Flint and Rochester: A Tale of Two Cities

With the decline of Kodak, Rochester, New York could have become another Flint, but it has fared far better than the Vehicle City. Peter Applebome of The New York Times reports:

It feels like the wrenching culmination of a slide over decades, during which Kodak’s employment in Rochester plummeted from 62,000 in the 1980s to less than 7,000 now. Still, for this city in western New York, the picture that emerges, like a predigital photograph coming to life in a darkroom, is not a simple tale of Rust Belt decay.

Rochester has been a job-growth leader in the state in recent years. In 1980, total employment in the Rochester metropolitan area was 414,400. In 2010, it was 503,200. New businesses have been seeded by Kodak’s skilled work force, a reminder that a corporation’s fall can leave behind not just scars but also things to build upon.

Looking Ahead in Flint

New York resident and Flint Expatriate Shawn Chittle reflects on Flint's past and future:

It's more than our hometown. It's a place that made us who we are. I'm always struggling to achieve a good balance of Flint native and New Yorker, and you know what? The more "Flint" I try to be, the more ahead I get. People say to me, "Midwest is best, don't lose that."

Flint made us what we are, whether we like it or not. There's a lot of rust in our blood, but with that comes a lot of immunity to the constant stream of bad news. There are some pretty tough and resilient people in Flint. But the new ideas to fix age-old problems haven't emerged. It's as if Flint is stuck in its own version of "Groundhog Day."

Read the complete story here.

Flint Native

George Ensinger, a Flint Expatriate now living in Fresh Meadows, New York in the Borough of Queens, shows off his plates.