Years ago, a downtown retailer announced that he was moving his store to the suburbs, and he made a big deal of what he said was the reason: crime was rampant downtown.
That was false. Crime wasn’t rampant downtown then, and it isn’t rampant now. Some neighborhoods in the city do indeed have high levels of crime. But not downtown. Downtown has been and continues to be safe.
If the retailer had said something that damaged the reputation of a person or another business, he could have been sued for libel. But downtowns – entire cities – are fair game for smears.
And so the local daily newspapers published the retailer’s story, accusation and all. And I assume many people believed it.
The store moved to the suburbs, where, for whatever reason, it eventually went out of business. But in the meantime, the retailer had made another contribution to a myth that has plagued downtown businesses, arts institutions, residents, and public officials for decades.
The damage is costly, in the revenue of retail businesses and arts institutions, and in the city’s tax base. But no matter; the myth has been repeated so often that it’s now general public perception. And since perception can smother reality, the myth about safety is one of the biggest obstacles to downtown’s health.
Let me share an example, part of a comment posted last week in response to my column wishing that companies like Wegmans and Paychex would move their headquarters from the suburbs downtown:
“Wow… another article bashing someone else for problems in the city. Moving corporate headquarters to the city isn’t going to solve anything. It didn’t in Detroit. Quicken Loans received 47 million in tax credits for the move, which jeopardizes all of their employees who must travel into the city.
“According to the latest FBI crime study, Detroit is listed as #1 for crimes. In fact, for 5 years in a row! Maybe Wegmans cares about their employees and doesn’t want to see them harmed!
“The first step to attracting people to downtown is to clean up the crime. My answer is build more prisons and make them into self-sufficient businesses so it doesn’t cost the taxpayers more money. If prisoners don’t want to do the labor, they don’t eat. Simple. – Mitch”
Obviously, Mitch believes what he has written. And in fairness, for years the media – television stations in particular – have played up crime stories so much that you’d think the entire city was awash in blood.
Another problem: some of the highest-crime areas are closer, geographically, to a Rochester suburb than they are to the heart of downtown. But our city-suburb lines create artificial divisions in our minds.
Downtown Rochester is safe. Many people have tried to stamp out the crime myth, to no avail. One solution, of course, might be for the skeptics to see the reality for themselves, to join those of us who are downtown frequently as we walk the streets, attend the events, eat at the restaurants, go to the movies, gather with friends.
It has helped, I think, that City Hall has done things like sponsor fireworks and concerts, and that the Jazz Festival and Fringe Festival have brought enormous crowds to downtown streets and venues.
Our reader Mitch may even have gone to some of those events. If so, he must figure that they’re exceptions, and that the rest of the year, he’ll be in danger if he comes downtown.
It’s hard to know what else to do to squash downtown’s big myth. Maybe we can simply appeal to the conscience of Mitch and the many folks like him: regardless of where we live, regardless of our political beliefs, as citizens and as human beings, we have a responsibility to seek the truth, yes? Before we say something damaging about something, maybe we can try to find out whether it’s true.
This article appears in Aug 24-30, 2016.
Oh my God I really hope that reader Mitch was just trolling us all with his comments. I go running downtown all the time…even at night…and have never felt unsafe. The same people who think downtown is unsafe are the people who refer to a group of black kids on a field somewhere as a group of “inner-city kids”. That one’s my favorite.
Slander is spoken. It has to be in print to be libel.
Older generations are very afraid of the city. They are dead set that it is the same as the day of the 1964 race riots. The city is such a different place than it was in the olden days, and they dont understand it now. The news doesnt help, as they only report on the bad things that happen in portions of the crescent. Blue collar Gen X types are also against the city, they dont take advantage of the cultural events, restaurants, bars, and theatres in the city, so they dont understand. They judge everything based on what they see in the news. You wont change their mentality, it has been set in from their parents and stubborn and ignorant are hard to change. All you can do is enlighten the younger generation and hope that through education they will change and not be like their parents. I see that as true, I hear many millennials say “Ive never been here before, but its great!” Even when a place in the city has been open 3+ years. Its hard to change old habits, but I think younger generations are accomplishing it.
To me, the “Rochester myth about downtown crime” is a matter of individual perception.
Some people will and some will not feel safe, based on what they have actually experienced or heard of happening downtown; everyone has their own comfort level.
There could be zero crime downtown what so ever, yet some people will not feel safe because they may anticipate that at any moment, there could be someone lurking, to assault or rob them.
Like in the movie, “Jaws”; when the mayor convinced everyone it was safe to go in the water, well, you know what happens next. The film industry has tapped into that human emotion of fear, which transcends from the screen to the reality of life.
Why not blame Hollywood for corrupting people’s minds to be fearful?
Seriously, people need to feel comfortable in whatever environment they’re in; if they don’t, they’ll avoid it.
