Rochester: A City of Poverty

Parody of a 1963 film by Rochester Gas & Electric promoting Rochester.

[@mrbushlied7742]

This video is so true! I lived in Rochester, NY, for 12 years ending in January '96 when I left Rochester forever and relocated to Miami, FL. The move was the best thing I ever did until I immigrated to the UK in September '98.

[@Taureg96]

I died when I saw Cadillac Hotel

[@cmcmcc553]

Me too lol

[@GrahamPHL]

Thanks for highlighting all that Rochester in the 21st century has to offer...glad all that planning in the early 1960's paid off!

[@lamorcilla1]

Rochester is unfortunately a textbook example of a city that went to hell; I know, I lived there 30 years. The only thing left is the "attitude" of old Rochesterians!

[@nymichelle1226]

this makes me so sad brought a tear to my eye. I was raised in the 80 went to midtown EVERY Christmas so see Santa at Magic Mountain! LOVED downtown! Went to Visit my grandma on Emerson St. until she moved out in the end of the 80's I lived on flower City Park until 86 . Now I wouldn't drive to Emerson for nothing...

[@josettex]

That was beautiful. Great parody!

[@dpetrano]

ufohead, I recall Rochester pre-NAFTA, when everything from cameras to pianos were manufactured there. In the 60s, my dad owned the barber shop in Midtown Plaza. I recall Midtown always busy with middle-class shoppers having plenty money to burn. Today, Rochester's manufacturing base has been destroyed by cheap overseas imports. Wanna put Rochester back on the right track? Re-institute stiff trade tariffs on imported goods and let's get back to work.

[@definitely_notme4112]

Don’t forget this video was made in 2006-rochester has improved a lot since then.

[@WillHart]

True. I'm not nearly as cynical about it as I once was.

[@johnwolven1473]

I was back there for 23 years. I'm happy as FUCK I left.

[@ArthurMorgan-pq4tr]

The funny part is that I've seen all these places. My Dad bought an adult video from that shop once or twice. And nothing has changed since 2006. It's not getting better.

[@paleo99]

I was raised in Henrietta, and will say that must people in the suburbs consider the city a cesspool. Go to any Rustbelt city and you get the same story..the city itself is horrible but the suburbs are livable. It's sad to see that part of the country go downhill, but what else can you say given how the State government operates?

[@Dennis_Reynolds_Golden_God]

thanks for puttin this up. rochester is such a dump now. i live on clifford avenue and i know how bad it is.

[@BlackSupranoMDHTHC]

Crazy you said this 13 years ago. It’s worse then a dump now in 2020-2021

[@thegodinhere]

"Skilled industries..SKILLED PPL!"..😂😂😂💀

[@rsellars292]

I lived there twenty five years ago .I really wanted to move back after I retire in 2026 but the property taxes are very very high. My home I own now is currently worth 300,000 and my property taxes are 120 a month but to purchase a similar home in rochester the property taxes are 700 a month .That is to rich for my blood .I looked into why the property taxes are so high and it would be half of that if it weren't for the high concentration of people on Medicare there . It turns out all those people who are gaming the system by claiming permanent disability when in fact they are able to work the property owners have to pay a higher property tax to pay for the con men and con women's free healthcare. I know so many people there gaming the system but I will not be back to pay for their healthcare. Good luck to all the homeowners who are paying those high property taxes so that all those lazy people can con the system.

[@classiccarbuff]

I'm just curious, where did you find this information?

[@brouhajoe]

Me too, I moved to LA 4 years ago and have missed Rochacha every day.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

I saw this video about 10 years ago and today someone on a social media platform said the removal of part of Rochester's Inner Loop ruined downtown. I had to come here; so I did, grabbed the link, replied with "Are you sure?", and attached the link.

[@WillHart]

Glad to be of service!

[@KKD1247]

Wow...great job! Love the new video with the old soundtrack!

[@eastmangal]

Oh wow, that was fantastic! Thanks!!

[@ConnorChee]

that was amazing. Hotel cadillac...midtown...you got all the highlights of rochester. haha

[@bosman1988]

This clip is actually pretty telling. I'm from Kingston, Ontario Canada, and most upstate NY cities have really beautiful sections, but then poverty-stricken areas as shown in the video. It's pretty stark, actually.

[@tog3334]

Ex-Rochesterian -- I lived there for over a decade and I thought this video was a hoot! I think I recognized quite a few locations...

