a bad thing. Commercial development proposals along Route 96 are now encroaching upon residential subdivisions built in the 1980s and 1990s. Without any money to expand road capacity, traffic in Victor has reached a boiling point. Residents are upset and apparently are not going to take it any more. Thanks to significant public outcry and a defiant Planning Board, Victor has to-date successfully resisted a proposed Wal-Mart near the confluence of 90, 490, and 96 and has greatly decreased the size of other developments planned for that booming corridor. While I still think Victor has a long way to go before being praise-worthy, they should certainly be commended for their recent efforts.

More surprising however is today's news that the proposed Wal-Mart on pristine farmland in rural Lima has been withdrawn by the corporate giant. David, manifested by Lima Citizens for Responsible Development, successfully slew the Wal-Mart Goliath. There was no logical argument for allowing this proposal to move forward. Lima is not a fast-growth community, and as of 2000, has less than 5,000 residents. With Wal-Marts located in Geneseo, Henrietta, and Canandaigua, Lima residents didn't have to go far for their Wal-Mart fix. The likely reality is that Wal-Mart wanted to be in/near the growing Village of Honeoye Falls, but there was no way that the Village or the Town of Mendon would allow that to happen. If it was not good enough for Mendon, it was not good enough for Lima. Congratulations are due to the proud folks who stared evil in the face and did not flinch.

Still, for every Lima, there are the Macedons, Websters, Swedens, and Hopewells welcoming these big box monstrosities like Troy welcomed the horse. We need to acknowledge and learn from our mistakes; sustainable development is a necessity. Let's limit growth to the areas where development has already occurred. Let's implement a regional tax-sharing plan that encourages local municipalities to work together to determine the most appropriate places for development. Let's create a real Regional Planning Council that has the power to deny development applications that are not in line with our stated objectives. Without regional planning and cooperation, and certainly without regional economic and population growth, we face a dark future. We've got a long way to go, but at least some places are beginning to see the light.

Moron Coming to Raise Funds for Maniac

2006-09-12T12:03:00.000-05:00

The most hated man in American politics, Dick Cheney, announced plans to visit Rochester later this month to raise funds for the most hated man in upstate NY politics, John Randy Kuhl. As I have stated earlier, Kuhl is the worst possible representative for our region and an embarrassment to the nation as a whole. So it makes sense that he would bring his idol Big Dick, the only person in the nation with a lower approval rating than the President, to town to raise dough for his floundering campaign. It's hard to believe, but there are crazed lunatics out there willing to drop $1,000 for a chance to have his or her picture taken with the VP. Consider me among those lunatics, though possibly for a different reason: I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to put my "I'm With Stupid" t-shirt to good use.

What really ticks me off about the Cheney visit announcement is that it was made on 9/11, a day that should never be politicized. Yet Kuhl uses that day to announce that he is bringing the most polarizing figure on the planet to our town to raise funds for him. I suppose the same could be said for Kuhl's opponent (and intellectual superior) Eric Massa for bringing Max Cleland to town yesterday. The difference is, Max Cleland is a man of integrity; Cheney has about as much integrity as a sponge. It's hard to believe that on 9/11/06, our dim-witted President is on the boob-tube still trying to convince us that Iraq and 9/11 were/are linked. Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Kuhl proudly stand/sink with him, completely incapable of admitting that they were and continue to be wrong. I think I understand why that is. These guys have repeated so many lies over the years that they now believe them. As far as I know, Eric Massa has never lied to us, and that's good enough for me.

Historic Preservation & the Disabled in Pittsford

2006-09-07T07:49:00.000-05:00

UPDATE: To ease confusion, I added some pictures of the building where Ben & Jerrys is located (see below).

The Americans with Disabilities Act was a groundbreaking piece of legislation that made it mandatory for, among other things, buildings to provide accessible entrances for the disabled. While we still have a long way to go before those in wheelchairs have the same freedom of mobility as those of us who are able to walk, it is undeniable that the ADA has had a significant positive impact on the lives of disabled Americans. But sometimes, buildings simply cannot meet ADA requirements. These are typically older historic structures in dense urban areas which are either physically impossible to make accessible or, by making them accessible, their architectural/historical integrity would be caused irreparable harm.

Case in point, the newly-opened Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop in the Village of Pittsford. As News10NBC reported, the popular shop is located in a historic structure on South Main Street in Pittsford's quaint downtown area. The building, which probably dates from the late 1800s (update: see history of building following pictures below), cannot accommodate handicapped accessibility in the front entrance without severely damaging its character. In cases such as this, ADA allows for the establishment of an accessible rear entrance to the building. However, in the case of the building which houses Ben & Jerry's, an accessible rear entrance is precluded by the location of an adjacent building. The shop's owners provided a solution in the form of a portable ramp that can be brought out should a wheelchair-bound patron desire some of their ice cream.

Unfortunately, this is just not good enough for some people. Amy Wallace, whose son has muscular dystrophy, is upset by the lack of accessibility to the new Ben & Jerry's. She claims that the portable ramp is not wide enough for motorized wheelchairs, poses a safety hazard, and is degrading for disabled persons. Her solution: hire an architect. My solution: don't patronize Ben & Jerry's. The fact of the matter is, this is a beautiful historic building in a great location where vacant storefronts are few and far between. Hiring an architect to design a handicapped-accessible ramp for the structure would likely be a financial drain for the entrepreneurs and would either result in no change or developing an out-of-scale ramp that would ruin the integrity of this historic block.

As someone whose father was in a wheelchair for much of his life, I can understand Ms. Wallace's frustration. However, I completely disagree with her premise. Apparently, it would not be a problem for her had Ben & Jerry's never come to town. There have been various businesses in that location for many years and she has never come forward before. Just because a business that she and her son would like to patronize has taken up shop is no reason to come out of the woodwork claiming discrimination. If you do not like the accommodations that the business has provided for you, you can go elsewhere for your ice cream fix. Bill Wahl's for instance, is just a few blocks away.

There is another story here though. If it weren't for Ms. Wallace's issue, I never would have known that Ben & Jerry's had opened in our region. While I don't expect myself to make a trip to Pittsford just for them, especially with Corn Hill Creamery open not far from my humble abode; their opening is a good sign for our local economy. Ben & Jerry's only locates in vibrant areas, and while I would have preferred them to open up in the City, their decision to bring their popular store to our area is further proof of greater Rochester's continued resilience. Please do not make them regret their decision by forcing costly and unnecessary changes upon them and their historic building.

Update: The following pictures are borrowed from the Village of Pittsford. Ben & Jerry's is located where Walker's Landing was. The history of the Parker Block follows the pictures.

"This rare surviving early nineteenth century commercial building was constructed by Leonard Clapp and Sylvanus Lathrop in 1826. The south half of the building is believed have been built several years later than the north half. Built in the federal style, the Parker Block, like many early Pittsford buildings, had its eaves extended in the mid nineteenth century. Over the years the building has housed a general store, barber shop, tin shop, furnace store, bakery, Post Office, second-hand furniture store, telephone offices, the American Legion, and Town Court." (Village of Pittsford Walking Tour)

Webster: Where Life is Worth Living, Unless You're Different

2006-08-28T11:56:00.000-05:00

"This tide of development in Webster does not raise all the municipal 'boats' in Monroe County because it adds to our inefficient, decentralizing regional development pattern and creates even greater struggles for the existing businesses, governments and citizens of the core communities (village of Webster, city of Rochester, Irondequoit)." Believe it or not, that quote was not from yours truly, but from Evan Lowenstein, another member of the small but noisy group of enlightened area residents who understands that continued growth on our periphery without real and sustained regional economic growth only makes us all weaker. The quote is taken from today's lengthy two-part article describing why Webster is such a gosh-darn good place to live.

According to some mindless twit of a real estate agent, "the keys to Webster's popularity are the schools, the Route 104 expressway that carries traffic to downtown Rochester in about 20 minutes, the scenic landscape and recreational opportunities of Lake Ontario, Irondequoit Bay, parks and nationally recognized sports programs." But Irondequoit has all of those things too, except maybe the nationally-recognized sports programs (ouch, take that Eastridge!). Then again, ask somebody in football-crazed Texas what they think of Webster Schroeder's chances this year and I bet you'll get a blank stare followed by kick in the crotch. It seems to me that the difference between Irondequoit, which is struggling to maintain itself, and Webster, which is growing faster than President Bush's disapproval rating, is that Irondequoit has more minorities, more poor people, and shares a border with the City of Rochester.

