Friendly faces or security team? Why hiring city ambassadors is so divisive in Rochester
There is a new element to the debate surrounding downtown Rochester's post-pandemic future.
On Sept. 19, Rochester's City Council is expected to vote on Mayor Malik Evan's proposal to hire community "ambassadors" in specific city neighborhoods.
If approved by City Council, the Rochester ambassador program would exist in the following areas:
North Clinton Avenue
Jefferson Avenue
Downtown Rochester
According to the mayor's proposal, downtown ambassadors would take the role of guides — directing people to downtown events, restaurants and attractions — and along Clinton and Jefferson avenues, ambassadors would be more focused on community outreach.
Evans' proposal states that ambassadors also would:
walk the neighborhoods;
engage with residents, workers and visitors;
support beautification and anti-litter efforts;
connect people to mental health and addiction prevention services.
Evans is asking City Council for $375,000 in total. Here's how that breaks down:
$125,000 for the downtown ambassador program, which come from city tax dollars;
$250,000 combined for the North Clinton and the Jefferson pilot programs, which would come from opioid settlement dollars.
City-partnered, community-based organizations would hire and train ambassadors who must be city residents, preferably from the neighborhoods targeted, Evans' proposal states.
There are voices for and against the downtown ambassador pilot programs, which could be combined with efforts to establish a Business Improvement District, known as a BID, in downtown Rochester.
A group called No BID Roc has organized a week of action to oppose the legislation before the upcoming City Council meeting, including a public rally outside City Hall ahead of Tuesday's meeting.
The group calls for the City Council to "split the bill," meaning the city would use tax dollars to fund outreach programs without allowing public funding for a BID.
If the City Council approves the ambassador pilot program legislation, Rochester could see ambassadors hit the streets by the end of the year.
The BID decision itself is on a separate timeline that includes property owner, city and state review.
Wait a minute. What is a BID?
Rochester is currently exploring whether to launch a BID downtown.
BIDs are public-private economic development organizations established in specific neighborhoods to provide public services that go above and beyond what the local government can provide.
What those services are depends on the BID.
These organizations tend to focus on making their districts "clean and safe," according to research on BIDs and language provided on many BID websites.
A BID might pay a crew to clean up litter. BIDs can organize community events. They can create marketing to promote a certain area. They can hire their own added security, sometimes in the form of ambassador programs like the one pitched by the mayor for downtown.
The money to fund those enhanced services mostly comes from mandatory fees paid by merchants and property owners within the districts.
BIDs draw the criticism that they privatize public spaces, serve as unelected governments and push out people the BID deems undesirable but who have the right to exist, such as people experiencing homelessness or people who panhandle.
Downtown Rochester had a BID push in 2014, and it didn't happen.
BIDs have proliferated, though. New York City alone has 76 BIDs.
Why is Rochester considering a proposed downtown BID? What are people saying about BID?
Rochester's BID effort is tied to ROC the Riverway, an initiative designed to maximize the value of the city's Genesee riverfront with 13 new redevelopment projects, according to a March 29 public meeting on the proposal.
WATCH THE MEETING: March 29 public presentation on Rochester's BID
Rochester initiated a study to explore the best ways to use the ROC the Riverway assets, and a Business Improvement District was recommended in the study's findings, said Galin Brooks at the community meeting. Brooks is president and CEO of Rochester Downtown Development Corp., or RDDC, a nonprofit advocating for the BID with the Partnership For Downtown Rochester.
PRIMARY DOCUMENT: Read the BID Frequently asked questions list shared on RDDC's website
Rochester's post-pandemic recovery is another reason the BID is under consideration for downtown, Brooks said then.
"BIDs are tried-and-true tools that can help combat disinvestment in the urban core, build on pre-existing energy and enthusiasm, and facilitate growth and recovery," Brooks said at the meeting. "We've made community engagement the top priority for this effort."
In Rochester, the crux of the issue is whether downtown Rochester can be an inclusive, welcoming space to all if a BID exists and whether this is the best use of public dollars.
"The wealth behind this BID is insatiable," local art director Kelly Cheatle said at an anti-BID community demonstration at the Liberty Pole in July. "They are trying to steamroll this legislation through, to keep our tax dollars locked downtown, to drive up their rents and their investments at the expense of our community."
VIDEOS: Remarks from the No BID demonstration in July
In its newsletter, No BID Roc said the city's effort to establish a BID is an attempted giveaway for developers.
What other places in the United States have BIDs?
Center City District, a BID in Philadelphia, released its yearly "State of Center City" report in April, revealing statistics showing a downtown post-pandemic economic recovery.
According to the report, in March 2023:
the average volume of pedestrians downtown returned to 77% of the number of people populating the district in March 2019;
35% more residents lived in the core of downtown in March 2023 than in March 2020;
and ground floor occupancy recovered by 83% three years after the 2020 shutdown.
Other BIDs can be found in many places, including:
Seattle, Washington (known as Business Improvement Areas or BIAs)
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Emerging Audiences Editor Maryann Batlle contributed to this report.
Contact Robert Bell at: rlbell@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @byrobbell & Instagram: @byrobbell.
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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester NY ambassador program: Cost, what it is, what ambassadors do
