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This page is organized like a blog with the most recent posts at the top and prior posts below.
A GENERAL OUTLINE OF THE DISCUSSION (Facilitated by Rome Celli, president of UMNA)
Overall, UMNA intended this discussion to provide forward momentum in the direction of humane, practical solutions that we can work on together and that will benefit all those involved.
The meeting started out with an opportunity for those interested to briefly share their perspectives so that potential action items could be identified. (15 mins or so)
Discussion (30 mins or so)
Action items & next steps (15 mins or so)
Since the time together was limited, participants were encouraged to distill their concerns and prepare ideas that we can work on together.
Invitees and participants
Kristen Ashley (resident on Shepard Street, UMNA leadership) - Attended
Other residents in the immediate vicinity with known email addresses were also invited but did not attend.
Summary report from the meeting
Residents, landlords and business owners on the ZOOM were asked to list their concerns and observations about the vicinity of Monroe Avenue and Field Street. (The list below is in no particular order.)
Unsafe feeling in the area
Occasional presence of homeless "encampments" - near expressway ramps, behind commercial buildings, on residential properties, on sidewalks, on benches, in recessed entryways of commercial buildings. (Small fires have been seen on/near benches.)
Trash/debris related to sites where individuals are staying overnight/lingering/using
Trouble keeping and finding tenants. Tenants who feel harassed/uncomfortable.
Petty thefts, attempted thefts and some vandalism (unclear if related to homeless population)
Individuals who trespass and, in some instances were found to be sleeping on porches
A notable increase in the number and presence of homeless and vagrants. See: Point In Time Count (PIT)
A lack of services available to support those who are unhoused or otherwise needing services (drug use, mental health, poverty, etc.) with little hope of expanded services
Drug use and drug paraphernalia in the area - notably in and around "Bloom Garden" along Field Street and Pembroke Street.
Impeding or otherwise discouraging business activity in the area
Employees & customers who feel harassed/uncomfortable
Aggressive panhandling and activates related to panhandling that are unsafe (traffic as well as pedestrian)
Some of individuals in the area who are unhoused or otherwise exhibiting illegal/undesirable behaviors refuse services when offered/engaged
In the midst of listing concerns and then following the listing of concerns a number of related discussions ensued that yielded some notable points and action items as follows
NOTE: Homelessness is not a crime. The Police do not arrest people who are homeless.
A number of local agencies, non-profit groups and RPD engage one-on-one with individuals on and near Monroe Avenue
The Rochester Ambassador Program is designed to help those who want to improve their lives and work towards self-sufficiency. The program offers paid employment to a limited number of unhoused individuals found all along Monroe. Participants are paid to support businesses and do community work along Monroe Avenue.
PRO TIP: A business located along Monroe Avenue may contact Courtney Klee (MC Collaborative 716-256-9236/[email protected] - City of Rochester Ambassador Program - 585-283-0830) if they have a small project that can be accomplished with some unskilled labor. There is NO FEE to the business.
NOTE: The Rochester Ambassador Program is not responsible for handling all aspects of homelessness and related issues. Their work is targeted. However, Courtney Klee is an excellent resource and may be able to answer questions or make connections with other services.
Trespassing, harassment, robbery, burglary, assault, aggressive panhandling or other sorts of violent situations
PRO TIP: Call 911 immediately. Do not hesitate to call 911.
Residents, business owners, landlords are discouraged from acting directly
NOTE: Panhandling is not - in and of itself - enforced as a crime in Rochester.
Drug use
A large amount of foot traffic in/out of a particular location
Vehicles and pedestrians visiting the property for short periods
Glassine/plastic baggies found near the suspected location
Used needles or other drug paraphernalia strewn about in the area
PRO TIP: When you see any of the above call 311.
NOTE: Marijuana use is not a crime.
Encampment-type situations
If individuals are found/reported (911/311) to be "encamping", the city will intervene by engaging any individuals on site. After adequate notice is given by the city (often more than one week) the city will dispose of trash/debris. Items identified by the city as personal belongings will be removed and stored for up to 90 days. Those items may be retrieved by the owner during the 90 days.
If the city is invited onto private property, the city will take action as described above.
PRO TIP: Private property owners are allowed by law to remove any trash, debris and any presumed belongings located on their property at any time and without prior notice.
