Jim

New developments have arisen that should give the city reason to reconsider tearing down Brand Park Pool. First, NYS has agreed to set up a fund of $160 million to build or restore pools in the state, especially in under-served communities. Second, the NYS Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has asked the City of Elmira to conduct a study of the condition of the building, undoubtedly because the last study was done in 2010, because they consider the pool of historic value and because the state is establishing this fund. About 4-5 weeks ago, I discovered the news about the state's new grand program and wrote a letter to the Star-Gazette. I sent it 3 times, and each time they refused to publish it. So, I have written the editors asking for a reason, but they refuse to answer me. I have decided to post the letter here, and I ask you to consider writing your City of Elmira council rep and the mayor encouraging them to apply for the state grant and to look for opportunities to restore this magnificent monument to Elmira's past and, hopefully, its future. Letter: Recently Governor Hochul announced that she and the state legislature have agreed to allocate $160 million to build or restore swimming pools throughout our state. This money could prove to be an incredibly advantageous windfall for Elmira, and I urge the city council to consider this opportunity to restore Brand Park Pool. Swimming pools offer great value to cities, and BPP is an especially important asset to Elmira. The value of swimming pools. Like pools throughout the U.S., BPP attracted children and adults in droves. They spent the entire day there, in a safe place. They learned to swim, they socialized and played with their friends, they met and interacted with people of diverse backgrounds, and they stayed out of mischief. I have spoken with lots a people who used to go to BPP. Their experiences are outstanding memories, mostly unforgettable stories of shared moments of joy and friendship, but sometimes of comfort. Some, for example, told me that they went there to get away from life’s troubles, and studies have shown that pools serve to promote mental as well as physical health. They are therapeutic. No other park activities come anywhere near providing the enormous advantages of swimming pools. No other activities strengthen our democracy and build community as do public pools. Historic preservation Cities and towns in America are thriving because of historic restoration. They often work with Main Street America, a subdivision of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has a proven record of reviving the urban fabric of thousands of towns across America. Its fundamental approach is twofold: the restoration of downtowns and historic preservation. Downtowns, which drive the tax base when they flourish, and historic buildings give character and charm to cities. People want to be there, to work and live there. They are walkable, and they create a sense of place that is inviting, attractive and alive with diverse, small businesses. They are diametrical opposites of malls. Elmira has made some wonderful advances in its downtown recently. Entrepreneurs have rehabbed and retrofitted numerous historic buildings that have made a appealing, economic impact on the city, and Elmira has undertaken to restore the clock tower on City Hall, a necessary if only a bit delayed endeavor. These efforts are not enough. We need to pay attention to buildings like Elmira’s Brand Park Pool, which, through its rich history, its unique architecture, its imposing character, and its attraction endows the city with great value. Restoring it will show the Southside that the city cares about it, and it will stimulate further investment and improvement in that part of Elmira. If we get this grant, the benefits will be invaluable to recreation, economic development, the sense of community, and the revitalization of the Southside, as well as to the our great heritage. The state grant New York’s proposal to build and restore more public pools is part of a national trend that acknowledges the importance of swimming lessons to combat deaths by drowning in the U.S., particularly among minority groups, and deaths from excessive heat. It also addresses the need to support and improve underserved communities, communities like Elmira’s 5th district. The state appropriation is particularly relevant to Elmira. It provides money for restoration of our rare, historic pool and architectural gem in an area of the city that needs investment and incentives. In addition, it underwrites lifeguard training and swimming lessons/water safety classes in a program that would partner Elmira with CCC in a win-win endeavor. The swimming lessons could be held either at BPP or at the CCC pool. The appropriation would also help increase the number of lifeguards, which declined significantly throughout the country during the pandemic, not only by underwriting their training but also by paying their wages. And we might consider supplementing the wages with an incentive like the one in Philadelphia, which holds a “Philly Phreeze,” where participants jump in the water in winter to raise bonuses for their lifeguards. That event has substantially helped recruit lifeguards. Finally, the grant would provide transportation for kids to the pool for swimming lessons and promote community swim classes. Today, governments throughout the U.S. are incentivizing the building and restoring of swimming pools. They recognize the great public good that pools bring to our communities, and they are even finding new uses for them. In Philadelphia, for example, which has begun to restore its public pool system, one pool offers Aquatic Zumba exercise for seniors. Let’s save a rare and magnificent treasure in the fabric of Elmira, and let’s make swimming a public good here, not a luxury. This opportunity is too good to let go. For more information on the state grant, check the article of Mar. 28 in the Star-Gazette: https://www.stargazette.com/story/news/ny-news/2024/03/28/will-more-pools-curb-drownings-inside-ny-safe-swimming-sites-push/73094156007/