The question should be: how do you make downtown Rochester comfortable for everyone?
It is, indeed, a myth that downtown Rochester is dangerous or unsafe in any way. We are downtown dwellers in our late seventies and we walk all over the city everyday. We see many of the same people on the streets and we have become their friends. We can heartily encourage anyone who loves good restaurants, good movies, good theater, good music, good art, to come on down and live in the city. It’s great!
I wouldn’t paint that Rosy of a picture. In the Daytime I feel safe downtown . At night the East End is crowded and has a police presence. I’ve never had problems attending concerts at the Eastman and frequently go to Max’s afterwards but I’m not sure how safe the parking garage is after everyone has cleared out from the concert.
I will walk to Pane Vino from Andrews street but don’t feel safe enough to walk the side streets there at night unless I really need too.
I go downtown and enjoy it but I would say it requires more vigilance than this story suggests .
As many other commenters have pointed out, it is a matter of perception and because perceptions are beholden to emotional biases, no amount of statistics and studies will overcome that – you have to get people to the table before they can listen to what you have to say. Only experiential evidence, accumulated over a period of time or multiple occurrences, can help reverse these biases. Maybe as we grow a more stable residential population downtown, a larger number of people who outsiders would come to visit and explore with as a group may help to change the conversation.
My own personal bias is that I feel much safer in Downtown Rochester than in parts of London where I grew up, based on my perception that there is less random crime than there is in the UK, even if the overall crime statistics may be higher.
Can the writer show us the statistics or are we just supposed to take her word for it? Is this article any more worthwhile or informed than Mitch’s comment? “Downtown Rochester is safe.” Oh ok, solid argument. Also, I have to laugh at the idea that going to a festival surrounded by thousands of people, mostly suburban residents, on closed streets with police everywhere is supposed to provide some sort of accurate measure for how safe downtown is. How about this, start from the Andrews St. bridge, go down along the west side of the river, cross the Main Street bridge, and head back up Saint Paul or Clinton on an average weeknight after dark. You might not get raped or killed but you’ll still have to step over broken liquor bottles, smell human piss, and deny handouts to the people responsible for both of those things. What if “crime in downtown” is just the polite way of saying “disgusting, drug addled undesirables that are a blight on our public space.”? Whatever you want to call it, it’s still very real and I feel bad for the poor guy or gal that’s going to be cleaning the restrooms in the new Starbucks on Main St.
-A proud downtown gentrifier
Nice anecdotal evidence. However, if you wish to have REAL statistical data, see the link below. The city has MORE violent crime than THE ENTIRE county put together.
http://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/crimnet/ojsa/indexcrimes/Monroe.pdf
Downtown isn’t as nice as some other areas of the city but it’s great to see the progress that has been made and it’s clearly improving relatively quickly. I frequently walk to and through downtown- never any issues and I never felt unsafe.
It’s a matter of what you are used to and your perspective. I have lived in other cities, and have been in far worse places. I think overtime it will continue to improve and be more welcoming to all. It certainly would be nice to see more activity there which is slowly happening given all the new condos and rentals going up.
To Mr.Roc: ‘older generations’ are the problem? Um… I’m one of those older-generation people, and I’m downtown all the time. And many of the people moving to downtown residences are older-generation empty-nesters. To Michael Barone: You just made my point: ‘Downtown’ is part of the city. It is not ‘the city.’ Yes, indeed, the City of Rochester has the highest violent crime rate in the county. That’s true of many, many cities and their surrounding areas. The reason is poverty. The high crime areas are concentrated in specific neighborhoods – the same neighborhoods with the highest poverty concentration. The point of my column was that too many people look at the city’s crime rate and assume that’s the crime rate for downtown Rochester. It is not. That is not true now, and it has not been true in the 50-plus years since my husband and I moved our family here. Downtown is safe.
To Mary Anna
You are correct about the writer who confused Downtown Rochester with the city as a whole.
However it is also true that downtown is within a half mile from some of the most crime ridden areas of the city where assaults and robberies are frequent . It is also the home of a high concentration of homeless shelters and DHS emergency housing where there are large numbers of recent Parolees and people who are addicted to either drugs or alcohol.
My advise is to come downtown, enjoy what it has to offer, but avoid areas where you are not around other people after dark. I follow this advise when I travel to most Cities that I visit.
LOL – Poverty huh? First, no one around here is in poverty. Go look at 3rd world countries. THAT is poverty. Second, it’s not poverty. It’s lack of being a civilized human being. Plenty of people in poverty have overcome and moved up in life. Because they were committed to do so. You libs make me laugh.
My slightly educated guess is that it is probably true that the crime rates downtown are low — but where are the data? Without data, it’s a matter of one person saying “crime downtown is low, because I know it is” and then another person saying “no it’s not low, because I know …” etc etc.
