>>
just ahead on "need to know" how long have we heard
about a
bus terminal project a bus terminal station that will be
builtdown town.-
It appears that the thing might get built.-
After a vote this Thursday that will direct millions of dollars
to the project.-
We will talk about what it will look like and what it will mean
for transportation and downtown development.-
A Latino playwright will be here next on "need to know."-
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>> these are competitive federal funds.-
They will be spent.-
I would like them spent in Rochester to bring in jobs and renew
heart of the season.-
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>> this is "need to know," the Rochester area's
only in-depth
news program.-
"need to know" is a production of wxxi affairs.-
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>> "need to know" is made possible by dorschel
lexus.-
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>> thanks for joining us.-
The arguments for and against the new bus terminal downtown
have been chewed over for a while.-
Transit officials say that a station would be a boon to riders,
keep them out of the harsh Rochester WEATHER, give them a
central exchange point and that it would be a boon to the
community at life.-
It would breathe new life into a dorm ant downtown.-
Those who oppose the bus terminal, among them Congresswoman
Louise slaughter said that this won't do anything for an area
that has a glut of office vacancies, and they say that it makes
no sense to have another transit facility that doesn't
accommodate other modes of travel, such as rail.-
But the debate over whether to build the station might be
over.-
A vote has seemingly put the topic to rest, but has it raised
new questions?-
Raise the issue of a new downtown bus terminal to local riders
and their reaction is what you might expect.-
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>> I think that it will be good for the WEATHER because
it
would be cold in the winter and the bus sometimes don't come,
and you will sit out here for hours, plus on a Sunday, because
everything's closed down here.-
I think that it would be good for that -
>> as part of the Rochester transportation thorty Don
REILLY
agrees.-
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>> -- authority, Don REILLY agrees.-
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>> we'll have a safe place to transfer 25,000 people every
day.-
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>> but the idea comes with a price tag, one the rtrga
has been
trying to me.-
over the past several years, there have been $12 million in
government funding collected, short of the $58.5 million needed
to complete the project.-
The council has a solution.-
According to Genesee generation council, they want to commit
$30 million in federal, state, and local transportation funding
to the Rochester central station, those dollars will come from
a variety of transportation projects throughout the area
originally slated to receive funding, including the
rehabilitation of east ridge road.-
The city and county volunteered to have their construction
funding shifted to the bus terminal project in exchange for
receiving their engineering funding sooner rather than later.-
All of which upsets the county legislator.-
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>> any projects that push back the project for the bus
terminal
is almost counterproductive.-
I see the bus terminal as a way to increase empty store
fronts.-
There's going to be more of them because they're talking about
putting in a large retail, an office space area, and because
the area isn't growing very much, that's just going to suck
people from other place noose that area maybe, but it's not
going to do a lot for the overall economic vitality of
downtown.-
Doing this project earlier, on the other hand, will help the
town.-
On one hand you're hurting, on the other hand you're helping.-
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>> Richie is not alone in his concern about how transportation
dollars are being spent.-
Joe more really wrote a letter -- Joe morelly wrote a letter
expressing us from trarkse he said that the funding was
adjusted based on how far along each bus service was.-
He said that it was made a spending priority.-
REILLY said that in the long run funding for the bus terminal
will spur other projects.-
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>> by reprogramming the capital dollars, it's going to
move
that project.-
Otherwise it would have sat there for years.-
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>> we agree with it and the money for engineer something
contained in the plan.-
What Richie may not even know is that there is not a number
for
that project.-
It hasn't begun to be designed.-
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>> Richie believes that spreading out federal dollars
over a
number of transportation projects makes more sense.-
Rgrta officials say that the $42 million that they secured is
enough to build the bus terminal above ground.-
However, the city has been on record for putting the terminal
underground to clear traffic congestion on main street that
will cost an additional $16.5 million.-
Mayor William Johnson said don't expect him to ask
Congresswoman Louise slaughter for help in getting these extra
funds.-
He believes that there are others that project organizers
should approach.-
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>> he is closely aligned with the other three members
of the
Monroe county delegation who are very powerful, and who
essentially are in the majority.-
And I think now if she's -- if she decided to step out of the
way and to refrain from expressing any public objections to
this project, then he should then call on Mr. Walsh, Mr.