Or maybe it's that Webster residents just don't know that Irondequoit exists. From what I hear, East Ridge Road in Irondequoit is one of the major commercial arteries of Monroe County. It was only a decade ago that the former Irondequoit Mall was a thriving hub of activity. Yet, despite that and despite being an easy drive from Webster, Webster residents don't acknowledge its presence. In fact, Webster needed to build its own ugly retail power center filled with stores that you can find anywhere else because there was nothing within an easy drive. Says lifelong resident Helen Sleeman (no relation to the excellent Canadian brewery I'm sure) "I utilize (Towne Center) all the time. I like having it there. I like not having to go to Henrietta or Victor for things I need." She's not alone, Webster's supervisor Ron Nesbitt also chooses to block Irondequoit out of his memory bank, "the new shopping center (Towne Center) is a plus for people (who now) don't have to drive to Marketplace or Eastview Mall to do their shopping."

So which is it? Have Webster residents forgotten about or never heard of Irondequoit? Or is it that they just don't want to be bothered by the minorities and poor people that live in or adjacent to Irondequoit? A recent news story from Webster pretty much answers that question. Last week, it was reported that the Webster Central School District pulled a Gay-themed book (Rainbow Boys, by Alex Sanchez) from its high school summer reading list. Apparently, scores of parents in Webster were outraged that their children would be exposed to the morally-reprehensible Gay lifestyle that surely doesn't exist in their picture perfect town. Despite the fact that this book won the International Reading Association's 2003 Young Adults' Choice award and was selected by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults, it is just not right for Webster's precious children. My guess is that these parents were afraid that reading it would turn their children Gay. Sort of like how reading Black Like Me turned scores of young white teens black years ago, or like how reading Animal Farm led numerous rural teens to not trust their pigs. Rather than stand up for free speech, not to mention Gay rights, school officials acquiesced with the bigoted parents and removed the book from its list.

Clearly, it is not the short commutes, the scenic landscapes, or the sports programs that are attracting people to Webster. It is something much less benign and much more politically incorrect to suggest. Webster is growing because there just aren't very many minorities, poor people, or Gay people to deal with. Webster is growing because it in no way resembles the real world. And when it does begin to resemble the real world, Wayne County will be waiting with open arms to welcome current Webster residents to their even further isolated locale. By the way, have you heard about their football program?

Wegmans Potholder Bread: Food You Feel Good About Choking On

2006-08-25T15:23:00.000-05:00

Time to ridicule everyone's favorite hometown company again! Not too long after recalling their Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Spring Water due to the presence of high levels of bromate, which they claim is not dangerous but I heard it causes leprosy, Wegmans is at it again. This time, they recalled their Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Country Wheat Hearty Sliced Bread because there may be chunks of potholder in it that pose a choking hazard. Take that Baker Street and Great Harvest, Wegmans can come up with creative flavors of bread too! Just a thought, but maybe it's time for Wegmans to remove the lamely-named "Food You Feel Good About" label from their store brands and change it to something more along the lines of "Food You Feel Slightly Worried About But Buy Anyways Because You're Too Cheap to Pay a Little More for Higher Quality."

A Tale of Two Suburbs

2006-08-24T08:41:00.000-05:00

If the Rochester area's municipalities were members of a high school class, Victor would be the quarterback of the football team and Chili would be the loser that is trying desperately to become cool. Everyone seems to want a piece of Victor these days, it's by far the fastest growing town in our region and among the fastest growing in the state. Chili, on the other hand, has experienced its fair share of residential development but can't seem to get its act together as far as commercial growth is concerned. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I condone the ridiculous pace of development occurring in Victor or any of our suburbs for that matter. But, two articles in yesterday's D&C provided a nice juxtaposition of suburban development patterns that I couldn't resist pointing out.

In one corner, you have the Town of Victor. Here there are hundreds of new housing units approved or under construction, there is significant office and industrial space under development, and hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail and restaurant space on the drawing boards. One of the more infamous development plans in Victor is the imaginatively-named Victor Commerce Park, a.k.a. Super Wal-Mart & Friends. For years now, ubiquitous sprawl developer Benderson has been trying to get this development approved. Their initial plans were much larger than those currently proposed. The current incarnation is a 200,000+ square foot Wal-Mart plus another large retail building and two pad sites for restaurants. Still, the Town of Victor is resisting the temptation to approve it in order to ensure that they get what is best for their town (note that I carefully said "what is best for their town," not "what is best for the region," which would be zero new greenfield development). If only our other suburbs dared to be so bold.

Of course, Victor can afford to be picky since every retailer and your mother wants to be located there. The same cannot be said for most other suburbs in the region, notably the Town of Chili. Humorously, in the same D&C edition that described the Victor Commerce Park saga, it was reported that, despite competing development proposals, Target has no intention of pursuing a location in Chili. Ouch, talk about a slap in the face. Here they are, considering moving their highway department, senior center, and a town park in order to make room for Benderson's ill-conceived development, and the presumed prime tenant does not want to be there. Of course, both North American Properties and Benderson still plan on pushing forward with their proposals because suburban sprawl will inevitably continue working its way further west and south and Chili will someday become a viable place to conduct big-box retailing.

Still, I couldn't resist to post on this interesting juxtaposition of suburban development trends. While Victor is doing everything it can to restrain the indecent proposals of retailers and developers; Chili can't do enough to attract them. And in case you were wondering about the rest of that high school class, Brighton is the class president, Webster is the class whore, Pittsford is the rich prude, Greece is the fifth year senior, Henrietta is the drug dealer, Perinton and Penfield are the annoying identical twins, and Gates is the smelly kid. East Rochester dropped out and the City of Rochester graduated years ago.

State Liquor Authority Unfair to Minority-Owned Businesses

2006-08-18T08:02:00.000-05:00

Channel 13 is reporting that the most evil Authority of all, the New York State Liquor Authority, has taken action against a number of local businesses. All four businesses were guilty of selling alcoholic beverages to underage patrons. As one of the 95% of American adults (my estimate) who was once an underage drinker, I think the punishment simply does not fit the crime. The Under-21 crowd will do whatever it takes to get alcohol, their levels of deception know no bounds. I should know, I've been going to bars since I had my learner's permit. Why should businesses be punished because of the actions of our youth? Okay, so maybe there is some law or something that says so, but laws are made to broken, aren't they? Apparently not.

The State Liquor Authority, the same jerks who tried to stop Park Ave restaurants from serving alcohol to customers at their sidewalk tables, have punished Oxford's on Monroe (frat boy meat market - I could care less about them), Jim's tavern in Brockport (ask the Monroe County Bars Blog about that one), the Full Moon Saloon (they've also been cited for having insects in their liquor bottles - close them, that's disgusting), and the Gujar Mart on Mt Hope Ave. It's the punishment against the "Guj" that I take issue with. The Guj is pretty much the only place to buy beer at night in that section of the city, it is patronized by scores of University of Rochester students, and is run by hard-working Pakistanis. Just because they sold beer to a few underagers recently, they've lost their license to sell alcohol for two years and have been fined $2,000. Isn't that more than a bit extreme? Why not just say, "minorities are not allowed to do business in this state"? This reeks of racism and you should be outraged. Or maybe you never used a fake ID or some other means to buy beer when you were underage? Pot (to Kettle): "You're black."

County Republicans Screw County Taxpayers, Again

2006-08-16T09:38:00.000-05:00

Former County Executive Jack Doyle was a criminal mastermind. As such, he should be considered a hero to any aspiring Republican politician. While he was in office bankrupting the county by refusing to raise the property tax levy, which was highly popular with suburban voters who couldn't see beyond their own selfish interests, he was forcing poorly thought out zoo expansion plans down irate citizens' throats, constantly inciting battles with the Democrat-led City government, and also helping give handsome kickbacks to his buddies. I'm sure by now you've read about the State Comptroller's audit of the Monroe County Water Authority. You've seen the audacious benefits given to John Stanwix, Peter Formicola, and other County Republicans, errr I mean Water Authority members and staff. Funny thing is, it may all have been legal since the Authority had no oversight and their Board was nothing more than a rubber stamp.

Now I know that there has been no link to Doyle cited in the media, but let's be realistic. Stanwix, the former Director of the Water Authority and the main culprit in this financial rape, is a former Republican County legislator and former head of the County GOP. Jack Doyle installed Stanwix as Director at the Authority during his reign on the county throne. They both shared intimate late-night encounters with State GOP Chairman (and local heartthrob) Steve Minarik that can only be described as "steamy". Okay, maybe that last one was untrue. Or was it? Regardless, this is another example of right-wing corruption that has taken place across the political spectrum of America. Sure, you could say that Mayor Johnson screwed the taxpayers through the ferry debacle, but at least Johnson was trying to help the city and regional economy through his dealings. What were Doyle, Minarik, and Stanwix doing other than fattening their own pockets by screwing you and me out of our hard-earned money?

