An on line survey is gathering feedback from Rochester area residents and business owners on how to celebrate the city's Puerto Rican culture in a safe and peaceful way.
"Everybody has coffee table talks and this is the first time the coffee table talks have evolved into some kind of action," said Anthony Nunez, a member of a committee of residents looking for solutions to quell the disorderly and sometimes violent aftermath of the annual Puerto Rican Festival.
"For the last nearly 20 years, there has been kind of a ramping up of unorganized, dangerous activity over there," Nunez said. A number of arrests have typically followed the close of the summer festival on the Northeast side. Incidents have included garbage can fires and police pelted with rocks and bottles.
Nunez says the goal of the survey is to get ideas on how to organize a post-festival event that would re-channel that energy into something positive.
"I don't know exactly it would look like, but they would celebrate whatever they were trying to celebrate in that area, but without condoning all of the negative habits that have been built up and maybe focusing that energy in a better way."
A community meeting will be scheduled to share the results of the survey after it closes on January 31.