[@chris96298]

Still on the money 13 years later lol!

[@ArthurMorgan-pq4tr]

Exactly what I just told them. I wouldn't have been able to tell it was made in 2006. For all I knew it was from last year or even this year.

[@greasyfingers2699]

Hilarious! And, of course a bit sad. Rochester's reality thus far, from my limited observation, seems sadder every day compared with 40, 50, 60 years and more ago but still better than so many places.

[@moparboy74]

You're not missing anything. I moved from there, to SC, last year. Upstate cities, save Albany, have all met the same fate, generally. Rochester fell victim to state laws/regulations, high taxes, high cost of doing business, and a general decline of local manufacturing, which employed over 300K people, in 1980. Kodak employed 60K, in '83, now they have around 9K, or so. The city has seen better days. Not much new industry has come along, to replace what's been lost.

[@kiasophia6869]

I cried when I saw the opening scene of Midtown Plaza and the beautiful clock. Sucks on every level just how low this city has sunk....Nothing but a crater, a pit of iniquity.... Very sad.

[@mikecubes1642]

and yet new yorkers keep voting for the people who ruined the whole state not just your city

[@classiccarbuff]

@@mikecubes1642 Not me, but I can see what you mean.

[@classiccarbuff]

Midtown Plaza has been gone for years now. The clock was restored and put on display at the Greater Rochester International Airport behind a security checkpoint. It was taken down 5 years ago and placed in storage supposedly.

[@bruhbutwhytho2301]

​@@mikecubes1642Kodak ruined Rochester

[@Leroy-wm4ib]

@@bruhbutwhytho2301 How so? Please explain thanks.

[@StuffthatsGone]

Histerical ! You have to watch the Rochester City of Quality first to really appreciate!

[@shannon75]

Move to Henrietta, and you'll never have to step foot in Rochester again. Henrietta has EVERYTHING!

[@Barbara-1111]

shannon hoops Henrietta is the effing hood

[@classiccarbuff]

Marketplace Mall is the former Medley Centre 2.0.

[@classiccarbuff]

@@Barbara-1111 Not as bad as Gates or Greece unless there's something that I'm not yet aware of.

[@cheesebaba]

i live just outside of rochester. all the suburbs are really nice, with some of the best schools in the country. and to update, midtown is closed, and is or is being knocked down.

[@WillHart]

It was actually the new and improved can of worms. Good eye!

[@cdpete]

Fantastic - so sad but so true - our beloved old city is no more.

[@rdangelo]

The city was run into the ground by Mayor Johnson and the stupidity of Kodak, but the suburbs, especially the east side, are an excellent place to live. People create their own ghettos.

[@redcomic619]

Mayor Johnson was the best mayor in the past 30 years

[@mrbushlied7742]

@@redcomic619 Mayor Ryan was the best mayor Rochester, NY, ever had!

[@redcomic619]

@@mrbushlied7742 Before my time.

[@sandraannlongfield6046]

Awesome!

[@egregiousclamor]

Henrietta is a giant shopping center.

[@marloschmidtswitch]

OOOPS...The comments below were, comments made to other postings, I must have clicked the wrong button. But if you live in Rochester and have read the other postings you will get it. like others I was bored one night, checked out this clip,(LOVED it..laughed out loud). I read EVERY posting and could not stop laughing. It reminded me of all of the good and not so good things about Rochester.

[@lovewestny]

Don't mess with my Rochester.

[@SuV33358]

Mine too

[@uniquesista12]

Very clever video. I live in Rochester too.

[@WillHart]

Not to pick nits, but it's actually the (now closed) Wegmans at Driving Park and Dewey. Wegmans had requested full-time RPD presence there. Come to think of it, it may as well have been a police station. (-:

[@Moneytane1976]

This is very clever, a great salute to irony.

[@MsBrown-xi4hr]

wow that's my city salute.

[@nupe9]

Despite the ills that large inner cities and small inner cities are faced with, I Love my city!!! I was born and raised in "The Rock!"

[@PeteNice]

the clock of nations is at the airport now

[@doughhead63]

I bet that you don't live in the city, do you? The point is, downtown used to be great, here in Smugtown, USA. Those of us who live in, and LOVE ROCHESTER know that this parody hits the nail right on the head. Great job on this film!

[@shannon75]

Country Sweet is the BEST sauce! Yum!

