Presidents Message

Here we are at the holiday season. There is so much to do and it is so easy to be caught up in the crazy of it all. For the past 2 years I have talked about our Beloved Community. I talked about how we are responsible for making our community one: where all feel welcome, where differences are celebrated, where we help our neighbors get the things they need – whether that be food, shelter or services from our municipalities.

Way back in January of 2021 we had a vaccine for COVID but it was being given only to the old, chronically ill or health care workers. We were in preliminary talks with Greenlight. We were talking about getting small food pantries. We had been meeting via Zoom for almost one year. So many things have happened in that time! During my tenure we have had informal meetings with our legislatures, community garage sales, small food pantries, monthly Clean Sweeps,  adopt a fire hydrant, participated in health fairs, UR Off Campus services fair and participated in community walks with the students, engaged with the Southwest Rotary events, attended monthly neighborhood president’s meetings and monthly business meeting for our major business corridors, helped get the construction site moved from 555 Thurston Road, started a scout troop and worked cooperatively with South West Area Neighborhood(SWAN) for Christmas Toy Drive and Thurston Road YMCA Family Center for a Thanksgiving food drive and started strategic planning. We worked with the Southwest Neighborhood Service Center and Rochester Police Departments to create a plan to deal with front yard parking, panhandling and other quality of life issues.

We have had some losses, too.  Chase Bank and Walgreens have left the footprint of the 19^th Ward Community Association. The mayor and Dana Miller have worked with these businesses to help mitigate the loss of their services to our neighbors. We have been in contact with the 2 major health systems to see how we can work with them to support our pharmacy needs. Both Rochester Regional and Jordan Health Center at Woodard both have outpatient pharmacies which can fill prescriptions. We also lost many of our neighbors – some to violence and some to illness. These losses, especially the loss to gun violence are particularly disturbing. We held 3 different events to talk about the violence in our neighborhood.

We have continued to work with our local city, county and state legislators who are some of our greatest champions. We are grateful for their support physically and financially.  Thanks to Brian Wilmot and the senior group at the YMCA on Thurston for the amazing donation of nonperishable foods for the food. We fill the cupboard as often as we have donations. We could fill it several times a day if we had the food. Thanks to those who just fill the cupboard or send money specifically for food.

Thanks to Loren and Alyssa from the University of Rochester Community Liaisons for getting the Adopt a Hydrant off the ground. They were able to get a hydrant adopted. Keeping the fire hydrants clear of snow is an important way to participate in the safety of our neighborhood. A fire can double in size every 30 seconds. This means if the firemen have to shovel out a hydrant – a fire which could have been extinguished quickly, is magnitudes larger because of the delay of digging out the hydrant.  Please consider adopting a hydrant by going to the city website.

Convention

We had our first in person convention since 2019. It was a huge success thanks to Siena Facciolo and her team. We had gorgeous baskets and a food processer/juicer that encouraged convention goers to take a chance on winning. We had 55 participants and a lively visioning board. We collected ideas about what we would like to see continued, things that need improvement and DREAMS. The executive board and delegates council will be working on getting these ideas and putting them into action based on the priorities we have for strategic planning.

Strategic Planning

This is a rewarding process but is very labor intensive process. This group of dedicated neighbors is meeting 2 times a month to identify the top priorities to keep our organization fiscally healthy, ethnically and culturally relevant and connected to the community. This isa  fascinating process and we hope to be done by the middle of 2023. If you have any questions or comments please let me know. Thanks to all those who participated in the visioning.

Scouts

We have a group of about 9 children ages 5-11 participating in Scouts. We have had 2 meetings at the Arnett Library. We plan to meet twice a month. If you know of any young children who would be interested please let the office or Jesse Knoth know.

Building

We are still working on the possibilities of our future home. We have lots of options and have a group who is looking into the possibilities.

Community Cats

The Cat Food Drive was a success. Please follow them on social media.  This dedicated group of neighbors can be seen with traps early in the mornings and late at night. They help so many cats by trapping, neutering and releasing to keep the populations stable. They all help feed many cats.

Greenlight

If you were able to be with us at convention you saw that Greenlight is ready to come into the 19^th Ward. What we have to do is get our neighbors to express interest in having Greenlight as an option for internet.  

I am looking forward to working with the strong team of women who will be creating the next chapter. It was my pleasure to have served as the president of this historic organization. Thanks to all who have made it possible: the executive team, delegate’s council, committee chairpersons and volunteers, and finally our dedicated office manager, Ruth Jenerson.  I promise to remain as past president and continue the fine work that is being done.

Karen V. Emerson, President

19th Ward Community Association

AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Please email the office 19thward@19wca.org with any events or information that you would like to share in our newsletter or weekly updates.

19th Ward 2022 Annual Convention

Our in-person convention brought out 50+ attendees. Our newly elected 2022 officers are: Josie McClary President, Sandra Powell 1st Vice President, Kate Washington 2nd Vice President, Angela Burch Treasurer, Cassandra Bocanegra, Secretary (pictured below left to right). You’ll hear from them in our January Update 19 newsletter.

Thanks to all our volunteers who helped make this convention a success! Special thanks to School 16 for hosting our event. Thank you, John Boutet for the photos!

Schools Committee

The 19th WCA Spelling Bee is planned for April 2023, and practices are now scheduled at the Arnett library on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. beginning January 14. This year we plan to add Wilson Foundation Academy’s  7th and 8th graders in addition to grades 3 through 6 in Schools 10, 16, 19, and 29. The schools and the library have lists of words to practice. Perhaps the holiday break would be a good time to start!

