Amorette MillerRochester Democrat and Chronicle
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The graffiti artist who goes by the name of Snoe, learned how to handle spray paint at the age of fifteen, inside of the Rochester Aqueduct, down in the abandoned subway tunnels below the Broad Street bridge in Rochester.
"I have been painting here for 32 years. We have made it our home," he said, while pointing right to a large mural of his name in the distance.
Snoe is part of a 25-person network of graffitists who have actively exercised their artistic abilities on the tunnel walls in the years after the closure of the Rochester subway.
The city of Rochester has plans to remove the street top above the tunnels and re-imagine the Aqueduct. They, along with consultants and community partners, are engaging the public in a series of open-house-style meetings to understand what residents and stakeholders want to see happen with the abandoned area.
Justin Suarez aka “Aerosol Kingdom,” a prolific mural and graffiti artist said that the subway is a tolerated place to practice spray paint art, “... painting in subways has never been legal but this is a space where it is allowed. It carries a lot of nostalgia, in the idea of the roots of New York City, we do not have to worry about getting in trouble or being hit by a train here."
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Suarez sits on the community advisory committee for the project and is one of the only members to have ever utilized the location.
When Suarez first started painting in the tunnels 21 years ago, he was not very good, he said. "Having a place that allowed me to practice and hone my skills enabled me to grow my career to what it is today."
As public awareness has increased, artists have flocked to the destination from around the country to express themselves. "The subway and other spaces like it, that is what drew me to the city and what has kept me here," he said. "It is very much a community."
Although he is not opposed to an addition, Suarez wants the tunnels to be left alone. "Do not destroy the walls that we paint on."
The future of the aqueduct
Regardless of the most popular proposal for use, the end product will celebrate Rochester’s history, culture and heritage, said Richard Perrin, the commissioner of environmental services for the city of Rochester.
Some things are certain, said Perrin:
- It will not be another vehicular bridge.
- The top will come off of the western portion in 2024 to make way for yet-to-be-considered design plans.
- In addition to sustainable and environmental features, the redesign will be accessible to people of all abilities.
"People, place and prosperity is the end goal, to serve the surrounding areas," he said.
Instead of rushing in to construction, as municipalities and urban designers sometimes have, the Roc the Riverway plan is being carefully considered with the community and graffiti artists in mind.
The state is providing funding for the design of the overall project as well as the initial first phase that will happen on the west of the bridge provided through the Roc the Riverway initiative, said Perrin.
More:A state park in downtown Rochester? Here's how it might look
Will its street cred survive?
On July 21, the city of Rochester held a public informational open house at the Blue Cross Arena to discuss the future of the Aqueduct. Designers and urban planners met with interested community participants to find out what people really want to see happen there.
Dozens of people turned out to the public meeting.
Dick Campbell of Rochester participated in the interactive survey, placing his ideas on sticky notes under his favorite proposal. He wants to see year-round purpose at the Aqueduct; a reason to travel there. “We need attractions for every day of the year, not just some of the time. … and we need whatever it will become to be safe,” Campbell said.
Caitlin Meives, the director of preservation at the Landmark Society of Western New York feels that one of the most important considerations about this project is: what happens to the structure?
"This is a multi-layered complex project. And just like the Aqueduct itself, the area has organically developed over the years in terms of the public art, the street art that is in there is a primary concern. It would be nice if this was incorporated into the project. We have this amazing unique space that draws people, already, to come and see it," she said.
Mieves is concerned about the existing upper arches, and the layers of artwork in the tunnels below. She hopes that those elements will be incorporated into the project and utilized and adapted in some way.
“We are having meaningful conversations with the public about what they want to see here. This is a structure that has gone through variations in our community’s history,” said Perrin.
Laura Greenberg, an urban designer from Urban American City, presented the scope of street improvements to those in attendance at the public session. Designers see the aqueduct as a "reimagined district, an environment with one cohesive identity," she said to the crowd of participants.
Connecting into the existing bike and pedestrian networks was a priority listed out in the presentation, opinions garnered from previous meetings. Here are some of those plans:
- The Main Street bridge will have bike lanes in both directions.
- Aqueduct Street will be redesigned for shared and flexible use.
- South Ave, and Stone Street will accommodate bikes.
Ideas from these, forthcoming and previous meetings will help shape the final Aqueduct re-design. Will the bridge become a cultural center, a living museum or a place to connect with nature like the Highline in New York City? Could it turn into a location for dining — bars and restaurants? Shops like the Rialto Bridge in Italy? And given the diversity of existing public parks and event grounds in and around Center City, how will this revitalized destination stand out and apart, not in competition with them?
The graffiti community speaks out
Snoe hopes that city planners keep the tunnel as is, to instead build up upon it. "This is a tourist destination, very well known in the hip-hop community and it should be respected — maintained," he said.
Shawn Dunwoody is a muralist himself and is interacting with the public through his company DUNWOODĒ Design as part of the Bergmann design/community engagement team. He and his colleagues are helping the city facilitate these public meetings about the future of the Aqueduct and are encouraging the community to opine on the future of the bridge.
He wants to make sure there is communication with the public between what is graffiti and what is vandalism ― the positive and the negative ― and to discuss with the subway graffiti artists what needs to be preserved.
"Graffiti has been around since the beginning of time. It is an expressive form of art. When we look at some of the pieces that are here, they a part of the hip-hop movement, a culture of clothing dance, and visual art that began in New York City," said Dunwoody.
On Oct. 2 the city will be hosting another public engagement meeting to review and provide input on the next round of design alternatives; which will follow a series of Aqueduct Re-Imagined “pop-ups” at local events such as the Puerto Rican Festival (Aug. 4), Midday Lunch Bash (Aug. 11 and Sept. 7).
More information about the project can be found here https://www.roctheaqueduct.com/
Erie Canal Aqueduct
- First constructed in 1842 the arched aqueduct was a navigable water bridge, part of the Erie Canal.
- Then in the late 1920s, converted to an elevated railway of a transportation system that ran through downtown.
- Now, it is a Broad Street vehicular bridge that sits atop a wall-to-wall graffiti art gallery in the condemned subway tunnels.
Amorette Miller is the Democrat & Chronicle's growth and development reporter. She can be found on Twitter at@amorettemillerand e-mailed atacmiller@gannett.com