Reynolds, Mr. Howden to use their clow clout, influence and
--
clout -- their clout, influence and power needed to get this
money.-
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>> to continue this conversation now we're joined by the
chairman of the Rochester regional transportation authority
board, the president of the Rochester city council, and Gary
Craig, a reporter for "the democrat and chronicle"
who is
covering the issue.-
You heard what the mayor said.-
Will the rgrta be willing to build this facility above ground
if it doesn't get $16.5 million?-
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>> the challenge for this community is to stop the bickering
over $16 million this way or that way.-
If you look at Buffalo, there are hundreds of millions of
dollars in pipeline.-
Syracuse has over $600 million in the pipeline.-
Albany has a $300,000 new project and here in Rochester, we
keep focusing the debate on nickels and dimes and we don't get
things done.-
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>> if you don't get the rest of the money, will you get
it
done?-
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>> as of today, we will go forward with the project.-
The challenge for the community is to make it the right project
for downtown Rochester, we need full support.-
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>> how would the city feel they built this thing above
ground?-
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>> well, I think we signed an agreement three years ago
suggesting that it needed to be underground and we needed to
punch through stone street.-
The city of Rochester, and stickly -- particularly city council
has a responsibility for laying his planning.-
We just did the new zoning code.-
We take that responsibility of land use planning very
seriously, and we would see the above-ground fasiltyace being
a
bear yr -- facility as being a barrier, that northwest corner
of Rochester of main and Clinton has languished for a very long
time, and I know that planners have said that the reason that
it has langwashed -- languished is because of the wall.-
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>> look, again, rather than arguing, this community should
come
together and try to get something done for heart of downtown
that we can all be proud of.-
We have $42 million in the bank, we think that we need $51
million.-
We should go after more money to get a performing arts center
and the campus done.-
There is this Rochester thing that every time somebody says
let's do this, you almost as a -- inevitably have six people
saying, no, this is why that won't work.-
We need to stop doing that we need to change the culture of
the
community to be more positive and more of a constructive name.-
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>> bill, I have seen some really good design work that
you've
had some of consultants doing that really respected the punch
through on main street as well as the potential for housing
development behind that area, and you and I agree, I think,
that whole area languished for a long time.-
I have seen good design work that could respect those
guidelines.-
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>> and we signed an agreement with the city, that we would
like
to go below grade.-
It was the city's recommendation that we do that.-
We would like to do that.-
The challenge is to get shovels on the ground in this town,
we
have to get senator Schumer and senator Clinton to support the
Congressmen in their efforts to bring home the last $60
million.-
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>> how will that happen without Congresswoman slaughter
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>> Mrs. Slaughter is spending an awful lot of time in
Buffalo,
and we don't mind if she would stay there.-
We wish she would stop opposing this project and bringing in
federal money to Rochester.-
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>> the Genesee transportation council board met this morning
before the taping of this program, voted 22-1 -- -
>> 21-1 to move the money over.-
Was there any discussion about the low ground -- below ground,
above ground?-
-
>> it came up, somewhat contentiously, that may be too
strong a
word.-
But the county executive is a board member and Doherty, who
represents the mayor, and Doyle is putting it in the city's
court to say, look, it's your job to get Congresswoman
slaughter on board or at least not in the way any longer.-
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>> now it was basically said that Louise is out of the
way,
does she need to be active does she need to be active -
>> I think that the case needs to be made for Louise that
this
is an important project and it can be a sustaining project.-
Louise has been supportive of the project, she needs to be
persuaded that this project supports us.-
-
>> we did reach out it Louise slaughter to comment.-
She gave us a statement.-
She said that many in Rochester and elected officials share
my
conviction that this will not address Rochester's need for
economic development and professional plan, later she says
despite my opposition to this project, have I not been standing
in the way or -- I have not been standing in the way or block
it as some have reported.-
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>> frankly, that's a lie.-
I will not tolerate Louise slaughter liing to the public about
these things -- lying to the public about these things.-
Mrs. Slaughter demanded that no federal funds come to
Rochester, New York, on this project.-
She lobbied members of Congress, staff members of Congress
there is no question that she is using every ounce of her
political capital to block federal comes coming to Rochester.-
It is a $60 million project.-
Think of what it would do for downtown.-
We would be delighted if Mrs. Slaughter would give the ok to
senator Schumer and senator Clinton if she would give the ok
and get the senate money supporting Congressmen holden,
Reynolds and Walsh.-
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>> I think that she has continued to ask questions,
particularly about the operating funds that I think that she
