Photo by Mark Widman

Neighbors in Action: A Love Letter to the Neighborhood

Over the years, the corner of Fourth Street and Hayward Avenue near the Rochester Public Market had become a patchwork of muted and mismatched paint colors that did little to reflect the pride of the neighborhood around it. 

The East Market Neighborhood Association wanted to strengthen their neighborhood’s identity, honor its history, and call in a vibrant future. The association began imagining a public art project that could serve as both a love letter to their historic neighborhood and a warm welcome to visitors.

Today, a large-scale mural on the exterior of this once-drab two-story commercial building has transformed the block into a prominent neighborhood entry point.

Bringing Resident Priorities to Fruition 

Residents between Railroad Street and Pennsylvania Avenue have been coming together to talk about their neighborhood for more than 50 years. For decades, the neighborhood was known as the GP4H Neighborhood, for Garson, Peck, Fourth, and Hayward. The neighborhood voted to change their name to the East Market Neighborhood to highlight historic ties to the Public Market, where many of the area’s early homeowners worked.

Heading into 2025, residents said they wanted to see projects that make their streets beautiful, address deteriorating buildings, and help instill pride in where they live. They hoped to attract young, first-time home buyers who would put down roots and continue the long tradition of community-building east of the market. 

When the Neighbors in Action (NIA) grant program launched to provide small grants for groups working to strengthen their neighborhoods, the East Market Neighborhood Association saw an opportunity to meet residents’ goals. They applied for and received a NIA grant for nearly $7,500 to paint their message 22 feet in the air for all to see.

Executing the Neighborhood’s Vision 

Video courtesy of The Yards and the East Market Neighborhood Association

Two women played central roles in the mural project: Veronica Wilson and Kristina Kiaser.

Veronica Wilson is the chair of the East Market Neighborhood Association and an IT manager at Foodlink. She spent part of her childhood in the neighborhood and returned as an adult to purchase a home. In between, Wilson maintained submarine-satellite networks for the United States Navy, founded an IT consulting firm in Washington, DC, and launched the nonprofit TechUpRoc. 

Kristina Kaiser is a visual artist, painter, and director of The Yards Collective, a community arts organization with more than 120 members located within the Rochester Public Market. In addition to her own murals, Kaiser worked for 10 years with leading mural artists from all over the world through Rochester’s “Wall/Therapy” program. 

The Yards Collective developed a mural design with input from residents and the Neighborhood Association. Kaiser and three other artists from The Yards then worked with neighborhood youth ages 12 to 18 to bring the design to life, while offering mentorship on the complexities of outdoor mural work. 

Neighbors in Action

NIA, a joint funding effort by the City of Rochester, Rochester Area Community Foundation, and ESL Federal Credit Union, offers small grants, up to $10,000 each, empowering residents to come together to strengthen their neighborhoods. Beyond the dollars awarded, the program is a step towards establishing better two-way communication between residents and the institutions that serve them.

Block clubs, neighborhood associations, and community-based organizations serving the City of Rochester are invited to apply by February 20.  

You Power Grants Like These

Support for community-driven efforts like NIA is made possible by generous donors who choose to give flexible dollars to the Community Foundation. Endowed resources allow the Foundation to respond to community voices, opportunities, and needs as they emerge. 

Feeling inspired? A gift to the Civic Development and Problem-Solving Fund offers a direct way to champion civic engagement and get more people involved in designing solutions for our community.