After reading Mary Anna Towler's essay and the respondent's letter, this Rochester girl feels compelled to chime in to the ongoing discussion about "what's wrong" with our city. Always there will be elements of any community that need to be addressed and improved; however, in Rochester's case, what seems most "wrong" is the tendency of our inhabitants to focus on the negative.
The response letter author bemoans that Rochester is not picturesque; is not a democratic (or specific political party) "haven;" does not have a "popular music industry;" that the city needs an "artistically oriented industry;" and that the film culture of Rochester is going to waste. As for weather and taxes? Rochester is a northeastern city in the path of lake effect conditions: Make peace with that, or don't. Taxes, yes, beg a basic response: They do stink.
But the other "problems?" I see deeply rooted natural beauty all over and around Rochester. A wealth of parks, tree-lined streets, and very short drives to the Finger Lakes leap to mind as illustrative of this city and its region's visual appeal. A more detailed example follows: After visiting many cemeteries in Europe, some quaint and some more awesome (including the spectacle at Normandy beach), Rochester's Mount Hope remains my all-time favorite. Further, its historical depth sets it apart from most of its size. That the cemetery lies adjacent to a university and teaching hospital that regularly contribute ground-breaking medical, scientific and intellectual research to the world quietly rebuts the complaint that Rochester does not have areas of growth and development.
I particularly take issue with the comments that Rochester suffers from a lack of artistic inspiration and influence. Really?! While it is true that I do not frequent popular music venues, that is because that is not the music I typically like. I do, however, adore and attend RPO concerts, Rochester Arts and Lectures, dance performances, and, periodically, plays. Of course, the Little Theater and the Cinema are always good bets, and if one prefers to stay in the suburbs, there are plenty of theaters there, too.
As a child of a "Kodak family" in more plentiful times, I always have been aware of the Rochester's importance to the film industry. RIT does contribute technologically and educationally to that legacy, and of course the Eastman House does. The Little again does its part with various film festivals and awards events, and the JCC offers its Jewish Film Festival. Young filmmakers abound in this area, as well.
Some of the aforementioned points lead to my closing thoughts about what may draw and retain young people to Rochester. As a recent Master's graduate from Colgate Rochester Divinity School, with a specialty in Multicultural/Multireligious Societies, I am keenly aware of Rochester's religious diversity. This wealth of perspectives, histories and beliefs may be the very thing that Rochester needs to promote: partisan politics, any one type of music or art, and a focus on one particular demographic or industry does not align with the unique philosophical and historical energy that underlies this city. If we allow Rochester's distinctive, multifaceted personality to galvanize efforts at development, this place and its people will garner respect and admiration.

I have lived in Rochester for the last 4 years and still find it amusing we have a city government that doesn't know how to manage a city.
I have seen plans come and go on revitalizing downtown by commercial and residential developments. I agree, its not an Austin, have been there, nor is it a Chicago or New York City, have lived there.
What I do feel is our city government could learn a lot with how to do it right by visiting and speaking with city governments that have, such as Austin, Chicago and New York City.
In order for residential development to succeed downtown , core services must be present. Such as supermarkets, shops and restaurants, parking and transportation.
Its time for Rochester to have a vibrant core downtown, than and only than will you attract people and companies who want to be there.

Unfortunately, Ms Robinson misses my point.

I was not trashing Rochester so much as I was trashing Texas. Rochester is a beautiful city in a very beautiful state, which unfortunately means that it isn't so much prettier that it would draw people from the surrounding area. Similarly, New York is a civilized state, which is a lot more than I can say of Texas, whose barbarous capital punishment, racially motivated hate crimes, and pathetic state government creates a siege mentality among progressive Texans to congregate in a particular location.

The unfortunate reality is that Rochester needs to turn itself around economically in a way that will attract outside capital. A friend of mine who manages a large commercial real estate portfolio for a multinational financial concern says that the industry has given the Rochester metropolitan area a rating indicative of a business climate unfavorable to commercial real estate investment. Period. Irondequoit Mall serves as a case in point in that regard, and that dynamic won't change until the metrics do.

Fix the taxes, fix the problems with infrastructure, fix the educational system, fix the creeping blight in the inner city, get rid of overlapping multi-layered government, and stop living in the past when Kodak was in its glory days. Until then, things will not change.