Every so often I like to post true tales of subway heroism… A boy who lived in the NYC subway system… A drunk woman pulled out of the way of an oncoming train in the Boston “T”… No pants subway riders… uh… hem hem.
Anyway, here comes the story of one woman who truly deserves to be called an underground super hero…
The song is Patience by Guns N’ Roses. The man behind the guitar is Dave. I’ve seen Dave playing on the side of this I-490 service road in downtown Rochester for years. Today I finally got out of my car and spent a few minutes with him. He’s a real good guy. Stop and say hello if you see him…
Meet local rapper “Bricksonion”. Brick first started rapping when he was 13, but didn’t take it very seriously until he was about 23. Now he is known around town for his music , and for operating Rochester’s first mobile recording studio.
It’s no secret that I am wholeheartedly in favor of removing Rochester’s Inner Loop roadway which encircles downtown and chokes it off from the surrounding neighborhoods like an ever tightening noose. What we didn’t know until today was that City Council and Mayor Tom Richards feel the same…
Last summer I posted a progress report on Rochester’s Bike Master Plan and I commented on the importance of such planning—even if you don’t own a bike. Well, I’m all giddy with excitement to report… Rochester has a bike plan! Officially.
Effective at 11:59 p.m. Friday December 31 2010, Mayor Robert Duffy will no longer be Rochester’s Mayor. Duffy will be sworn in as Lieutenant Governor of New York on Friday night. The inauguration ceremony will take place at noon on Saturday, January 1.
I just read an article in Sunday’s Albany Times Union that has me scratching my head. Mark Aesch, CEO of the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, wants to consolidate the four big transit authorities of upstate New York—Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo. On the surface it seems to make sense. They each do the same thing in relatively similar cities in a single state. But does Aesch really believe consolidating operations across a 250 mile wide region will lead to better public transit service for all four regions? Or are we witnessing the beginning of a power grab?
Lots of news has been brewing lately over the future of Rochester’s beat-up, 32-year-old Amtrak station on Central Avenue. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter recently announced that a $1.5 million federal stimulus grant has been awarded to New York state to plan for a new multi-modal station on the site. A $2.5 million appropriation to pay for the station design is expected to pass Congress next month. And Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo has just made it abundantly clear that New York will take whatever federal money is left on the table by newly elected GOP governors in Ohio and Wisconsin.
So for now, let’s just assume that something very interesting is in the works for our pitiful excuse for a train station. This is the perfect time to take a step back in time—to be inspired by Rochester’s grand old stations…
The latest subway performance making the rounds actually has a tech-angle. A band known as Atomic Tom recently staged an “impromptu” show on the B train, but played one of their songs using only iPhones. The video was uploaded to YouTube and has since logged more than 633K views.
There’s really no comparison between this proposed $4 Billion transit station in San Francisco and Rochester’s Mortimer St. Bus Terminal. But watch the video anyway. It just might inspire you enough to come to the Hyatt Hotel tomorrow night…
Tomorrow (Wednesday) night RGRTA will host a 2-hour public workshop from 6-8pm to take ideas for the soon-to-be-built Mortimer St. Bus Terminal. You can protest and “Give ’em Hell”… Or you can give ’em your ideas… and help influence one of the most important public projects in Rochester’s history.
No signup is necessary, and no designs will be presented. Attendees will cycle through four workstations staffed by city and RGRTA officials, who will record people’s ideas for the center’s design. Those ideas will be posted on RGRTA website, www.rgrta.com .
UPDATE: Did you miss the RGRTA Transit Terminal design workshop? To submit your comments or ideas by mail use this form. New designs will be presented to the public on October 27.
Something outstanding is happening in our community—Rochester is catching Bike Fever. Over the past decade or more Monroe County and local municipalities have been steadily making investments in existing off-road trails and in new ones, especially around our colleges, universities and along the river and lake shore. You may have noticed some new ones near you. Bicycling Magazine even placed Rochester on their list of America’s Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities this year. Albeit at #50, but hey, it’s a good start!
Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities don’t come along very often—that’s why they’re referred to as such. So clear your calendar, put the dog out, and grab your coat and hat… preferably a hard-hat.
After our subway excursion was squashed last Spring, many of our readers feared that they had missed their last chance to see the inside of the Rochester subway tunnel with their own eyes (and smell it with their own quivering noses). But this Summer the stars have aligned. Here come not one, not two, but THREE rare opportunities to go inside Rochester’s seldom seen subway… legally!
