Tag Archives: Rochester

Rochester Fast Ferry tale now in print

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Larry Dickens, “novelist and mariner,” has published a memoir about Rochester’s fast ferry.

Dickens served as first mate on the ferry, which former Rochester mayor Bill Johnson claimed would stimulate our economy somehow — I guess by luring rich Canadians across Lake Ontario. And what does the city have to show for it, now? An extra $20 million debt.

But never fear, our politicians have a new plan: a $230 million performing arts center cum underground bus terminal. Think of it as the fast ferry, only lots more expensive and we can’t sell it if it doesn’t work out. Also no rich Canadian angle.

I’ve blogged about my distaste for the Renaissance Square idea several times since I started doing this in February; here’s my most recent post on the subject.

This one’s about Rochester’s Renaissance Square

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If there’s any local issue that I care enough about to blog regularly, Renaissance Square — estimated price tag, $230 million — is it. I simply don’t believe it’s a good use of taxpayer money. I don’t care how much is funded by the feds or the state. It’s too much money. It’s too much risk. It just can’t be a priority right now.

Now look at this: an article on the DLC website about the folly of municipal planning built on the single leg of attracting “creatives”:

The new mantra advocates an urban strategy that focuses on being “hip” and “cool” rather than straightforward and practical. It is eagerly promoted by the Brookings Institution, by some urban development types, and by city pols from both parties in places like Cincinnati, Denver, Tampa, and San Diego. It seeks to displace the Progressive Policy Institute’s New Economy Indexes with what might be called a “Latte Index” — the density of Starbucks — as a measure of urban success. Cities that will win the new competition, it’s asserted, will be those that pour their resources into the arts and other cultural institutions that attract young, “with-it” people who constitute, for them, the contemporary version of the anointed. Call them latte cities.

This is exactly the thinking behind Renaissance Square. Build a performing arts center, and Rochester will become hip. Young people will want to live here. Downtown will be revitalized.

That’s B.S. We would be fools to fall for it.

Here, from the article, is a round-up of the metro areas — all of which have considerably more resources at their disposal than Rochester — who have pursued this municipal strategy:

San Francisco, according to economist David Friedman, has actually lost employment at a rate comparable to that of the Great Depression. Roughly 4 percent of the population has simply left town, often to go to more affordable, if boring, places, such as Sacramento. San Francisco is increasingly a city without a real private-sector economy. It’s home to those on the government or nonprofit payroll and the idle rich — “a cross between Carmel and Calcutta,” in the painful phrase of California state librarian Kevin Starr, a San Francisco native.

. . . Seattle has also lost jobs at a far faster rate than the rest of the country and has its own litany of social problems, including a sizable homeless population; the loss of its signature corporation, Boeing; and growing racial tensions.

Although Portland is often hailed as a new urban paradise, it is in a region suffering very high unemployment. “They made a cool place, but the economy sucks,” notes Parks, who conducted a major study for the Oregon city. “They forgot all the things that matter, like economic diversification and affordability.”

New York City has also suffered heavy job losses. Gotham’s population outflows, which slowed in the late 1990s, have accelerated, including in Manhattan, the city’s cool core. In contrast, New York’s relatively unhip suburbs, particularly those in New Jersey, quietly weathered the Bush recession in fairly fine fettle.

So where are people going — and why?

Today, economic growth is shifting to less fashionable but more livable locales such as San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, Calif.; Rockland County, N.Y.; Des Moines, Iowa; Bismarck, N.D.; and Sioux Falls, S.D.

In many cases, this shift also encompasses technology-oriented and professional service firms, whose ranks ostensibly dominate the so-called “creative class.” This trend actually predates the 2000 crash, but it has since accelerated. Since the 1990s, the growth in financial and other business services has taken place not in New York, San Francisco, or Seattle, but in lower-cost places like Phoenix; Charlotte, N.C.; Minneapolis; and Des Moines.