The reason our taxes in Elmira are rising every year is incompetence, lack of vision and planning, and possibly corruption... Under Mandell, our taxes been raised to an excessively high level. We should be paying lower taxes AND taking care of the properties that give value to the city. With the current administration, however, we will continue on the parking lot/Dollar Stores decline and the malling of downtown, our population will continue to declinel, and we will continue to shuffle our feet in the sterile ashes of a dreary, ugly, and uninspiring city. We can do better, a lot better.

I sent the following opinion piece to the Star-Gazette, Mar. 6. They refused to publish it: Letter to the Star-Gazette In 2015, when Mr. Mandell was running for mayor, he came by my house to ask for my vote. I told him that I was concerned about the state of the Maxwell Place fire station and asked for his thoughts. His reply was that the city didn’t have the money to repair it; so I suggested that he consider setting aside a certain amount of money for restoration in the city’s budget each year. I proposed $100,000. Had he done that, the city would now have more than a million dollars for such use. Instead, as mayor he did nothing other than neglect it, like many before him, until 2020, when he and the city council gave it away for a song, a mere $1. It confirmed my suspicion that Mr. Mandell had no interest in Elmira’s past grandeur and no understanding of the value that its historical monuments bring to the city. Also, it underscored to me what I have observed in many areas since then, that what has characterized our governments for far too long is neglect and waste, a lack of devotion to duty and a lack of imagination, vision, and stewardship, the willingness to take care of the properties that belong not to these officials, but to the people of Elmira. So with these thoughts in mind, let’s turn our attention to Elmira’s history and to the Brand Park Pool and building. One of the campaign pledges I made to Elmirans last fall was to regain the Maxwell Pl. fire station and purchase buildings used by the fire industry, for the purpose of creating a fire museum to celebrate that glorious part of Elmira’s history. Imagine what returns such a project would bring to the city? It would increase tourism, it would be a source of pride for our city and give Elmira publicity throughout the U.S. It would stimulate growth, improvement and investment throughout Elmira, and especially in the city’s 4th and 5th districts, districts that have been sadly neglected for years, and it would be a signal to the people of those districts that we care about them and to all of Elmira that we want the entire city to thrive. The same can be said of the BPP building. Last year, I talked with lots of Elmirans about the pool. Most told me they would prefer to keep the building, even if the pool could not be included. Nearly all had no interest in a splash pool. Have you seen the small one that’s already in Brand Park? It’s rusted out and hasn’t worked for years. And the park facilities generally? Check out the rusted, vandalized playground equipment. Do you really think a new splash pad will fare any better? And how could it replace the BPP? The people who used and loved the pool spent all day there; they swam and socialized and ate there, and they stayed out of trouble. Will we get the same value or vibes from a splash pad? Instead of making blanket decisions based not on a firm foundation but on their own biases, why doesn’t the City ask the people of Elmira if they’d like to see it rehabilitated; why don’t they investigate current costs of restoration and look into grants for restoration; and why don’t they ask the people what uses they would recommend? I can think of many possibilities for the building: summer and winter skating and other sports activities, arts programs and events, private and public venues, business gatherings, weddings and other celebrations, and on and on... The BPP building, which I like to call Elmira’s Little Roman Coliseum, is designed in a fairly rare and attractive style and is of historic interest. It would also bring tourism to the city, give Elmira another odd, beautiful and useful gem to show off, and, like the Maxwell Pl. Fire station, bring pride and attention to District 5 and to all of Elmira. Given what the mayor stated about the fire station and the way he dealt with it, however, we should not be surprised that he also claims that it would cost too much to repair the BPP building. No one, including him, really knows the cost, either to fully restore pool and building or to rehabilitate only the building. In 2010 the engineering firm hired by the city to assess its state gave an estimate of $1.6 million for repairs. That cost would be higher today, of course, but is it not worth finding out? We know that