Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren was among the politicians who attended Governor Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address on Wednesday and was heartened to hear what he said about Rochester.
Warren was particularly glad to hear Cuomo talk about the state supporting the "ROC the Riverway" proposal.
Warren says that would involve the phase-in of several projects along the Genesee River in the downtown area, projects that would include areas near the Main Street Bridge and Andrews Street and also in the Cornhill area.
The mayor notes that a consultant's report a couple of years ago talked about ways the city could benefit by a renewed focus on the Genesee.
“They really focused on our waterway and told us that to bring our waterway to life we need to look at it differently, we need to do some things differently and we talked to the governor and his team about that. And we’re excited about the possibilities to come from just looking at the Genesee River and looking at it as an asset for our community,” Warren told WXXI News.
She says there isn't a dollar figure yet on what the project would cost, but she is pleased Cuomo's staff has been talking to the city about the idea. And Warren says the projects could also attract private investment.
“For example, the great work, you have the First Federal Plaza, by re-doing the Charles Carroll Park and making that a more inviting space like it used to be where you used to have concerts and other things there, it gives us the opportunity to help our private developers be able to bring more jobs to our center city.”
In Cuomo’s State of the State message the governor said that a key driver of any major urban revitalization, especially among former industrial cities in the northeast, has been significant improvement to their waterfront. He made reference to improvements to waterfront areas in Buffalo and said that the Genesee River in Rochester has the same transformative potential.