Things have changed at the County level since then. While I disagree with many of current County Executive Maggie Brooks' policies, I have to admit that she has done a pretty darn good job healing wounds in this county. But she's still a Republican, and her response to this damning audit (note: when the ferry audit was issued, the headline said it was 'damning', when this was issued, no damnation was proclaimed -- liberal media my ass) is lax at best. As the Democrat & Chronicle reports, "Brooks said she will let the water authority determine whether to pursue legal action. "We're going to see if there is any criminal activity involved or criminal indication and we'll make our decision from there," she said, adding, "nobody likes to see something that seems to be a violation of ethics."" Seems to be a violation of ethics? Shouldn't she be pissed off about yet another mess that the illustrious former County Executive left her to deal with? It's more than likely that some of this dirty money founds its way into her election campaign so it's probably a good idea for her to keep her trap shut. Lucky for us, Democrat Mike Green is our District Attorney, and I have faith that he'll make damn sure that if there is even an inkling of illegal activity, a few rich, fat Republicans will be in handcuffs, if not in jail.

By the way, if you'd like to contact Mr. Stanwix, he now resides in beautiful sprawling hurricane-prone Port Charlotte, FL. He is currently employed as a realtor, probably encouraging local residents to move out of our area and take some taxpayer money with them. Some leaders we have in those Republicans, huh?

Spencerport Firehouse Fire - Isn't It Ironic?

2006-08-11T10:40:00.000-05:00

The news this morning that Spencerport Fire Station No. 1 burned down speaks for itself. You can't make this stuff up. I hate to make light of it, but could this situation be any more ironic? On a serious note though, I would have to assume that the ability to fight fires in the Village of Spencerport is severely hampered by this. It's a scary thought that such a relatively dense little village does not have its own full-service fire department. Then again, we all know how much Republicans hate taxes. If I were a Spencerporter, I'd be pretty worried. If the fire station itself could not be saved from fire, how can any structure in Spencerport be safe now that they don't even have a fire station? Thank God I live in the City of Rochester where our firehouses may sink into the ground, but they do not burn down.

Another Henrietta Big Box Is Closing, Does Anyone Care?

2006-08-07T09:48:00.000-05:00

If a tree falls in the woods, and there is no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? I've always found that riddle to be a completely meaningless question without reason to ponder. There is no absolute logical answer so why not just leave it up to the philosophy majors? This morning though, it occurred to me that this is just a metaphor for the ubiquitous but often unnoticed closure of big box stores in suburban America. Somewhere in the World Wide Web, I read that CompUSA will be closing all of its Upstate locations, including its large store on Jefferson Road in Henrietta.

Years back, CompUSA opened that location immediately across the street from Computer City's Southtown Plaza location presumably for the sake of competition. Not long after, Computer City was bought out by CompUSA, and the Southtown store was shuttered. I'm sure if you spoke with Henrietta's immortal Supervisor Jim Breese at the time, he would have told you that while it's unfortunate the store is closing, its location is highly valuable and will be snapped up in no time. Of course, that's probably the same thing he said when Hechinger and Marshalls vacated their plaza, when Dick's moved to Marketplace after buying Galyan's, or when Media Play went out of business. What else could he say that would justify the Town's continued obsession with approving more and more big box development?

Some parts of Henrietta are looking less and less like a booming retail mecca and more like a retail graveyard. Southtown Plaza has the vacant Computer City and Media Play spaces, Kohl's has not attracted new tenants to the former Hechinger Plaza as was originally "expected", Dick's remains empty, Chase-Pitkin is gone, and now CompUSA will leave another enormous hole to fill in Henrietta's increasingly toothless smile. But that doesn't stop the Town from approving more and more big box development such as Benderson's new plaza next to Home Depot that will include Marshalls, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Christmas Tree Shops. There's also a Carrabba's Italian Grill being built on West Henrietta Road, because one thing this town needs more of is bad Italian food. And don't forget RIT's faux "College Town" soon to break ground just down the road from CompUSA.

So, to adapt that age-old riddle to fit modern times, when a big box store closes in the suburbs, and there are no shoppers around to see it, does anyone give a damn? Obviously not.

Randy Kuhl: Still in Office, Still Delusional

2006-08-04T08:30:00.000-05:00

Remember when soon-to-be-Governor Eliot Spitzer remarked that Upstate New York is like Appalachia? Remember how so many people got their panties in a bunch over it? The vast majority of these folks just so happened to be Republican, obviously trying to take political advantage of Spitzer's insightful/inciteful statement by casting him in a negative light. Of course, that didn't work, because any upstater with decent vision can see the similarities. Heck, I bet even most Republicans and blind squirrels could. All the upstate Republicans need to do is look at their proud U.S. Representative from Hammondsport, John Randy Kuhl. If his election wasn't proof that we're in Appalachia, I don't know what is.

Loyal Republicans in his district elected him relatively handily over his young opponent Samara Barend despite knowing that he once pointed a loaded shotgun at his ex-wife and threatened to kill her. I guess that's not really that big of a deal though. Men are always getting into tiffs with their women, it's just part of life. It's not like he actually shot her. But even if he did, she probably deserved it. Besides, her life isn't worth nearly as much as that of stem cells. Nice segue, eh? The out-of-touch Kuhl supports our esteemed President's position opposing federal funding for stem cell research. Despite the promise of curing a number of awful diseases, somehow the thought of harming poor little stem cells just doesn't sit well with this shotgun-toting maniac. Does he forget he represents the people of the State of New York? New York Democrats and (most) Republicans alike support stem cell research. Why? Because science is not something to be afraid of. What's next Randy? Are you going to propose they teach creationism in Hammondsport schools? My point is, if he gets re-elected, then I guess we know just how far into Appalachia our region has fallen.

But that's all in the past I guess. What's important is Kuhl's latest embarrassment. If you saw today's Democrat & Chronicle, then you had to do a double-take at the story entitled, "Kuhl, back from Iraq, says U.S. on right track". Huh? On the same day that the leading generals in Iraq are admitting that sectarian violence is spiraling out of control and that the country is on the brink of civil war, this guy has the nerve to come back to this part of the country toting the Republican party line that everything is fine and that we're "making a difference in liberating the people of Iraq"?!?!?! Clearly, Randy forgot to take his anti-vapidness medicine or else he actually thinks his constituents are mindless fools. Sure Randy, we're doing a fine job, the people are even less free now than they were before. We should all give our right-wing neighbors a pat on the back for a job well done. What was that phrase, mission accomplished?

Beyond the sheer ignorance of his statements, we should all be outraged that our taxpayer dollars are being wasted on transporting such idiotic people as Kuhl halfway across the globe just to return and lie to us that everything is fine. More than 2,500 US soldiers are dead and nearly 19,000 have been wounded in Iraq alone. Does that sound fine to you, Randy? Of course, you have no military experience, but you were once the Steuben County District Attorney, so why shouldn't I trust your bullshit? I didn't mean for this to turn into an election piece but the more I think about how awful this man is for our region, the angrier I get. His opponent, Eric Massa (who I admittedly know very little about), is a former Naval officer and assistant to General Wesley Clark in his failed presidential run. He supports stem cell research and he is not a fan of the Dukes of Hazzard. If I were in that district, he's the clear choice for me.

Did I forget to disparage Kuhl's haircut? Looks like Mr. Kotter got older, shaved his mustache, and ran for Congress!. Note the quintessential Republican blue shirt/red tie combo. What a jackass!

Message to Heat Wave: Go Back South!

2006-08-01T12:35:00.000-05:00

In case you didn't know, we're getting baked here in Rochester and I don't mean that in a good way. Currently, the heat index is 108 degrees in the Flower City and it won't peak for another couple of hours. That's a miserable twenty or more degrees hotter than it should be in Rochester during our usually warm but comfortable summers. Like many folks around town, one of the many reasons that I love living in Rochester is because it NEVER gets hot like this here. I can take the cold, but dammit, you can't escape the heat.

But maybe there is a silver lining to all this heat. One, it has to be convincing at least a few of the naysayers that global warming is for real. But more importantly, it should be a wake-up call to the morons that continue to flock like sheep to places such as Atlanta, Texas, and Florida. You see, this weather that we're all complaining about, yeah, this is pretty much par for the course down there. Currently, the heat index in "the ATL" as the kids say is 100 degrees, yet there is no excessive heat warnings in effect for that area. The same goes for Miami which, despite being on the coast, has a heat index of 96 degrees. Go a bit in-land to Homestead and it's right back up to 100 degrees. The same can be said for Tampa, Houston, Charlotte, Raleigh, New Orleans, etc.

So why is it desirable to live in these Confederate boomtowns with such God-awful weather for months out of the year when we complain about having that same weather here for just a few days? Let's use this nasty situation to promote our region's typically superior climatological experience. For instance, GRE or the Visitors Association could put together a slick seasonal ad campaign with taglines such as "Prefer high 90s and humidity to a breezy 75? Love being indoors with the a/c running full-blast? Then you'll love Atlanta!" or "Rochester: Because summers shouldn't be spent indoors". Just a thought. Stay cool Rochester, this Florida weather will head back south soon.