[@Mulcahey]

As someone born and raised in Rochester, I'd like to thank you for making a film that addresses the actual concerns of Rochestarians. At least someone won't sit idly by and watch Wimorite and the like destroy Rochester.

[@boricua7871]

Clinton ave my old home.... this video makes me proud.

[@dawkk]

I lived on a street called Borchard between N Clinton and Remmington. I am soooooooo fucking happy I left that dump.

[@Clay4legacy]

I lived at 726 Jay Street Rochester NY back in 1980. It really does look crappy now....... I'm glad I live in Wild And Wonderful West Virginia now.....

[@datghettoazn127]

I live close to all those palces..I know where they are or I pass by them every single day... wow thats crazy...

[@BanjoNaps]

2009 was the 3rd best year on output in human history for a single country. The other 2 years were 2006 and 2007. Our consumption is what is out of control. Employment in manufacturing jobs has been in decline sense the 70s. That is due to automation and it is a good thing. We need more farmers and we need to stop "buying" so many imports. Thats it. Our manufacturing sector could enter the 3rd industrial revolution if it was unleashed into the free market, but its still very healthy as is.

[@tommyboy196911]

Does the narrator say, Traffic flows here or traffic blows here, it is hit or miss.

[@marloschmidtswitch]

Marks Texas Hots,combo,red hot, burger,cheese on both,fries mac salad,...use the last hot dog bit as a squegee...to snow plow all of the grease on to that last bite of bread...ohhh myyyy

[@stinkinfishguts]

I am a Rochester native and that was hilarious.

[@torquetrain8963]

Looks like another rivet in the great lakes rust belt

[@loretano]

this is a great parody on the original Film

[@mikecubes1642]

if you think rochester is bad you should visit utica

[@juandelavegapr]

Now that is funny

[@tragickingdom15]

I like it...

[@acer3573]

3:00 Can of Worms FTW

[@christopherdigiovanni7864]

Very sad because of my hometown. I no longer live there. Yes, my family lives there. BIG SIGH!

[@tragickingdom15]

I live in Newark wich is about 20 miles from Rochester and I call it western new york.

[@marloschmidtswitch]

I DO LOVE Rochester, it does have it's share of beautiful places,art,culture and history. BUT...if you don't think it's a city of, or at least WITH poverty, take a ride NORTH of University Ave and the inner loop...then get back to me.

[@dkstryker]

yeah i hear ya definetly on that one. i live in gates and the drive to the HOG is horrible.

[@datghettoazn127]

I agree with you....

[@medic9five]

I love watching this video, i loved and miss working in the hoods of Rochester. couldnt make a living though. Rochester may be run down and blighted. But once someone lives in the ROC. they will always call it home, i do. the only thing i dont miss is lake effect snow.

[@Woblesavvy]

Does Winton Rd even cross into the city (of Rochester)?

[@grabitup]

Wegmans has been downsizing lately and now there are only 2 left on the outskirts of the city...everything here is ASS. No jobs...yet the cost of living is high. Everything downtown is closed at 6pm. And besides there's nothing downtown but court houses and jail now. No place to shop...it sucks here.

[@dkstryker]

holy shit what a small world man!!!!

[@dpetrano]

nackeria, hmmm... I fully admit I derived/developed those particular skills at nearly every store in Midtown Plaza, circa 1965. Such a daily task was easy for me. Dad owned the "No Waiting Barber Shop" at Midtown's terrace level, so I was always wearing my BIG pocketed shoe-shine smock when roaming McCurdy's, Forman's, Sibley's. After I conducted my daily deeds, I didn't have to run down the usual exits like a common thief. PEACE

[@jessegomes7815]

LMAO I LIVED IN BOTH ROCHESTER NY AND NEWBURGH NY AND ROCHESTER IN NO WAY AT ALL IS WORSE THAN NEWBURGH. NEWBURGH MAKES ROCHESTER LOOK LIKE HEAVEN, AND YES IM TALKING ABOUT THE HOOD IN INNER ROCHESTER.

[@r.pres.4121]

Both Cleveland and Toledo make Rochester look like utopia. Those two Ohio cities on Lake Erie are urban disaster areas where decay, drugs, and despair are rampant.

[@subliminal128]

I live by newburgh that place is a warzone

[@grabitup]

Damn!

[@Inis.585]

that first house is mine and its for sale 5 bucks anyone?

[@shannon75]

The Fast Ferry was a joke!