Arnett Branch Library

Street Liaison News

Greenlight Networks

19WCA Mini Clean Sweep

19WCA Mini Clean Sweep December 10, 10-12PM – 216 Thurston Rd. If you are a chair or past chair of 19WCA events, please call Ruth at office (585-328-6571) to discuss event materials.

CIVICS CORNER

City of Rochester

News Release

(Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022) – Mayor Malik D. Evans joined Rochester City Councilmember Willie J. Lightfoot Sr. to urge city residents coping with health disparities to participate in the City’s Community Health and Wellness survey to help the City play a greater role in making sure all residents receive equitable health care.

Mayor Evans, Councilmember Lightfoot and Patricia Williams-McGahee are collaborating to establish a Total Health and Wellness Initiative, which would include gathering information to define gaps in the health and wellness needs of Rochester’s underserved communities with the aim of bringing services into the neighborhoods that need them most. The Initiative is an implementation component of the joint City-County Commission on Race and Structural Equity (RASE).report, which recommends embedding services and agencies directly in neighborhoods.

“We’re collecting information from our residents who live in underserved areas so that we can bring health and wellness services to where they live,” said Mayor Evans. “City residents have unique needs and challenges and we need to know what they are so that we can be effective in our efforts to deliver equity.”

“The more data we have the better we can meet the community’s needs,” said Councilmember Lightfoot, who served on the RASE Commission. “We want to meet people where they are and encourage everyone to take the survey.”

Using information from the survey, the City will work with healthcare providers and non-profit community organizations to establish pop-up events at City R-Centers to deliver health care and other human services directly to residents in neighborhoods with histories of racial segregation and structural barriers to opportunity. Services will address the “social determinants of health,” outlined in the RASE report, including housing, mental health, medical care and food and nutrition and information.

The City initially launched the survey in July, but more information from a greater number of participants is required to develop the proposed pop-up health service delivery system.

The survey can be found at www.cityofrochester.gov/healthandwellness and hard copies are available at the following City R-Centers:

• Avenue D (200 Avenue D)
• Carter Street (500 Carter St.)
• Willie W. Lightfoot (271 Flint St.)
• Frederick Douglass (999 South Ave.)
• David F. Gantt (700 North St.)
• Edgerton (41 Backus St.)
• Trenton and Pamela Jackson (485 N. Clinton Ave.)
• Thomas P. Ryan (530 Webster Ave.)
• Tyshaun Cauldwell (524 Campbell St.)

Surveys will also be at the Roxie Sinkler Center, the Danforth Center and the 19th Ward Community Association.

In Case You Missed It

RPD Citizen’s Police Academy

The Rochester Police Department’s Citizen’s Police Academy (C.P.A.) is a 10-session program held once a year with an average of 20-25 attendees. This year we are encouraging community members and business owners to apply for the 29^th Academy. Academy classes will run for 10 weeks on Wednesday nights from 6 pm to 9 pm, starting on January 25, 2023 and concluding on March 29, 2023.

Classes will be held at the Public Safety Training Facility located at 1190 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY 14624.

2023 Citizen’s Police Academy Schedule (All classes take place from 6-9 pm):

Session #1- January 25, 2023

• Chief David Smith- State of the Rochester Police Department
• Recruiting and Hiring Process for RPD Officers

Session #2- February 1, 2023

• Introduction to RPD Patrol Sections
• Neighborhood Service Centers (NSC)/Crime Prevention/PAC-TAC

Session #3- February 8, 2023

• Firearms (to include Firearms Safety)- Attendees experience firing a handgun on the Police Range and engage in Judgmental Shooting (PRISM)
• Less-Lethal Options Overview

Session #4- February 15, 2023

• Defensive Tactics- Unarmed Defense and Use of Force Continuum (Levels of Force used by RPD Officers Demonstrated with Attendees Participation)

Session #5- February 22, 2023

• Vehicle Stops and Tactical Approaches- Practical Exercise with Attendees –

Session #6- March 1, 2023

• Domestic Violence and Conflict Management (De-escalation techniques)

Session #7- March 8, 2023

• Introduction to Special Investigation Section (Narcotics)- Attendees Experience Hands-on Demonstration of Illegal Drugs Sold/Used in the City of Rochester
• Introduction to License Investigation Unit and Economic Crimes (Tips given to avoid being scammed)

Session #8- March 15, 2023

• Introduction to Criminal Investigation Division- Homicide and Serious Crimes
• Body Worn Camera Program- Policies, Procedures and Demonstrations

Session #9- March 22, 2023

• Professional Standards Section (Internal Affairs), Crisis Intervention/Forensic Intervention Teams, Officer Wellness

Session #10- March 29, 2023

• Graduation Ceremony- Certificate Presented to Attendees by Chief of Police
• Special Teams Exposition (K9, SWAT, Scuba, Bomb and Mounted Units) – Rudolph, Alliet, Potuck

For further information and an application, please contact Officer Ted Coriddi at (585) 428-1222 or send an email inquiry to Theodore.Coriddi@cityofrochester.gov . Applications must be completed and returned by January 16^th, 2023 and registration approved prior to the first session date on January 25, 2023, with preference given to City of Rochester residents and business owners.

Applications can also be downloaded from the City’s Website www.cityofrochester.gov or obtained at the Rochester Police Department’s Headquarters Desk located at 185 Exchange Blvd., Rochester, NY 14614.

Flyers

Committee Information

Reach out to our office manager if you would like to get involved.

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