feels like she hasn't gotten the answer for.-
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>> lois, that's silly.-
Louise slaughter comes up with an excuse for the month as to
why she doesn't want to support the project.-
The problem is she largely failed to bring federal money back
to her own district.-
She is at the bottom of the rankings in the federal listing,
and she's embarrassed by it and now we have a project that
requires $60 million.-
We have $42 million.-
It's sour grapes on her part.-
we would be delighted if she would get out of the way and let
senator Schumer and Clinton work with Congressmen Reynolds,
Walsh and holden.-
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>> Louise slaughter, I think that her emphasis is on bringing
that kind of federal dollars that support new job development,
and I'm thinking of the laser lab and ite-tech Rochester, the
optic -- the high-tech center in Rochester, the optic center,
she has been supportedive in Rochester in supporting --
supportive in Rochester for supporting jobs.-
And also the $20 million pop for housing, economic development,
and human services.-
Louise has been a good friend to Rochester.-
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>> how has it been going over the past I would say mid-1990's
to late 1990's when we heard about this project.-
How is it going?-
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>> it is interesting, this project has been around for
decades,
and in different forms, not necessarily this concept, but it
really -- new life was breathed into it when it was -- it had
new life breathed into it in 1998.-
We sort of bounced around with the different ideas since then
and now we're at $42 million near the end point but it is
interesting that we're back to where the U.S. senate is
probably sort of crucial and particularly senate Schumer and
what happens on that end.-
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>> I want -- I will take a different approach and ask
about the
SIBLEY building, but before I do that, I would like to let you
listen to a couple of comments.-
This is a proposal that some tearkts mingled this with --
architects Minged this with the SIBLEY building.-
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>> if it were our project.-
If it were a city fund and city directed project, we would have
abandoned our first model a long time ago and gone to this
option.-
This is a very nice option.-
But given the political polarization around this project, it
has been -- I'm saddened that the transit authority has not
considered this as a viable option.-
We could have solved this problem a long time ago and moved
on
to something else.-
Furthermore we could have helped to stablize a building in a
troubled part of downtown, we are working hard to come up with
strategies to stablize the SIBLEY and mid-town mall properties,
and here's one way that we could have brought real life to that
building.-
That has been, as I said, categorically rejected by the transit
authority.-
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>> the mayor's received briefings on this project every
step of
the way and approved of the project.-
The SIBLEY thing is, I think, a red herring in an effort to
kill our project or get us off track.-
We spent several million dollars in concept and design, we
won't change that now.-
This is an excellent site.-
You may want to ask the mayor, what do you do with this boarded
up block if you don't get it going.-
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>> I'm going to pick up that question.-
What do you do with that block?-
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>> I think that one of the problems that we the haven't
been
able to attract DEVELOPERs there is the fact that this has been
on hold for at least now five years.-
I think no one is looking at that property until they know what
will happen with the transit center.-
Yeah, I -- there are some really good ideas that came out of
the downtown meeting at the library of what you could do at
that block, primarily by punching through stone street, opening
up that area.-
The landscape for downtown changed considerably over the last
four years, five years, we now have housing DEVELOPERs who are
very interested in building in downtown Rochester, we used to
have to beg them.-
Now they're coming and identifying buildings on their own.-
So I think that the potential for housing behind that area is
now very viable.-
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>> how tied -- maybe you want to address what you just
heard.-
How tied are you to the office and retail and -- of this
proposal?-
-
>> I think that the private sector, not for profit and
governmental groups have to decide what kind of partnerships
they want to have with us.-
Downtown Rochester has been in a death spiral for 30 years.-
The city of Rochester has been in a terrible decline.-
The middle class has been run out of the city of Rochester,
the
solution to the city's problems is not to keep fighting and
bickering with everybody.-
It is to be honest about -- these are what the problems are
and
this is how we will solve them.-
If all you do all the time is to throw monkey wrenches in other
people's fly wheels, that is a discouragement of people to work
with city hall.-
I think that the mayor and others have to be cooperative,
positive about the future and we have to stop the fighting.-
-
>> we just passed a new zoning code which allows a considerable
amount of different kinds of developments for the center city.-
We expanded what the center city does, but it allows for a lot
of different uses than we used to have.-
I think that we're a more friendly city hall.-
The other thing is, bill, people are not flighting the city.-
I know areas of the city where people do not even have to put
their house up realtors because there is an eager audience to
buy their houses instantly.-
True story.-
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>> I do want to make sure that I -- we did have this vote
today.-
Were there any surprises or anything of have at this vote
today?-
-
>> I think some of what you talked about earlier, that
the city
made clear that its idea of the memorandum that it signed was
the below grade proposal.-
