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Changes at NET offices, report on organization's progress

1/12/06

Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy has replaced four of the city’s six Neighborhood Empowerment Team (NET) administrators. NET teams are made up of residents and city staff. NET’s goal is to support safe, clean and strong neighborhoods. The shakeup comes on the heels of a negative city hall report about the program. The Center For Governmental Research in Rochester prepared the 75-page report. The CGR’s conclusion was that there is no one easy answer to the city’s complex problems. They also found people’s expectations may be too high. The city’s new NET Director, Molly Clifford, says Mayor Duffy supports the program and will not dissolve it.

The NET study..... Hot off the press (1-12-06)
the full 75 pages. click here

2-7-06

"I'm certain within a couple of months, we'll have some concrete actions and people will really start to see a change," said Molly Clifford, director of Neighborhood Empowerment Teams.

Clifford says residents can expect to see changes happen in April.

An excellent report by Coalition member David Ahl - submited to CGR for consideration - A Comprehensive report about NET regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of the Neighborhood Empowerment Team (NET) organization with a legal twist.
click here

Another excellent detailed report submited to CGR for consideration, by Karl Weekes, a NYSC Board Director and a 24 year housing provider.
click here

Duffy to tweak, not rebuild NET
Brian Sharp Staff writer (March 1, 2006) — D&C, Rochester NY

Mayor Robert Duffy is finalizing plans to revise Neighborhood Empowerment Teams, but don't expect significant shifts in direction. "I'm not making major programmatic changes this year," Duffy said. "But if we cannot (attain) a certain level of measurable results, I will make them next year." The 10-year-old program combines code inspectors and police officers working in six neighborhood offices to reduce urban blight and crime. A Center for Governmental Research study released in January concluded NET had fallen short of its mission to improve the quality of life in the city. Also in January, Duffy suspended enforcement of NET's controversial Certificate of Use business licensing program. Two months of community forums and discussions have followed. Officials now say short- and long-range plans should unfold quickly and be fully spelled out by early April. For outgoing Sector 3 Chairwoman Karyn Herman, the mayor's plan to tweak the system is right on. She and other sector leaders met with Duffy last week. "If you live in an area like ours, you need them to be aggressive," she said of NET in northwest Rochester. "There are different priorities in different neighborhoods." City Council member Carolee Conklin said that complicates matters when measuring results, as each NET office must be gauged on individual targets. Such differences affect enforcement, an area Duffy says has been off target in some neighborhoods and added to city foreclosures by fining people already struggling financially. "Sometimes you do things with the best of intentions but have unintended consequences," he said. But Duffy — the city's former police chief — is quick to add he will not overlook the rules. Duffy said he plans to make the Certificate of Use program user-friendly but has not decided the financial aspects. Asked about 12 business owners fined up to $2,850 for refusing to comply, he said he is "cautious" about rewarding their resistance. "I think we will get consensus," he said. "We may not make all parties completely happy." BDSHARP@DemocratandChronicle.com