Swillburg Celebrates 9/17/75 - Defeat of the
expressway.
-Mike Henry
Imagine a dilapidated neighborhood where few if any houses reflected upkeep: leaky roofs sagging, peeling paint chipping, broken windows, wobbly steps. That’s how the general condition of Swillburg homes was described in a March 1973 D&C article. For thirteen years residents were told that the state department of transportation planned to build an expressway through the neighborhood, acquiring properties under eminent domain. They were advised that any cost of home repairs would lost in that such expenses would not be factored into the sale. The proposed expressway (which can be traced back to the Urban Area Report 1947) was twice approved by city council and later twice rejected, largely thanks to a coalition of environmental groups, south east agencies and concerned citizens.
However, in September of 1975 a group of regional power brokers (think Kodak, Xerox, chamber of commerce, etc.) made a last ditch effort to revive construction of the expressway. Each September I think about the final decisive meeting that convened on 9/16/75 at East High School, where over a thousand passionate highway proponents and opponents gathered. With a hundred and twenty-four speakers the meeting didn’t wind down until the early hours of 9/17 and gratefully with a 6 to 3 victory vote to save Swillburg and forever put the expressway threat to rest. In her 2015 video (abive), The Little Pig that Could, neighbor Joyce Nakada interviewed many of that era’s city council members (available on YouTube, so informative!) who emphasized how narrowly Swillburg escaped given the determination of the regional power brokers.
Reflecting upon the defeat of the expressway I’m not only grateful that the ‘Burg was saved but also impressed with what a strong community spirit and great organizational resources Rochester must have had. Next time you’re walking down Henrietta Street or visiting Otto Henderberg Park consider that you could be walking under multiple lanes of a noisey, odiferous highway and our quiet community would be
significantly different. Happy 9/17/75 day!