Paetec Encourages Long Commutes

2006-07-26T12:50:00.000-05:00

Fast-growing local telecom firm PAETEC Communications announced this week that they are joining the City of Rochester's Employer-Assisted Housing Initiative. Through this program, PAETEC will offer its employees up to $3,000 to purchase a home in the City's southwest quadrant, popularly (though somewhat inaccurately) referred to as the 19th Ward. The City of Rochester will match PAETEC's assistance dollar for dollar. Other employers already involved in this program are Kodak, Xerox, Unity Health, Visiting Nurse Service, and the City itself.

This is a great program and if more local employers join in, neighborhood revitalization in this city is inevitable. What makes PAETEC's involvement in the program interesting to me is that, unlike all of the other companies involved, PAETEC has no presence in the City of Rochester (other than having their name on PAETEC Park). Unlike their arch-rivals One Communications (formerly Choice One) or Frontier, PAETEC chose to locate their headquarters at a non-descript office building in Willowbrook Office Park on the Perinton/Victor border. The former Choice One on the other hand maintains their HQ at the HSBC Building in downtown Rochester while Frontier has their own building on South Clinton. Logically, it should be One Communications or Frontier making this commitment, not PAETEC. But PAETEC CEO Arunas Chesonis is a young, attractive, and well-educated individual who recognizes that a large percentage of his workforce are young city residents who may want to make a long-term commitment to city living. Unlike many other corporate executives in our area, he understands that a healthy city is necessary for this region to prosper.

I hope other telecom firms in this communications mecca that we call home follow PAETEC's lead and offer the same opportunity for their employees. One Communications and Frontier both have large presences downtown and would be well-served to help their employees purchase homes in the city thereby potentially shortening their commutes and enriching their lives. But could PAETEC also learn something from their rivals? Could PAETEC follow their lead and establish office space of some sort in the city proper? Think about it -- the commute from Genesee Park Boulevard to Willowbrook is a lengthy, gas-guzzling, air-polluting 14-mile jaunt by car, whereas the commute to the Cascade District is a healthy, leisurely two-mile bike ride away. I won't hold my breath, but this is definitely another good sign for the city's future.

Fairport Baptists Worship Almighty Dollar

2006-07-21T13:15:00.000-05:00

I grew up in the Town of Perinton not far from the Village of Fairport and consider the village to be somewhat of a model for any small town in Upstate NY. Strong neighborhoods, well-kept parks, shopping and dining options, historic features, et cetera. Sure it has its problems, such as the lack of a pharmacy or market, but all in all, Fairport is a great place to live. That's why it is beyond shocking that a developer would have the audacity to propose knocking down a historic house of worship in the heart of this historic village to make way for an anti-historic Walgreens or something similar. What's worse is that those in charge of the church are actually considering it.

David Taber is a trustee of the church. According to the D&C, "he is going to vote to pursue the church's options, including sale. He said he does not want financial help from the government to save the building, even one he loves. "And we don't have a grocery store," said Taber, 71, a lifelong member of the church. "I have friends and neighbors who depend on being able to walk uptown to do their shopping. Some are frustrated by this whole thing."" So let me get this straight, he won't accept government help to save the church that he loves, but he'll accept a developer's blood money to knock it down?

To put it plainly, that don't make a lick of sense. Just because the building needs work is not a good excuse to sell out your faith for two million greenbacks. Furthermore, why should a drugstore at this location fare any better than the previous attempts to run such a store at Village Landing just up the street? In all likelihood, Fairport would end up with two empty boxes instead of one and they will have lost one of their most iconic structures in the process. Hopefully they will take heed to the lesson from the Town of Greece's Barnard neighborhood of which I have written before. Tearing down your history and replacing it with throwaway box-itecture is flat-out dumb.

Thankfully, I have faith that the residents of the Village will not allow this travesty to transpire. Numerous residents in the article pointed out the sheer ludicrosity of this proposal. Their outrage will inspire the Village Board to tell Ron Rothfuss, real estate site selector for the anonymous retail chain, to go to Hell. Ironically, because of this proposal (if the Baptists have any clout with the woman upstairs), he is already well on his way. Let's hope the parishioners of the church aren't going to accompany him.

Charlotte Residents Prefer Declining Tax Base to Port Redevelopment

2006-07-18T11:49:00.000-05:00

Sasaki Associates unveiled their "final" plans for redevelopment of the Port of Rochester last night. From the looks of the rendering below, they accommodated a number of resident concerns such as removing mid-rise condo buildings that blocked views of the lake and lowering the overall density of the development. Personally, I likes what I sees. This new plan allows for potential continuation of ferry service, creates hundreds of new housing units, a number of new retail spaces, a significant public marina, and a large public square. What's not to like? Well, sure enough, you can never please all the people all of the time.

News10 NBC interviewed one of many irate Charlotte residents. “We won't have a beautiful view from Lake Avenue anymore,” John Foy said. “All we'll see is brick buildings.” Well first of all John, it's "all we'll see are brick buildings", get it right. Second, and more importantly, what beautiful view from Lake Avenue are you referring to? I've heard this sentiment before from Charlotte residents opposed to redevelopment at the Port of Rochester. Every time I've been up there though, I haven't found any "beautiful view" from Lake Avenue that would be disrupted by this development.

Last I checked, when you look up "beautiful view" in the dictionary or even the thesaurus, you do not see a picture of the parking lots that are currently found at the Port. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself. Google "beautiful view" at your leisure and look at the image results. Sure enough, not a single result shows the Port parking lots, let alone parking lots anywhere else. The resulting images are of mountains, parks, historic sites, and city views. That's right, urbanity is considered by many to be "beautiful". Therefore, all of those ugly "brick buildings" will likely improve the views from Lake Avenue and make Charlotte a destination with a real identity. Who knows, it may even show up on a future Google search.

Even if I have convinced Mr. Foy that he is wrong on the "beautiful view" argument, he is ready with another complaint. “The property should belong to the people and should be used to the advantage of most of the people,” Foy said. “Now when you get down to this it's going to be to the advantage of a very few people.” As a proud member of this group of "people" Mr. Foy refers to, I have to completely disagree. You see, people like me prefer to be able to get the highest and best use out of waterfront land. A sprawling parking lot only benefits those who choose to park there. A new urban village complete with multiple housing styles, varied retail and dining options, cultural activities, office space, parks, tree-lined streets, and a marina -- well, that really does benefit "most of the people".

Considering the fact that this is City-owned land and is currently producing zero tax benefit, I can't see how anyone could possibly be opposed. We could continute to use the land for parking and generate zero tax benefit from it or we could turn it over to the private sector and create significant new taxable development to help stablize our city. I suppose it comes down to a philosophical question. Should we sit idly by while our city hollows out and the suburbs sprawl further into the countryside? Or should we do whatever we can to maximize the positive assets of our hometown?

Residents of Charlotte are rightfully protective of their beautiful waterside community, however, they must realize that this redevelopment will allow hundreds of others to enjoy that same lifestyle in ways that are currently unavailable to them. The development will also help soften the blow of future budget crunches by increasing the tax base. Change is inevitable, I hope the residents of Charlotte choose to embrace it before the opportunity passes them by.

Police Help Teens Love Guns

2006-07-13T07:47:00.000-05:00

Maybe I'm overreacting, but the following picture disgusts me. Taken from today's Democrat & Chronicle as part of a story on Webster and Irondequoit teens taking part in Summer Police Academies, it shows a 13-year-old girl learning how to fire a handgun. Isn't this exactly what we don't want for our children? Haven't we glorified guns enough in this country?

The story leads off with an equally disgusting introduction:

"Ian Urriola dreams of becoming a forensic scientist, but should consider sharpshooter as another career option. In his first try with a real gun, the 14-year-old Webster Schroeder High School freshman fired a bull's-eye with a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun from about 25 yards at the Webster Police Department firing range during the agency's Student Police Academy Camp. "It felt good," said Urriola, one of 22 youths in eighth through 12th grade enrolled in the weeklong program."

Should we be happy about 14-year-old boys just entering adolescence who, thanks to this ridiculous program, feel good about firing a semi-automatic handgun? Now that he's had a taste of the false sense of power that a gun provides, what's to stop him from raiding his father's gunsafe and bringing one to school? I imagine people would be more offended by this if it were inner-city kids learning how to fire guns from RPD officers, but because they're sweet little white suburban kids, we don't bat an eyelash at the obvious short-sightedness of this potentially dangerous program. Residents of Irondequoit and Webster should not only be ashamed that their towns are exposing such young minds to this type of activity, they should be outraged that at least some part of their tax dollars are being spent on contributing to our nation's pathetic obsession with guns.

