The changing picture of Kodak and Rochester

(Kodak Park, 1982)

What started as the Eastman Dry Plate Company in 1881 would grow to transform the world of photography as we know it. In 1892, the Eastman Kodak Company was established on State Street in Rochester, NY. Rochester and Kodak have been joined at the hip ever since. The company has changed so much since then, and for better or worse, change for Kodak has meant change for Rochester. According to the Democrat and Chronicle, at Kodak's height in 1982, the company employed over 60,000 people in Rochester. But so much has changed in the past 25 years. Film, once the backbone of and the reason for its success, has been replaced with digital. Jobs have been replaced by machines, have moved to other countries, or have just disappeared altogether. In January, 2008, it was announced that Kodak's Rochester employment has fallen beneath 10,000. But nothing represents the dramatic decline of Kodak's presence in Rochester more than the changes at Kodak Park. First established in 1891, the manufacturing facility has long served as Kodak's largest production site worldwide. Its buildings have seen every major development in photography in over a century - including the invention of digital photography. It is estimated that over 200,000 people have worked there throughout its history. But the "city within a city" has seen its glory days. As a part of corporate restructuring and efforts to reduce costs, over 20 buildings have been demolished, and many others sold or leased. Last year alone, 5 major buildings were imploded (see below). But despite all of the changes, the people of Rochester will always think fondly of Kodak. They will always have the many memories filled with "Kodak Moments", along with a deep pride in helping to shape imaging and photography around the world. Below are clips of last year's implosions, as well as an audio podcast that further looks at the permanent bond shared between Kodak and its hometown.

Podcast: Kodak Park

Building 50

Building 9

Buildings 65 & 69

Building 23

Podcast: assessing progress in Rochester

With so many new development projects slated to get underway downtown this year, I wanted to take a look at where we are at and where we are going. Click on the title links below to listen. It is divided up into three parts due to web hosting file size requirements.

Downtown Progress Part 1 of 3

Downtown Progress Part 2 of 3

Downtown Progress Part 3 of 3

Renaissance Square update

A meeting last Friday about the future of Renaissance Square revealed that progress has dramatically slowed. Securing funding for the $230 million project has proven difficult, and all vendor contracts with architects and engineers have expired. Maggie Brooks said that future designs will continue to be based off of the master plan assembled by Moshe Safdie and Associates. She told the Democrat and Chronicle that new contracts will be drawn up with local firms, although Moshe Safdie has already completed its work and will not be returning to the design team. Brooks says that future design firms will have to be willing to work on a budget driven project to keep the cost at $230 million. The Federal Transportation Administration must approve plans before construction can begin. The county will submit those plans in July. The final decision on whether to go ahead with the project or scrap it altogether will be made in April of 2009. Following criticism that information was not being shared with the public, a new records access officer has been appointed to keep the public informed about the project.

ESL moving HQ to downtown Rochester

In October, it was Paetec announcing a move of its headquarters downtown. Last week, ESL Federal Credit Union CEO Dave Fieldler announced at a morning press conference that ESL would be the next local company to move downtown. ESL will build its new $50 million headquarters on the current site of a city owned parking lot at 225 Chestnut Street, across from the Strong National Museum of Play. Initial drawings show a modern 180,000 square foot building that will rise 6 stories and will be connected to a new parking garage. Construction is planned to start at the end of this summer, and ESL plans to move its 300 employees into the new facility in 2010. This follows over two years of the city trying to woo the company downtown and several incentives including selling the property at below market rate. City leaders commented that the new building will be a welcome addition to the city's southern entrance. The project will be managed by local architectural and engineering firm Labella Associates, the same firm appointed by the city to lead redevelopment at the site of Midtown Plaza.

