Rochester's housing high jinks brought out crowd, and they did themselves proud

Economic Development Chief Mike Scala, right, faced insurmountable pushback on his apartment complex proposal from city residents, left. (Cliff Newton photos)

Gonicians on Monday showed they aren't Lilliputians.
They gathered en masse at City Hall and stood up proud to fight for their little village.
No, they know they aren't the Hamptons, but they don't want to be Manchester or Nashua, either.
Think of a hard-working couple looking to buy a single family home of their own, which is the essence of the American dream for us modest folk who don't need Gucci jewelry or Jaguars to feel validated.
Then think of the horror for that family as they find out the city wants to put 180 subsidized apartments that are four stories high next door to their two-bedroom, 1,500 square-foot home with its back yard and shed.
Maybe Bob Scala should go find a couple of acres out on swanky Stanley Pond Drive for construction of 180 subsidized apartments in stead of the Brickyard.
For now, however, the city's intent is thwarted, but the shady way they thrust this upon the planning board means city residents have to be vigilant to not let this happen again.
Like Arnold Schwarzenegger noted, they'll be back.
What's even more scary is if no one had shown up on Monday, what might have happened then?
Trust me, if it had gone to City Council, the mayor and governor would be out there with gleaming hard hats and shovels next week heralding Gonic's "commercial comeback." Yeah, some comeback. More like a takedown.
And wasn't it the governor's brother who tried to enact an ordinance to keep crowds away from his family home?
Hmmm. Guess everyone likes a little peace and quiet.
Scala showed the city's breathtaking hubris during his sales pitch to the planning board on Monday.
At one point, he said, "I knew eventually I was gong to have to rezone it anyways."
Yeah, he didn't say, "I knew I was going to have to try to get it rezoned" or "I knew I'd need the planning board and city council's approval to get it rezoned."
These kind of verbal slipups show their true intent and their true arrogance.