WHAT’S NEW IN PARCEL 5 NEWS

August 8th Edition

This Is Not A Park
Aug 8, 2017 · 6 min read

City Council to Hold Public Forum

City Council announced they’ll be holding a Public Forum to discuss Parcel 5 this Thursday, at 5:30pm. We highly encourage anyone that lives in the city or cares about the future of our downtown to join. Please invite friends, neighbors and other citizens of Rochester. All are encouraged to voice their opinions.

“From where I sit we are still in listening mode,” said City Council President Loretta Scott.

Added City Council Vice President Dana Miller: “This is not a public hearing on (RBTL’s) proposal. This is a public hearing on the ideas related to Parcel 5 and downtown.”

This is a great opportunity as citizens to give input into what we want our city to become.

Here are the official details of the Public Forum from the City’s website: http://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.aspx?id=8589972593

Source of quotes: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2017/08/07/debate-over-parcel-5-intensifies-morelle-challenges-funding-request/545858001/

Local Arts Groups Speak Out About Parcel 5

The Arts and Cultural Council of Greater Rochester, The RPO and Geva Theatre all sent letters to City Council expressing their concerns about a RBTL’s proposed Single Presenting Theater at Parcel 5.

Read: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2017/08/04/arts-groups-others-raise-alarms-over-parcel-5-theater-proposal/540710001/

Watch Geva Press Conference: https://www.facebook.com/events/106318096742578/permalink/108293049878416/

Incoming CDCR Executive Director Weighs in on Parcel 5

Here’s a great piece in CITY Newspaper about designing a better a city. They interview the new Executive Director of Community Design Center of Rochester (CDCR), Maria Furgiuele and she brings up Parcel 5 in the interview: https://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/designing-for-a-better-city/Content?oid=3907789

State of City Council

While Mayor Warren is in favor of a Single Presenting Theater at Parcel 5, at least 5 of the 9 of the current City Council members are opposed. There needs to be 7 of the 9 voting in favor of the RBTL Single Presenting Theater for a sale of the land to be approved. This is an election year, and 5 At-Large seats are currently open or up for re-election. This recent piece in CITY Newspaper gives a great update on the current state of things: https://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/campaign-issues-include-parcel-5/Content?oid=3830523

Frequently Asked Questions

“Why does a piece of land in the center of Rochester matter anyway? Don’t we have bigger issues? What about jobs?”

It’s about creating an environment for growth and community — not a band-aid or a “savior” project, but rather setting our city up for long term growth and success. An environment for growth and community is a way to attract businesses, commerce and residents. It’s about changing the perception of downtown and creating more opportunities for the people of this community to interact. It’s about listening to the people of this city and creating something for all to enjoy, instead of something only a select group enjoys for about 160 nights of the year (most likely less). Yes, jobs are super important for our city, but 600 temporary construction jobs are not the answer. The COO of RBTL recently said they expect to create 6 or 7 new jobs with the new theater. 6 or 7. Is that really going to change our city for the better?

“Then what happens to RBTL?”

We are not against performing arts and not necessarily against a new theater, but rather, against having a new theater at Parcel 5. The City made Parcel 10 available to RBTL but they wanted Parcel 5 — even though the $200k feasibility study said Parcel 10 was the best space for it. They want Parcel 5 because of the underground parking (this doesn’t sound like creating vibrant streets…) but Parcel 10 can accommodate parking and it has the Civic Center Garage across the street.

But perhaps a bigger concern is what happens to Auditorium Theater if RBTL builds a new theater. We don’t want to see that beautiful theater empty. Yes it needs work, but abandoning it or using it for 20–30 shows/graduations a year is a mistake. With so many businesses nearby (Village Gate) and the fact that it is in the Neighborhood of the Arts, why not work to improve the theater and the connectivity in that neighborhood? The East Main Arts and Market Initiative put out by the City would do just that! This plan needs to be back on the table and be something the city pushes to implement in the upcoming year. Read it. You’ll agree. It’s some of the best work that has come out of City Hall in recent years. It could really help that area and improve connectivity.

Read it: http://www.reconnectrochester.org/pdf/East-Main-Arts-and-Market-Initiative_2015-11-25.pdf

“Ok, but what can I do?”

Your voice matters. Especially if you’re a city resident. You can email/call/write the mayor and city council members. The vote on the sale of Parcel 5 won’t happen until winter, so there’s still a lot up in the air. The local election in the fall will be really important in deciding what happens. Continue to ask questions of government officials and candidates — their job is/will be to best represent our collective interests, and if you don’t believe a theater at Parcel 5 is in our best interests, let them know.

Write to them. Call them. Email them. Here’s how:
City Council: http://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.aspx?id=8589935617
Mayor’s office: http://www.cityofrochester.gov/smt/

Other things you can do: Vote in the primary and election this fall. Share what you want to see at Parcel 5 on social media — and use the hashtag #OurParcel5. Share your ideas. Talk with others about it. And lastly, come to City Council this Thursday at 5:30p (see details here). If you want to speak, call (585) 428–7421 or email council@cityofrochester.gov to sign up — or you can sign up at the public forum.

“For Parcel 5, what if we try to create a place where city residents want to be first and then see if employers, tourists and businesses will want to be where those people want to be?”

Great Question! That’s not a far-fetched idea at all. Other cities similar to us have done this and it’s actually worked.

Detroit: https://www.pps.org/projects/campusmartius/

Columbus: http://www.columbuscommons.org/about/history/

Knoxville: https://www.google.com/search?q=market+square+knoxville+tennessee&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS612US612&biw=1114&bih=658&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifoKjW28fOAhUHMyYKHRPEAcw4ChD8BQgHKAI

Buffalo: https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2017/06/26/former-industrial-site-pumps-life-city

Cleveland: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/hot-cleveland-citys-new-cool-public-square/

Other Case Studies:

Message us if you want more — http://www.thisisnotapark.com/contact

“So what’s next?”

In the immediate future, we believe Parcel 5 should be green space while all this is still up in the air. We’ve already seen a gravel lot for 2 years. It’s time to see what happens when you make it a green space and allow for passive, active and programmed uses. Eventually after a period of 1–3 years, as development projects nearby mature and the usage of the public green space has been studied, the City could go back to the proposal process for the Main Street portion if necessary. However, whatever happens at Parcel 5, we believe it needs to include a public square that takes up more than half of the parcel (closer to the existing Midtown Commons), to allow for events like Jazz Fest to continue there. Parcel 5 is the heart — the college quad — of downtown and we believe it needs to be done right.

TL;DR

What: Public forum on Parcel 5

When: 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10.

Where: City Council Chambers, City Hall, 30 Church St.

Sign up in advance to speak by calling (585) 428–7538 (prior signup not required). Those unable to attend can send their comments to City Council via email at Council@cityofrochester.gov or by mail to City Council, 30 Church St., Room 301A, Rochester, NY 14614

RSVP to the event and invite friends below:

https://www.facebook.com/events/106318096742578/

This Is Not A Park

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A True Public Square in the Heart of Downtown Rochester, NY :: thisisnotapark.com

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