Perhaps more important, the outflow from decidedly un-hip places like the Midwest has slowed, and even reversed. Employers report that workers are seeking more affordable housing, and, in many cases, less family-hostile environments.

To be sure, such cities are not without their share of Starbucks outlets, and they have put great stress on quality-of-life issues — like recreation and green space — that appeal to families and relocating firms. But the watchword is livability, not coolness.

Affordable housing. Family-friendly communities. “Livability.”

Sounds dull as dirt, doesn’t it? But it’s the foundation our community needs if we’re going to reverse the exodus of young people.

The politicians who back Renaissance Square will gladly drive Rochester off a cliff, if they can look all flashy while they steer. We have to stop them.

And — a fast little bird

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Actually, peregrine falcons aren’t only fast for birds. They’re the fastest animal, period. “Scientists have estimated the falcon’s speed to be more than 200 miles per hour.”

A few years ago, it was feared they might go extinct. Now they’re making a comeback, thanks to captive breeding programs.

From a PR standpoint, the birds are also getting a little help from the Internet. “Falcams” — webcams set up so people can watch falcons — are the most popular type of webcam, according to this article by Sandy Bauers in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Here in Rochester, we have our own falcam: the Kodak Birdcam. Check it out. They’re back.

There’s spending, and then there’s spending

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I don’t consider myself knowledgeable enough about the Monroe County budget to speak to whether there’s any fat that could be trimmed. But when it comes to the national budget, clearly some spending decisions are driven by politicians’ craven attempts to score easy points with their constituents, regardless of whether that spending is good for the nation as a whole. That’s why it’s nice to see that pressure on Congress to reduce porkbarrel spending seems to be working. According to figures published by blogger N.Z. Bear, FY ’07 earmark requests are down 37 percent.

That is very good news.

Locally, perhaps the answer is something along the lines of what Michael Caputo suggests in one of his recent series of stories on the proposed county sales tax hike:

The dire choices presented by Brooks had she opted to cut services. She told the assembled in the County Office Building last Thursday that to cut the programs necessary to balance the books would have been… well, draconian. She talked about ending the road patrol service. She talked about closing the zoo… closing the parks . . .

This is as if she couldn’t scale back on some or all of these programs. Why end them? Why give us the all or nothing scenario? That is, of course, about making a point using drastic means.

Whatever the specific answer, the real takeaway is that if the politicians know people are paying attention, their behavior changes. We have to show them we expect them to act responsibly — that we haven’t forgotten it’s our money they’re spending.

Think about this, the next time a local pol wants to build a parking garage that’s only supposed to last 30 years.

Robert Wegman R.I.P.

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Passed away yesterday at Strong Memorial. Age 87.

If you’re not from the Rochester area and have never been in a Wegman’s supermarket, this Washington Post article (registration required) provides a little background on who this guy was and what he accomplished:

Wegman took over as president of the 90-year-old business begun by his father and uncle in 1950 and over decades introduced private-label products and laser scanning at the checkout.

He was behind the “Shoppers Club” electronic discount program and Wegmans’ “Strive for 5” program offering recipes with nutritional analyses that emphasized fresh vegetables and fruits.

He is credited with pioneering one-stop shopping, placing bakeries, imported foods and cafes into huge stores, along with photo labs, video departments and child play centers.

The 70 Wegmans emporiums in five states employ more than 35,000 people and posted sales of $3.8 billion in 2005.

The company’s employee scholarships, high-end wages and health insurance program have landed Wegmans on Fortune magazine’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” for nine straight years.

In 2005, Wegmans was ranked No. 1 on the list, leading the chairman to say, “This is the culmination of my life’s work.”

When most people think of Rochester corporations, they think of Kodak, which hasn’t exactly had a pleasant time of it over the past decade. Wegman’s, on the other hand, has flourished, growing into a local icon that rivals Kodak in many ways.

I mean, unless you’ve been to one of these stores this will sound totally ridiculous — but if you were to come from out of town to see me, a flagship Wegman’s is one of the tourist stops we’d visit.

