The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the finances of families everywhere, causing record-setting unemployment rates and the shuttering of many local businesses. Strangely enough, the real estate market in Rochester hasn’t been taking hits like many of the other sectors of the economy. In fact, Rochester real estate is downright hot right now.
Not only did realtor.com rank the Rochester area zip code 14617, which includes West Irondequoit, number three on their list of the 10 hottest zip codes in the United States, but houses across the area are flying off the market almost as soon as they hit it. Buyers have been in a frenzy to snatch up a home in Rochester, with houses getting multiple offers within hours of going on the market. According to Tysharda Thomas, Realtor at New 2 U Homes, homes have been selling for $10,000 to $50,000 above list price.
New Yorkers are no stranger to the stress that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on our shoulders. It’s officially been five months since Governor Cuomo enacted the “New York State On Pause” executive order and social distancing guidelines are still in place. As such, many workers are still performing the ins and outs of the daily grind from the comfort — and stress — of their own home.
As we enter the sixth month of quarantine measures, some businesses have allowed employees to reenter the office. Regardless, countless small offices have refused to let their employees bump elbows for the time being. Even though many people have begun to accept the trials and tribulations of remote work, that doesn’t mean that staying focused has become any easier.
Why has it been so hard to stay focused as we continue to work remotely?
There’s no doubt that Rochester, New York is growing. As younger families move to the city and there becomes a greater demand for jobs and entertainment, new companies are discovering the advantages of rooting themselves in Rochester. Rochester has the advantage of being relatively close to big hubs with plenty of financial opportunities while remaining lowkey enough to remain affordable for newer companies. The state wants those companies to move to Rochester and is making efforts to further incentivize them. Long-term economic development plans, with state investments and job creation programs offering specific advantages to not simply businesses in general, but the specific types of businesses that Rochester wants to attract.
As much as Rochester residents have grown used to rough winters, colder weather can nonetheless be rough on all of us. It’s become particularly difficult to prepare for winter snowstorms due to the yearly fluctuations in temperatures, making them harder to predict. In this past season, the wintertime has already been expensive due to regular costs. Usually, you can expect to have about 42% of your utility bill made up through heating, though these costs can of course rise during particularly harsh winters. However, the seasonal costs will only rise due to the recent snowstorm. Many of them will be associated with damage done at home, and will, therefore, be taken care of by individual homeowners by and large. A big concern, according to a consumer survey, will be roofing — 65% of homeowners reported that this was their major concern following weather damage, and a snowstorm can certainly do a good bit of damage to a typical roof.
Day by day, technology grows. Back in 2016, there were over 3.5 billion internet users. Over just three years, that number has increased to 4.33 billion. Not only is technological growth shown in internet usage, but in vehicles as well. In recent years, more and more consumer electric vehicles have been introduced and developed. With more than two dozen models now commercially available, some 800,000 Americans have made the switch to driving electric. These unique vehicles will supposedly help reduce fossil fuel consumption and curb carbon emissions over time. Keep in mind, if you plan on going off-roading, you’re going to need certain tires. There are four main types of off-road tires: all-terrain, mud-terrain, snow/winter, and sand. However, is this really the case? What are the benefits of driving electric? Like any vehicle choice, electric cars come with a series of pros and cons.
People of color in central New York aren’t getting a fair number of jobs in the construction industry, a local study finds. According to a new study by the Urban Jobs Task Force and the Legal Services of Central New York, there’s a major racial disparity in the New York construction industry despite people of color making up a quarter of the state population.
February is Black History Month, and this year’s celebration is a special one for Rochester residents in particular. That’s because February 2019 is also the bicentennial anniversary of famed abolitionist and author Frederick Douglass, who later made his home in the Flower City. Not only is Douglass immortalized throughout Rochester in the form of statues for all to see throughout the year, but the University of Rochester’s Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies will partner with the school’s Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation library facility to showcase Douglass’s work and life.
Rochester’s arts and entertainment community is in the final stages of preparation for the 2016 First Niagara Fringe Festival , which takes place Thursday, September 15 to Saturday, September 24, all across Rochester. There will be more than 500 performances at more than 25 venues in and around the city. And 170 of those performances are totally free!
Imagine there was a way to do just a little extra work, but to make a huge difference doing it. Gloria Grattan, a local eight year old, has imagined just that and is hoping that you and the rest of Rochester can join in and lend a hand by growing just a little extra in your garden this summer (or gardening for the first time, if you don’t already!).
Temperatures are falling and the Fringe Fest is a distant memory. Well, technically it’s only a few days in the past, but given the rapid change in temperature it feels like a season ago.
This was the fourth year for the First Niagara Fringe Festival, but it was the first time I’d ever attended. I love Rochester and I love going downtown. But to be honest, I generally avoid events where there are lots of people or the potential for traffic congestion. Since I had a press pass, though, I decided to take full advantage of it, and for 10 days I immersed myself in the fun.
