Elizabeth Whitehouse

Elmira does not need more low-income housing projects. If there is one thing such projects have in common, it is keeping its residents low-income. Any housing projects should be mixed income. And there are lots, I mean lots, of empty properties.

I couldn't agree more. Flattening anything is a bad idea - environmentally and economically. It could be repurposed in so many ways.

So glad to keep you amused.

Turn the excessively large parking lots into an urban farm, or community garden. Convert most of the shops into living spaces, some with second storeys. (British spelling). Turn one of the big stores into a convention center.

I find your answer totally lacking imagination. There are many, many ways that site could be repurposed/converted. Too many to go into here.

Yes it would be up to the owners. Tearing it down is still a bad idea.

"Flattening" the mall for any reason is a terrible idea. Repurpose it, yes, but don't tear it down.

I'd rather live in Australia than the United States!

We can argue at length about whether America is great. We can also discuss whether apathy is an admirable quality.

There sure are. But I don't know how you prevent them from voting and maintain a semblance of democracy

In Australia, if you do not vote, you are fined $200, or thereabouts. There is the option to spoil your ballot which is a vote for none of the above. We could do with the same policy here. In very rough terms, the 13,000 registered voters in Elmira are divided into 5000 Dems, 4000 unaffiliated and 3500 Republicans. How different our world would be if everyone voted.

Ha, ha. You are right about teaching children to tell time. I don't know who the buddy is, and I don't know how the contractor was selected. So much we don't know about the workings of the City.

I think I agree with you. Saving the clock tower looks good. So what if 2.7 million came from COVID relief funds. (Hardly the intent of the bill.) This is one case where dismantling might be the better solution. But save City Hall, whatever the cost! For 3.5 million one could rebuild Brand Park pool and provide a much-needed recreational outlet for the Southside. That would probably be enough money to put in the equipment necessary to turn it into an ice rink in winter.

It's not a flip. Of course the clock tower needs to be saved. The point is that if this project had been started 10 or 15 years ago, it would not have been so expensive. The City of Elmira seems to have two coping mechanisms: ignore the problem until it is too late to save the building, then tear it down, or wait until you can find a grant to do the work. Personally, I don't see why other entities should pay for what the City needs to do.

To Ann, Taking your points one by one: I can't argue with your first paragraph, except for the voting bit. The two party system really doesn't work. Not when one of the two parties seems hell-bent on doing away with democracy. The people who do not identify with one of the major parties out-weighs the adherents to either one. Ranked choice voting (and NO electoral college) would enable dissenting voices to express their positions. Yes, the majority of Americans are "good, hard working, kind and generous people" And, yes, "the loudest voices are the ones heard". But those voices are not just a small minority. They represent at least one-third of the population. I think that is a problem. we will have to agree to disagree on the paragraph about armed service. I am 120% a pacifist and I do not think that any war is justified. World War II being the exception, can you give a couple of examples of armed conflict that served the interests of the American people, and not the military-industrial complex?