Kodak's role in Rochester's future will be much different from its role in the city's past, said Mayor Tom Richards this morning, reacting to the news that Kodak had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But, Richards said, most everyone has known that for a long time and the city has "behaved accordingly."

It's been a long time since the city's future depended on Eastman Kodak, which, he said, has experienced a "relatively slow and benign decline" for over 30 years. The task now, Richards said, is to reassure investors and others of that fact.

"The best way we can respond to this is not to get knocked off track," he said.

The impact of today's announcement, Richards said, has psychological and practical dimensions. Psychological because for decades, Rochester and Kodak went together like mother and child. But the most important thing to remember, Richards said, is that there are people - current Kodak employees, retirees - who will be directly affected by today's news.

"There's a certain amount of sadness because it interjects uncertainty for a lot of people," he said. "The city will recover. Its institutions will recover. We'll certainly survive this. We've survived worse."