And I do mean fun. Here are a few of the highlights from my week at the Fringe…
Back in May, we noted National Nurses Week with a piece on Ida Jane Anderson, New York State’s first registered nurse. John Zicari, a reader from York, Maine, wrote to tell me that he’d been doing some genealogical research on his family from Rochester, and shared a family photo of his great aunt, Katherine Fitzgerald Osborn. She was a nurse at what John had been told was Rochester’s Park Avenue Hospital. There’s no date on the photo but, John says, “She died in 1925 so it is pretty early picture of the facility.”
I love genealogy and especially old photos. But I had to confess: I’d never heard a hospital on Park Ave. Cafes? Yes. Art galleries? Yes. A hospital? No.
But as my grandfather used to say, you learn something new every day…
Driving down East Main Street recently, I spotted the name “Martha Matilda Harper” engraved on a building near the old Beech Nut packaging plant. My interest was piqued, since the building at 1233 East Main Street currently houses Tire Trax sales and service. It turns out that the facility is the former laboratories for Martha Matilda Harper, Inc.
I can’t believe that I’d never heard of Martha Matilda Harper, but we can thank her for just about everything having to do with our modern salon experiences, as well as her groundbreaking business methods that pioneered modern retail franchising…
The First Niagara Fringe Festival is winding down, with just tonight and tomorrow left to check out some of the fun. I’ve been blogging daily on my personal blog about the festival, so hop over there to see everything I’ve been up to this week. But if you’re hitting the festival for the first time this weekend, here are a few things that you can still catch…
The First Niagara Fringe Festival opened this week, with over 500 shows happening at more than two dozen venues over ten days. But the heart of the Fringe is the Spiegelgarden, located at the corner of Main and Gibbs Streets, across from the Eastman Theater. There are shows, artwork, food and more, including the centerpiece Spiegeltent, which is home to the Cabinet of Wonders, Princess Wendy’s Late Night Tease Room, comedian Jamie Lissow, Silent Disco and Brown Bag Disco.
I confess I’ve never been to the Fringe, now in its fourth year, but after I did the Remote Rochester tour this week I just had to go downtown for opening night festivities at the Spiegelgarden. What amazing wonders await you! Here are a few of the things happening at One Fringe Place…
The opening of a medical marijuana dispensary in Kodak’s old Theater on the Ridge at Eastman Business Park has recently been in the news . Columbia Care will turn the leaves, stems and stalks of the cannabis plant into medicine for people with cancer, AIDS, epilepsy, and other neurological conditions. The facility is expected to be up and running this January…
I’ve got a bit of a dilemma reviewing the Remote Rochester event at this year’s First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival. If I tell you too much, I might give away some of the surprises and ruin the experience. If I don’t tell you enough, you may not understand what it’s all about and miss what might be the most fascinating journey you’ll take through the streets of Rochester.
So I need to find a balance. I’ll begin with this question:
Do you trust me?
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After the Erie Canal was rerouted south of downtown Rochester, the Rochester
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changed, and highways replaced the railroads, the Rochester subway gradually
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with the New York State Thruway (I-90). Read more about the history of the Rochester Subway.
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![Cirque du Fringe: MIRACLE CURE & Other Wonders from the Vagabond Caravan. [IMAGE: Provide]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/topics/wp-content/uploads/miracle-cure.jpg)
![Never built Voyager Towers at the site of the award-winning RTS Bus Terminal [PHOTO: Rochester Democrat & Chronicle 8/15/1965]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/topics/wp-content/uploads/Voyager_Towers.jpg)
![Schiller [PHOTO: Author]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/topics/wp-content/uploads/Looking-West.jpg)
![Gloria Gardening [PHOTO: Gloria Grattan]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/denker/Gloria_Gardening.jpg)
![Tower280 [PHOTO: The Rochesteriat]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/denker/links/Tower280_Commercial_Space.jpg)
![Saint Mary's Church [PHOTO: Author]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/denker/links/Saint_Marys_Church.jpg)
![Highlights from Rochester's Fringe festival. [PHOTO: jasonwilder.org / wilderstreet.tumblr.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-fringe-festival-recap-02.jpg)
![Katherine Fitzgerald Osborn, a nurse at Rochester's Park Avenue Hospital. [PHOTO COURTESY OF: John Zicari]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-park-ave-hospital-01.jpg)
![The building at 1233 East Main St. It's between the old Beechnut Packaging plant and Greenovations. [PHOTO: Joanne Brokaw]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/marth-matilda-harper-building.jpg)
![Don't miss the cast of Cabinet of Wonders at the First Niagara Fringe Festival. [PHOTO: Provided]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-fringe-festival-cabinet-cast-erich-camping.jpg)
![Acrobats Nelson and Goulia Pivaral dida breathtaking and romantic acrobatic performance for the Cabinet of Wonders. [PHOTO: Joanne Brokaw]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-fringe-festival-Cabinet-of-Wonders-Sasha-Pivaral.jpg)
![The Spiegelgarden readies for opening day. It's here, at the corner of Main and Gibbs, that you'll meet to begin your tour. [PHOTO: Joanne Brokaw]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/fringe-festival-remote-rochester-00.jpg)
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