Cover Story
Cuomo’s blame game
Local leaders say they’re sick of the governor pointing the finger at them for high property taxes
![[Updated] Legislator wants Monroe County to consider sanctuary status](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/monroe_county_sheriff_office.webp?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1)
[Updated] Legislator wants Monroe County to consider sanctuary status
Rochester City Council voted unanimously Tuesday evening to reaffirm its sanctuary city status. The measure states that Rochester police officers won’t be responsible for enforcing immigration law. Authorities no less than the Supreme Court have said that task is the responsibility of federal – not local – governments. Democratic County Legislator Mark Muoio is now…
Week ahead: Events for the week of February 20
Rochester City Council will vote on Sanctuary City legislation when it meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The legislation, which was introduced by Mayor Lovely Warren, will reaffirm Rochester’s status as a sanctuary city, which it’s been since 1986. In short, that means the city’s police will only cooperate with federal immigration agents in ways that…
Forum Wednesday on housing discrimination in the city
WCity Council member Adam McFadden will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, February 22, on housing discrimination. McFadden introduced legislation last summer that would prohibit landlords and property managers from discriminating against potential renters based on their actual or perceived source of income. The discrimination locks people into poor neighborhoods, McFadden has said, preventing them…
![[UPDATED] This week in the mayor’s race: Friday, February 17](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/1364488740-democrat-donkey_thumb-1-e1755041075717.webp?fit=180%2C180&ssl=1)
[UPDATED] This week in the mayor’s race: Friday, February 17
Let’s talk for a second. Are you feeling spent? I am. But like a junkie, I can’t stop paying attention to every soundbite, every Tweet, every minute of Melissa McCarthy on SNL. I’m infected with politics. It’s affecting us locally, too. This year’s hotly contested mayor’s race has wound people so tight that even a…
Lilac Festival announces part of 2017 headliners
Thursday afternoon, amidst the stainless plumbing and tanks full of beer in its various stages at the Genesee Brew House, Lilac Festival Producer Jeff Springut announced eight of this year’s Lilac Fest headliners. The 2017 Lilac Festival runs May 12 through May 21 at Highland Park. Admission is free. Appearing on the Sahlen’s Center Stage…
Funk ‘N Waffles to open in former Water Street Music Hall
The joint formerly known as the Water Street Music Hall has been shut down for a while now, nothing floating out to the street but the ghosts of the memorable music it presented over the years as one of Rochester’s choice venues. Soon however, rock ‘n’ roll will once again spill out along with the…
Film review: ‘Toni Erdmann’
The premise of “Toni Erdmann” — a practical joke-loving father tries to reconnect with his tightly-wound daughter by adopting a goofy alter ego and insinuating himself into her life — sounds like the recipe for a broad, over-the-top comedy. But “Erdmann,” from writer-director Maren Ade, exists on a wavelength all its own: the film is…
Artist presents a personal connection to hard history
Like much of Europe, Corsicans took part in the immigration to the so-called “new world” in search of economic opportunities. Spain’s Cedula de Gracias of 1815 encouraged Spaniards and other Europeans to settle and populate the colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico. In the 19th century, hundreds of families from Corsica (a Mediterranean island located…
FILM | Sushi Night at The Little
Murderous mermaids, Europop music, and tasty sushi rolls make for a great night out at the movies as The Little Theatre (240 East Avenue) reteams with Bubble Fusion for its second “Sushi Night at The Little” on Friday, February 17. Bubble Fusion is offering thematically appropriate pre-movie fare with a select menu of sushi and…
CLASSICAL | “A Tale of Two Angels”
Rochester’s stellar early-music organization, Pegasus, not only puts on excellent concerts, it fosters young musicians at the beginning of their careers in its Pegasus Rising programs. The first Pegasus Rising concert of 2017, titled “A Tale of Two Angels,” will take place Tuesday, February 21, at Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word. The “angels” are…
RECREATION | Nordic Fest
The Rochester Museum and Science Center will host a two-day Nordic Fest this weekend in celebration of the winter season and Scandinavian tradition, with skiing, snowshoe races, and chili to keep you warm. For those looking for a good competition, a 10K Snowshoe Race on Saturday, February 18, takes competitors through backcountry Finger Lakes trails.…
Finding musical freedom in the abstract
Joe Clark is free. The experimental guitarist is unfettered and unchained by conventional music norms. By elevating the atmosphere and making it paramount, he is, in a sense, turning the music inside out. What comes out is a wash of texture and sound that is both soothing and unnerving; it’s the sound of naptime on…
SPECIAL EVENT | ROC Awards
To celebrate the accomplishments and give recognition to Rochesterians actively involved in their community — from music, arts, and fashion design to business management — comedian Yolanda Smilez created the ROC Awards, which is now in its fifth year. This weekend’s ROC Awards ceremony will feature music by Grammy nominated R&B musician Jon B., and…
Album review: ‘Plays Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite’
Slavic Soul Party! “Plays Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite” Ropeadope Records slavicsoulparty.com When Slavic Soul Party! launches into Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s “The Far East Suite” you can almost hear the music ricochet across the world and back a couple of times. When writing the tunes, Ellington and Strayhorn were inspired by a 1963…
COMEDY | T.J. Miller
Rochester Institute of Technology’s annual FreezeFest offers some mirth amid the chill this week, with a lineup of winter-themed programs and events planned for Thursday, February 16, through Sunday, February 19. This year’s headlining act is actor and comedian T.J. Miller, whose standup style consists of charmingly casual observations and wild-eyed anecdotes. He’s also known…
Album review: ‘Finally, I Can Vibe’
MdotCoop “Finally, I Can Vibe” D.E.L.I. Entertainment mdotcoop.com Emcee and D.E.L.I. Entertainment founder MdotCoop has thoroughly woven himself into his new full-length, “Finally, I Can Vibe” — and you can definitely vibe to these tracks. From the intro to the end, this record puts you into some dimly lit, after-hours house party somewhere in Rochester.…
Feedback 2/15
We welcome your comments. Send them to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. Comments of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in print. We don’t publish comments sent to other media. America’s dark…
Urban Action 2/15
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Shetterly to lecture at MCC Monroe Community College will present a talk by Margot Lee Shetterly, author of “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who…
Rochester needs real leadership
Guest commentary by mayoral candidate James Sheppard
Should the city sell its water?
