City walks back East End restrictions after quiet month

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The City of Rochester implemented new changes to the East End Entertainment District on Thursday night, walking back some of the restrictions put in place a month ago when the “Special Event Zone” was established.

The original restrictions banned certain bags, cars on some streets, and 18-year-olds from the entire district.

However, after Mayor Malik Evans said the past four weeks have been successful with no violence or gunfire in the East End, the city has decided to allow 18-year-olds back into the district.

“Overnight, the public drinking, hanging out and parking lots, and just general loitering in the area completely went away,” said Blake Gianniny, an East End property owner.

Gianniny says a lot of people he’s talked to think the change is positive, and he does too.

“All the people that come down here, these last four weeks have really enjoyed the quiet. There’s no cars driving by. You can walk across the street to another, bar or restaurant. You can talk on the sidewalk, and there’s not cars driving by. You can kind of hear the vibe of each bar. It’s been very positive,” he said.

However, not everyone is enjoying the quiet as much. Donald Schwartz, who owns two businesses on East Ave., says his tequila bar, Aqua Vitae, is feeling the effects of the restrictions.

“Over the past four weeks, our sales have just plummeted, and that’s along with a lot of the businesses along this corridor that are stuck in this safety zone,” Schwartz said.

He added, “I know some of the businesses don’t want to speak out about it. But I know for a fact that some sales are off 50 percent, up to 60 percent with a four-week total. Our our next door is off in the 40 percentile for four weeks. I don’t know how many businesses can operate at a 40 percent loss week after week after week. It’s not sustainable over a long period of time.”

Schwartz appreciates the city recognizing their concerns, but he thinks what’s being done is too much and is just pushing the people and problems to other places in Rochester.

“Park Ave, the bar owners that we’ve talked to said they’ve closed, letting people in because they’re overcapacity, that they’ve been so busy. So, you know, it’s had a negative effect on us. And there’s been there’s there has been problems outside of this zone,” he said.

Evans says as the area gets better, they will continue to keep a balance and change things along the way. He doesn’t want the good time atmosphere to be lost on the East End.

The City says they have a lot planned for this area. The first thing they’re doing is turning the corner of East and Alexander into a Bills watch party this Sunday.

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