At a recent Rotary meeting, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren made a bold claim about the area’s economy.
Warren announced her intentions to declare 2020 the year of return. Warren cited filling in the Inner Loop, photonics projects, and private and public investments across the city as signs of progress.
She also sang the praises of Rochester’s history, culture, diversity and its business community for each of their roles in revitalizing the city.
“As a city, we bet on Rochester. We bet on ourselves. And we didn’t listen to skeptics,” said Warren.
For these reasons, the fact that 2020 is the 200th birthday of Susan B. Anthony, Warren found ample reasons to plan an organized appeal to former residents to come back home.
“So they can see firsthand our low cost of living, our recession-proof economy, our growing agriculture and food industry, our premiere golf courses, our world-class beer and wine destination,” said Warren. “The cradle of civil rights. The place that leads the nation in the fight for women’s and LGBTQ rights, that’s why we’re launching Welcome Home Roc in partnership with our friends at Visit Rochester.”
City Hall spokesperson Justin Roj said the marketing plan will be rolled out early next year.
While the cost of living and the growth of those industries are undeniable, Rochester Institute of Technology economics professor Amit Batabyal said recession-proof economies are not possible because recessions are unavoidable. But he said a study from Redfin.com adds merits to Warren’s claims.
“This particular study, which has since got a fair amount of press, suggested that the Rochester, New York, economy was among the most recession-proof in the United States,” said Batabyal, who has been observing Rochester’s economy for nearly two decades. “It was a very specific comment, referring to a particular sector of the economy, and it was not saying the economy as a whole was recession-proof.”
Several factors were considered in building the study, including the percentage of housing flipping in an area: That is the number of houses being bought, improved and quickly sold. Batabyal said that’s uncommon in Rochester, which helps make the area more stable economically during downturns.
“Stability is the overarching word that I think about when I think about the Rochester economy,” said Batabyal. “Not a whole lot is happening in terms of uptick. But then again, nothing significantly dramatic is happening that is devastating large portions of the economy.”
