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."