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Midtown madness
Readers weren’t shy about sharing their opinions on a new proposal for Parcel 5 at Midtown downtown (News, November 2). The 25-story glass-and-steel structure was proposed by local resident Fraser Smillie and Rochester architect Bud DeWolff.
“Here’s another chance to do something right? THIS monstrosity is someone’s idea of doing something right? I still have to wonder if this is some sort of April Fools’ joke which just didn’t happen to fall on or near April 1.
ROCHESTER MUSICIAN
“I think what we have done is sort of stir the pot a little bit by saying, ‘Here’s another chance to do something right.'”
Well, you see, we have a problem here. Rochester already built properties like the one Smillie is proposing, and they only contributed to Rochester being a non-place to be. We don’t need more megaplexes.
BRIAN MILBURN
“It’s unlikely that the city would choose the open-space plan, which would deprive it of tax revenue.”
I think that assumption sells the Visionary Square proposal short. Having a real public square would increase property tax values of every property downtown and would earn much more tax revenue than a building that will ultimately get tax breaks and credits and be undervalued to pay little taxes.
MARYAGNES LUPIEN
I feel the need to point out that this is awful. Modern architecture? A la 1970. The building looks like it’s from a comic book (back when they were nerdy, and before nerdy was cool), and the PowerPoint just confirms its absurdity. It starts off by not answering any of its own questions. Then it throws in a spelling error, and just panders to the mayor for the rest of it.
History lesson: The Eiffel Tower was built for the French Revolution’s 100th anniversary. It was a temporary structure that was supposed to be taken down after 20 years. It wasn’t taken down due to its scientific research benefits, then later for its military advantages. Then it became a national icon.
To bemoan building a “fix” for a specific current need, and then almost immediately laud the benefits of and the inspiration of another world famous “fix” for a specific current need is preposterous. Or maybe it’s “iron-y.”
DAN
Road project is folly
I’m disgusted they’re spending money to realign Dewey and Driving Park. In a couple of years, people will be complaining about vehicle speeds and pedestrians will be getting killed, just like on Lake Avenue. I certainly hope they don’t continue the folly at Dewey, Lyell, and Broad. So much for having a city for the people and not cars.
ROCHESTER MAN
Frontier’s not real competition
Frontier DSL is a joke and no competition to Time Warner Cable (News, October 12), which says a lot because TWC has set the bar sooooo low.
TWC is like dial-up. Syracuse, Buffalo, and obviously New York City are locations with competition and TWC has to step it up. Not here. Sad.
RICK P
This article appears in Nov 9-15, 2016.
In criticizing the project to realign Dewey and Driving Park, Rochester Man is concerned that money is being wasted, and drivers will benefit at the expense of pedestrians. He may be right. But perhaps there’s a sharper point to be made.
Let’s think about this logically. I can’t believe any drivers have ever complained about making a couple extra turns in order to keep going straight on Dewey.
What you have here is poor people with no voice being exploited for the benefit of construction workers and the companies they work for. Those workers, I would imagine don’t even live in the city and if they do, I know it’s not going to be in that poor neighborhood. So the poor people who live there, whether they work a little , a lot, or not at all, are still contributing to the tax base. But that money they pay is being stolen from them and they might as well be buying magic beans. When this project is finished, the neighborhood will still be just as poor.
Poor suckers. That’s what they’ll be. Poor suckers.
I agree with the Dewey Driving Park alignment. I further agree that Dewey and Broad St should, and very easily could be aligned at Lyell Ave. What could be wrong with a major transportation corridor stretching all the way from downtown to the Lake? I think it would help uplift the image of the soccer stadium too.
Btw, wouldn’t the straightened intersections benefit mass transportation too?