Rochester, NY Personal Injury Attorneys

Historic Rochester NY

Historians generally agree that Rochester, New York was America’s first “boomtown.” Since its earliest days as a frontier settlement, Rochester has been at the forefront of industry, culture, and social reform as well as conflict. Today, Rochester is the center of a metro region of more nearly 2 million people, stretching from Buffalo in the west to Syracuse in the east. The city is also the gateway to Upstate New York’s scenic Finger Lakes, a geologic feature resulting from Ice Age glaciation.

Rochester offers a wealth of attractions that include museums and historic sites, scenic neighborhoods, regular music and arts festivals (the Eastman School of Music is regarded as one of the finest conservatories in the U.S.), and several unique restaurants. When motoring in the area several hazardous roads require drivers to take extra precautions.

A Rich History

The earliest recorded settlers in the Rochester area were Seneca Native Americans, whose claim was extinguished by the 1719 Treaty of Big Tree. The land around Rochester changed hands several times, and very few white settlers lived in the area before Colonel Nathaniel Rochester and his partners began to lay out the original city in 1811. The city was born in 1817 when several tracts of land were joined together to form the Rochester Village. Within four years, the population had grown from 15 to over 2,500. Rochester was named the seat of Monroe County in 1821.

Rochester got another growth spurt from the arrival of the Erie Canal, giving the town access to major ports and trade routes. The area was a center of the great “Market Revolution” of the 1820s and 30s; by 1838, Rochester’s population was closing in on 20,000. It was home to so many wheat mills that it became known as the “Flour City.” Within 20 years, however, flour production had moved on and was replaced by a nursery industry. Hence, its nickname changed slightly to “Flower City.”

Political and Social Change

During the mid-19th Century, Rochester was near the center of numerous social and political movements. In 1847, African-American orator and anti-slavery activist Frederick Douglass founded The North Star, an Abolitionist newspaper that had eventually boasted 4,000 subscribers in the U.S., Europe and the Caribbean. Rochester was also the birthplace of Susan B. Anthony, a woman who dedicated her life to the cause of women’s suffrage. Toward the end of the century, Rochester was home to anarchist and labor activist Emma Goldman, whose ideas, considered radical and even dangerous at the time, laid the groundwork for modern feminism.

Center of Industry

The years following the American Civil War saw many industries created in Rochester. Many of the companies founded during that time continue to exist, including Eastman-Kodak and Bausch and Lomb. During the early 20th Century, Rochester became a textile and clothing center, especially for men’s clothing styles. Rochester also boasted one of the first automobile manufacturers in the U.S.

Today, the city of Rochester is home to approximately 211,000 residents, along with 1.7 million living in the surrounding metro area.

Landmarks and Places to See

As noted earlier, the city of Rochester has a large number of museums and other attractions for art lovers, history buffs, and people simply looking to enjoy themselves. An excellent place to start is the Heritage Trail. This is a well-marked walking route, along which visitors will find 15 historical markers explaining various events and places of significance. The Heritage Trail starts at the Susan B. Anthony home on Madison and currently terminates at the Erie Canal Aqueduct Bridge on West Broad Street.

Monroe County is also home to several wineries, four of which are around Lake Canandaigua, one of the scenic Finger Lakes. You can either drive the route in your own vehicle or avail yourself of a guided bus tour for a nominal fee.

Staying Safe in Rochester

When walking in Rochester, certain intersections are known for a high rate of pedestrian accidents. According to a local news source, four intersections pose a particular danger for pedestrians and cyclists. These are:

• Lexington Avenue & Mount Read Boulevard
• Lake Avenue & Driving Park
• Lake Avenue & Smith Street
• Dewey Avenue & Ridge Road West

Over two years between January 2015 and December 2016, there were over 20,000 accidents at intersections in and around Rochester, nearly 5,600 of which involved injuries.

Rochester is at the midpoint of the 450-mile-long Great Lakes Seaway Trail, which runs along the shores of the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Since 1996, this route has been designated a National Scenic Byway by the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is not a single highway, but rather a series of different roads winding their way along the shoreline. Some of these narrow two-lane roads, so if you see something of interest, it’s best to pull over rather than to take your eyes off the road for any length of time.

Staying Safe on Monroe County Highways

You can avoid accidents and injuries while motoring or walking in and around Rochester and Monroe Country by following a few  common-sense rules:

Observe Speed Limits

In 2017-19, there were more than 750 fatal car accidents in New York in which speeding was a major factor. These accidents accounted for nearly 30 percent of all traffic fatalities. When touring the area, be mindful that most roads in rural Monroe County are narrow and twisting.

Avoid Alcohol

20 percent of accidents during the aforementioned period involved intoxicated driving. The legal limit in New York is .08 percent, but even .02 percent can impair a person’s driving ability.

