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A reader e-mailed us to point out Mayor Blue Sky and Sunshine (aka Bob Duffy) proclaimed:

“I think this city is on a hot streak. I think this city is on the move,” Duffy said, adding that he does not want to do anything to derail the momentum.” 

We at Monroerising.com have criticized Mayor Duffy for being the Cheerleader - in - Chief of the City of Rochester, but he has really gone overboard with this.  It is important to note that the Mayor said this quote in an article announcing the need to spend $1 million on surveillance cameras in troubled City neighborhoods.

Maybe the Mayor doesn’t remember what happened at the Northwest College Preparatory Schools in the City of Rochester last month. Or what about the two long term city employees who were arrested for stealing? Or what about the gay bashing incident that never happened? Oh yea, don’t forget, there have only been 11 murders so far this year.

Sure, we are going to take a bunch of jobs in the suburbs and move them to Midtown Plaza and call that economic development and I realize the City graduation rate has climbed to 48%.  Progress is being made — but calling this a hot streak is stretching things.  Come on Mayor, let’s set the bar a little higher.

Tags: Articles, Bob Duffy, City of Rochester, The Equalizer by The Equalizer
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The six and seventh employees of the City of Rochester were arrested since Bob Duffy became Mayor a little more that 2 years after taking office. According to the morning fish wrapper, a 24 and 25 year employee of the City’s parking meter operation office were  arrested for stealing:

“This pattern of conduct, we believe, has been going on for a long time,” Mayor Robert Duffy said, declining to give further detail when announcing the arrests Thursday. “At this point, we cannot establish how much money has been taken.”

Anthony J. Morelli of Rochester, a 25-year city employee and supervising parking meter mechanic in the city’s four-person parking meter operations office, is accused of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, three counts of petit larceny, official misconduct and second-degree falsifying business records.

Samuel A. Vito Jr. of Hilton, a 24-year city employee and a parking meter mechanic, is accused of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, petit larceny, official misconduct and second-degree falsifying business records.

(snip)

The city brings in more than $500,000 annually from parking meters, records show, but has seen that revenue fall steadily in recent years. Factors including downtown’s decline and fewer meters previously explained the drop. According to records, revenue was more than $600,000 in 2001-2002. [Read more →]

Tags: Articles, Bob Duffy, City of Rochester, The Equalizer by The Equalizer
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A couple of months back, in an effort to be helpful, we warned Rochester Police Chief Moore about attending a press conference with New York City area Assemblyman Felix Ortiz.  The guy is a real whacko.  We are sensitive to the need to schmooze the Hispanic community, but hanging out with Assemblyman Ortiz isn’t the way to go.

According to today’s Albany Times Union, Ortiz obtained $4,000 in state pork barrel for a group that former members claim is a cult. The Times Union says:

Ortiz said he sponsored the expenditure in the 2008-2009 budget because the group asked him for funding for services at Brooklyn senior citizen centers.

He said he did not know anything about the foundation but he had heard good things about it from Raices, a Brooklyn-based senior services organization to which he has sent $2,000 in member items annually for several years. AR hasn’t received public funding in the 13 years it has been providing senior programs in New York City.

The real problem though, is that this group claims it can “cure” homosexuality.  Again according to the TU: [Read more →]

Tags: Bob Duffy, City of Rochester, The Equalizer by The Equalizer
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I’ve never heard of the Northeast and the Northwest College Preparatory Schools in the City of Rochester.  Considering the Rochester City School District has a 39% graduation rate, you would think it must be where the cream of the crop of City school students go.

There was a story on Channel 10 last night about an incident there yesterday afternoon.  Someone pulled a fire alarm and after the fire department responded the students went back into the school.  Evidently a fight broke out in the school and one of the youngsters went after the school’s police resource officer — yes that’s right, a 15 year old student went after the police officer — at the College preparatory school (maybe they should transfer him to the James Madison School of Excellence).