"We want them to at least understand what police work is all about, and it's not just what you see on TV," said (Irondequoit Police Sgt. Larry) Donk. "It's also an opportunity to enforce some rights and wrongs." In an ideal world, sure, but this world is far from ideal. The police of all people should know that. Do they have this program in Littleton, Colorado (home to Columbine) too?

Hip-Hop + Rochester = Violence (?)

2006-07-05T14:00:00.000-05:00

Once again, a hip-hop concert in Rochester has led to bloodshed. It doesn't seem to matter at what venue the show is held; Water Street, Milestones, Marquee, and now Montage have all dealt with violence when holding a hip-hop or dancehall reggae show. Sadly, it seems to me that this city simply cannot hold these types of shows without something awful happening. The big question, and it's one that I don't think anybody in town wants to have to answer, is what to do with these events? Clearly we can't just ban them from Rochester. Too many people in and around this region are hip-hop fans and the vast majority of them are decent, law-abiding citizens who just want to have a good time.

To put it in economic terms, this is a serious issue for the attraction and retention of young, educated, and highly mobile urban folks. Too often, young people that have the means to get out of town are doing so because they just don't feel safe in this city. For those that are hip-hop fans, much of that bad experience may be related to these shows. Scores of young, educated black men and women from Rochester's inner city ship out for NYC, Atlanta, Charlotte, and elsewhere and this situation certainly isn't helping reverse that trend. This may be my first rant for which I cannot come up with a proper solution. I don't think that we can legislate our way out of this problem.

It's sad that rap/hip-hop has gone from being a creative outlet for urban angst, much like punk and grunge was for depressed white kids, to being all about, as Nas said, "clothes, bankrolls, and hoes." Of course, this violence is not necessarily hip-hop's fault. The violence at hip-hop shows is symptomatic of what is wrong with our city. There are too many guns on the streets and not enough job opportunities. There are too many drugs on the streets and not enough hope. We need to be tougher on violent offenders and we need to be more congratulatory of those who choose the right path. We need to break up the concentration of poverty that ravages the so-called "Crescent" and in its place, construct more attractive mixed-income housing so that the poor not only have decent living conditions but also so that their children can see that hard work does pay off even if it's not as instant as drug dealing and gang banging.

This is all empty rhetoric because there is no funding out there for accomplishing these things. There are few resources out there that we can use to better our community. Case in point, at the same time that Bush and his cronies are adding billions to the war budget, they're cutting Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds that are meant to improve our cities. Instead of a comprehensive agenda for urban America, the federal government is content to let our cities rot. It's obvious that if we are going to save our city, we're going to have to do it ourselves. But the question remains, how?

La Marqueta or El Strip Mall?

2006-07-03T14:15:00.000-05:00

Forgive me for saying so, but I was as skeptical as anyone when the La Marqueta project was first announced. It seemed a bit far-fetched that a new glass-enclosed Latin-themed marketplace could be successful at the heart of La Avenida (Avenida Clinton Norte for those not hip to the lingo). Given the struggles of the neighborhood with drugs and violence, I doubted that any developer would be willing to give it a try. But Larry Glazer and his Buckingham Properties responded to the City's Request for Proposals and was selected as the designated developer for the project.

It seemed like a decent fit. Buckingham has had decent success with urban retail, first along University Avenue and then along Lyell Avenue, and has done well with downtown loft development recently. This project would add a distinctive flavor to their growing portfolio of inner city properties. Thus, despite my prior apprehensiveness, I acquiesced into supporting the project. It was a cool concept and, if done right, could lead to some real economic growth on La Avenida. I guess I was right to be skeptical.

Last week's City Newspaper ran a cover story on La Marqueta. They talked to local businesses along the multi-ethnic strip who are anxiously awaiting development of the project that has been talked about for years. They described a kin project in Hartford that has been a thorough success there. City Councillor Gladys Santiago (Rochester's only Hispanic Councilperson because, as David Gantt says, we only need one Latino on the Council) is interviewed as well. The troubling part of the article is what Buckingham is likely to turn La Marqueta into.

Rather than it being a year-round hub of neighborhood activity, it sounds like it will be nothing more than a strip mall with a Spanish accent. Something along the lines of a Taco Bell and tile-roofed Dollar General comes to my less-than-optimistic mind. Worse yet, Glazer is demanding parking in front of the new structure. As Sujata Gupta writes, "A controversial part of (the) Glazer plan is a parking lot in front of the site, which eliminates the outdoor plaza. "It has been proven over and over and over again that when you have retail, you must have parking in the front, because you can't have two entrances in the store," says Glazer. "They can't guard two storefronts. This is the reality of what the market will accept."" Call me crazy, but I have yet to see proof of this anywhere in the City of Rochester.

Glazer's opinion assumes that the majority of patrons will not walk to La Marqueta from their homes (roughly half of the households in the neighborhood do not own a car), nor will they park somewhere else along La Avenida to shop at other stores while walking to La Marqueta (the original intent of this development was to create wealth in the neighborhood not cannibalize it by discouraging walkability), and it certainly assumes that patrons are unwilling to park behind a building and walk around it.

From the sounds of it, he doesn't just want a few parking spaces, he wants a really big suburban-style parking lot. The sprawling vacant lot targeted for La Marqueta is just not enough for him. Glazer wants to tear down neighboring homes and businesses so that his development can take up the entire block. He will not begin construction until he has what he wants. Well I for one encourage the city to tell him "thanks, but no thanks". This is not what WE want for our community. The development he wants to build in no way resembles what was intended. To Buckingham, this is about maximizing their profit in a very risky venture. That is understandable, but it is not acceptable.

Buckingham has done some great things in this City, so it is quite disappointing to hear about these plans. The goal was/is not to build a strip mall; it was to build a community gathering place that recognizes the uniqueness of La Avenida. Rather than settling, let's do a nation-wide search for developers (not-for-profits, Latino-owned, etc.) that are willing to do what WE want them to. This is OUR city after all.

Lack of Regional Planning Contributes to Area Decline

2006-06-27T07:39:00.000-05:00

The purveyors of sprawl development are at it again in our area. It's tough to say what ugly wasteful development came first in this string of ugly wasteful developments. There is the enormous and completely unnecessary retail power center in Webster, the unabated cancerous growth of new and expanded Wal-Marts (Albion, Brockport, Canandaigua, Geneseo, Geneva, Greece, Lima, Macedon, Newark, Seneca Falls), yet another Bed Bath & Beyond here and a Walgreens there, the proposed sprawl plaza in Chili, etc. The list of bad land use development decisions in this region continues to grow as fast as the average American's waistline.

In today's paper, a short blurb noted that the Victor Town Planning Board is considering the Environmental Impact Statement for "Victor Commerce Park" - another sprawl plaza of the worst kind. The so-called Park would include a Super Wal-Mart, 100k square feet of additional retail space, and two outparcels for chain restaurants. This proposal has actually been around for a very long time and has been quite controversial. It sits on a hillside adjacent to relatively upscale houses overlooking the southern hills (and the scenic NYS Thruway). It originally included a few hundred thousand square feet of office space as well but I suppose that given the horrendous state of the local economy, the developer thought twice about trying to promote that use at this time. Yet somehow our economy can absorb another few hundred thousand square feet of retail? Where is this income growth coming from?

Sprawl retail does not create local income growth. Rather, it drains income away from this area and into the pockets of out-of-town retail conglomerates hell-bent on world domination through low prices. Just as every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings; every time a cash register at Wal-Mart rings, a local farmer goes bankrupt trying to produce more with less and a Cambodian teenager gets whipped for working too slow. But what do we care? We're saving a dollar on a bushel of corn and two dollars on a t-shirt. The attractiveness of convenience and affordability is not lost on me. I understand that majority rules and that the majority of folks around this great nation prefer the long drive, parking lots, and mediocre disposable architecture that comprises the modern American retail experience. My question is, why do we need more of the same in this region?

If Census estimates are accurate, and they rarely are, we're losing people. That's right, Greater Rochester, the diamond in Upstate NY's rough has fallen on hard times. It's not just the fact that we're losing people, it's that we're losing those people with the most money to spend. As a twenty-something, I can attest to the fact that I am a rare breed around these parts. Most 25-34 year olds have moved on to the supposedly greener pastures of California, DC, Boston, the Carolinas, Texas, and elsewhere. Spitzer was mostly right when he said that Upstate is like Appalachia. But we aren't just LIKE Appalachia, we ARE Appalachia. I love this City and region, but for most young people, it's far too depressing here. Building more and more Wal-Marts, Bed Bath & Beyonds, and Applebees isn't going to change that. They have just as many Home Depots and Targets in Georgia as we do here.

