I know how much sweat, money, and maybe some blood was poured into this building by the community in order to make it what it is. So I do understand that their knee-jerk reaction will be, ‘Well, we would love this place to stay a coffee shop.’ [ Rabbi Asher Yaras ]
NEIGHBORHOODS | BY CHRISTINE CARRIE FIEN
THE ARTS | BY TIM LOUIS MACALUSO
Betting on Boulder
Artistic differences
The first thing that strikes you at Boulder Coffee’s Genesee Street location, besides the large console TV right by the entrance — old televisions are Boulder’s signature set pieces — is the size. You could drop a skateboard at the door, kick it up to speed, and ride all the way to the painting of the aged-but-steely Wonder Woman at the back of the coffee shop and you’d say you had a pretty good run. “Six-thousand square feet has always been more than I really needed,” says Boulder owner Lyjha Wilton. “Even if I had a really good day with a lot of people, it still felt slow because people can spread out so much.” Wilton says his shop was supposed to kick off the rejuvenation of the Brooks-PlymouthGenesee intersection when it opened two years ago, but that hasn’t happened. Proof, he says, is the seven empty storefronts across the street. Now he’s hoping that a move across Genesee Street into a smaller space will be the transformation trigger. “It’s been lonely for two years,” Wilton says. “So this is my way of trying to get the ball rolling again.” But the move is not sitting well with the 19th Ward Community Association. Boulder has quickly become an anchor, a welcome mat to the neighborhood, members say, and
City Hall and ARTWalk of Rochester, the nonprofit group that initiated the original trail of art and reconstruction along University Avenue, have ended their collaboration on the second phase of the project. The change, officials say, should not harm the multimillion dollar project. | ARTWalk would not comment on the split, but tensions between the involved parties have been building for months. A big concern for some early ARTWalk members was a decision to change the grassroots culture of ARTWalk, which emphasized the work of local artists. Disputes developed over direction and art selection. | “There’s been an attempt over a while to try to figure out the right role for ARTWalk of Rochester, the original organization,” says City Council Vice President Elaine Spaull. “The role and the extension project just don’t fit.” | ARTWalk Extension, originally referred to as ARTWalk 2, received federal funding to expand the art trail farther north on University to the Memorial Art Gallery, and along North Goodman Street to Village Gate. | The expansion also includes South Goodman Street to East Avenue and the museums. | ARTWalk is an outdoor museum that has received national attention, and is widely credited with spurring the redevelopment of the Neighborhood of the Arts.
Rabbi Asher Yaras. Photo by Jeff marini
the move could destroy that. They’re also concerned that public access to Boulder’s current building will be restricted, and they say that some community leaders pulled a fast one by allowing Boulder to make such a major change two years into a 10-year agreement. “What we’re losing, we think, is a lot more than what we’re going to be able to gain,” says J.B. Afoh-Manin, president of the association. The Boulder building is being purchased
by the University of Rochester Chabad House, an organization that caters to Jewish students. Activities include religious services, dinners, and social-justice events. The group currently meets in the Lattimore Road home of Rabbi Asher Yaras, who is co-director of Chabad House. continues on page 7
Cost of War IRAQ TOTALS — 4,427 US ser-
vicemen and servicewomen, 318 Coalition servicemen and servicewomen, and approximately 98,585 to 107,594 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq from the beginning of the war and occupation to November 1. American servicemen and servicewomen killed from October 16 to 24: -- Pfc. David R. Jones Jr., 21, Saint Johnsville, N.Y. AFGHANISTAN TOTALS — 1,359
US servicemen and servicewomen and 820 Coalition servicemen and servicewomen have been killed in Afghanistan from the beginning of the war and occupation to November 1. Statistics for Afghani civilian casualties are not available. American servicemen and servicewomen killed from October 20 to 29: -- Staff Sgt. Kenneth K. McAninch, 28, Logansport, Ind. -- Spc. Ronnie J. Pallares, 19, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. -- Spc. Steven L. Dupont, 20, Lafayette, La. -- Sgt. 1st Class Charles M. Sadell, 34, Columbia, Mo. -- Staff Sgt. Aracely Gonzalez O’Malley, 31, Brawley, Calif. -- Spc. Thomas A. Moffitt, 21, Wichita, Kan. -- Sgt. 1st Class Phillip C. Tanner, 43, Sheridan, Wyo. iraqbodycount.org, icasualties.org, Department of Defense SOURCES:
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