Our October Update

Well, it was quite a summer in downtown Rochester. Full of festivals, markets, events... and a real feeling of optimism.

We're proud to share that this summer was also our most active and impactful yet!

🎨 For starters, what initially began as a one-off restoration of a single wooden bench on Main Street unexpectedly became one of our largest projects to date. We've since sanded, primed and painted another 12 "seasoned" benches (with 2 more on tap this weekend).

In addition, we also commissioned a beautiful commemorative bench to honor Ruby Harvey and "upcycled" 3 more benches to provide much-needed seating at the Greyhound bus stop on Pleasant Street.

It was an unplanned fit of tactical urbanism, but one we're glad we embraced.

The family of Ruby Harvey at the commemoration of a bench and planter in her name. Mrs. Harvey fostered over 300 children!

🌻 But none of this could distract us from our favorite work... planting flowers to add a touch of beauty in unexpected places.

We truly believe in "flower power" because we have seen first-hand how they can bring a smile to people's faces and quite literally lift their spirits.

It's an amazing thing, really. We've experienced this impact over and over again, and it inspires every project we do.

Click image for more photos from this project

In all, we planted over 500 flowers this year, which is pretty darn cool 😎

Even cooler is that this was possible in part due to assistance from our daughter, Madison, who has developed quite a green thumb over the past few months.

We're also honored that our work was recently highlighted in a feature by Seth Voorhees on Spectrum News. If you watch the video, you'll get a sneak peek at a BIG project we have in store for next Spring 😲

Every nook and cranny downtown is an opportunity!

🗑 But it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows petunias. There are some real problem areas downtown, and we've spent many hours tackling the blight that is holding the center city back.

...Hours we'd have preferred to spend planting (and watering) more flowers.

Unfortunately, we can measure the amount of litter we have picked up in the hundreds of pounds. In fact, a couple weeks ago we removed almost 100 pounds of trash from just one parking lot!

I share this not to be negative, but to make the point that the war on litter needs to be fought on several fronts.

We aim to be part of this solution, alongside groups like Walking For Rochester and efforts like the City of Rochester's new Respect Rochester campaign.

To have beautiful streets we must first have clean streets.

The good news is that we are actively working with the City and some property owners to help mitigate the litter problem.

In reality, the solution is one part maintenance and two parts prevention. So we are both clearing litter daily, as well as advocating for additional trash receptacles in high-need areas (like the one recently added to the bus stop below).

Greyhound/FLIX passengers can now wait for their bus more comfortably thanks to some salvaged benches and chairs.

Well that's enough for now. Time to get back at it!

In the meantime, if you enjoy these updates, please consider sharing this email with someone you know who cares about downtown.

Thank you so much for your support. And remember... every day is an opportunity to make our city just a little bit better.

- Mike and Tina Gilbert

Please consider becoming a Downtown ROCstar by supporting our efforts with a tax-deductible gift. Every dollar is invested directly into placemaking projects that enhance our center city.