Penfield announces new superintendent

The Penfield Central School District announced last week that John Carlevatti has been appointed the new superintendent of the district. Carlevatti, a Penfield graduate, comes from the neighboring Webster school district. In Webster he has served as deputy superintendent, assistant superintendent, and as a middle school principle. Prior to that, he served in similar capacities in the Newark and Greece school districts. Carlevatti officially joins the district on July 1. Interim superintendent Tomas Strinning will continue through June 30. The district started the search for a new superintendent at the end of the last school year following G. Susan Gray's announcement that she would be retiring at the end of the 2007 calender year. The Penfield Central School District, located in Penfield NY (a suburb of Rochester), operates four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.

As with any change in leadership, I feel that this will be an opportunity for new thinking, problem solving, and great change. As a graduate of Penfield High School, I think there is a lot to be proud of in this school district. But as with anything, there is always room for improvement. Based on my observations, I have compiled a list of things that I think the new superintendent should address:

1) Fix the math program. This has been a problem for at least the past five years, as the district moved to math teaching involving more exploratory and group work approached to learning math. This is also known by critics as "fuzzy math." It was quickly obvious that the program was a complete failure: students were confused, state test scores plummeted, and parents were demanding answers. Despite a public demand for a change back to more traditional and time proven teaching methods, the Board of Education and superintendent resisted. Parents went so far as to form a lobby group to protest the district, calling themselves "teach us math." The dispute was heavily covered in the local media and even attracted the attention of The New York Times. While things in the past few years have started to return to normal as new textbooks were selected, there are still loose ends to tie up.

2) Foster a closer relationship between students, faculty members, administrators, and the community. This has long been a complaint of students and faculty members, especially at the high school. Despite having at least 6 administrators, there always seemed to be a disconnect between them and the students/faculty at the high school. The most visible, and arguably the most liked, administrators have since retired or moved on. To create the best learning environment possible, there needs to be a tight knit sense of community in all of the schools - although this is mostly a problem at the high school. Improving the website would be a good start. the current template based site is terrible. There are no student-oriented pages, there is no real effort made to capture the flavor of school activities, and no real incentive to ever visit the site.

3) Cuts costs where possible. Every year the budget goes up. While I recognize the sky-rocketing costs of health care benefits for employees, there is no excuse for a high school to have at least 7 full-time administrators (all of which I think it's safe to assume are pulling six figures). Schools were so quick to protest County Executive Maggie Brook's FAIR plan that called for cuts in school funding, yet just last week it came out that the Greece school district had grossly mismanaged school funds during its capital-improvement construction and renovation project. Seeing the resources that were available, I agree with Brooks' assertion that schools could afford to tighten their belts a little and eliminate excess spending.

Groundbreaking marks progress at High Falls

The city celebrated Wednesday the groundbreaking of the "Mills at High Falls." The complex is being called "affordable downtown living," and is being aimed at attracting middle class residents. The complex will consist of one and two bedroom lofts and townhouses, and will include some retail and office space. It sits on a former parking lot donated by Kodak and will be managed by the Urban League of Rochester. Construction should take about a year, and it should be ready for the first residents to move in by next spring.

This is one of several projects that are either underway or are wrapping up in Rochester's historic mill district. There are three old buildings under renovation that soon will be available for residential, office, or retail space. And Tribeca - a new bar geared toward single women in their thirties and forties - should now be open in the former Keys Martini and Piano Bar space on Mill Street. The strictly 21 and up entertainment scene will have three bars, each with a different theme, according to a write up in the Rochester City Newspaper (see link to the right in the side bar and look under archives for Jan. 16, 2008). By avoiding reaching out the college crowd, general manager Mark Monti tells City that he hopes to avoid the problems of underage drinking and rowdiness that contributed to the demise of several other bars in the area.

This is a great start to reviving the inner city. Many college grads and young professionals prefer the urban lifestyle that puts living space in close proximity to area shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Rochester is finally showing signs of capitalizing on this demographic. There are several housing projects now planned in or near downtown that would offer market rate housing options - some with light retail space included. The city is expected to name a developer to build a residential complex in the footprint of the former South Avenue garage helix ramp. And several developers are competing for the parking lot across from the Eastman Theater on East Main Street. While one developer submitted plans for a hotel, several others showed possible townhouse or apartment complexes.

