News

World of Inquiry School 58 Seniors March to City Hall

Take a Walk on the Wild Side . . . of Carpenter Alley

Carpenter Alley runs between University and East Main, parallel to Scio St. on the east and Windsor St. on the west. It is the site of the Grove Place Wild Flower Project. Take a look for yourself. Credits go to:
   Barbara Wager - Project Coordinator
   Teresa McEntee - City of Rochester Streetscape and Landscape Specialist who
   arranged for the City to provide truckloads of top dirt and the
   labor to spread it out on a 170' x 5' strip of gravely rubble dirt.
Vern Hanson - Director of Irrigation/Watering
   J.B. Martin - Wild Flower Seed(y) Guy

Grove Place Association position on casino at Parcel 5 Midtown
as expressed to Mayor Lovely Warren.

GROVE PLACE ASSOCIATION
20 Grove Place
Rochester, New York 14605
Website: Groveplace.org
Mayor Lovely Warren
City of Rochester
30 Church Street
Rochester, NY 14614
Re: Development of Sovereign Nation Casino/Performing Arts Center at the Midtown Parcel 5 Site.

Dear Mayor Warren,

The Grove Place Association (GPA) believes in Rochester, NY. We believe and have invested our dollars and energy in the development of Downtown Rochester. We continue to be active in supporting downtown living, promoting the viability of the center city, living in this area and supporting its businesses and institutions.

We have taken a vote which unanimously rejected the proposal of the development of a Sovereign Nation Casino/Performing Arts Center at the Midtown Parcel 5 site based on the information presently known. Before the vote, our GPA task force studied the issue and presented to the membership its findings that the proposal is not good for the City.

This parcel is an extremely valuable asset. This proposal will drive that value down and the value of all the properties around it. The city administration will lose credibility with developers who took risks in residential /mixed use property only to have a casino built in the middle of that development.

The former Midtown Plaza site has seen a resurgence of investment; attracting developers to build residential units both for rental and ownership. We are just arriving at the tipping point of development and retail involvement which follows increasing population density.
Walkability between neighborhoods is improving and connecting neighborhoods with the inner loop project promotes walking both east and west from our neighborhood. The nearby Sibley building will hold High Tech Rochester and many residential units and the innovation center is attracting good businesses to the area with employees who will spend money in the retail that will establish itself. The D&C recently opened their national digital center for Gannett in the newest building for office space. Residents are moving into Tower 280.

The proposed Seneca Nation Owned Performance Art Center/Casino creates an environment that detracts from this area and does not enhance the central city. In addition to lower values for our commercial and residential property if this project proceeds, there may be additional taxes since we believe there will be costs in monitoring the activity surrounding this project. It will also be likely that the casino will not add revenue to the treasury of the city.

The example of the Buffalo Casino as a model of a downtown casino is not apples to apples. The Buffalo Casino is a mile away from the downtown area of Buffalo. There is no new development around the casino which is located in an industrial area. While the casino seems to be building an addition that is the only growth in the area since it was built.
Sovereign Nation status means that the City and its residents forever lose control of this space. No real estate taxes will be generated from this business. Employees are not covered by State & federal labor laws. Though there is a promise to have a Performing Arts Center, there is no obligation for the Sovereign Nation to keep the use of that property if the PAC is not lucrative. A PAC has been studied and analyzed before and cannot stand on its own merits and finances. Seneca nation casinos rarely generate what they promise. This casino promises 400-500 jobs for Rochesterians which will be supporting slot machines, not large roller tables, etc. The Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino promised 1200 jobs when proposed. 400 have been delivered. The Seneca Niagara Falls Casino is surrounded by blight and the supposed shared revenue with New York State has been held hostage so that budgets that were counting on these dollars are at risk.

There are other alternatives to this Casino that will retain the value of the parcel and create street traffic. The abandonment of the current Auditorium Theater will leave a vacant hulk in another part of the city that has been made a focus for improvement in the North Main Street project.

We believe that the your good intention of trying to build up activity and retail business and create jobs will not be fulfilled by this proposed development with 1700 below ground parking spaces. This will not promote customers ever leaving the casino or the performing arts center.
We are willing to work on a project of "placemaking" that will create a more positive "buzz" for this space, maintain the value of the parcel and the real estate around the plaza, and will be welcoming to all city residents, not just gamblers and occasional theater goers from our suburban neighbors. Such a project will create the retail jobs you are seeking.
We urge you to allow the natural progression of the migration into the City to generate a place for buzz, activity and healthy retail space.

We are not making a judgment on a casino for Rochester, but on that location. Rochester may want to follow the lead of Pittsburgh which developed their casino next to a stadium and had plans for the whole area that would create fun times and memories. Our task force and officers are willing to meet with you and others to find a better solution for this space.
Very truly yours,

Suzanne B. Mayer, President, Grove Place Association
Jack Eisenberg, President-Elect, Grove Place Association
John Lovenheim, Vice President, Grove Place Association
Pam DiPaola, Secretary, Grove Place Association
Richard McGrath, Treasurer, Grove Place Association
Robert DiPaola, Chair of Task Force

The RBJ Daily Report Snap Poll

A new proposal has brought fresh attention to the topic of locating a casino in downtown Rochester. City Hall confirmed that Mayor Lovely Warren has had conversations with the Seneca Nation of Indians and developers on the casino idea. She also "continues to be interested in a downtown performing arts center." The proposal under discussion would put a casino and performing arts center under a single roof.

This week's Snap Poll seeks your views on this issue.

The deadline for participating is 9 p.m. TODAY, TUESDAY, 5/10.
(REMINDER: All Snap Poll responses--other than signed written comments--are anonymous.)

Voice your opinion now! Go directly to the poll by clicking on the link below.
(Only Daily Report readers are eligible to participate in the poll; ALL other responses will be excluded. If you are not already a Daily Report reader and want to participate in future Snap Polls, click here.)

Do you favor or oppose putting a casino downtown?

City Budget Survey: Deadline 4/26!

It's very important you take 5 minutes to complete this City of Rochester Budget survey. This is an excellent opportunity to let the City know how you feel about programs and services. The City is facing a $41.2 million budget gap, and your input will help them make the difficult decisions that are necessary to complete a balanced budget proposal.

PLEASE CLICK LINK BELOW: We only have until Tuesday, 4/26 to complete!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Z8WN6MT

The Annual Grove Place Cleanup is coming up soon!

See flyer below for details and Contact Us with any questions.

Grove Place's Favorite Four Footers of the Month:
Dusty and Duncan Tour #10 Selden St. Mews.

Grove Place welcomes a new business to our neighborhood.

Gibbs Street Self Storage, 225 Gibbs, right behind Tavern 58. State-of-the-Art, Climate Controlled, 24 hr. Access, Onsite Security, Digital Video Surveillance, Variety of Unit Sizes.
Website:http://www.gibbsstreetselfstorage.com Phone: 585-317-3795

And another new business to our neighborhood.