News Blog

County Clerk Adam Bello’s task force on vacant and abandoned properties – zombie properties – will hold a public forum from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday in the Rochester City Hall’s City Council Chambers, 30 Church Street.

Bello assembled the task force to examine how the houses become vacant and why they stay unoccupied, and also to develop recommendations for addressing the underlying problems. Bello has said the task force wants to make recommendations for local, state, and federal governments.

Task force representatives will make a presentation and then the audience will be able to participate in breakout sessions in four areas:

• Maintenance of properties and how local government responds to maintenance issues;
  
• The foreclosure process;
  
• Rehabilitation and sale of vacant properties;
  
• Foreclosure prevention.
  

Organizers ask anyone who plans to attend to RSVP by calling (585) 753-1645 or e-mailing [email protected]. — BY JEREMY MOULE

Recommendations to improve the trail network in the Washington Grove section of Cobbs Hill Park will be presented at a 5:30 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, August 16, at the Tay House Lodge, 85 Hillside Avenue.

The recommendations are from a consultant and the project’s advisory committee and include a conceptual design for trail entrances. The meeting will follow an open-house format with presentation boards and visual displays, and the design team will be available to answer questions. — BY CHRISTINE CARRIE FIEN

The Rochester school board will hold a public forum at School 1 on Wednesday, August 17. The purpose of the forum is to gather input from parents, teachers, students, and the community about improvements to the school building. The forum will be at the school, which is located at 85 Hillside Avenue, at 6 p.m. — BY TIM LOUIS MACALUSO

The 19th Amendment Celebration in the Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood takes place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, August 21.The event marks the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote.

The celebration starts at the 1872 Monument just outside the 1872 Café on West Main Street. The spot is where Anthony and 14 others cast their illegal votes in the 1872 presidential election.

The event will include live music, historical re-enactments, and voter registration. Self-guided walking tours of the neighborhood will also be available. — BY CHRISTINE CARRIE FIEN