So you’ve arrived, and now you need the
basics: phone, utilities, a way to get around town, and, maybe, a way to get
out of town. Here is some info to help you get settled in.
Airport
The Greater Rochester International
Airport is at 1200 Brooks Avenue, four miles southwest of Rochester (464-4000,
www.rocairport.com). It’s small, but it gets the job done: about 220 flights a
day. Parking is affordable ($4.50 to $10.50 a day) and waits are manageable.
Flights in and out of this medium-hub airport can be expensive, but a few
bargain airlines — JetBlue, Independence Air, and AirTran — are helping the
cause.
Drivers’ licenses
You need to notify the Department of
Motor Vehicles (428-4132, 800-225-5368) within 10 days of changing your
address; if you are moving to Rochester with a valid out-of-state license, you
have 30 days to apply for a NYS license. There are three DMV locations to
choose from: 1940 West Ridge Road in Greece, 2199 East Henrietta Road in
Henrietta, or 545 Titus Avenue in Irondequoit. There’s no DMV office in
downtown Rochester, but there is the Metro Mobile Service, a van that makes
several city stops throughout the week. Call the Mobile Service Hot Line at
428-4132 for times and locations.
Phone and Internet
Frontier Telephone is the choice for
local telephone service. Call 800-921-8101 or visit www.frontieronline.com for
hookup. Frontier also offers DSL Internet service. For a cable connection, call
the local cable provider, Time Warner Communications (756-2337,
www.twrochester.com), to sign up for their Internet service, Roadrunner (soon,
local commercials will bore that name into your brain).
Public transportation
For mass transit, your only choice is
to get on the bus. The Regional Transit Service (“We’re here to take you
there”) and its parent, Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority,
cover the city and suburbs fairly well and recently have been making a push to
improve their image and expand their service. Base fare is $1.25 for city
routes. Buses run much more frequently during daylight hours. Schedules and
info: 654-0200, www.rgrta.org.
One of two large-scale projects
affecting transportation is the impending Renaissance Square, a $230 million
public works project to include a Monroe Community College campus, a performing
arts center, and a central bus station — all on the corner of Main Street and
Clinton Avenue in downtown Rochester. Questions over the project’s costs,
necessity, location, environmental ramifications, etc, are ongoing, even as
architects are drawing plans.
The other big deal is the Spirit of
Ontario (nicknamed “The Breeze”), a high-speed ferry between Rochester and
Toronto that began service last summer. After only two months, the operating
company suspended service, citing huge financial losses. The ferry terminal had
already been built; tickets had been bought; millions had been invested. Now
the City of Rochester has bought the boat and plans to restart operation in May.
The Breeze will be news for a long time: Stay tuned.
Trash and recycling
Rochester residents can contact the
city’s Department of Environmental Services (428-5990, www.cityofrochester.gov)
with questions, concerns, or to get a guide for what to put in the big green
bin for trash, and what to put in the little blue bin for recycling. If you
live in the suburbs, your area’s private trash hauler should get in touch with
you. For waste removal and recycling help in the suburbs, contact the Monroe
County Solid Waste and Recycling office at 760-7600 or www.monroecounty.gov.
Utilities
Rochester Gas & Electric (546-2700,
www.rge.com) is the area’s natural gas and electricity provider. If you want
the modern conveniences, you’ll want to get in touch. (Unless you live in
Fairport, Spencerport, or Churchville, all of which have their own electricity
distribution systems.) The city’s Water Bureau can be reached at 428-5990; the
county water authority is at 442-2000.
Vote
To be able to pull the lever in local,
state, and national elections, register with the Monroe County Board of
Elections in person at 39 West Main Street, over the phone at 428-4550, or
download the forms off the www.monroecounty.gov website.
This article appears in Mar 23-29, 2005.