Avoid Distractions

Distractions accounted for 13 percent of New York traffic fatalities. Either turn off your cell phone or use a hands-free device.

Be Seen

If you are a motorist, turn on your lights, even during the day. If you are a cyclist or pedestrian, wear bright clothing and assume motorists cannot see you.

Following these simple safety rules will help ensure your visit to historic Rochester is enjoyable and memorable.

Is Rochester, NY a Good Place to Live In?

Finding a good place to live is not an easy task. While every family situation is different, there are a number of important factors such as housing, safety, and employment that all need to be considered before planning a move. 

With over 1 million people calling the Rochester metropolitan area home, it begs the question: Is it a good place to live? Let’s look at how Rochester ranks in the important factors listed above. 

Housing

Cost of living in Rochester is one of the big draws of the city. As of 2022, It is an affordable place to live, especially for families, with median home prices over $100,000 cheaper than the national average. 

Rent prices as well are more affordable than the national average, with median gross rent in Rochester proper between 2016 and 2022 being $875. This is in sharp contrast to median rent prices for the top 50 metropolitan areas in the US, which reached an all-time high of $1,849 in May 2022, according to some realtors. 

While home prices and rent costs are considerably lower than in other areas, one downside to these low prices is that Rochester sees one of the highest property taxes in the United States. In 2021, the effective property tax was at 2.22 percent, with residents paying on average just over $5,000 in property taxes. The property tax rate is higher than the national average, and a far cry from some of the lowest in the nation, such as Honolulu which costs only 0.25 percent. 

Safety

Safety is another important factor to look at when determining whether a city is an ideal place to live in. Crime Grade gives the Rochester metropolitan area an overall score of ‘A’, with most neighborhoods experiencing less crimes than the average in the US. When compared to the Crime Grade of neighboring New York cities such as Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany, Rochester has the best score. 

While the city had a high grade overall, Rochester scored poorly for “other crimes,” with drug crimes and vandalism having high incidence rates. 

Employment

Of course, for many, being able to find sufficient employment where you live is essential. The unemployment rate in the Rochester metropolitan area was 3.1 percent in May 2022, significantly lower than the New York state average of 4.4 percent for the same time period. 

The top industries in Rochester (by number of jobs) include:

• Education and health services (approximately 128,000 jobs)
• Trade, transportation, and utilities (approximately 85,000 jobs)
• Government (approximately 76,000 jobs)
• Professional and business services (approximately 64,000 jobs)
• Manufacturing (approximately 55,000 jobs)

Median incomes differ greatly depending on the area. For example, Rochester City West had a median household income of just over $37,000 in 2020, while Monroe County’s median household income was about $62,000 the same year.

Is Rochester, NY a Growing City?

Population changes are dependent on a number of factors. For example, economic changes, population age, and immigration rates can all have an effect on population growth or decline in any given region. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many areas across the United States saw huge changes in population – some growing substantially and some shrinking considerably. 

According to census.gov, 17 states recorded a population loss between 2020 and 2021. Of them, 11 had losses of over 10,000 people, which was a historically large number. In fact, New York State saw the largest population decline of all the states during that same period. Within 1 year alone, the population dropped by more than 300,000 people, many of whom left New York City. 

While Rochester was one of the many areas that saw a decline in population during the pandemic, the general trend in the past decades has been a slight but gradual increase in population since the turn of the century. 

When discussing population, it’s important to make the difference between the population of a city and its metropolitan area. For example, while the City of Rochester has a population of just over 210,000, the metropolitan area (which includes the six counties of Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Wayne, and Yates) is nearly 5 times as large at just over 1 million. 

Rochester at one time had a population of well over 300,000. Since the 1950s, population has steadily decreased in the city, eventually demoting it to the fourth-largest city in New York, with Yonkers taking over third place at a recent census. However, recording an increase in population, even though small, is a positive sign for a city that has seen a consistent declining population for decades. 

Between 2010 and 2020, the Rochester metropolitan area saw a population growth of 1.1 percent. When comparing the data of the six counties, though, there is a huge variation in the numbers. 

Monroe and Ontario counties were the only ones to record population gains over the 10-year period; Monroe (where Rochester is located) experienced an increase of 2 percent, and Ontario just over 4 percent. The four counties in more rural areas all saw population declines over the past decade, and some were quite substantial. Orleans County saw a nearly 6 percent dip, Livingston saw approximately 5 percent, Wayne nearly 4 percent, and Yates just over 2 percent. 

So, while the Rochester metropolitan area continues to see a growth in population, it is currently growing at a slower rate than surrounding areas. Buffalo, to the west, saw an increase of 6.5 percent over the past decade, while Syracuse, to the east, recorded a more modest increase of 2.4 percent.