Rochester Mayor Tom Richards wants to keep the city’s Focused Investment program operating in the same four neighborhoods for at least two more years, saying the program needs more time to work.
The city started Focused Investment about four years ago, singling out four challenged neighborhoods for intense investment of time and resources: Marketview Heights in the northeast, Beechwood in the southeast, Dewey-Driving Park in the northwest, and Jefferson Avenue in the southwest. Federal grant money and other resources have been used to rehab homes, for demolition, and many other efforts.
The goal was to see marked improvement in the selected neighborhoods within three to five years. But Richards now says that, despite many gains, it will take longer than expected for the city to realize its objectives. Richards called for the extension following the release of a progress report on the FIS program, put together by the city’s Department of Business and Housing Development.
The report says that although the overall health of the neighborhoods seems to be improving, “the distressed nature of these neighborhoods makes it difficult to achieve results quickly.”
Through FIS, the report says: rehabs had been completed or are under way at 137 residential and 18 commercial properties, and a total of 44 vacant structures have been or are going to be demolished.
But the neighborhoods continue to suffer from lower property assessments, higher crime rates, higher rental rates, and higher vacancy rates.
City Council President Lovely Warren, who is running for mayor this year, says she supports FIS, but a critical component is missing. The program doesn’t include individualized support for people living in the FIS neighborhoods, such as connecting them to needed services.
“We were supposed to do more,” Warren says. “When you’re talking about making the kind of investment we’ve made in these FIS neighborhoods, you have to help people sustain it. You can’t do the improvement and walk away and think that things in the neighborhood are going to change.”
City spokesperson Gary Walker says City Council has approved a pilot community building program for Beechwood, and that programs are planned for the other three neighborhoods, as well.
“When you’re talking about making the kind of investment we’ve made in these FIS neighborhoods, you have to help people sustain it. You can’t do the improvement and walk away and think that things in the neighborhood are going to change.” Lovely Warren
This article appears in Apr 10-16, 2013.
Note to editor: Please run a find/replace on this article for the word investment. Replace it with sacrifice.
Ummmm … Beechwood is in the northeast, not the southeast … in fact, from the neighborhood association website: “Welcome to Beechwood, a dynamic and diverse neighborhood nestled in historic northeast Rochester.”
So what is the targeted neighborhood in the southeast, since it obviously can’t be Beechwood?
Rochester Musician,
I double checked with the city administration and they do indeed consider Beechwood the southeast.
Thanks!
Chris Fien
City news editor
Beechwood, in the southeast??? For real?? Maybe the city administration has some very odd views on what direction is which. Again according to the neighborhood association: “Beechwood is bordered to the North by Bay Street, to the East by Culver Road, to the South by East Main Street, and to the West by North Goodman Street.”
So where is Marketview Heights? I checked the definition and it is “bounded on the west by North Street, on the east by North Goodman Street, on the north by Clifford Avenue and south at East Main Street.”
Note that both of these neighborhoods are bounded on the south by East Main Street …
Examining a map of Rochester, Beechwood is directly (and immediately) to the east of Marketview Heights. So please explain how Beechwood can remotely be considered southeast Rochester???
Hello again, Rochester Musician,
I should have been clearer: of course I know that geographically, Beechwood is in the northeast. But for purposes of the FIS program, it’s part of Southeast Council member Elaine Spaull’s district.
Thanks!
Chris Fien
The City NSC offices have quads where Beechwood is considered the Southeast. See here: http://www.cityofrochester.gov/maps/
You’re correct, Pam (and Chris), the city website does show Beechwood in the SE quadrant, but the logic of putting it there totally escapes me when it is very clearly in the NE part of the city.