our city allocates funds in ways that are often mysterious, unjustifiable, and wasteful, like the $2 million of the Covid relief grant it used to replace the sprinkler system at the city’s golf course. I ask you: how much does the sprinkler project benefit the city, the entire city? Can it claim to bring anywhere near the value of what would accrue to Elmira and Elmirans by rehabilitating and using the Maxwell Place fire station or the BPP building? And by the way, they don’t grow back. Historic preservation brings great value to communities: spiritual, economic, aesthetic, and cities and small towns in the U.S. that have recognized this truth are thriving. They know that these structures have character and charm, that they draw our attention and give us a sense of place and beauty, that they recall our past and that they defy the architectural uglification that has plagued city- and landscapes like Elmira’s over the past 70 years. And those towns that don’t value their history simply muddle along in the suffocating mire of an unappealing, decadent status quo; in our case, it’s partly a result of the give-up mentality of ‘72. Corning is certainly not a good example of wise planning, but when the ‘72 flood is mentioned in conversation, many people lament the loss of Elmira’s downtown and praise the wisdom of Corning in maintaining Market Street and its downtown. They recognize the charm, character and value of retaining that scenic historical streetscape. Imagine Corning without it? Would you go there? Do you want to come or live here, when Elmira’s choice, to tear down and abandon our downtown and the buildings that celebrate our past and give character to the city, still rules? How many people have you heard say: “Elmira is a dump.” Maybe you’ve said it too. I don’t like to hear that any more than anyone. But enough people from in and around Elmira say it that we’d better take it seriously. Consider, for example, comparing the Maxwell Pl. Fire station with the fire station, city hall, etc., in Elmira Heights, now the property of the Heights Historic Society. Both these buildings were built in 1897. Drive by and do a comparison. Or ask yourselves about Elmira’s yearly loss of population, many of them young people who see few opportunities here; many others you may know, people who have been established here for years and have vested interests in our community but have moved away to greener pastures like W. Elmira or other nearby locations. Have you asked them why? Don’t these trends speak to you? Don't they say something about the failures of our governments to attend to Elmra's needs and to value its treasures? Did you ever notice the catch phrase that used to pop up on the city’s website? It read: Honoring the past, building the future. Whenever I saw that, I thought: what a joke, what a sham. Well, it’s no longer on the webpage. I wonder if they took it down after I pointed out last year the fraud that it expressed. Actually, I think they should put it back up and be truthful. I suggest: Destroying the past, impoverishing the future. I came to Elmira in 2000. It is my home, and I love this area and the people here. But I can say to you that little has changed in the city since I first arrived. Some things have improved, in part due to the good work, vision and taste of some local entrepreneurs who recognize the value of heritage properties. And some things are worse–the decaying houses throughout the city, for example, and the demolition of properties and their replacement by parking lots–as the city continues on its visionless, undisciplined and piecemeal uglifying and malling (pun intended) of our city, all of which has lead to an increased tax burden on all of us. Finally, my last word is for the people of Elmira. As you all know, nationally we are embroiled in a wrestling match about making America great again. What we all need to realize, however, is this: making America great, or greater, does not start at the Texas-Mexico border. It starts locally, right here in Elmira. If we don’t show an interest in government, if we don’t value our history, if we don’t demand transparency, accountability and stewardship of our government officials, if we don’t vote, and if we don’t demand accountability of ourselves, we get what we have: waste, lack of openness, neglect, lack of imagination and vision, indifference to Elmira’s great heritage, in brief, bad government. We all have a chance to help regenerate a magnificent city, in part by saving the properties that are the kernel of our soul and that will lead us to a grander future. If we fail to stop the mayor's destruction of our heritage, we will impoverish our future and contribute more and more to the decline of our city. Please do what you can to help this effort to save the Brand Park Pool building and the Maxwell Pl. Fire Station. WAKE UP ELMIRA!