PRO TIP: Residents, businesses and landlords are encouraged to contact Courtney Klee (MC Collaborative 716-256-9236/[email protected] - City of Rochester Ambassador Program - 585-283-0830) so that they may engage with individuals and remove items in manner that may be more efficient for neighbors and less disruptive for the owners of those items.
PRO TIP: If encampment is not gone within a week after reaching out to Courtney/Ambassador Program, contact Sarah Fletcher at the city directly (call or text) at 585-261-2485. She will put resources in action to check the encampment three times and then move the belongings to storage.
While individuals must advocate on an incident-by-incident and day-to-day basis the community must come together to advocate for more systemic solutions.
Summary report from a related subsequent in-person meeting on December 16, 2025.
Monroe County Legislator, Linda Hasman, and City Councilmember, Mary Lupien, could not attend the ZOOM meeting on December 9, 2025. Since governmental agencies are integral to addressing neighbors' concerns a follow-up meeting was held to share information from the ZOOM meeting and continue the conversation about homelessness (and related topics) in the vicinity of Monroe Avenue and Field Street.
Monroe County Legislator, Linda Hasman, and Kelly Cheatle, staffer for City Councilmember Mary Lupien met with Rome Celli from UMNA and Judy Hay from Swillburg at Hydra Coffee on December 16, 2025. What follows is a summary of topics covered.
We reviewed & discussed information collected during the ZOOM meeting on December 9th. (See above.)
While the ZOOM meeting on December 9th focused on small scale, practical solutions to address particular incidents in the neighborhood, the conversation on December 12th at Hydra considered practical actions at the next level up - actions that involve advocacy in common cause with others who share similar concerns.
Coordinated and concerted advocacy public settings including "speak to council" and "speak to the legislature" opportunities. In particular, responding to the report from City Council President Meléndez's recent hearing on these topics.
We learned there may be something like $25,000,000 available at the county level for drug addition mitigation related services. Advocacy could be applied to the use of these funds.
Overview & Background
Individuals suffering from extreme poverty, homelessness and a variety of related afflictions have been present on Monroe Avenue for decades. The area in proximity to Monroe Avenue and Field Street is one of many spots along Monroe Avenue that experiences evidence resulting from this suffering.
In recent years, as the incidence of homelessness and poverty has risen (all over the region, the state and the nation as a whole) Monroe Avenue and Field Street has been identified by nearby neighbors as in need of concerted, practical, humane action. In general, neighbor concerns have fallen into the following categories:
Homeless encampments and miscellaneous related belongings left in public spaces
Vagrancy;
Drug use and discarded paraphernalia;
Aggressive Panhandling;
Business disruption including employee/tenant harassment; and
While uncommon, there have been at least some examples of more extreme criminality cited that neighbors, rightly or wrongly, associate with the above collection of evidence: death by drug overdose (twice in 2025) and more than one incident of physical altercations associated with panhandling or other interactions.
Since 2024 UMNA has been working in common cause with all the other neighborhood associations touching Monroe Avenue as well as the Monroe Avenue Merchants Association under the auspices of the Monroe Avenue Revitalization Coalition (MARC). MARC has been working on these issues along the full length of Monroe Avenue (including the area covered on this page) since its earliest days. For information about MARC's efforts look <HERE>.
2024
Over the course of 2024 neighbors reached out to UMNA for support on a variety of circumstances in this category (see Miscellaneous | 2024 | RESOLVED).
2025
In 2025 a new group of neighbors identified a set of troubling incidents that seemed to emanate from the vicinity of Monroe Avenue and Field Street; not least being the overdose death of two individuals as described in part here: .
John Snyder, who initially contacted UMNA late in 2024 to report incidents of trespassing and low level criminality on his rental property (on Laburnam Crescent near Monroe Avenue), contacted UMNA again late in 2025 with more serious concerns covering a wider area; concerns that mirrored other calls to UMNA around the same time.
These more recent incidents combined with longstanding concerns strongly suggested concerted community action. UMNA joined forces with Snyder to invite neighbors in the vicinity of Monroe Avenue and Field Street to a conversation with government representatives and service providers to get at practical, humane actions. That ZOOM meeting is described below.
