UPDATE: The owner of the property is again trying to have the building demolished. He claims that he will place a discount grocery store in its place (rather than a Dollar General which was his original plan). No grocery chain has stated an interest in the property and intially when the owner went before the city board he claimed that the Dollar General constituted a grocery store. Clearly his motives of destroying a neighborhood while lining his pockets has not changed.

I spent my life fighting for equality so that your lives would be better. I believe in you and your right to participate in our democracy and create a more perfect union. I am here to tell you that this right to determine your own future is slowly being taken away from you.

My neighborhood, the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood, is slowly being destroyed by those who care little for freedom or our collective history. What will happen if our history is destroyed? What will be left to remind the people of our struggles and ideals.

There is a developer who over the decades has destroyed the buildings that make up my neighborhood and now he has set his sights on 660 West Main Street. It is the address of the Westminster Presbyterian Church. Built in 1859 (during my lifetime) the church was a bustling chapel that helped German immigrants make Rochester home. With the help of the church the German community grew and thrived. Together they built Bausch and Lomb, the Genesee Brewing Company, the plant nurseries that dotted our growing city and much much more. They're even responsible for our nickname -- the flower city. It was so great to see these men and women embrace the opportunity that America represents.

The residents of the community want to preserve the building and use it as an arts and cultural center -- celebrating Rochester's rich history and culture. The developer wants to demolish the building and build a Dollar General.

Yes, a Dollar General.

And if you don't act the City of Rochester will let it happen. Sign this petition and let everyone you know that you stand with me, Susan B. Anthony. By signing this petition you're letting everyone know that your voice matters and we as a community should have the right to determine what gets built in our community and what part of our history gets destroyed.

Don't let this piece of Rochester get destroyed. It's our history. It's your history. Sign this petition and help stop the demolition.

"Organize, agitate, educate, must be our war cry!"

--Me