First hour: Brighton Town Board member Robin Wilt addresses alleged racism in Brighton
Second hour: Discussing the City of Rochester's parking plan
Brighton Town Board member Robin Wilt announced last week that she was dropping out of the race for New York State Assembly due to concerns about alleged racism in Brighton. Wilt says she made the decision to focus her energies on the town after a 14-year-old Brighton High School student posted a video on YouTube that alleged systemic racism in the district. The student, Keniyah Vickers, is the daughter of Wilt’s campaign manager, Wynette Vickers. Wilt and Vickers join us in studio for the hour.
Then in our second hour, a conversation about parking. It’s a hot button issue in Rochester, especially in recent days after the City of Rochester increased the enforcement hours for parking meters to 8 p.m. The goal was to reduce a $47.6 million budget gap. When some residents expressed concerns about the move, the City changed the policy; on Tuesday, City Hall announced that the mayor was increasing the daytime hourly rate so parking could remain free after 6 p.m. This hour, we discuss a range of issues related to parking in Rochester – from its relationship to downtown development, urbanism, its impact on local businesses, and more. In studio:
- Heidi Zimmer-Meyer, president of the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation
- Joanne Brokaw, local writer and improviser
- Arian Horbovetz, creator of the Urban Phoenix blog
- Jason Partyka, member of Reconnect Rochester
- Bleu Cease, executive director of the Rochester Contemporary Art Center