The unneeded growth in sprawl development will not only not change things, in fact, it will only exacerbate the problem. In a region with zero population and income growth, every additional square foot of retail that is constructed on the periphery means less money spent somewhere else in this region. When that additional retail is of the big box variety, it's even worse as the profits made there are shipped out of our region, never to return. That puts all of us (cities, towns, and villages) in a more precarious position. Can we afford to further hollow out our inner city and villages? It is the type of urban, mixed-use feel found in our cities and villages that young folks are attracted to. If we continue to harm those environments, we will only further hasten our decline.

Sadly, there is no way we can ever change the way we develop regionally. We lack a comprehensive regional planning board that can affect how towns develop. Having such a Board, we could put limits on the total number of new retail space constructed in the region. We could limit the number of sprawling housing tracts built in suburban and rural areas. We could make a regional decision to redirect development into our cities and villages, thereby reinvigorating those areas that young workers are attracted to. We talk about reversing the "Brain Drain", but without real regional planning, we're just pissing in the wind.

Which do you prefer, typical suburban strip mall development (above) or vibrant urban downtown development (below)?

Please Stop Hyping PaeTec Park "Traffic Woes"

2006-06-17T11:46:00.000-05:00

Call me crazy, but I'm not buying the awful traffic congestion that the local media is hyping regarding tonight's dueling sports events at PaeTec Park and Frontier Field. About 60,000 people converge on downtown Rochester every day to work, add in the roughly 40,000 that use buses to get to or through downtown, and the 6,000 that reside within the Inner Loop and you have more than 100,000 folks within downtown at a given time (Note: If my math is off a bit, please don't bother correcting me - it's beside the point.) And very few realists claim that downtown Rochester has a traffic problem. So why all of a sudden are we projecting awful traffic tie-ups when less than 30,000 spectators maximum converge on Frontier and PaeTec this evening?

All this unnecessary media hype does is discourage the fence-sitting fan from coming to tonight's games. What good does that do any of us? Maybe I'm overestimating our local residents, but I'm willing to bet that most area sports fans are willing to walk upwards of a mile (oh heavens!) to get to their respective arena. If not, then maybe they should consider a serious exercise regimen before they die of an obesity-fueled heart attack. Furthermore, if their time is too important to sit in "traffic" for a half-hour, in the immortal words of Brian Regan, maybe they should loosen up their schedule.

Why I Support the Broad Street Canal Concept

2006-06-14T10:50:00.000-05:00

The idea has been batted around for a couple of years now. Instead of filling in the old Broad Street subway tunnel and reconstructing Broad Street on its surface, the concept goes, we should take this opportunity to re-establish the Erie Canal on this historic right-of-way. At first I thought this was a pipe dream. It would cost tens of millions to achieve. It would cause considerable traffic problems downtown. It would take enormous amounts of political will. But beyond that, why not?

The more I think about it, the more I like it. Sure, there are serious questions that need to be answered; but this is a real chance for Rochester to establish itself as a city takes risks in order to ensure a brighter future for its residents. Plus, as much as I hate to admit it, light rail transit, the other alternative use for the tunnel, ain't gonna happen here (or at least not in the near future). If you're unfamiliar with the canal idea, check out the article in today's Democrat & Chronicle.

The best examples of this type of development in this country are San Antonio and Oklahoma City. The San Antonio RiverWalk is the signature of that city, rivaling the Alamo. This project grew out of a utilitarian solution to a flooding problem in the downtown area. A bypass channel was built in the 1940s and the surrounding land was turned into a park. City officials sensed that it could be used for economic development and made plans to develop it as an attraction. Now luxury hotels, condos, restaurants, and shops line the banks of the RiverWalk. It gave downtown San Antonio a face, a reason for locating there. San Antonio is now planning on extending it, to breathe new life into neighborhoods surrounding downtown. The same can be accomplished here.

Oklahoma City took its cue from San Antonio but with a difference - they built theirs from scratch. That's right - there is no real historical precedent for the Bricktown Canal. True, a canal was supposed to be built there over a hundred years ago, but it didn't happen, until 1999 that is. Modern day city planners there figured that if they built the canal through the middle of an abandoned warehouse district, it would probably spur investment. They took a risk and they proved that they were right. I counted some 50 shops and restaurants in Bricktown.

You could also look at Providence, Ottawa, Paris, Amsterdam, or Venice. It's the same everywhere - people are attracted to canals. Especially in urban environments. Just look at the development that has taken place in Fairport or Pittsford, then think of that on a larger scale in downtown Rochester. It can happen, if we don't shy away from it. Renaissance Square will prove our ability to pull off a major redevelopment project. We need to continue the momentum from that project and get all those players behind this. Sometimes you need to reach into your past in order to reach where you want to be in the future.

Photos taken from a number of sources not my own, please don't sue.

MacGregor's Closed for Good, Selfish Neighbors to Blame

2006-06-03T11:01:00.000-05:00

I'm still recovering from the shock of hearing that MacGregor's has closed its original Gregory Street location for good. That bar was a landmark in the community. It was one of the best places in town to grab a beer, chow on some tasty grub, and watch a game. But that's all gone now, thanks to the selfish interests of its residential neighbors. They should be ashamed of themselves. That bar, despite the noise, attracted a relatively classy crowd which likely served to keep trouble away. I hope that building stands empty and unused, attracting crime and neglect to that section of the South Wedge. Maybe then the neighbors will realize the mistake they've made.

As a downtown resident, I'm quite used to noise. Many thousands decend on the streets below my apartment every weekend. They yell, swear, fight, honk, break bottles, and blast their stereos louder than I thought was possible. But that noise was there well before I moved in, so I feel that I have no right to complain. I knew what I was moving to and if I couldn't stand it, I could move. Why couldn't MacGregor's neighbors share my viewpoint? I'd have gladly purchased their home and dealt with the occasional noise problem. In fact, there was a lovely home on Cayuga Street just around the corner from MacGregor's that sold within days above list price so I know many folks are (or should I say were) attracted to that neighborhood because of MacGregor's, not in spite of it.

I hope that the City works with the owners of MacGregor's to find them another location in the City where they won't have to deal with asshole neighbors. As it conflicts with my values, I will not be visiting them in their sterile non-descript suburban locations. Sadly, I will treat them as I have Rohrbach's, which I haven't been to since they moved from Gregory Street to Ogden/Gates many years ago. I'm still holding out hope that Rohrbach's opens a City location, so folks like me can get reacquainted with their fantastic beers. But that sounds like a topic for another day. Allow me to close by posing an easily answered question. What is a city without life? For me, it's a city that I don't want to be a part of.

Mayor Duffy Wants YOU! to Pay for Suburban Beaches

2006-05-31T08:34:00.000-05:00

Although fully surrounded by the Town of Irondequoit, Durand-Eastman Park is technically part of the City of Rochester. It was bequeathed to the city by George Eastman way back when. Back when the City could afford it I suppose. For years, Monroe County has taken care of maintenance at the lush 965-acre park. However, the public has not been allowed (legally) to swim at its 5,000 feet of lakefront. Mayor Duffy is currently seeking to change all that.

The City has taken control of the waterfront, with County Executive Brooks more than happy to part with the land. Duffy wants to reinstate swimming at Durand, with lifeguards, changing facilities, and all that must be included in a legal public swimming area. All this of course, costs money. Lots of money. Money that Monroe County couldn't find in its budget for many years. Money that previous City administrations could not free up in their budgets either. Now all of a sudden, Duffy has found a way to pay for it: raise City property taxes by 2.57%!

I, for one, ain't having it. And there is a very simple reason why other city taxpayers should oppose it as well. It isn't truly part of the City! It's in the suburbs for God's sake. The vast majority of beachgoers will be from Irondequoit, Webster, and Greece - not from the City. While I agree that Durand is a popular swimming spot and that we as a community should try to find a way to pay for improvements there, it should not be placed on the backs of overburdened city taxpayers. I know Duffy won the mayor's race because of support from wealthy suburbanites, but that is no reason to pay for improvements in their community.

Alas, as usual, I have a solution: user fees. If you've ever been to Kershaw Park in the City of Canandaigua, you know what I'm talking about. At Kershaw, all Canandaigua City residents swim for free, all non-City residents must pay an entry fee. It's quite simple really. If Rochester City residents are forced to pay for improvements to Durand, then non-City residents should be forced to pay to use the facility. Who knows, the City may even make a profit over time.

In fact, to ensure that we DO make a profit, I propose that we close bacteria-plagued Ontario Beach to swimming permanently. We can move all of the lifeguards and related equipment that had been there over to Durand. We can build a boardwalk at the shoreline to reinforce that swimming is not allowed. Over time, we could add a large swimming pool at Ontario Beach so that a form of swimming could return. Once again though, I'd suggest charging user fees to non-City residents for that as well. It's absolutely ludicrous that in a fiscal crisis time we're considering paying for beaches in the suburbs - if they won't pay for it, why should we?