Would you write to our city officials a letter opposing the demolition of this magnificent building? I offer the following letter that you are welcome to adapt and use, if you wish: Model letter: Mayor Mandell, City Manager Mike Collins, and members of the Elmira City Council: It is my understanding that you have made a unilateral decision to demolish the historic Brand Park Pool. As you know, the last appraisal of the building and pool was done in 2010, and no further professional examinations have taken place since then. Instead, the building has been irresponsibly and disgracefully neglected by our city governments. As a result, we do not know the actual state of the building and pool, as you, Mr. Mandell, pointed out in your recent interview with WETM news. Brand Park Pool belongs to all the people of Elmira. It has meant so much to this city, especially to those (like me) who used to swim, socialize, play and eat there. It is a truly vital and invaluable asset, for both its historic and future value to us, and I would like to ask the city to commission a new appraisal of the cost of repairs that takes into consideration all possibilities of restoration. If, then, it is found that the pool is not able to be restored because of cost, then we should at least consider preserving and repurposing the building for both public and private uses, such as sports activities in winter and summer, tourism, public events, artistic events and activities, and private events, such as business gatherings, weddings, and so on. I also believe that the people of Elmira should be invited to offer their opinions about restoration and re-use of the building. In addition, we should consider applying for grants and conducting a capital funding effort to pay for the restoration, if feasible. Until these efforts are made, in my opinion, the decision to tear down the building is unjustifiable, unacceptable and irresponsible. Sincerely,