Apparently the school resource officer felt concerned for his safety and the safety of the other students and had to use pepper spray.  Three students were taken to Rochester General and one was seen by the school nurse and one was sent to the pokey.  Channel 10 reported that parents “were screaming at police” — yes that’s right, they were yelling at the police — not the youngsters at the College Preparatory School — for using pepper spray.

While this was going on, another fight broke out off of school grounds.  More police were called. Rural Metro responded to a “mass casualty incident”.  A student criticized the police for pepper spray and arresting people “for no reason.” [Read more →]

Tags: Cincinnatus, City of Rochester, David Gantt, Democrat and Chronicle by Cincinnatus
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Channel 13’s Rachael Barnhart had a fantastic piece Wednesday on the “Gay Bashing” incident from last summer.  You remember that, there were protests, press conferences and outrage in the gay community.  Too bad Maggie Brooks wasn’t appealing the judicial decision to re-define marriage last summer – then the liberal professional activist community could have been blamed her for promoting an intolerant attitude and this would have been her fault.

According to Channel 13:

13WHAM News has obtained an internal police department document into last year’s alleged anti-gay hate crime on South Goodman Street. It says there was no hate crime, and raises questions as to whether department leaders misled the public.

The RPD conducted two investigations into what happened on June 1, 2007. One was an internal affairs investigation into complaints of officer misconduct. The other was a criminal investigation that went to the grand jury.

13WHAM News obtained the incident report, which details the criminal investigation. The city did not want us to release this document, saying it was sealed by a judge in the grand jury proceeding.

(snip)

The report says one of the alleged victims and their friend were actually the aggressors in two separate fist fights that started when someone yelled an anti-gay slur from a parked taxi cab.

Investigators say one alleged victim told them he “did not believe the other group knew that anyone in his group was gay.” 

Investigators say another alleged victim told them she “never heard any gay comments before, during, or after the fight.”

A friend of the alleged victims told police he “was pretty much in shock that the fight was turned into a hate crime.”

Investigators identified four people who fought with the alleged victims, but at no point did they consider those four people suspects.

Yet two weeks after the incident, Chief Moore announced the department was looking for four suspects, two men and two women.

Wow! This is a blockbuster and only one media outlet has done a story.  Take a look at what the Mayor’s chief flak, Gary Walker had to say:

City spokesman Gary Walker said there would be criminal and internal investigations into who leaked the document to 13WHAM News.

“The document is misleading,” Walker said. “It’s not the full story.”

What?  After the Public Defender selection issue, how can the City shut out “the community.”  We have a right to know what is going on.  The process works best when it is exposed to the light of public scrutiny.  The Mayor allows political correctness to effect criminal investigations.  All of this on “Sunshine Week” and the Democrat and Chronicle doesn’t even mention it.  They don’t have a problem using leaked information — they do it all the time.

Where is the outrage? Where are the protests? Let the police officers speak!  Let our people in ! We shall over come!  Sorry, I got caught up in the moment.

Seriously, this is big.  It shows how the liberal media, primarily the D&C, really fails to do its job.  It also points out the need for outlets like Monroerising.com.  The public has a right to know what’s going on.  It is starting to look like you need to be a professional protester to get the media’s attention.  We are at a disadvantage here. The conservative community doesn’t have a professional protest network (most of them have jobs and families to take care of).

Mayor Duffy’s breach of the public trust is bigger than almost any local issue in the last year and yet most people in Rochester will never know the facts of this case.  Think about the implications of what has happened.  Members of a protected class, in this case gays, uses their protected class status to incite the community in a case where it appears they were the ones acting inappropriately. 

Maybe it’s me, but doesn’t that sound a lot like what happened at that first meeting of the Public Safety Committee when Assemblyman David Gantt refused the lawful orders of a police officers and his buddies actually pushed that poor woman around? 

This is really getting out of hand.

