For many of us, Rochester’s neighborhoods – their character, their collection of old houses, their lawns and trees and sidewalks, their small commercial areas – are a big reason we decided to live in the city.
And city residents have been fiercely protective of their neighborhoods, fighting for zoning changes and code enforcement, for police presence, for architectural preservation.
City residents and their neighborhood groups create parks and community gardens, raise money to care for old trees and plant new ones, promote public art, hold block parties and pancake breakfasts and festivals, push for bike lanes and speed bumps and stop signs, and protest everything from street-light design to changes in library hours.
In a very real sense, Rochester’s neighborhoods are a key attribute of the city as a whole. The health of the city and the county are closely linked to the health of city neighborhoods. And since that health is often reliant on the activism of neighborhood residents, it’s worth paying attention when neighborhood residents get upset about something.
And right now, residents of several neighborhoods are upset. Really upset. In Charlotte, the concern is a plan to build a hotel, condos, townhouses, and space for commercial uses and offices. Charlotte residents are questioning the size of the project, which they worry will change the character of their neighborhood.
In the Mt. Hope-Elmwood area, the concern is the Psychiatric Center’s plan to create a regional treatment center for “forensic adults”: people with mental illness who, in the state’s words, have been “involved in the justice system.”
In the Highland Park neighborhood, it’s an expansion plan by UR Med Center affiliate Highland Hospital. The hospital, which is surrounded by a residential area, wants to build an addition on what is currently a hospital parking lot. And it has bought a nearby house to use as office space.
Cities are living things, and they change. And the residents of a neighborhood can’t have veto power over change. They’re part of the larger city, and elected officials are responsible for the health of the entire city.
But residents have to be listened to – and sometimes developers and important institutions have to be told “no.”
These three neighborhood-focused conflicts pose particularly difficult dilemmas. The need for forensic treatment facilities is real, but few people will welcome one in their neighborhood. The Psych Center neighbors’ concerns are understandable.
Hospitals need space, and Highland was built at a time when Rochester had several small hospitals – virtually neighborhood hospitals – and nobody could foresee the changes ahead in medicine. The Med Center’s growth is important, and it can be good for Rochester. It can create jobs. But any further expansion at Highland will have a serious impact on its neighbors.
And in Charlotte: We’ve known for years that Rochester doesn’t capitalize enough on its waterfront areas. But Charlotte residents have worked hard to keep their community healthy. It is Charlotte residents, in fact, who have led the fight for a stronger focus on the river and lakefront.
And frankly, I worry that developers and city officials are more than a little naïve about the potential for things like condos and a hotel in Charlotte.
Sometimes in situations like these three, officials can find a compromise that leaves everybody reasonably happy. Often they can’t, though, and I’m not sure how optimistic residents can be in these cases.
I want more development. And I want the City of Rochester to stop shrinking. To grow, though, we need to attract new residents, not drive people away. The problems of the city school district are a tough enough obstacle; the city needs to do all it can to foster the health of its neighborhoods.
During her campaign, Mayor Lovely Warren promised to focus strongly on city neighborhoods. In three neighborhoods right now, she has a chance to ensure that residents are a key part of that focus.
This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2014.
I spent two hours walking around Charlotte on Sunday including walking the length of the Riverway trail from the cemetery to the beach. If that was the only view of Charlotte you had you might agree with your assertion that residents have ‘worked hard’ to preserve the area. But then I walked back along Lake and I saw dilapidated houses, two tattoo parlors, smoke shops, biker bars, boarded up buildings…and very little else.
The City did the heavy lifting involved in creating Turning Point Park and the Riverway Trail. Charlotte needs thoughtful development, not parking lots.
And it is completely illogical to compare the three development projects you mention. They are completely different. Rereading this piece I really don’t understand your point beyond ‘development bad, status quo good’.
Martin, I think the overall point is clear: Mayor Warren is faced with three major “neighborhood” issues, that residents in each of those neighborhoods are rightly concerned about, and has an opportunity to make good on campaign promises.
No one wants useless parking lots. No one is against development in Charlotte. It needs to be THOUGHTFUL development and not what Edgewater Resources and the mayor is foisting upon the residents.
Housing at the waterfront does nothing for the average visitor. The land should not be sold to a private developer. Its use for the 2.8 acre spot should focus on providing something for visitors — not for the profits of a private developer (especially one with little experience).
This is city living. My neighborhood in the suburbs isn’t perfect either, but the world doesn’t revolve around me. eh hem.
I laugh at the people who live around Highland Hospital. When Highland was planning a new parking garage a few years ago, the residents fought to scale back the size. Now they complain about the on street parking…… duh.
If it’s not growing it’s dying. Be thankful it’s growing.
I would be for growth and development if the developers paid for it and the residents benefited. Unfortunately this is not true. In two of these projects there will be no taxes as they are not for profits agencies. At Charlotte the developer is looking for millions in public financing and will get incredible tax breaks. Just look at Erie Harbor a 131 apartment project on Mt. Hope where a $49 million project pays $7624 taxes a year or Plymouth Terrace Apartments where $300,000 townhouses pay $144 in taxes. This is why we can not afford the schools, policing, or neighborhood services we the residents want. This seems like a very high price to pay for the millions we gave to the developers to build both of these projects. It is time we stop building projects which sit half vacant and do nothing to resolve the problems which are destroying our neighborhoods.
People are not going to travel into the City of Rochester to spend money on looking at trees or open space are they ? City population has declined from 300,000 to about 210,000 residents while the County of Monroe has increased to about 980,000 residents. The City needs revenue to stay in business and to try to use that revenue money to help create jobs, keep the streets safe and better educate our students. When are you folks in positions of power and influence going to get it right ?
Mayor Lovely Warren seems oblivious to the fact that this port development project is happening at the very site of the fast ferry fiasco. Nobody wants a repeat! We all WANT to believe. But can you blame us for remembering High Falls and the soccer stadium. Medley Center seems a constant reminder that developers often don’t walk the talk. Say what you will about Bob Duffy, but I for one never got tired of him constantly repeating how much he loved Rochester.
Yeah and where is Mayor Warren? She has proposed something in complete odds with what the Charlotte community wants or needs and has ignored both the issues affecting the neighborhoods around Highland Hospital and the Rochester Pysch Center… guess it was these neighborhoods she did not intend to look out for and assist when she was campaigning. Damn shame!
I really wish people would speak the truth. The forensic units at the rochester psychiatric center have been in place for decades. I find this misinformation extremely irritating!
What I find extremely telling is that the HIDEOUS “College Town” is not mentioned as a problem.
In essence the corridor out of the city into Henrietta has been RUINED by the college town buildings.
I find the College Town Project a welcome addition to the Rochester-Henrietta Areas. Good job to all those responsible for revitalizing the area. Thank you and keep up the good work.
Craig R. Moffitt