Rochester Police Chief Mike Ciminelli said last week that the plan to take the RPD from an east-west model to a quadrant-based model should be ready by May. And then it will take a year or more to complete the transition, he said. Ciminelli briefly outlined his vision for the police department at a meeting […]
Christine Carrie Fien
I'm City's news editor, which means I oversee all aspects of our news-gathering operation. I also sneak in to an occasional City Council meeting and cover Rochester's intriguing and eclectic neighbors. My family has a long legacy here, and I'm proud to continue to represent.
Historical Society will leave the library
Still struggling to stabilize itself financially, the Rochester Historical Society will not renew its lease at the Rochester Public Library’s Rundel building in downtown Rochester. “We are involved in active discussions with a third party about a potential relocation of the Rochester Historical Society either in whole or in part to another location,” says Historical […]
Former neighborhood leader to announce candidacy for Rochester City Council
Eugenio Cotto Jr. will challenge Mike Patterson, who took Lovely Warren’s seat.
[UPDATED] $12.4 million is nice, but…
I’m sure that Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren would not turn her back on any increase in state aid for the city. But the $12.4 million included in the State Assembly’s budget resolution doesn’t do anything to help the city in the long term. Or to resolve the inequities in the distribution of aid to upstate […]
Bringing back Marketview Heights
Scott Page states an obvious but bitter truth: Fixing up a few homes a year is nice, he says, but it doesn’t transform a neighborhood. For that, he says, you need drama. Page is the principal of Interface Studio, a Philadelphia-based urban planning and design firm. The City of Rochester hired Interface to create an […]
Sen. O’Brien says he opposes Cuomo’s plan to provide college classes to inmates
State Senator Ted O’Brien, a Democrat, has come out against a proposal by Governor Andrew Cuomo to give state prison inmates access to college degree programs. “We should not spend taxpayer money on funding college classes for inmates when rising tuition rates are preventing so many hardworking young people who have done nothing wrong from […]
Teachers union sues over evaluations
The Rochester Teachers Association filed a lawsuit today (read the complaint below) alleging that the new teacher evaluations are unfair because they fail to adequately account for the effects of severe poverty on students. The suit names John King, commissioner of the State Education Department; the State Board of Regents; the State Education Department; the […]
CityGate drive-through proposal to be heard tonight
A proposal to add two drive-throughs to the 45-acre CityGate project at Westfall and East Henrietta roads will be heard by the City of Rochesterโs Planning Commission at 6:30 p.m. today (Monday, March 10). The meeting is in City Council chambers at City Hall, 30 Church Street. Commission members will hold a staff meeting, prior […]
Drive-throughs proposed for CityGate
A proposal to add two drive-throughs to the CityGate project in the southern edge of the City of Rochester is adding to complaints that the $200 million canal-front development is too suburban in layout and design. The City Planning Commission will consider the application for the drive-throughs at a meeting on Monday, March 10. CityGate […]
WEEK AHEAD: High-speed rail, county charter review, improving city schools
On Friday, the State Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration will hold a public hearing on an environmental review of potential high-speed rail projects in the Empire Corridor. The hearing is at 6 p.m. at The Strong National Museum of Play, 1 Manhattan Square. A public information session starts at 4 p.m. and will continue […]
19th Ward group talks Chili Avenue triple homicide, gang violence
Once again, a small group of neighbors gathered after a shattering act of violence to talk about how to save their children. The Public Safety Committee of the 19th Ward Community Association met last night — two days after a triple homicide on Chili Avenue. The Rochester Police Department has been uncharacteristically reserved about the […]
PAC fever
Just what role Monroe County would play in terms of a downtown performing arts center is unclear. Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren says she has spoken to Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks about helping fund a downtown arts center, and that Brooks is open to the possibility. But a Brooks spokesperson says that without an actual […]






