There are two ways to look at the
mayor’s non-presentation in front of the Rochester Broadway Theatre League’s site selection committee.
You could say the city was profoundly arrogant and disrespectful to have put so little work into the “theater pitch.” Other developers appear to have spent considerable time and money to put together their plans. The city didn’t give RBTL anything it asked for in terms of specifics about infrastructure, parking, finances, etc. You could say the mayor seemed half-hearted, subdued, and downright skeptical about the whole thing.
“Boy, he really hit that one out of the park,” is one of the many sarcastic comments I heard after he gave his “proposal.” The RBTL committee didn’t even have any questions for the mayor.
There’s another way to look at what the mayor did today.
He is giving RBTL – and the community – a choice.
In a nutshell, Bob Duffy is saying, “You should build the theater downtown because it’s the right thing to do. I don’t know how we’re going to accomplish this goal. It’s not going to be easy, but I want to try. I can’t do it alone, however.”
He said he's not going to make promises he can't keep. Perhaps the mayor's non-presentation was his way of being realistic about a theater's prospects.
Iff he wants to keep a theater in the city, however, I think he'll have to fight a little harder.
First, Duffy has to overcome the appearance of hypocrisy. He killed a theater project right across the street. He denies that, but a dispute over theater funding and the vision for the corner of Main and Clinton absolutely spelled the death of Renaissance Square.
Second, Duffy has to build a coalition for a downtown theater. That means he probably has to get Maggie Brooks on his side, as the original theater plan called for hotel/motel tax revenue for operating costs. Not to mention, the two of them would have mucho clout in Albany if they worked as a team. So far, she’s staying out it. Her spokesman said today that she thinks there are several suburban sites worth considering, in addition to Midtown. Ouch.
Third, Duffy needs to put his heart into this. If a theater goes to the suburbs, it will be a huge blow to the city, one we’ll be talking about for decades to come.
