Rochester: A Tale of Two Cities

My jaw dropped a bit earlier this week when I read an article in the Democrat and Chronicle titled “Cuomo: Rochester hasn’t looked this good in decades.”  The governor made the comment during a meeting with the newspaper’s editorial board.  He was in town to announce 500 high-tech jobs coming to the area thanks to a new SUNY nanotechnology initiative.

A part of me agrees with the Governor.  There are projects underway that will redefine downtown Rochester within the next five years.  Larry Glazer’s Buckingham Properties is bringing retail, apartments, and offices to the old Midtown Tower.  At the same time, Buckingham is moving ahead with the next phase of Alexander Park to bring residential units to the old Genesee Hospital site.  The company also controls Xerox Tower and the former Bausch & Lomb headquarters building.

Across the street from Midtown, WinnCompanies of Boston is just getting started on a decade-long $200 million renovation of the Sibley Building.  All signs indicate it’s a smart investment.  According to the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation, about 6,000 people currently live downtown – with about 1,800 more on the way as current residential developments wrap up.

That’s only a short list of things going on.  The partial filling-in of the Inner Loop, the development of College Town near the University of Rochester, as well as City Gate and the Culver Road Armory are all exciting projects for the city.  Unfortunately, this is only one side of the story – and one side of the city.

Other parts of Rochester are still in bad shape.  The neighborhoods along the northern border of downtown – often referred to as the crescent – continue to struggle with violence and poverty.  A 49-page report from the Rochester Area Community Foundation shows some pretty alarming statistics:

• Rochester is the 5th poorest city out of the 75 largest metro areas in the U.S.
• 2nd poorest among comparably sized cities in those metro areas
• Poorest school district in Upstate NY, and poorest urban district in the state

Of course the Rochester City School District is a problem in and of itself.  Its current graduation rate is 43-percent – the worst in the state.  And according to one report, Rochester has the lowest graduation rate for black males in the entire country.  Meanwhile, several of the district’s high schools have had their names changed as the state shuts them down (or they are shut down before the state intervenes) because of poor performance.  East High School is the latest victim – and while it may keep its name, it will be taken over by the University of Rochester in the fall of 2015.  Not for a lack of dedicated educators, the district itself is one of the victims of the city’s socioeconomic struggle.

For those who do graduate, the challenge continues.  A report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that Rochester had the second slowest economic growth among the largest U.S. cities last year.  On the upside, a state jobs report released on July 17th shows the Greater-Rochester area has added 3,000 private-sector jobs in the past year (a 0.7% increase).  In that same period, the Syracuse area lost 2,100 jobs, while Buffalo-Niagara Falls added 5,800.  The preliminary unemployment rate in May for the Rochester area is 5.8% – below the state’s at 6.7%.  It’s worth noting, however, that jobs data looks at the whole region and does not necessarily reflect the concentrated problems in the city.  The unemployment rate also doesn’t reflect people who have become discouraged and who are no longer actively looking for work.

Despite the challenges ahead, I remain optimistic about Rochester’s future.  This city is rich in culture, has a history of innovation, and is known for giving to others.  While I don’t fully agree with the Governor’s statement that Rochester looks better than it has in decades, I do agree that we are heading in the right direction.  Now is the time to come together as a community and keep the momentum going.