Oh, and did I mention, a lucky few* will get to enjoy cocktails and a catered dinner party INSIDE the tunnel? Yummy! Okay, here we go… these may be your final chances to experience the Rochester subway tunnel…
I’ve never shared this with anyone before… but I have a disorder. I’m an excessive wallpaper changer. I’m in therapy (and doing a little self-medicating) but still, I have a hard time keeping one background graphic on my computer desktop for more than a day or two (at most). Maybe I have ADHD? Or maybe I just need a life. I CAN’T HELP IT! I just get bored staring at the same image for too long. I tear through so many wallpapers I’ve had to start making my own…
A recent story in the City Newspaper, “Glamming Rochester’s Gateways” touched on the idea that filling in part of the Inner Loop would help reconnect certain neighborhoods with downtown and improve Rochester’s eastern gateways. Then came the raging comments from readers who blindly defended the inner loop and its many blessings.
One letter sent in from James R. Boehler went like this… (more…)
One of the wonderful things about living in New York City for an artist is having the opportunity to share your work with any number of people at a moment’s notice. No matter the time of day, whether you’re in the park, strolling along the sidewalk or traveling via mass transit, there’s always someone around, always a captive audience…
On this July 4th weekend I thought it fitting to share a stunning factoid with you: the Border Patrol station in Rochester, N.Y. apprehended more than 1,200 people who did not qualify to be in the United States in 2007…
Service on the Rochester Industrial and Rapid Transit Railway (the “subway”) ended. According to several accounts, the public came out in force to bid farewell to the Rochester subway and an extra car had to be added to handle the crowds. Fifty members of the Metropolitan New York Railway Association held a chartered fantrip, and people crowded platforms and overhead bridges all along the subway route to get their last pictures…
In light of some of recent civic developments in our town over the past few months (high speed rail, transit centers, new theaters, etc.) I thought it appropriate to pull this old film out of the archives to take a look at the history of Rochester through the eyes of some good old-fashioned propaganda. Rochester: A City of Quality is the title of a film made in 1963 by Rochester Gas and Electric. The film presents Rochester in the most glowing light possible through a narrative that is clearly a product of Cold War industrialism. In one section the narrator declares “Rochester has made peace with the automobile”. And in another, “Change is necessary to keep competitive in industry as well as cities. If you don’t change, change will change you.”
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After the Erie Canal was rerouted south of downtown Rochester, the Rochester
Industrial & Rapid Transit Railway (the “subway”) was built in
its place as a link between the five different railroads and interurban trolley
lines that served the Rochester area. As the industrial landscape of Rochester
changed, and highways replaced the railroads, the Rochester subway gradually
became a relic of a bygone era. In 1956 the subway was abandoned and much of
its route was converted into Interstate 490 — built to connect Rochester
with the New York State Thruway (I-90). Read more about the history of the Rochester Subway.
RochesterSubway.com exists to help spark
public dialogue around how we can better connect the neighborhoods of Rochester
NY, surrounding communities, and their cultural offerings. Rochester’s
future is written in her past. Let's rediscover it.
![These 'subway heroes' ain't got nothin on Wanda Dueno. [PHOTO: BuzzFeed.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/subway-heroes.jpg)
![An aerial view of Rochester on April 25, 1963. On the right is the cleared right-of-way for the final segment of the Inner Loop. [PHOTO: Local History Division, Central Library of Rochester.]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-inner-loop-construction-01.jpg)
![These notices were posted in anticipation of the end of passenger service in the Subway on June 30, 1956. [Image from Railroad.net]](http://www.railroad.net/articles/railfanning/rochestersubway/media/RSB_notice19571.GIF)
![The first marked bike lanes and shared use lanes will begin to appear this construction season across the city. [PHOTO: Phillip Barron]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/bike-lane.jpg)
![Fireworks over Rochester. [PHOTO: Aaron Giambattista]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-new-year.jpg)
![Rochester is a great city for off-road cycling. The City's Bicycle Master Plan Project will seek to elevate Rochester to full 'Bicycle Friendly Community' status with the League of American Bicyclists' Bicycle Friendly Communities Program. [PHOTO: from Tobo's Flickr stream]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester_genesee_riverway_bike_trail.jpg)
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