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Violent crime is falling in Rochester. Its underlying causes persist.

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Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · 1d

Over the summer, 11 people were killed in the city of Rochester, the lowest since before the pandemic, and second lowest in the past decade. Shootings have also fallen dramatically. But the deep issues which contribute to violent crime are ever present.

www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

The summer of 2025 saw the second lowest number of homicides in the past decade. But the issues of blight, addiction, and divestment that lead to violent crime are still ever-present.

Rochester Housing Authority braces as government shutdown begins

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Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · 7d

As the government shutdown begins, the Rochester Housing Authority has begun planning on just what to do if its flow of federal housing dollars to over 26,000 recipients runs dry. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

RHA, which oversees about $60 million in payments for over 26,000 tenants, is advising staff to conserve office supplies as the shutdown threatens federal housing funds.

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Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · 9d

Other journos out there: has PACER also been irreparably broken for you too? It's been almost impossible to actually go from searching for a case, getting into it, and downloading a document for the past couple weeks.

Black Button Distilling has been saved from the brink. What comes next?

Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · 9d

Two months ago, Black Button Distilling was selling off its furniture to make rent. Now, a nascent liquor group has helped save it from the grave. What comes next for Rochester's first distillery since Prohibition? www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

Rochester's first distillery since Prohibition was on the edge of folding. A new partnership with a nascent liquor firm has given it a second chance.

Cobb’s Hill and Washington Grove slated to become preservation district, shielding it from change

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Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · 16d

For the first time in over 30 years, the city of Rochester plans to name a new historic preservation district. Cobbs Hill and Washington Grove will also be the first to be made up entirely of parkland. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

The designation as a historic preservation district is the first new one in over 30 years, with Cobb's Hill joining the likes of East Avenue and the Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood.

Feds arrest eight in senior scamming operations

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Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · 22d

Eight people face federal charges over schemes to scam the elderly, using everything from romance to posing as government agents. All told, they're believed to have attempted to steal more than $11 million from 139 victims.
www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

The eight are accused of using everything from romance scams to posing as government agents to attempt to defraud 139 victims of over $11 million.

City seeks developer for two former schools. What they could become is up in the air

Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · 22d

With dwindling enrollment, five city schools were shuttered last year, with two buildings returned to city ownership. Now, the city is seeking a developer to turn them into something. What that something is is still up for debate. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

The city is seeking developers for two former city schools, with the options open for what they can become.

Federal agents in NY retreat in SUV with slashed tires as protesters shout 'Gestapo'

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Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · 27d

My first headline in The Gothamist, a publication I've always had a really deep respect for and am now proud to work in the same news network as.

gothamist.com/news/federal...

The confrontation in Rochester came the same day the top federal prosecutor in Albany said New Yorkers can “expect to see” more immigration enforcement.

gothamist.com

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Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · 29d

A protest against ICE in the Park Avenue neighborhood appeared to provoke the federal agents to leave a roofing job site.

www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

ICE agents in the Park Ave neighborhood spark large-scale protest

The group shouted “shame” and "Gestapo,” and applauded as agents in the ICE-led action drove a Border Patrol SUV away on four flat tires, which had been slashed.

Lender seeks to foreclose on the troubled Hungerford Building

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Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Sep 8

Once one of Rochester's most pivotal artist hubs, the Hungerford Building has fallen into decay. Now, the lender to its owner, Peter Hungerford, is seeking to have the building foreclosed on, after he defaulted on payments.
www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

Once an artist's hub in Rochester, the building has since fallen into a state of decay. And its owner has defaulted on payments to his lender.

Rogue chickens on Avery Street prompt rare city action

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Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Sep 4

A menace has popped up on the quiet strip of Avery Street renegade chickens roaming the yards, chasing kids, and leaving a trail of eggs and poop in their wake.

The situation has gotten so bad, it's hatched an unusual legal action from the city.

www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

For months now, a “filthy, roaming” band of roosters, hens and chicks have plagued the neighborhood, residents say. Now the city is suing, seeking a court order to seize the roost.

Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Aug 27

It was unanimous

City Council approves new sanctuary bill, with discipline and LGBTQ protections

Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Aug 27

The new bill bars city employees from discriminating or enforcing immigration law, with punishment up to termination. The law also includes protection from discrimination based on gender identity or orientation in sports, businesses, and city buildings. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

The new law protects residents from discrimination based on gender identity and immigration status, and allows the administration to terminate employees who violate the policy.

Trump's anti-DEI directives prompt Monroe County to join federal lawsuit

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Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Aug 21

Monroe County has signed onto a federal lawsuit in response to the anti-DEI executive orders from the Trump Administration.

www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

If the federal government follows through on the cancellation of grants over DEI policies, the Monroe County Airport Authority stands to lose out on about $9 million in funding.

Fired PAB exec claims she faced harassment, bullying. The city had promised to fix dysfunction

Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Aug 14

The Police Accountability Board's former chief of administration is suing the city and agency, alleging she was subjected to harassment and bullying in the workplace, and terminated through an unlawful "sham" process.
www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

Rosabel Antonetti’s lawsuit alleges “consistent harassment, bullying, and even workplace violence” during her time at the PAB — an agency she was instrumental in building.

NY officials say they'll fix an error that put cannabis dispensaries in jeopardy. A lot is on the line

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Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Aug 13

Alesha and Ricardo Chambers worked for three years to open their cannabis dispensary, Pure Wellness on Ridge Road. But a screw-up in state law let them open too close to a school. The state has vowed to fix it. A lot is on the line for them to do so.
www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

The state mix-up had let over 100 dispensaries too close to schools to open, and another 44 applicants in limbo. But officials have vowed to cure the error.

New York's raiding of unlicensed cannabis dispensaries is constitutional, court rules

Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Aug 8

A ruling Wednesday found that the state's tactic of warrantless search and seizures of unlicensed cannabis dispensaries was constitutional, and that they can proceed doing so.
www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

The decision made in state Supreme Court determined the actions taken by the state Office of Cannabis Management were part of authorized regulatory duties, and did not require a warrant.

Union fight at WROC prompts state delegation to boycott interviews

Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Aug 5

Workers at WROC/RochesterFirst/Ch. 8 first voted to unionize in Feb. 2023. But since then, its parent company, Nexstar Media Group, has refused to recognize the union or come to the collective bargaining table. Now, state local elected officials are boycotting.
www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

All of the Democratic state representatives in Monroe County, plus several local elected officials, will no longer do one-on-one interviews with WROC/Channel 8 until its parent company recognizes its ...

YouTube video by Rochester NY Police

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Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Aug 4

Man killed by Rochester Police on Thursday on Ernestine Street identified as 38-year-old Akintunde Campbell. Here is the bodyworn camera footage.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCDu...

OIS July 31, 2025

www.youtube.com

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Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Aug 1

Rochester Police shot and killed a man on Ernestine Street last night, after the man allegedly brandished a pistol. The two officers involved are one leave pending an investigation by the state Attorney General's Office. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

Rochester police shoot and kill man on Ernestine Street

Two officers are on leave following the shooting, during which police claim the man brandished a handgun and ignored commands to drop it.

Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Aug 1

Plane crash near Maplewood Park

Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Jul 29

No argument here

City orders shops to close ahead of PR Fest post-party

Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Jul 29

The pallet shelters are purchased and in Rochester. There have been some incremental improvements to the site through spring (we check back every couple months). I opted to give some grace that it is being worked on, albeit slowly and is currently unusable.

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Gino Fanelli @ginofanelli.bsky.social · Jul 29

On Monday, Ray Martinez, co-owner of Sobrino's on North Clinton and Norton, received an unusual letter from the city's top lawyer, as well as other businesses on the avenue: close early on the last day of the Puerto Rican Festival, or else face a misdemeanor charge.

www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

In a letter distributed to businesses along the avenue on Monday morning, the city’s top lawyer Patrick Beath urges businesses to “partner” with the city and comply with the request. If businesses don...