Here is my complete message to the Elmira City Council at the council meeting, Feb.26. If you have already read the section that appears in Nick Dubina's article, then scroll down and start reading at the paragraph that begins: "Have you noticed the catch phrase..." In 2015, when Mr. Mandell was running for mayor, he came by my house to ask for my vote. I told him that I was concerned about the state of the Maxwell Place fire station and asked for his thoughts. His reply was that the city didn’t have the money to repair it; so I suggested that he might consider setting aside a certain amount of money for restoration in the city’s budget each year. I proposed $100,000. Had he done that, the city would now have more than a million dollars for such use. Instead, as mayor he did nothing other than neglect it, like many before him, until 2020, when he and the city council gave it away for a song, a mere $1. It confirmed my suspicion that Mr. Mandell had no interest in Elmira’s past grandeur and no understanding of the value that its historical monuments bring to the city. Also, it underscored the city officials’ lack of a devotion to duty, the lack of imagination, vision, and stewardship, the willingness to take care of the properties that belong not to these officials, but to the people of Elmira, that has characterized our governments for far too long. Take the city’s failure to maintain our parks, in spite of the false claims this past fall by the mayor that he had, and I quote, “made vast improvements and investments in our City Parks.” After 7 years of our city’s neglect, you can be sure that nothing would have been done about the skate rink at Eldridge Park, for example, had not Andy Patros made a public stink about it. I also recommend you take a stroll through our parks if you want to get a true appraisal of their sick state. This is just one of many examples that typify the state of affairs in Elmira. We have been witness to years of neglect... And that neglect applies to many aspects of the city: we proudly claim to have a large number of Victorian houses in Elmira. So what do about them? Many, if not most, are boarded up. And what about the hundreds of rotting houses in the city? The city might cite you if you let your grass grow too high, but the evidence says that they couldn’t care less about the slumlords and derelict houses? Check this house out, for example, on Grand Central; or this one on W. Second St., about a block from my home; these are just 2 examples of hundreds of similar houses and of the failures of city government, failures by the way, that have contributed to this government’s regularly increasing the tax burden on you and me. So with that in mind, let’s turn our attention to the importance of Elmira’s history and to the Brand Park Pool. First, going back to the Maxwell Pl. fire station, one of the campaign pledges I made to Elmirans was to regain the fire station and purchase buildings used by the fire industry, for the purpose of creating a fire museum to celebrate that glorious part of Elmira’s history. Imagine what such a project would bring to the city? It would increase tourism, it would be a source of pride for our city and give Elmira publicity throughout the U.S. It would stimulate growth, improvement and investment throughout Elmira, and especially in the city’s 4th and 5th districts, districts that have been sadly neglected for years, and it would be a signal to the people of those districts that we care about them, and a signal to all of Elmira that we want the entire city to thrive. (to be a destination, a drive-to, not a drive-through, as I proposed in my campaign.) The same can be said of the BPP building. So, during last year’s campaign, I talked with lots of people in Elmira, either in person or via social media. Most told me they would prefer to keep the building, even if the pool would not be included. Nearly all had no interest in a splash pool. What about the one that’s already there? Go have a look. It hasn’t worked for years. And the park facilities generally? Go by and check out the rusted swings and so on and, in the summer, the 3-4 foot weeds that adorn the playground. Do you really think a new splash pad will fare any better? And how could it replace the BPP? The people who used and loved the pool spent all day there; they swam and socialized and ate there, and they stayed out of trouble. (The city cut me off after “playground.” Why doesn’t the city ask the people of Elmira if they’d like to see it rehabilitated; why don’t they investigate current costs of restoration and look into grants for restoration; and why don’t they ask the people what uses they would recommend instead of making categorical decisions based on their own biases. I can think of many possibilities: summer and winter skating and other sports activities, arts programs and events, private and public gatherings, weddings, and on and on... The BPP building, which I like to call Elmira’s Little Roman Coliseum, is a fairly rare style. It is a period piece that would also bring tourism to the city, give Elmira another odd and beautiful gem to show off, and, like the Maxwell Pl. Fire station, bring pride and attention to District 5 and to all of Elmira. Given what the mayor stated about the fire station, it is no surprise that he also claims that it would cost too much to repair the BPP building. No one really knows the cost, however, either to fully restore or to rehabilitate only the building. In 2010 the engineering firm hired by the city gave an estimate of $1.6 million for repairs. That cost would be higher today, of course, but is it not worth finding out? We know that our city allocates funds in ways that are often mysterious, unjustifiable, and wasteful, like the $2 million of Covid grant money used to replace the sprinkler system at the city’s golf course. I ask you: how much does the sprinkler project benefit the city, the entire city? Can it claim to bring anywhere near the value of what would accrue to Elmira and Elmirans by rehabilitating and using the Maxwell Place fire station or the BPP building? And by the way, they don’t grow back. Historic preservation brings great value to communities: spiritual, economic, aesthetic, and cities and small towns in the U.S. that have recognized this truth are thriving. They know that these structures have character and charm, that they draw our attention and give us a sense of place and beauty, that they recall our past and that they defy the architectural uglification that has plagued city- and landscapes like Elmira’s over the past 70 years. And for those towns that don’t value their history, they muddle along in the suffocating mire of an unappealing status quo; in our case, it’s the give-up mentality of ‘72. Have you noticed the catch phrase that used to pop up on the city’s website? It read: Honoring the past, building the future. Whenever I saw that, I thought: what a joke, what a sham. It’s no longer on the webpage, by the way. I imagine they took it down after I pointed out last year the fraud that it expressed. I think they should put it back up, but with honesty. I suggest: Destroying the past, impoverishing the future. How many people have you heard say: “Elmira is a dump.” Maybe you’ve said it too. I don’t like to hear that any more than anyone. But enough people from in and around Elmira say it that we’d better take it seriously. Consider, for example, comparing the Maxwell Pl. Fire station with the fire station, city hall, etc., in Elmira Heights, now the property of the Heights Historic Society. Both these buildings were built in 1897. Drive by and do a comparison. Or ask yourselves about Elmira’s yearly loss of population, many of them young people who see few opportunities here; many others you may know, people who have been established here for years and have vested interests in our community but have moved away to greener pastures like W. Elmira or other nearby locations. Have you asked them why? Don’t these trends speak to you? Don't they say something about the failures of our governments to attend to the Elmra's needs? I came to Elmira in 2000. It is my home, and I love this area and the people here. But I can say to you that little has changed in the city since I first arrived. Some things have improved, in part due to the good work, vision and taste of some local entrepreneurs who recognize the value of heritage properties. And some things are worse, as the city continues on its visionless, undisciplined and piecemeal uglifying and malling (pun intended) of our city. Finally, my last word is for the people of Elmira. As you all know, nationally we are embroiled in a wrestling match about making America great again. What we all need to realize, however, is this: making America great, or greater, does not start at the Texas-Mexico border. It starts right here in Elmira. If we don’t show an interest in government, if we don’t demand transparency and accountability of our government officials, if we don’t vote, and if we don’t demand accountability of ourselves, we get what we have: wasteful, secretive, unimaginative, neglectful, indifferent to Elmira’s great heritage, in brief, bad government. We all have a chance to help regenerate a magnificent city, by saving the properties that are part of our soul and that will lead us to a grander future. If we fail to stop the mayor's destruction of our heritage, we will impoverish our future and contribute more and more to the decline of our city. Please do what you can to help this effort.