Tags: Articles, Bob Duffy, Cincinnatus, City of Rochester, David Gantt by Cincinnatus
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The Democrat and Chronicle had an interesting story on Joan Roby-Davison, the Executive Director of the 14621 Community Association.  According to the D&C:

Even before Roby-Davison, 53, joined Group 14621, she had been doing community work at other neighborhood agencies. And though she is originally from Ontario County and now lives in Penfield, she has always loved Rochester and quickly grew to care about the people who live in the city neighborhoods.

(snip)

Roby-Davison lived in the city for several years but remarried in 1999 and moved with her husband to Penfield.

What!? She lives in Penfield.  There wasn’t one person in that entire zip code that could lead that organization?

Let’s hope the honchos over there make sure their next director actually lives there.

Tags: City of Rochester, The Equalizer by The Equalizer
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Did anyone catch the story on R News on Feb. 29? It was about problems at previous years’ sectional basketball game.

It’s an opportunity all Section V teams nearly lost after several fights broke out at the arena during last year’s playoffs.

“We always expect some problems just not on the scale they were last year,” said Jack Purificato.

The Section V Boys Basketball Chairman almost moved the games out of the arena for good. The city asked him not to.  

Then there was this follow-up on (March 1) about the arrests at the Section 5 playoffs? According to the story:

The Rochester Police Department once again had its hands full keeping things secure during the Section V High School Basketball Championships Saturday night. Our cameras captured two arrests in front the Blue Cross Arena.

(snip)

With four city schools in action Saturday the RPD Special Events Unit doubled its manpower from earlier in the week.

(snip)

More than 20 fans were kicked out the arena for disorderly conduct. Many more were stopped at the door.

Isn’t this profiling? Twice as many police are needed just because there were 4 city schools playing?

Where are David Gantt, Franklin Florence and Ray Scott?  The fact that a group of city kids getting together means doubling the number of police present doesn’t bother them? 

If I was one of these Big Three, I’d call a meeting of black clergy and misguided liberal activist (”Sister” Grace and company), storm into Mayor Duffy’s office unannounced with them, and have WDKX set up the mobile unit outside of city hall.

We could talk about the negative message doubling police manpower is when African-American kids get together. How it sends them a negative message that builds a negative self image — that it is racial profiling. Then we can talk about how this sends the wrong message to the suburban community.

It would be the biggest thing since the Public Defender selection.  

Tags: Articles, Cincinnatus, City of Rochester, David Gantt by Cincinnatus
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TO:    All City Department Heads

FROM:  Cincinnatus M. Rising, Media Consultant

DATE: March 1, 2008

SUBJECT:  Not Contradicting the Mayor on Television

On February 28th, 2008, Police Chief Moore spoke on channel 9 and said:

“Some of the graffiti is art. But there is also the graffiti that is gang-related. That’s what we need to be careful about as well. And where there’s gang graffiti there certainly could be gangs,” said Rochester Police Chief David Moore.

The Chief said this after the Mayor said:

“This is a crime. It’s not an expression of art. It’s a crime,” said Mayor Bob Duffy. “Graffiti is part of the broken window theory. When you drive down the street and see graffiti on building it gives the impression of disorder, of a lack of respect. It drives down property values. It sends the wrong message to the people who might want to buy a house or bring a business.”

Mistakes like this are unacceptable.  It might lead people to believe we aren’t on the same page on this issue.  It might also lead them to think we don’t know what we are doing.  If that happens than people might stop believing that our budget problems are cause by Albany not getting us our fair share of state money.

Then they might realize that we get more sales tax revenue than any other city in New York State. You get the picture.

Be prepared to talk about this at our staff meeting on Monday.  A word of warning: Pattie Malgeri is really pissed.

Have a nice weekend. 

Tags: Articles, Bob Duffy, Cincinnatus, City of Rochester by Cincinnatus
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Over the past few months, the people of Upstate New York have been inundated with press conferences held by Governor Spitzer to announce various funding initiatives.  In Rochester, we first heard the promise of $50 million to tear down midtown plaza to make way for Paetec to relocate from the Town of Perinton to downtown Rochester.  Then there was an announcement for a promise of $50 million for a new transitional science center for the University of Rochester.

