Friday 23 March 2012

Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City. It is the county seat for Monroe County.
Rochester's city population according to the 2010 census is approximately 210,565, making it New York's third most populous city after New York City and Buffalo. It is at the center of a larger Metropolitan Area which encompasses and extends beyond Monroe County and includes Genesee County, Livingston County, Ontario County, Orleans County and Wayne County. This area, which is part of the Western New York region, had a population of 1,037,831 people at the time of the 2000 Census. As of April 1, 2010, the 2010 Census indicated that this population rose to 1,054,322 .
Rochester was one of America's first "boomtowns" and rose to prominence initially as the site of many flour mills located on the Genesee River, then as a major manufacturing hub. Rochester is now an international center of higher education, as well as medical and technological development. The region is known for many acclaimed universities, and several of them (notably the University of Rochester and the Rochester Institute of Technology) are nationally renowned for their research programs. In addition, Rochester has been and continues to be the site of many important inventions and innovations in consumer products. The Rochester area is currently home to corporations such as Kodak, Bausch & Lomb and Xerox that conduct extensive research and manufacturing in the fields of industrial and consumer products. The Rochester metropolitan area is the second largest regional economy in New York State according to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, after the New York City metropolitan area.
Rochester was ranked as the sixth 'most livable city' among 379 U.S. metropolitan areas in the 25th edition (2007) of the Places Rated Almanac. The Rochester area also received the top ranking for overall quality of life among U.S. metros with populations of more than 1 million in a 2007 study by Expansion Management magazine. In the same study, Expansion Management rated the area's public schools as sixth best nationwide. In 2010 Forbes rated Rochester as the 3rd best place to raise a family.


In 2006 Rochester had 1259.6 reported violent crimes per 100,000 residents, compared to a national rate of 553.5. For 2006, Rochester had 827 personal crime incidents per 100,000 and 7,173 property crime incidents per 100,000.
With 100 being the national average, Rochester scores the following:
Personal Crime Risk - 170 Property Crime Risk - 134
In 2008, Rochester reported 42 murders (20.5 per 100,000 people), 98 sexual assaults, 1,059 robberies, 1,103 assaults, 2,808 burglaries, 7,060 larceny thefts, and 1,262 auto thefts.


Rochester is home to a number of international businesses, including Fortune 1000 company Eastman Kodak, as well as several national and regional companies, such as Bausch and Lomb. Xerox was founded in Rochester in 1906 as The Haloid Company, and retains a significant presence in Rochester, although its headquarters are now located in Norwalk, Connecticut. The Gannett newspaper company and Western Union were founded in the Rochester area by Frank Gannett and Hiram Sibley respectively but have since moved to other cities.
Because of the high prevalence of imaging and optical science among the industry and the universities, Rochester is known as the world capital of imaging. The Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester and the Rochester Institute of Technology in nearby Henrietta both have imaging programs. In 2006, the University of Rochester became the largest employer in the Rochester area, surpassing Kodak.


Principal suburbs
Suburbs of the city include: Brighton, Brockport, Chili, Churchville, East Rochester, Fairport, Gates, Greece, Hamlin, Henrietta, Hilton, Irondequoit, Mendon, Ogden, Parma, Penfield, Pittsford, Riga, Rush, Scottsville, Spencerport, Webster, Victor and Wheatland.


Neighborhoods


Rochester has a number of neighborhoods, including the 19th Ward , 14621 Community , Beechwood , Browncroft , Cascade District, Cobbs Hill, Charlotte, Corn Hill , Dewey, Dutchtown, Edgerton, Ellwanger-Barry, German Village, Grove Place , High Falls District, Highland park , Lyell-Otis, Dutchtown Maplewood (10th ward), Marketview Heights , Mt. Read, Northern edge , Otis-Lyell , Park Avenue, Plymouth-Exchange, Southwest, East End, South Wedge, Swillburg , Susan B. Anthony [16], University-Atlantic, Upper Monroe , and more are all recognized communities with various neighborhood associations. There are also living spaces in Downtown Rochester.


Browncroft
The Browncroft neighborhood is built on the former nursery grounds of the Brown Brothers nursery. The business district situated on Winton Rd has a mix of restaurants and shops. The neighborhood borders the nearby Tryon and Ellison Parks. The Browncroft Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

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