Yield to Pedestrians in the Crosswalk -- IT'S THE LAW!!!

2006-05-17T13:36:00.000-05:00

First off, I want to apologize for my sporadic postings. I have quite a few things going on in my life that are distracting me from providing loyal readers with my often insensitive yet thoroughly accurate rants on everything Rochester. But enough of that, on to the good stuff.

As a downtown resident and worker, I see lots of things on my walks to and from work and home. Some good things, some bad things. One thing I not only see but also encounter on a regular basis is conflict between cars and pedestrians. There are far too many idiot drivers that just don't understand how to drive in an environment that is designed for pedestrians. Today at lunch time, for instance, I watched as a car turned right onto Main from Fitzhugh while a throng of pedestrians in the crosswalk (who had the right-of-way) had to step back to avoid being hit. Thank goodness these folks were paying attention; most don't (and shouldn't have to) because if you're a pedestrian in the crosswalk with the right-of-way, you shouldn't have anything to fear.

Right turns into the path of oncoming pedestrians is the most common problem I encounter as a pedestrian commuter. Probably the worst location for this in all of downtown is the corner of State and Andrews, with the corner of East and Main a close second. I know that it is difficult, as a driver, to respect pedestrians. They look so wimpy without all that glass and steel surrounding them. They think they're so great using their feet instead of gasoline to get from point A to point B. Just thinking about it makes me want to hit one right now.

To play devil's advocate, pedestrians too are guilty of committing some very stupid violations downtown as well. The mid-block dash is a common occurrence that I too am guilty of regularly, often because I want to avoid crossing at intersections because of the aforementioned problem. A more serious problem that blows my mind is the pedestrian crossing against oncoming traffic. Whether they're too cool to wait on the sidewalk or are actually in a hurry to get someplace, too many people walk right into the path of oncoming vehicles. Maybe they don't realize that they don't have the right-of-way just because they're in a crosswalk or maybe they don't realize how badly they'd be hurt if they were hit by an El Dorado at 45 mph. Stupid behavior like this puts all pedestrians, and drivers, at risk. Maybe pedestrian education courses are needed.

Speaking of education, back to the idiot drivers, the real enemy of the downtown pedestrian. A few lessons for them to learn: red lights function as 'Stop' signs, so please apply your brakes fully. Furthermore, 'Stop' signs aren't there for decoration, so please respect them. When you see 'No Turn on Red', it doesn't mean stop, look around, and haul ass around the corner. Similarly, 'No Left Turn' signs apply to everyone but buses and emergency vehicles; if you're not driving one of those, please obey the law. I'll close with two words: "one way".

If downtown Rochester is going to continue to blossom as a residential neighborhood, the pedestrian must be protected. That means that the RPD officer sitting at the corner of Main & State should actually bust drivers for running red lights, turning on red, making illegal left turns, and turning into the path of pedestrians. Increased enforcement could do a lot to improve the civility of walking downtown and in so doing, contribute to the success of our center city.

RCSD: For Black Kids Only?

2006-05-12T13:45:00.000-05:00

I'm just thinking aloud here but could someone please give me a good reason why we should convert the educational curriculum of the Rochester City School District to an afrocentric one? Today's D&C reported that "nationally known" educator and author Jawanza Kunjufu (never heard of him) came to town yesterday to encourage our fair city to adopt afrocentric policies that would seemingly alienate all other races of children represented in the district.

Kunjufu suggests that if we modified the district's educational focus to be more "African American-centered", students would be less likely to drop out. That seems like a bit of a stretch to me. While I assume he's only concerned with black students, I still don't see how spending more time learning about Marcus Garvey would convince young black men and women to stay in school. If we switched to a more "Asian American-centered" curriculum, would less Asians drop out? Hmmm...I guess I see his point. As a white guy, I was really motivated to stay in school because we learned more about European history than that of other ethnicities. Had we spent more time on the Chinese dynasties, I probably would've failed miserably while my Chinese counterparts would have excelled. That's a bad analogy, the Chinese know more about honkey history than us honkeys.

Other ideas Kunjufu put forth include establishing single-gender schools. I support that one because girls have cooties. Another idea is for the district to create African-centered charter schools. Is it just me or does this sound like segregation? Why don't we just force all black kids to go to one district and they can learn about their history and all the Latinos can go to their district and learn about their history? The same goes for the Asians, whites, Arabs, Native Americans, and every other ethnicity out there.

I would agree with him that, if indeed too many black children are being wrongly classified as "special education students," that needs to change. I would also agree that black children often face challenges that are unique from others. But Kunjufu seems to go way overboard. His policies would cause more harm than good. IMO, kids in public schools in America should learn the same thing no matter where their school is located. It's called equality, whether it truly exists or not.

So who brought Mr. Kunjufu to town? Why none other than City School Board member and noted racist Cynthia Elliott, who summed up her reasoning for sponsoring his visit with this non-sensical statement: "I thought it was apropos for us to bring someone here, and to see what kind of policies that we need to be considering for Rochester." Need I say more?

Not Too Soon to Bash Wegmans

2006-05-05T13:38:00.000-05:00

In the typical classy manner in which I conduct myself and this blog, I have waited a couple of weeks to post an anti-Wegmans rant. It seemed a bit wrong to post such a topic during the public mourning of Bob Wegman, patriarch of America's favorite grocery store. I believe an adequate amount of time has passed however, and I am once again free to unleash my fury upon them. I promise, this will be a blog you can truly feel good about. Or it will really piss you off. Either way, you read it didn't you?

First, I'll acknowledge the positive contributions that Wegmans has made to this community. They employ many thousands of people locally, many in well-paying positions at the corporate or managerial level. They award generous scholarships to their brightest young workers annually, helping many young minds achieve educational brilliance. Their philanthropy throughout the region is well-known such as at the Wegmans Rochester LPGA, the Wegmans School of Pharmacy at St. John Fisher College, and numerous bequests to Aquinas Institute. Their expansions into other regions have brought added wealth and recognition to our community.

That being said, I hate Wegmans. I hate them with a passion that is only surpassed by my hatred of Wal-Mart, BJ's, or Applebee's. How can someone who so loves this city and region hate a home-grown company with such fervent animosity? It's nothing personal, their track record speaks for itself. Just look at what they've done in the City of Rochester. Over time, they've whittled down their store count to just two within the City limits. It is likely that this store count will drop to one within the near future as the Dewey/Driving Park store surely does not fit their long-term ambitions. The most recent inner city store closing was their beloved Mount Hope Avenue store, the anchor in the UR/Mount Hope retail district.

It wasn't long before they announced the closing that they had the neighborhood convinced they would get a brand new, larger Wegmans on the same site. When they decided they'd rather abandon another City neighborhood rather than attempt to fit in, they tried to justify it by saying they were losing money there. I'm pretty sure anyone that ever frequented that location knows that was a blatant lie. That store was constantly busy serving the needs of the thousands of UR students, faculty, and other employees, not to mention the thousands of residents of the surrounding neighborhoods. It probably did enough sales in beer alone to justify its existence.

They didn't just close the store though. They made sure that they killed the retail district as well. Wegmans instituted a restrictive covenant on the property to be sure that whoever bought the land did not build a competing market, whether it be a grocery (e.g., Tops), a convenience store (e.g., Wilson Farms), or a drugstore (e.g., Eckerd). Sure it may make good business sense, but where is their corporate citizenship in their hometown? If they couldn't make a go of it at that location, surely they could have allowed another chain to try. Since then, the store has been bulldozed and turned into a big parking lot for the Medical Center. Across the street, the venerable Record Archive recently shut down; its weathered building now sits awaiting its inevitable demise at the teeth of a bulldozer.

To add insult to injury, Wegmans continues to play with redevelopment plans for their hugely successful East Avenue store. That store too must be expanded in order for Wegmans to keep it viable (or so they say). Their solution? Buy up the block of historic buildings that once made up the main commercial strip of downtown Brighton way back when and knock them all down. In their place, put up a big suburban-style store with a sprawling parking lot. To appease we obstinate city folks, they propose windows along East Ave. Maybe even a streetfront entrance or two. Maybe a clock tower. Sure, the historical integrity of the neighborhood will be gone, and its pedestrian friendliness wiped away with it, but shoppers will have wider aisles, more checkout lanes, and a larger selection of tampons.