Other bloggers’ thoughts (some of which are posted by people who had met him or worked for him) here, here, here, here, here, and here.

The man was deeply admired and even loved . . .

When’s a naturopath not?

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When there’s no license that says so. Or something.

A Village Voice article covers a campaign underway in New York State to restrict the title “Doctor of Naturopathy” to practitioners who hold four-year degrees “from an accredited naturopathic college.”

Among the issues:

* Would licensing make it easier, or harder, for people to make alternative healthcare decisions?

* Is this a power grab by one alt health faction or Altruism Embodied?

* Will licensing help the state find and bring to justice any malevolent alt health practitioners who might land on our fair shores?

* Will licensing pave the way for insurance reimbursements of alt health therapies?

Rochester’s Dale Volker is one of the state senators backing the bill.

This sounds like a great idea

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I just found about about this via Zinnian Democracy: according to Mark Hare at the Democrat and Chronicle, Kenichiro “Ken” Sato, 27, a museum art director from Sendai, Japan who has enrolled in a public administration program at Monroe Community College, has obtained a $15,000 grant from Rochester’s Arts and Cultural Council to turn downtown into an outdoor photography museum.

The plan is to hang 300 photos on tall and not-so-tall buildings. About 100 would be large, 100 feet by 50 feet and 15 by 15. The rest would be 5 by 8 feet, displayed at eye level. Some would depict local history, the rest would be selected from photos submitted internationally.

I must say, I have a very good feeling about this.

Watching the numbers

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Meanwhile, over at The Political Notebook, Michael Caputo gives a nice overview of Monroe County’s budget situation. He offers some background on how local officials have used tobacco settlement money, weaving in an addiction analogy. Among the tidbits: county leaders have been selling bonds against future tobacco money for pennies on the dollar. This brings to mind hapless lottery winners who don’t have the wherewithall to manage their financial windfalls, and thereby fall prey to the post-jackpot vultures.

But probably more important is this eensy weensy fact: this is our money. We, the taxpayers.

So here’s another analogy. Suppose you needed some cash, and quickly. Someone found out, and offered to refinance your home, only instead of giving you the face value of whatever equity you’ve accumulated, they offered you 10 cents on the dollar.

Would you take it?

The funny thing about finances is that the more you need money, the harder it is to do deals from a position of strength. But unless you assume a position of strength, you’ll never halt the downward spiral.

Turning our city around

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Today’s Democrat & Chronicle reports that this year’s economic forecast by Sandy Parker, chief executive of the Rochester Business Alliance, is “sobering.”

“Where the state as a whole is faltering, upstate — to be frank — is sinking,” Parker said. “Job growth is anemic, incomes are nearly stagnant, and people, particularly young people, are leaving for more promising locales.”

What bothers me most about this is that, as a lifelong resident of Upstate New York, I’ve been hearing essentially the same words for at least 30 years — since people first realized that the manufacturing sector that once supported the Great Lakes economies had begun to falter.

Nor has the dialectic changed much over time. On the one hand, there is the handwringing and the cynicism. We don’t get enough sun. We’re overburdened by taxes and a moribund state government. “There goes Kodak. There goes Sibley’s. There goes Midtown Plaza. There goes the fast ferry.”

Then you have the responses, which IMO tend to be narrow and to have a certain hot-house quality about them. The proposed performing arts center idea is an example. I am sure the people who support it are very well-meaning. But it’s not enough to support an idea because it’s a cultural amenity that I, a native, would patronize. The key question is: would it excite people from Philadelphia, or Seattle, or (gulp) LA? Even more to the point: would it excite them enough that they would fly in for a weekend? Spend a little money? Check out local real estate prices?

And how many of them can we expect?

I’m not saying a performing arts center wouldn’t accomplish this, btw. What I’m saying is that we need to be careful which questions we’re asking — and of whom we’re asking them. Moving money from the pockets of someone in Pittsford to the pockets of someone in Chili is all very nice, but it doesn’t do a thing for the overall economic health of the Greater Rochester Area.

