House of books
When bookseller Franlee
Frank acquired the late composer David Diamond’s book collection about two
years ago, she joked it would have been easier to buy the whole house rather
than move all the books. Diamond’s dark green, shuttered dwelling on Edgerton
Street bore the weight of thousands of volumes and
manuscripts. The Library of Congress absorbed the composer’s important original
papers. Another dealer bought a few, select volumes. That left Frank to cart
away the mere eight or nine thousand left.
Since then, she’s been selling them
at her bookstore (Greenwood Books, 123 East Avenue,325-2050) boxfuls at a time. They cover a wide
range of topics, but most of them are about music, its performers, structure,
history, and criticism. Prices vary from a few dollars to hundreds. Curious
Eastman professors, staff, and students stop in regularly to check out the
latest additions. They know it may take years to see them all, since there are
thousands left, still packed away.
Frank says Diamond used his books: he
handled them, wrote in them, and even glued stuff between the pages. Some
contain authors’ inscriptions. Many are signed or embossed with the composer’s
distinctive block letter stamp, “DAVID DIAMOND,” and some are crammed with
notes, asterisks, and terse observations. He wasn’t careful with the objects
the way a collector would be. But their new owners will reap the rewards, since
they offer a glimpse into the mind of a man who was, until his death this past
summer, one of Rochester’s truly
formidable intellectuals.
— Brenda Tremblay
More moves by Duffy
She could be Mayor-elect Bob Duffy’s trump card. At a press
conference last week, Duffy announced that Patricia
Malgieri, the former CEO of the Center for Governmental Research, will be
his deputy mayor. She’ll be the first woman to hold the post in Rochester.
Duffy’s been taking some heat for some of his staff changes,
but the Malgieri selection was a hit. In announcing the appointment, Duffy
commented that “very few people have the institutional memory that Patti Malgieri
has,” perhaps a response to critics who say he is removing too many senior city
administrators too quickly. The “institutional memory” was developed outside of
City Hall, of course, but in her role at CGR, Malgieri has studied key area
institutions, including the Rochester school district, and she has been both an
analyst and a consultant on economic development.
A bright, experienced administrator, as deputy mayor
Malgieri will be a powerful force in city government. She’ll also be in an
interesting position. In her work at CGR, she has been critical of Rochester
school district operations. In her new job, she’ll be reporting to a mayor who
was sympathetic to the district during the campaign — and who won the
endorsement of the teachers union.
In other Duffy news: on Monday, the mayor-elect announced
the termination of three more long-time city officials: Director of
Communications Bridgette Burch White, Neighborhood Empowerment Team Director
Rodric Cox-Cooper, and Parks, Recreation, and Human Services Commissioner
Loretta Scott. While White and Cox-Cooper began with the Johnson administration
12 years ago, Scott’s work with the city dates to the 1970s.
Vets center gets a boost
The Canandaigua VA
Medical Center has finally gotten what it needed — a solid reason for
keeping its doors open. After several years of under-funding mental health
services, the Veterans Affairs Department is increasing its spending to address
the higher-than-anticipated number of vets returning from Iraq
with mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder. And the
Canandaigua site has been designated as one of three treatment centers that
will specialize in mental-health care.
The VA has committed $3 billion to its mental health
services budget for 2006, an increase of more than $1.6 billion over 2005. How
much of it will go to the treatment centers is unclear. The Canandaigua site
still has to go through the VA’s asset realignment process and provide a
comprehensive use plan. Administrators in Canandaigua have until June 2006 to
present a detailed proposal for programs, facilities needs, staffing, and
budget.
The VA is basing the new mental health care units on an
approach it uses to treat spinal cord injuries, says a spokesperson for New
York Representative Jim Walsh. Patients are directed to three VA facilities
that focus on orthopedic and neurological medicine.
“The number of veterans needing mental health services has
been increasing across the board,” says the Walsh spokesperson, “but there
wasn’t a strategy in place. We’re going to be testing the same kind of model,
and Canandaigua was seen as the perfect setting. It already has a reputation
for its work in mental health.”
It’ll be at least a year before the Canandaigua veterans
center can offer the new services, says the Walsh spokesperson. It’ll take that
long to convert the site for its new mission.
This article appears in Dec 21-27, 2005.