If we don't get the money, we will go above ground.-
The city made that clear.-
The vote, I don't think, took anybody by surprise.-
I think it was just whether it would be for an opposition.-
-
>> do you need Democrats to be active in going after the
last
bit of money?-
Do you need to go to Washington, walking with Democrats
shoulder to shoulder, the mayor, whoever -- -
>> this should not be democrat versus Republican jishese,
when
Buffalo is reaping in -- issue, when Buffalo is reaping in
hundreds of millions and others have hundreds of millions and
Rochester has an empty bag -- -
>> the question is do we need everybody?-
-
>> we need everybody.-
-
>> how will you get everybody there?-
-
>> we will continue to try to work with anybody who will
talk
to us, we will continue to try to reach out and get the support
of everyone and most important, we need to show folks that
community that's work together make progress.-
Communities that fight with each other, they don't make much
progress, that's, unfortunately, where Rochester is today.-
-
>> I think many of us know that that is not uncommon,
they seem
to run into numerous impediments, whether it is legitimate
policy issues, this seems to be the path for many policy
issues.-
-
>> how would you describe that the Democrats have been
involved
in this project over the years?-
Some would say that it has been this reluctant, sort of passive
kind of, ok, we'll be there -- but not so happy about the
project.-
-
>> that's probably accurate.-
It was Luke warm support.-
But we did come together and form -- sign that memorandum of
understanding, we do recognize that that section of downtown
desperately needs some help, and we saw with the change of
design an opportunity.-
-
>> there's no question there is going to be a downtown
transportation center, the only question is how good can we
make it?-
And the answer is how well can we work together in the years
to
come?-
-
>> thank you all very much for being here, we invite you
to
participate in this conversation either on the Webb at wxxi.org
or you can go to wxxineedtoknow.-
Today
we will turn other attention to the theater and the "play
September shoes," the Latino family returning to their
childhood home.-
The play the Wright believes it is an -- the playwright
believes it is an American story.-
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>> I came from a proud family whose family had large feet.-
Shoes were unnecessary because there were no paved roads or
automobiles.-
But bear -- dirty feet -- -
>> you can tell a lot about a person's soul by the sole
of
their shoes.-
It is a recurring theme in the play "September shoes"
which
premiered here.-
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>> I grew up in central California.-
My parents were from Mexico, and they were immigrants, my grant
workers that sort of worked through a triangle of places, we
sort of landed in a little town where I grew up.-
And so raised there and worked along with my parents in the
crop, and as soon as I could get out, I did.-
"September shoes" is a play about four people, a Latino
doctor
and his wife, returning back to a little town, and they've come
to bury this woman's aunt.-
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>> it took quite a long time to get the entire village
to wear
shoes.-
These people have all kind of shoes -- -
>> they have to go back, peel back the past in order to
sort of
confront some of these shoes, why they left that town.-
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>> did you notice that she wasn't wearing any shoes?-
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>> no.-
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>> what kind of person doesn't wear shoes?-
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>> population 129 forgotten souls.-
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>> one of the characters is a motel cleaning woman who
feels
people shoes because she believes she can read their souls.-
-
>> a professional, perhaps a doctor.-
He drives a brand-new lexus, but it's going to break down.-
Very neat, very clean.-
He likes classical music.-
-
>> well, another character is a sem TERRY caretaker who
believes, you know, that he's -- is a sem TERRY caretaker who
-- cemetary caretaker, who believes -- you know it is a piece
of heart and heart ache and redemption and laced with a lot
of
humor.-
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>> Jose credits his grandfather with planting the story-telling
seed in him and talks p the importance of continuing the
tradition.-
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>> our stories need to be told and they need to be told
by
different people and -- and part of it is that there are a lot
of artists, a lot of Latino artists, and when we get
opportunity to tell a story, I mean, you know, there are
wonderful things going on, there are wonderful artist, and it's
so important to have that side of the equation much -
>> Jose hopes that not only latinos, but the whole Rochester
community will embrace his play.-
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>> I hope that they take the challenge to see theater
and also
an American story about a Latino character, and that, you know,
those -- it goes to the heart, some of the big questions that
we ask ourselves, all of us as humans, you know, who are we,
why are we here, and what do we leave?-
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>> "September shoes" runs through Sunday.-
We value your feed back on "need to know," you can
go to our
discussion board at wxxi.org, or email us at need to know at
wxxi.org tonight we want to take a minute to announce a move.-
a move that we're happy to make.-
Starting on Friday, July 11, "need to know" will move
to Friday
evening.-
We will be between "Washington week in review" and
now "bill
moyers" hopefully it will be easier to get your national
and
local views.-
we trail a block of public affairs programming.-
So you can get your national news review fix and get your local
news review starting July 11, Friday night at 8:30 and Sunday
afternoon at 12:30, next week we will be in the Thursday and
Saturday time slot at the regular time and we will look at the
soccer area.-