Many people consider Rochester a dead city. I don't feel that is the case. I drove through downtown for the first time during the workday in late December or early January. There were thousands of people packing the parks, sidewalks, and streets. The biggest problem is that the center city area is filled predominantly with office buildings. And unlike in larger cities, these buildings are not multi-use, that is to say there is not a mixture of office, residential, and commercial. The tall building are completely offices and restaurants that cater to those offices. there is not a lot of space left for people. That explains the striking difference in the amount of people during the day and at night. During the day there are thousands of people out and about who work downtown. After 6, when everyone has gone home, the place looks like a ghost town (with the exception of the East End, which is typically packed with people on any given night). That is what we have change, and it looks like we are on the right track.

The Death of Rochester Radio

A Few days ago Entercom Radio announced that it pulled out of talks with Rochester's leading DJ "Brother Wease." Wease - real name Alan Levin - has been on the air at WCMF 96.5 FM for 22 years, and was one of the last truly unique and instantly recognizable radio personalities in Rochester. Entercom Regional Vice President Michael Doyle told the Democrat and Chronicle in a statement that he tried to keep him on: "We did our best to try and bring Wease back to WCMF, but in the end, were not able to reach an agreement." But Wease gives a different story, telling the newspaper "I am heartbroken to lose my team, and I'm heartbroken to lose the 22 years that I have behind me, because all those shows are gone." He apparently was given his letter of termination Thursday morning. The two parties had been in contract negotiations for weeks, with Wease off the air through most of it.

Sadly, this latest news comes as no surprise; it was only a few months ago that Entercom Rochester acquired WCMF and WPXYand fired 5 veteran DJ's including Dave Kane (also of WCMF) and WPXY's Pete "The Mayor" Kennedy. While Wease told the Democrat and Chronicle that his lawyers wouldn't let him comment, he did want to reassure his listeners - telling them he would be back. Shame on Entercom for further stripping any personality that was left from local radio. I hope they find that people value original programming, something this company and many of its competitors are making nearly impossible to find. And I hope Entercom learns this lesson the hard way - when listeners tune their dials elsewhere and the company is forced to sell the station back to people who care about quality.

While I will admit that I was not a listener of Brother Wease, he was a voice in radio that I respected. He is local - a native of Rochester, he cares deeply about his community. He took his listeners with him on his emotional, and successful, battle against cancer. When it was over, he wanted to be there for other victims, so he works to help cancer-related charities. He also founded "Wease Cares," a charity of his own that helps underprivileged kids in Rochester. And unlike so many other dry personalities, he is a DJ with personality. He is a Vietnam vet, and has held a fascinating array of other jobs, including being a mailman, construction worker, concert promoter, and a salesman. Lets hope that Wease can find a new frequency of airwaves to call home so that "radio DJ" doesn't have to be added to the list of former occupations.

A "World Class Reporter" - Remembering John McWethy, 1947 - 2008

For 24 years, he brought national security to the forefront of the evening news. The 60 year old died February 6 after a skiing accident in Keystone, Colorado. ABC News reports that witnesses saw McWethy miss a turn on an intermediate trail and hit a tree chest first. He was pronounced dead at 2:05 pm. He and his wife had recently moved to Boulder to be closer to the ski trails and the golf courses in their retirement.

McWethy joined ABC News in 1979 as chief Pentagon correspondent. In 1984, he became the news division's senior national security correspondent - a position he would hold until retiring from ABC in 2003. He reported during that time on military and diplomatic aspects of U.S. foreign policy, stationed mainly in Washington at the Pentagon. He was there on the morning of September 11, 2001 as the nation was under attack, reporting from the lawn and describing the destruction left by the American Airlines flight that carved through the building. That day, and in the ensuing weeks, months, and years following the attacks, he was an instrumental part of ABC News' coverage of the war on terror, and the military operations in Afghanistan.