Another example is this recurring assertion that we need to attract young people. We do attract young people. They are here right now, walking to classes at the University of Rochester, at RIT, at the Eastman School of Music. The question is not how we attract them, but how we keep them. “Create jobs,” people will say, and then our leaders will rush off to brainstorm on how to incentivize :-D businesses into settling here. That’s well and good — and heaven bless every start-up in this town — but I’m not convinced that a handful of fledgling companies is enough to re-define the climate — the milieu — of a community.

What we really need is to figure out how to make Rochester a “happening place.” Until we do that, people outside of Rochester are going not to take the trouble to come here for a visit, let alone to stay. Not in significant numbers, anyway.

So how do you make a community a “happening place?”

On December 1st, the Wall Street Journal ran a piece titled “The Fair That Made Miami Hot All Year Round” (subscription required). Here are the opening two paragraphs:

The story of Frank Gehry’s design of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, is by now familiar. Cities world-wide have begun to aim for the “Bilbao effect”: the construction of a spectacular museum building that attracts international visitors and boosts the economy. The story of the “Art Basel effect” is less widely known. It is the tale of the leading art fair for contemporary art, which has been presented in Basel, Switzerland, every June for the past 36 years, also coming to Miami Beach for the past three Decembers and becoming America’s premiere art fair; the fourth edition of Art Basel Miami Beach opens today.

Although it is a once-yearly, four-day event, Art Basel has profoundly altered the shape and scope of Miami’s cultural landscape, affecting real estate and tourism rates and enhancing government support for the arts.

Art Basel is “happening.” It brings 30,000 art lovers into Miami and (last year) 640 journalists. Moreover, locating it in Miami was enough to shift peoples’ perception of that city.

Art Basel’s effects on Wynwood are not limited to a burgeoning gallery district. Four high-rise residential buildings are currently under construction there, as is Midtown Miami, a 56-acre shopping area and residential complex in a former railroad yard adjoining the neighborhood. If Wynwood, which is still decidedly seedy, is soon to be gentrified, the evolutionary process was undoubtedly “supercharged” by Art Basel Miami Beach.

Now for the real kicker. The fair’s current budget is $14.4 million — and that’s triple what it was the first year.

Miami got this all going with an initial budget outlay of less than $5 million.

The current estimated price tag for our Renaissance Square project — of which the arts center is one piece — is $230 million.

Obviously, I’m not going to propose that we try to woo Art Basel away from Miami. But I’d dearly love our leaders to look to successes like Art Basel for ideas. We need need to find our own wild card — the thing that will make well-heeled, educated people spend a week here, and then maybe start to think how nice it might be to own an Ontario Lake-front summer home.

Because that’s the demographic shift that raises our tax base. And widens the pool of start-up capital for local businesses. And injects cash into our service economy.

One idea that comes to mind is an indie film festival — but one that is modeled after Miami’s Art Basel template. More from the WSJ piece:

In accord with the Swiss model, the fair is not a self-contained entity. A public art program, performances, video and sound lounges, discussion forums and “crossover” events involving fashion, books, music, film, architecture and design are all variously sponsored and promoted by Art Basel Miami Beach. Then there are “partners” in the greater Miami area, ranging from art venues to nightclubs, that feature events officially sanctioned by the fair.

In other words, don’t show a few films at the Eastman House and expect to attract scads of jet-setters packing wads of cash. Make it a real Event, with community-wide tie-ins that involve Rochester and our neighbors.

Whatever you do, though, make sure that you craft it — whatever “it” is — not so that it polls well in Rochester, but so that it pulls well from the rest of the world.

And get away from a focus on infrastructure alone. Yes, we need infrastructure — I’m referring to the arts center and projects of its ilk again, here — but infrastructure isn’t enough, as the fast ferry debacle has demonstrated. We all know, after all, that you can attract 250,000 to a field outside a little town in the middle of nowhere, if people get the idea that the field is going to be a happening place. No infrastructure required.

Let’s figure out how to make Rochester a happening place.