Below there is a link to the excellent report by Nick Dubina of the last Elmira City Council's meeting, including video recordings of my remarks and Mr. Mandell's response to me, as well as Mr. Dubina's research on the pool. The last engineering report, which showed that the Brand Park Pool could be restored, was done in 2010. The story of the pool is one of neglect by many mayors, including Mr. Mandell, who in his response to me first claims that the pool is not restorable, Later in his response, he admits that he has no idea what the cost would be to restore it, and he also reveals that he has never considered any other possibilities, such as removing the pool and restoring only the building. Nor has he asked the people of Elmira what they might like for its future. His interest in the history of Elmira is nil, and he has no understanding of the value that would come to city with the care of its historical properties. Look at what he did with the Maxwell Place fire station. Like other mayors, he neglected it for several years, then sold it in 2020 for $1. It is a monument of great importance and value to the city and to the district where it stands, and treating it in this manner is a shameful disgrace and insult to the City of Elmira. In the end, his casual disregard for the fire station and for Brand Park Pool will cost a great deal in tourism, attractiveness, historical value, pride, character, and charm to our city. Consider also his failure to do anything about the Court House in 2016, when the city first learned of the problem with the tower. How much wasted money have those 8 years of neglect meant for the city? As you probably know, we are now up to about $4 million for its restoration. Regarding the mayor's comments about the fire station, the building is an important link to Elmira's fire industry history. Dumping it off to an individual is an insult to Elmira, especially for $1. As for putting it on the tax rolls by selling, that is a joke and a fabricated attempt to hide the real reasons. The value that would come to the city in the future as a historic monument or museum in celebration of the fire industry is far greater. This callous sale is another typical example of the visionless waste of Elmira''s great resources and money. My message to the City Council can be found in Mr. Dubina's article, and I will post a more complete version here later. Please read it and consider acting to stop this senseless destruction of such a valuable asset. The Brand Park Pool building belongs to us, not to the unilateral, whimsical decision of an unimaginative, visionless mayor. The building belongs to all of us. Brand Park Pool could have been "saved and repaired" in 2010, report says (mytwintiers.com)

FYI. I will address the Elmira city council tonight on the topic of the BPP building, at 5:30. If you have the time and interest, please attend.

The city also spent nearly $30 million in grant money and is trying to get more. You'd think they could budget a little better. My guess is that they need to raise taxes again because of their waste on frivolous projects and their incompetence.

The city of Elmira raised taxes 1% in 2023, as you all must know. Did you also notice that, right after the recent elections, the mayor and city manager announced another tax increase of 2% for 2024.