At first glance, it would seem that Upstate and our community are rightfully receiving much needed funding to help boost our lagging local economies.  Unfortunately, since the Governor announced his budget, we are learning each day that these promises are already coming with a steep price.

For instance, we learned recently that Governor Spitzer is pushing more of the costs associated with funding detention centers onto County taxpayers by cutting the state’s funding responsibility from 50% to 48%.  Cost to County taxpayers - $6 million.

In addition, Spitzer is cutting millions in funding for Rochester area schools, despite a four-year funding formula agreed upon by the Governor and the State Legislature.  Cost to City and suburban schools - $20+ million.

Add to that the aid cuts to community colleges, the forty-six different fee increases, $500 million in cuts to hospitals and nursing homes and finally (and perhaps the most intrusive ) the elimination this year of rebate checks for middle-class property taxpayers; and it would seem that the bad definitely comes with the ‘promise’ of good.

With baited breadth, Mayor Duffy waited to see how Rochester was going to fair with the Governor’s promised increase in state funding for large cities.  Senator Joe Robach held a press conference calling for an equal share of aid for Rochester, Duffy traveled to Albany to again lobby for an increase for his constituents and Assemblyman David Gantt has always pushed for more for our City (although I personally don’t agree with some of his actions on other things lately, I try to be objective).

Well, unfortunately, despite everyone’s efforts and pleas for funding fairness for Rochester, the Governor chose instead to continue to just dangle the proverbial carrot in front of us — meaning, no fair share for us.  Just a little bump to keep us all in line, but not enough to really solve the problem.  Bottom line, Rochester still faces a $20+ million deficit.

So what we know right now is that we have a few ‘promises’ on the table for a couple of projects, but many guarantees for funding cuts as well as aid that falls well short of the mark for our needs.

Once again, we all took the Governor at his word that he was going to come through for us and Upstate New York.  In less than two weeks from his State of Upstate speech, concerns are beginning to brew here at Monroerising that we might just be getting his “Day One” speech all over again. 

Let’s hope for our sake that we still get the money for Paetec and the U of R.   With all the promising going on all across the state lately, we find it hard to believe that the Governor is going to be able to deliver on it all. 

We had high hopes for our new Governor.  Unfortunately, that familiar voice of Shirley Feeney we hear singing in the background is beginning to quickly fade away.

Tags: Articles, Bob Duffy, City of Rochester, David Gantt, Elliot Spitzer, Joe Robach, Monroe County, Mr. Peabody, New York State by Mr. Peabody
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As the Christmas season comes to an end, I can’t help but shake my head when people talk about — or write about in the case of the Democrat and Chronicle — about this being the last one at Midtown Plaza. 

I know Mayor Bob Duffy (aka Mayor Blue Sky and Sunshine — you know the guy who claims the City’s best days are still to come) says it will be, but given his track record, I have my doubts.

After all, this is the same guy who took almost a year to sell the fast ferry.   Bob Duffy is the same guy who worked as Police Chief for Bill Johnson — you remember Bill Johnson – he was the guy who insisted Rochester didn’t have a gang problem.

I’m sure Mayor Duffy will go to Albany with his tin cup — pressure David Gantt, Joe Morelle, Jim Alesi, Joe Robach and company to get him money to complete this project.  My guess is that he will be successful in getting the money.  I’m also pretty sure that his city administration will show their inexperience and run into unforseen problems that will cause this project to drag out longer than they anticipated and at this point next year we will be talking about whether that will be the last Chirstmas at Midtown. 

The Mayor will have some excuse as to why it’s not his fault — and give some folksy talk about how great things are and then share a story about coming downtown as a kid — shoping at Midtown with his mom and having lunch at the old Manhattan Resturant. 

Tags: Bob Duffy, City of Rochester by Cincinnatus
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