The seed for Downtown ROCs was planted in 2018, when Mike Gilbert looked out the window of his new 4th floor downtown office and noticed a small unkempt park.

Overgrown with weeds, it was bordered on two sides by chain link fence. Garbage was strewn across a path leading to a statue, the view of which was swallowed by two rows of overgrown hedges.

Something had to be done.

So two weeks later, armed with rakes, shovels and bags, a dozen volunteers gave Schiller Park a much-needed makeover.

And so began a mission to beautify and activate downtown Rochester... One small space at a time.