You would almost have to be delusional to believe this editorial which cites no hard data whatsoever. Here’s some actual facts on crime – from ACT Rochester: “violent crime rates have increased in Rochester and Monroe while decreasing statewide and nationally. In 2014, there were 30 violent crimes per 10,000 residents in Monroe, below the state and nation (both 37). Rochester’s rate of 80 was more than twice as high as the nation, state, region, and every regional county, and rose by 9% from 2000 to 2014.”
Additionally: “the rate of property crimes in Monroe in 2014 (255 per 10,000) was slightly below the nation and above the state and region, while Rochester’s rate (422) was much higher.” As well as: “In 2014, there were 284 serious crimes per 10,000 residents in Monroe, slightly below the nation but above the state (207) and region as a whole (243). In Rochester, the rate was 502.”
The crime rate in the “city center” is likely below that of the city of Rochester as a whole, however it is very unlikely that the crime rate for the center city is actually lower than for Monroe county as a whole. http://www.actrochester.org/Monroe
“Second, it’s not poverty. It’s lack of being a civilized human being.”
Right on Mike. Poverty is just a cop out/excuse for criminal behavior. What’s a difference between a rich thief (say Bernie Madoff) and a poor thief (say any random stick up kid)? The rich thief commits crime because he’s “greedy”. The poor thief has his crimes excused by social justice warriors because he’s “impoverished”. Oh, and the poor one will shoot you.
It’s a matter of definitions. People who live in the suburbs use the word “downtown” to mean the city. People who live in the city use the word “downtown” to mean downtown.
Robert Cooper,
If that’s the case, then the people from the suburbs are just flat out wrong and need to learn what they are talking about. I wouldn’t expect to get a pass for calling the entire west side “Greece” just because I don’t live there.
“Yes, indeed, the City of Rochester has the highest violent crime rate in the county. That’s true of many, many cities and their surrounding areas. The reason is poverty. The high crime areas are concentrated in specific neighborhoods – the same neighborhoods with the highest poverty concentration”–Mary Anna— I defer. I believe it’s politics. These very same areas are dominated by liberal representation and the typical message liberals profess– “It’s not your fault”, “the world is racist”, “it’s the greedy rich”, “white privilege”, and many more. It’s never about taking personal responsibility.
Meanwhile, the democrats doal out just enough for people to exist, but left wanting more. And every election season the left “promise” to fix it all, while in truth, the make it worse. It’s cruel and tragic what the left have done to generations of inner city residents.
The “war on poverty” has been an utter failure and there are more people in poverty now then 1960. Ad to this the destruction of families and individuals and you have to wonder why the highly educated superior leftist policies have failed, while the blue collar, roll up your sleeves, common sense approach is tried and true, yet pushed way in urban areas.
Thanks Mary Anna for not ripping me to shreds in this weeks article. You mention I’m entitled to my opinion, as are you. I do wish, as I’ve seen others mention, you included stats in you article versus saying “its a myth”. According to the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, the rate of total incidences was roughly 10 times higher in the city of rochester compared to Gates for 2015, the last reported year. The actual numbers were 10,105 versus 1,058. I hear what you’re saying that downtown proper may be different, which makes sense as a lot of those buildings are empty after 5pm. The issue is you have to drive through the neighborhoods many times which have a higher crime rate, to get to the city. During events, the police presence is amazing and I’m sure it costs taxpayers a lot in overtime. What about non-event days? That’s what a company moving into the city needs to think about. Can you tell me why I see so many police cars around the city streets of Rochester during the day, as well as at night? Or why I see them outside so many city schools? In Gates, I might pass a police officer once a week. Hmmm. With the myth of crime in the city, seems like we have too many officers out there. I do enjoy reading your articles as I do respect a difference of opinion…even if yours is wrong….kidding!
Thanks for your comments, everybody. To all who have asked for the data: At the risk of boring everybody to tears, I’ll discuss this in more detail in my next column. But briefly: RPD stats for the period February 26-August 25 (the period available online from the RPD), there were 7 robberies, 9 assaults, and 2 homicides in the area within the Inner Loop (the generally accepted definition of “downtown Rochester). Most of the assaults and one of the 2 homicides involved people who knew each other – sometimes family members. As a weird comparison: the Town of Gates had 3 homicides in 2015 (the latest stats I could find) and 38 aggravated assaults. Does that prove that Gates is not safe? Of course not.
Mary Anna…You’re kidding right? You compare a partial year of 2016 for the city to a full 2015 year for Gates? Also, a portion of the city to the WHOLE TOWN of Gates? If you’re going to cite statistics, please compare apples to apples. For example, in 2015, according to state crime data as mentioned before, yes there were 3 murders in Gates, but 33 in the city of Rochester! If you want to take a small section of the city(downtown) to make your comparison, then fine. Compare it to the Western part of Gates, where there was no murders in 2015 at all. Please compare similar time periods, and like geographies.