In the end, if the legislature were to decide to tear the building down, there should be a PLAN to replace that space in an attractive way that complies with the architecture of the downtown and encourages the redevelopment of a downtown that is a true downtown, not a mall. It takes imaginative, visionary, knowledgeable leadership.

Use of ARP funds by both the Legislature and the City of Elmira is incredibly wasteful and inappropriate.

I will, and I intend to remain active

Thanks Chris, I feel fine, just very concerned about the future of Elmira. The results do not bode well.

Thanks Karen, I agree. The clock is on city hall, of course. But the issue of neglect and a lack of care for the historic value of our past monuments is especially disgraceful.

Interviews with the 2 mayoral candidates will be aired tonight on WENY news.

More neglect/waste in Elmira: https://www.wskg.org/news/2023-10-26/after-year-of-neglect-elmiras-city-hall-clock-tower-gets-3-5-million-facelift

For those of you who want more details about my platform, let me outline a few items: I am a fiscal conservative and will not put the city in debt. I will also do my best to reduce wasteful spending, like the $2,000,000 outlay for the golf course sprinkler system–with proper planning, it could have been avoided and might have permitted the use of the Covid grant money to help those who truly needed it–and avoid irresponsible, wasteful practices and behind closed door dealings, like selling the Maxwell Place fire station for $1. Instead of reading a pop-up on our city’s webpage that says: “Honoring the past and building the future,” let’s be honest and post what’s really going on: “Dishonoring (or destroying) the past and impoverishing the future.” I believe in stewardship. The city will take care of its property. That includes our buildings and our parks, etc. Have a look at the playground at Brand Park, the clock tower, Brand Park pool, if you want a few of the many examples of neglect and waste. In May, 2022, we eliminated our shelter for the homeless and started paying what has amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars to house the homeless in motels. That outlay continues today. By the way, many municipalities in the U.S. chose to use Covid dollars to establish shelters. We chose a sprinkler system. Do you approve? We need to find ways to reduce the tax burden on the taxpayers. For example, we must stop allowing our neighborhoods and homes to be torn down to allow for parking lots that take the property off the tax rolls, contribute to urban blight and increase the tax burden on you and me. The most recent case of this poor policy took place on N. Main in August. Likewise, we should negotiate payments from our non-taxpaying institutions to contribute to services they receive from the city. Right now, that burden is also on you and me, as is the unconscionable practice of landlords who allow their properties to decay and thus lower your property values–thank you, MsKreed, for your wise observation. And we need to rebuild our tax base in the downtown. Is what I have outlined the way you want it? And there are other policies we can examine that may help reduce the tax burden on individuals. In addition, our city planning is based on ad hoc decisions and shows no comprehensive view of policies that need to be put in place to allow us to revitalize our city in an attractive and disciplined way. We must reverse the trend that is leading our downtown to become another mall. Among our policies, we should expand entrepreneurship programs and develop and incentivize small businesses to occupy our downtown. I'll be glad to elaborate, if you wish. The museum of the fire industry that I propose will not only celebrate a glorious past and bring pride and grandeur to our city, it will provide a stimulus and support to both the 4th and 5th districts to improve and will attract tourists. We will have to repossess the fire station, of course... These are a few of my agenda items. There are many more. I ask you to look at my webpage for more information, and if you have specific questions or want further clarifications, please ask. You can send emails to my campaign address listed on my website, and you can also attend the Candidate Forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the NAACP Thursday, Oct. 26th, 6 p.m., at the EOP.