Now you can begin to see why I hate Wegmans. As a City resident, I cannot in good conscience throw my hard-earned money at a corporation that does not respect my ideals or my community. Even if that corporation is home-grown. In the time that Wegmans has closed inner city stores, Tops has opened a number of city locations. Their more flexible business model allows them to open smaller stores that more appropriately fit urban environments. It is possible that the death of Bob Wegman will allow Danny the opportunity to adjust the business model to create smaller, urban-oriented stores. But given the money they're making in places like Fairfax, VA or Cherry Hill, NJ, it seems highly unlikely. Wegmans has purposely banished itself to the same suburban sprawl as every other big box retailer. There they can cater to the needs of the wealthy and the wannabes, and leave the rest of us with no choice but to drive out to meet them. I'll stick to my local independent grocers and corner stores, the Rochester Public Market, and Tops. Will you join me?

Post Removed; Man About Town Issues Apology

2006-05-01T10:50:00.000-05:00

I deleted a post from this blog today. This is the first, and hopefully last, time I will need to do this. The post was not in the spirit of this blog, and had apparently caused more harm than good. To those whom that particular post hurt, offended, or otherwise upset, I apologize. To those who agreed with the post, I suggest that we all should look in the mirror. Regardless of the circumstances behind what happened, the fact remains that a promising young life was taken and the relative innocence of a safe, close-knit neighborhood was shaken. There are more appropriate things for me to pontificate on and I will attempt to focus on those rather than stick my nose where it should not be stuck.

Bob Barbato Can't Swim

2006-04-28T10:13:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday evening, Sasaki Associates unveiled more detailed designs for the Port of Rochester Master Plan. Although not yet finalized, the proposed design calls for 545 units of new housing, 30,000 square feet of retail, a modest amount of office space, a four-level parking garage, a large public square, and a 60-slip public marina. While there are valid concerns about the new development blocking scenic viewsheds, cannibalizing the existing retail and restaurants, and changing the community dynamic of Charlotte, there is no question that development must occur on these lands and that said development must be well-planned.

The D&C ran a short story on the master plan today and, unlike previous plans for the port, these appear to be gaining traction in the development community. That's understandable. Humans are naturally attracted to water, especially wealthy humans. Some of our region's most expensive real estate is on a waterfront of some sort, be it on Lake Ontario, Canandaigua Lake, or elsewhere. Having such a large swath of land with incredible water views to develop hundreds of units of new housing would seem like an opportunity any developer would jump at. But not everyone agrees.

Bob Barbato, associate professor of management at RIT's prestigious College of Business, isn't so bullish on the property. "I don't think it's all that attractive," Barbato said of the current port area. "It's a very seasonal place that is lively when the weather is warm enough to enjoy the scenery, but for a good part of the year it's pretty cold and pretty desolate." With all due respect Bob, 'no shit, Sherlock'! Isn't that the point of this redevelopment -- to make it less desolate and more active year-round? RIT actually pays this guy to make opinionated uninformed statements like that and I'm doing this for free? His sentiment should not be that surprising though, RIT's campus is pretty cold and desolate most of the time too. Seriously though Bob, consider the value of waterfront real estate in Monroe County, couple that with the stability of the Charlotte housing market, throw in a bunch of new retail and restaurant establishments and a variety of housing types, and you've got yourself a relatively large market to work with. If they added a light rail or busway connection to downtown, even I'd consider living up there.

Sadly, this isn't the first time RIT's Nutty Professor has expressed negativity when asked about a proposed or planned City of Rochester development. In fact, he once expressed doubt regarding the City's focus on developing the Genesee riverfront. The following is taken from a D&C article from August 2003:

"Bob Barbato, an associate professor of management and the director of the Small Business Institute at Rochester Institute of Technology, is pleased that the city is focusing on selling the natural beauty of its river. But he also is skeptical about whether the major developments — the Port of Rochester, Brooks Landing, Corn Hill Landing and the High Falls entertainment district — can all succeed. “The real question is: Is this really going to work?” he asked. “The best answer to that is to simply give businesses the chance to come. The free market will determine if this is going to work.” Barbato also said the city and others are overstating the attraction of water for developers. If it were that important, then Charlotte and Irondequoit Bay would be more developed than they are, he said. “The river itself doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to me,’’ he said. “Park Avenue seems to be doing quite well without a river. The East End is doing well without a river.” The Park Avenue and East End neighborhoods and businesses there are succeeding because of a strong residential base, he said. If the city can promote housing within the developments, then they have a better chance at thriving, he added."

He said that three years ago, and it seems he already disagrees with himself. The City is promoting a significant amount of housing within the Port development, and that is exactly what he is criticizing today. Does he just like criticizing the City of Rochester or does he have a fear of water? Personally, I'm tired of seeing and hearing from this guy. Isn't there anyone at the Simon School who is more qualified to speak on these issues than Barbato? Preferably someone who can swim.

Picture taken from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

Don't Lower Gas Tax, Raise It!

2006-04-27T11:35:00.000-05:00

The average price of gas in metro Rochester topped $3 today. We're not alone. It seems to be on everyone's mind across the country and is the top story on all the network news channels. It's enough to make you think we're in crisis mode. But when you put aside all the hoopla, all the prognostications about peak oil supply, all the criticisms of big oil company profits, all the bitching, moaning, whining, and carrying-on, it's still life as usual for most Americans.

For all their complaining, Americans don't seem to be terribly affected by the rising gas prices. Have we seen dramatic shifts to public transportation? Are droves of suburbanites riding their bikes to work? Are there any less Hummers on the roads today? Absolutely not. People are complaining about gas prices because they're selfish; because they don't want to even consider that they might have to change their way of life. So why should we reward people for their obstinate attitudes by lowering the gas tax, and in the process harming all levels of government, just so John Q. Jackass can save a nickel a gallon at the pump? The answer my friends, is that we should not.

But politicians will do anything to win votes. Especially Republicans. As is the case here in New York State, where Republican Assemblymen such as Jim Tedisco and Dan Burling are proposing that the State cap its share of the gas tax. New York State currently receives 11-cents on every gallon of gas. Capping the price at which state gas tax is charged at $2.00 will save consumers at most 8 or 9 cents a gallon. That will be pretty nice for the mindless masses that choose to drive SUVs, but for those of us who drive more sensible vehicles, we'll barely notice the savings. However, as residents of New York State, we'd be missing out on a great opportunity for using the increased funds brought in by that gas tax.

If anything, the gas tax should increase along with the cost of oil. Let's face it, these high prices are here to stay. Sure they may drop below $3 again next winter, but we'll never see prices drop below $2 ever again. At least not until demand is cut in half by creating realistic alternative fuel options, changing lifestyle habits such as living closer to work or using alternate modes of transportation, or destroying all Middle Eastern governments and taking control of their oil fields. Although Bush would probably lean towards the third option, methinks that would be the hardest to accomplish.

Either we look ahead and embrace the future or we allow our nation to weaken by living in the past. Let's increase the gas tax to fund intensive research into alternative fuels, to improve and expand public transportation, and to run public education campaigns on how to cut back on fuel usage. The time is now for America to wake up from its sprawling suburban dream. New York State can be at the leading edge of the new movement towards an oil-free future. Please Albany, don't listen to the cowards who are so afraid of change that they're more willing to send their children to fight in the desert than adjust their way of life. This is capitalism at its finest after all.

Pictures from the Collapsed South Avenue Helix

2006-04-25T07:50:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are some photos of the collapse. It was ugly as sin anyways. Maybe this is an opportunity to replace the helix with a more attractive option.

Pictures taken by yours truly.

South Avenue Garage Collapse Conspiracy Theory

2006-04-24T10:55:00.000-05:00

If there's one thing everyone should know about we liberals, we love our conspiracy theories. Some could say it's paranoia, but we call it reasonable doubt. By now you've all heard about or driven by the collapsed helix ramp of the South Avenue parking garage downtown. What you might not realize is that we liberals are hard at work on a conspriracy theory behind it.

Having been built in 1974 and not maintained much at all during that time, it's logical to assume that this incident is attributable to long-term neglect. I disagree. You see, the garage has been under intense renovation for many months now. The company in charge of the work, Crane-Hogan Structural Systems, is based in Spencerport and has done similar large-scale work all over the region. You would think that, given their experience, they could have detected that something was wrong and tried to prevent it. They didn't and I think I know why.

Parking supply is the lifeblood of any mid-sized urban downtown. Most everyone who works downtown drives to their job and many thousands of them rely on the numerous City-owned garages to safely store their vehicle. When an incident like this takes place, it likely drains the confidence of those workers in the safety of their vehicles or themselves. Downtown already has a hard enough time competing with suburban office parks, this is another potential boulder in the path of revitalization. Is it possible that the suburban political leadership recognizes this and sees the failure of downtown as a benefit to their own tax bases? Is it possible that they convinced Crane-Hogan President, and active County Republican, Daniel Hogan to sabotage this project as a way to invigorate the stagnant suburban office market?

I highly doubt it, but as a good liberal, I must contribute to our love of conspiracy theories. Pictures from Saturday morning to follow.