He covered so much during his career, filing daily reports for "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" and several other ABC News broadcasts. National security, diplomacy, terrorism, espionage, and intelligence. From Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Haiti, to Somalia, Russia, and Mozambique - his assignments took him to more than 50 countries. He explained the complicated violence in Kosovo, the Persian Gulf, and Liberia. When the Soviet Union fell, he was there to watch the new countries grow up in its place. He tracked three Secretaries of State, and covered the 5 historic meetings between President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.

McWethy was honored with at least five national Emmy's, an Alfred I. DuPont - Columbia Award, and an Oversees Press Club Award. He was also presented with an honorary doctorate from DePauw University. Before coming to ABC News, McWethy reported for U.S. News & World Report and worked for U.S. News as a science and technology editor. Having graduated from DePauw University, he continued on to earn his master's degree from Columbia University School of Journalism.

ABC News president David Westin remembered 'Jack' in a statement to the news division:

"He was one of those very rare reporters who knew his beat better than anyone and had developed more sources than anyone and yet kept his objectivity. Jack's work made the people he covered value him, respect him, and always know that he would keep them honest... A few years ago, Jack came to me and said that he wanted to step away from his work as a correspondent. There were other things he wanted to pursue in life, both personally and in working with his church. I wish all of you could have been there for his "retirement" party to see the highest levels of the Pentagon -- civilian and military -- come to express their respect and affection for Jack. He represented the very best of ABC News. But as fine a reporter as he was, he was just that fine a man. There was an essential goodness to him that permeated everything he did. He loved his profession, but he loved his family more. And he always had a powerful sense of need to help those around him."

New concerns for Renaissance Square

"That's still the biggest boondoggle I ever saw."

Louise Slaughter raised the concern over a year ago: how will Renaissance Square pay for itself? Now those concerns are popping up again as Monroe County leaders discovered that the $18 million they thought the state had set aside for Ren. Square was actually doled out to individual performing arts uses around Rochester. This also at a time that the community grows more skeptical that the performing arts center and bus terminal will be able to support themselves without annual government subsidies. Slaughter saw this coming over a year ago:

"They're not going to have enough money to operate the thing, and they're going to have to go begging from the city and county governments, and I hate to see it coming. There was so much they could've done. They could've redone Sibley's old department store there into a bus station. And they could've had restrooms and places to come in off the street and to stage people off of Main Street, not piling everybody there like they're going to. It wouldn't have cost much of anything. But they wouldn't hear it. And the reason is that the contractors run the place."

I have always been a supporter of the project, but lately I am growing more skeptical that the thing will ever be built - at least the way it was originally envisioned. There just seem to be so many factors that have held up progress. Since the federal government agreed to pay for part of the project, it must approve the plans. They are in the process of doing that right now. Until the County gets that approval, it cannot start private fundraising. With the recent announcement of Midtown Plaza's demolition, the city may decide it wants to keep its Mortimer St. parking garage - that decision will be made pending the outcome of a parking study that is either already underway or will be shortly. If the city decides not to tear it down, as originally planned, the layout for the bus terminal and performing arts center will have to be modified - costing more time and money.


But even the concept of a performing arts center is up in the air. The original concept called for three to four separate venues of various sizes to serve different types of local performing groups. Then it seemed that it would probably be more like three - a large Broadway show sized auditorium primarily to serve the Rochester Broadway Theater League (RBTL), a medium sized auditorium, and a third smaller space. But later the plan was reduced to concentrate more on the 2 larger venues, scrapping the smallest all together. At one point there were reports that seemed to indicate Maggie Brooks was considering dropping the performing arts center concept completely - an idea that didn't sit well with Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy, who threatened that the city would not support a plan that didn't include the performing arts center. That brings us to the latest possibility (but not a final plan) of only having the large 2,800 seat Broadway-type theater.