Mayoral candidate Rachel Barnhart has raised the possibility of selling the city’s water system to the Monroe County Water Authority to help fund her proposed 50 percent tax cut for Rochester residents and business. Barnhart, a Democrat, didn’t say she’d definitely pursue a sale if elected; she merely mentioned it as an example of a…
Metro Justice pushes for better elder care
The image of nursing homes in the US is not always a kind one; they’re sometimes portrayed as warehouses for elderly people who face neglect and/or abuse. But one of the most important and determining factors in the quality of nursing home care, what the industry refers to as the nurse-to-patient ratio, is not always…
New tavern adds another piece to changing East End
Jeff Boscarino has a long, impressive resume in the Rochester restaurant and bar scene. His credits include being the former owner of Bosco’s Bombay Bicycle Club back in the late-80’s and early-90’s (in the space now held by Lux) and Paradise Alley (now The Scotch House Pub). Most recently, he was the owner of Richmond’s,…
METAL | Max & Iggor Cavalera
If I ever meet Max Cavalera, I’ll first compliment his Brazilian Lemon Chicken recipe in the cookbook “Mosh Potatoes.” While most metal singers make you want to bang your head, Cavalera rocks my belly. The Soulfly front man and his brother, Iggor, are best known as co-founders of Sepultura, one of the most aggressive bands…
JAZZ | Ethnic Heritage Ensemble
Chicago’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble has a mission in keeping with its name: to fuse aspects of traditional African music with African-American music. It all began in 1972 when percussionist extraordinaire Kahil El’Zabar traveled to Africa to study at the University of Ghana. Since then El’Zabar has lent his knowledge of musical roots to many projects,…
ZYDECO | Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble
The Mardi Gras season is already in full swing in Louisiana, and it’s about to get rolling in Rochester. The Rochester Cajun Zydeco Network and Zydeco Junky Productions is producing a string of Mardi Gras parties over the next two weeks, beginning with Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble rocking the German House on Thursday with…
CLASSICAL | JACK Quartet
There is perhaps no better ensemble with which to showcase the 20th anniversary of Eastman School of Music’s OSSIA New Music group than the JACK Quartet. Founded at Eastman, the quartet will perform in Kodak Hall on Wednesday. Original members Christopher Otto (violin) and John Pickford Richards (viola) and new additions cellist Jay Campbell and…
THEATER | Bronze Collective Theatre Fest
The Bronze Collective annually brings together local performers and theater groups of color at MuCCC for a week of drama, dance, storytelling, comedy, and music. It returns for its third festival next week, running from Monday, February 20, to Sunday, February 26, with new work by local writers, and a classic play by the great…
METALCORE | Silent Planet
Where do young metalcore bands turn when writing breakdown-laden songs about unrequited love just isn’t interesting anymore? The answer to that question, surprisingly, appears to be “metaphysics and astrology,” as evidenced by a fresh crop of bands like Fallujah, Hollow Earth, and most impressively Los Angeles’ Silent Planet, who are all turning their attention skyward.…
Film review: ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’
The original “John Wick” was the biggest and most pleasant surprise of 2014. Stylish, smart, and exciting, it’s a B-movie executed with A-level precision. Now comes the terrific “John Wick: Chapter 2,” a sequel which takes everything that made the original great and ratchets it up to gloriously absurd levels, delivering more action, elaborately-staged mayhem,…
Theater review: ‘The Underpants’ at Blackfriars
The topic of feminine undergarments has fascinated humans for centuries, dating back to a time when a pair of “underpants” contained more material than a pair of modern shorts. In many ways, the intimate garments represent vulnerability, gender roles — and an excellent opportunity for social commentary. That’s what German playwright Carl Sternheim believed, anyway,…