[@ledxzeppelinx182]

yah that makes alot of sense,

[@MichaelParthum]

Where was that footage of all those cars shot at? Was that the old "can of worms"?

[@7lilly5]

Well done! 😏😄

[@Woblesavvy]

I'd like to go to Brooklyn just to see one of poorest counties in all of America (Kings County aka all of Brooklyn) and the highest amount of public housing too.

[@Koolazzmike]

@shannon75 I disagree. Sal's Birdland does!

[@JBird30761]

Rochester, NY's definitely seen better days, though hopefully better days are coming. Accurate video.

[@grabitup]

Where are you originally from?

[@sweets3445]

@HannnahBalector exactly if they dont want to be here they can leave this is home just dont come back when rochester is a destination

[@3323pippen]

Rochester will always be home. This video is funny though but made in the late 80's or early 90's. though.

[@jeffamvideo]

Cynical, yet undeniably relevant.

[@aubs9511]

Haha, this is hilarious. I live in rochester now and have to agree that this focuses on only the bad. I'd like to know where 09musicaddict was eating though because that's not exactly customary...

[@DrFunky4]

I read a lot of the comments and I can tell who knows what they are talking about and who doesnt. First of all Both Rochester and Buffalo have neighborhoods that rate as the most dangerous in the state as well as the country. They both have the same problems and are almost the same city except Buffalo is just bigger. I have always called it western new york. Not Upstate. And as far as NYC it was bad, now its generally safe with pockets of bad areas. Upstate cities need to unite.

[@classiccarbuff]

Actually, Rochester is a metropolitan city with just over 1.1 million residents. Think of the suburbs as boroughs of Rochester. As for Buffalo, it's doing better now versus 13 years ago.

[@Astronopolis]

ive been here in miami for a year, and i miss rochester so badly! its a good thing im moving back next month!

[@19ponyboy]

Don't do it ...this place is a shithole

[@TCPellett]

Well, that's not the turnaround Rochester, NY I live in and now think of all the time and reasearch that went in to this project...and then think of something positive done with that time...but that might not be so "cool." Creative but really just reflecting "reality show" type of editing where you're told what to see...

[@marloschmidtswitch]

Cheery Ohh, Old Chap...By chance did you venture North of University Ave ?....hah aha h It does have some very nice spots

[@rdangelo]

Actually, the suburbs are really doing great. Rochester's awesome if you just stay out of the city. People aren't stupid, they're moving farther away.

[@Woblesavvy]

Where north of U ave is nice?

[@Daneane71]

I love this city! Wouldn't dream of moving, but I thought that willpowerunlimited did a great job on this parody! Funny s**t!

[@marloschmidtswitch]

Naz is a great college but I think it's closer to Pittsford than it is to Rochester. liked your comment about Rochestarians beating themselves up, sooo true ha ha h

[@whales]

this video kind of bums me out. sure rochester has its bad parts but every city does. i moved in 2000 and currently live in brooklyn and i still think i'll probably end up going back to settle down. rochester is a great little city

[@dkstryker]

OH hell yes the only place in rochester i truly love babay!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Drratburn]

Very accurate. I live in Rochester, its so terrible, I hate it so much. I live on the border of Penfield though, so I don't have to waste my time on the terrible city.

[@dpetrano]

Kelly, I am as true a Rochesterian as anybody here. Like you, I love Rochester, but the truth cannot be swept under Hotel Cadillac's rug any more. Rochesster' got a couple of issues that not even George Eastman can resolve. Also, like you, I do not live in Rochester at present. I live in Clearwater, Florida; however, things here have gotten so bad, Rochester actually looks like a viable option. Like Gen. MacArthur, I think I shall return . . .

[@grabitup]

lol.... so true!

[@marloschmidtswitch]

Can't argue with you on that .. "Rochester is great if you stay OUT of Rochester".....haha ha haa, that was funny.

[@KingFunch]

damn i thought this was rochester mn

[@grrrrrapes]

First of all, unless that kid was hanging out on Ave D (all you true Rochesterians know exactly where I am talking about), he was not involved in a drive by shooting. As every city, there are bad parts of Rochester. Yes, our "thugs" seem to think they are the toughest, but as long as you dont piss them off or walk down any dark allies alone (which no smart person would do anywhere), you wont get mugged (like his "smart" friends supposedly did). Though I cant wait to move. I do love Rochester.

[@tragickingdom15]

Rochester could be nice again... if the mayor and the people took action.