Its as if every month there is another change to the story. County Executive Maggie Brooks is determined not to spend more than $230 million on the project. But as time is eaten up while waiting for approval of federal funding, deadlines for demolition pass. first it was last spring, then the end of last summer, now the end of this spring or sometime this summer. And that is just demolition - let alone actual construction. By the time the old buildings come down, the cost of construction will have increased to more than the projected cost for the original proposal during the original time frame. There are so many questions left unanswered, and the community that seemed hostel to the concept in the first place is demanding answers. The website, which is in the process of being updated itself (and has been for a good 6 months) provides no new information as to where we stand now.


I think this, along with the changes at Midtown, and so many other projects set for downtown, serves as an incredible opportunity. While I respectfully disagree with Ms. Slaughter on whether it should be built in the first place, I am starting to share the concerns that have turned her against it from the start. I look forward to what I hope is good news for the project sometime this winter or early spring. I'll pass along any developments. (Sources used: Rochester City Newspaper, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Pictures: Monroe County)

Community looks to Brizard for new vision, direction

(Photo by Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

With a graduation rate of 39% (the lowest among the "Big 5" school districts in NY), there is clearly a lot of hard work ahead for the new superintendent of the Rochester City School District. Despite heavy odds, it seems that the school board made a good choice in the selection of Jean-Claude Brizard. In his "Plan of Entry" outlined on January 2nd, Brizard emphasized the solution "is about every child". It is easy to make nice sounding statements like that in presentation, but gaining the confidence of parents and teachers takes action. And after 21 years with the New York City schools system, Brizard knew this - so he offered something better than even action: interaction. On Friday, Brizard spent nearly 2 hours at Dr. Freddie Thomas High School talking with approximately 100 students from 16 schools. He answered their questions, and more importantly, listened to what they had to say. He heard what the major problems are in the district in the eyes of the people it serves. The session was also broadcast over the radio on WDKX-FM 103.9 and WXXI-AM 1370. It is instinct like this and an impressive background that should provide hope and a measure of comfort to parents and students. During his time in New York, Brizard served as Executive Director for Secondary Schools, Region 8 Instructional Superintendent, a high school principle, a high school physics teacher, and a junior high school science teacher. His most recent position was Senior Executive for Policy and Sustainability. Before that he was the Region 6 Superintendent, where he oversaw 100 schools and 100,000 highly diverse students - 61% of whom were economically disadvantaged. Brizard was a good find with his extensive experience relevant to the problems in Rochester. Lets hope he can be as effective here as he has been in New York. (Sources: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester City School District)

Dell to cut kiosk sales, jobs (quality cut years ago)

The Austin-American Statesman reports on its website that Dell computers is cutting 1,200 jobs in the United States and Canada. This is the most recent wave of layoffs since the company announced last May that it would cut 10% of its workforce (approx. 8,800 jobs). Dell said it will close its Alberta, Canada calling center by July and make reductions at other calling centers in Oklahoma City and Ottawa. The company also is closing 140 mall kiosks in the US as it makes more of its products available through mainstream retailers like Wal-Mart. In the past, their computers and other products had to be ordered and were only available through its website or kiosks. While initially receiving high marks and at one point becoming the top PC maker in volume worldwide, the company in recent years has been plagued with reliability issues for its PCs and has established a reputation of exceptionally poor customer service. Many college students can attest to these problems first hand, as many schools are "Dell campuses", or schools that have a relationship with the company so their students can get discounts on Dell computers. It is supposed to be an advantage to the student because they can save money and get free technical support during the four years of their undergraduate work. But, as hundreds of students find out each semester, the computers seem to have a higher tendency to break compared to other brands, and the level of service offered for free on campus is often just short of useless. It is not surprising that the company is struggling, although it sounds worse than I might have imagined considering the popularity of Dell products (which is in itself a mystery). Then again, this is the company that was forced to restate its earnings following an SEC investigation in August. It found senior management inflating sales figures to meet expectations. Personally, I'm glad I did my homework and bought an HP.