For a long time, I have been concerned about the Clemons Center Parkway, but I have hesitated speaking about it for what seemed like a lack of public interest in it. Now that I am a candidate for mayor and the public has shone concern about the danger of the speedway, I would like to propose a project for its future that I have had in mind for several years. Have a look at the highway. It goes nowhere, just peters out and appears to have no meaningful reason for existence. In fact, it was built, like many such highways–in Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, Syracuse, Rochester, New Haven, to name a few–to separate the city based on race and socio-economic status. It has broken the fabric, the sense of unity and cohesiveness, of Elmira, with a resultant decline in the value of community. The effect has also contributed further to the decline of Elmira’s downtown, creating the feeling that Elmira is a drive-through city, not a destination. One of the results is what no one wants and is one of the factors that destroy cities: speed. If you think about how the east side of Elmira has developed over the years, you have to ask yourself: what good has the separation from the downtown done for these communities? or perhaps more appropriately, how has the parkway contributed to their decline? Likewise, look at the downtown core around the parkway. Does it make you feel good? comfortable? Do you find it attractive? Do you want to cross the road? to linger there? Does it not strike you as a scar on an otherwise charming cityscape? The road–it is no longer a street, after all–has nothing to justify its existence. Besides having destroyed the fabric of community and of a cohesive downtown, it has far less traffic than, for example, Church Street. On the other hand, it has retained a natural and beautiful landscape and offers great potential for reinvigorating the City. I propose, therefore, that we reduce the highway to a 2-lane street, that we re-instate a stately State Street, where business and beauty can coalesce and create a walkable, viable center. In addition, I would like to see a extension of Eldridge Park all the way to the Steele Library. There is perhaps no greater impetus to downtown revitalization and community development that we could initiate now. Let’s turn Elmira from an unfriendly drive-through to an inviting, warm, appealing and thriving drive-to.

Note from Jim Hassell: I believe strongly in historic preservation. It is one of the foundations of renovation of small towns all across America, because these structures have character and charm; they draw our attention and give us a sense of place and beauty; they recall our past; they defy the architectural uglification that has plagued our cityscapes and landscapes over the past 70 years. It is for a thriving future that I see historic preservation as a fundamental aspect of our future. For those of you who wish to accuse me of living in the past, I urge you to look into the towns of Main Street America, for example, towns that through downtown revitalization and historic preservation are thriving. As I see it, the people who are living in the past in Elmira are those who neglect our heritage, our buildings, our parks, etc. They are the leaders who inherited the give-up mentality of 1972 and can’t get beyond it, leaders who dishonor the past–to reference the city’s website–and decide categorically to tear historic buildings down or sell them instead of taking care of them and honoring our past, leaders who get rid of the evidence in order not to have to answer for their negligence and lack of responsibility, leaders who contribute to the blight that plagues Elmira by adding to the parking or vacant lot inventory instead of working to revitalize the city. How can we trust the word of such leaders? The last assessment of the Brand Park pool was done in 2010, I believe. I have a copy of it, and it does lay out a possible scenario for restoration. There has been a lot of water over the dam since, of course, and it may be that the structure is too far gone to be fully restored. We cannot listen to the people who just scoff at the building, however, without any real knowledge of its state. If it cannot be restored to a swimming pool, then we should at least ask ourselves: are there other possible uses for it? Could we repurpose it and retain some of its charm and memory? Are there sources of funding for repairs? Tearing it down without an imaginative consideration first of other possibilities and without input from the public should be the last resort. It should be a fundamental responsibility of elected officials to take care of the property belonging to the City, that is to the people of Elmira. We elect them to be stewards, and they should be held accountable for their neglect. Like all residents of Elmira, our leaders should be required to maintain our city codes. And if we look at the other side of the coin, we must recognize that we are equally to blame, when we don’t hold them accountable. The City should, therefore, review its charter and revise it to ensure that the upkeep of our properties is an essential requirement of governing.

I believe strongly in historic preservation. It is one of the foundations of renovation of small towns all across America, because these structures have character and charm; they draw our attention and give us a sense of place and beauty; they recall our past; they defy the architectural uglification that has plagued our cityscapes and landscapes over the past 70 years. It is for a thriving future that I see historic preservation as a fundamental aspect of our future. For those of you who wish to accuse me of living in the past, I urge you to look into the towns of Main Street America, for example, towns that through downtown revitalization and historic preservation are thriving. As I see it, the people who are living in the past in Elmira are those who neglect our heritage, our buildings, our parks, etc. They are the leaders who inherited the give-up mentality of 1972 and can’t get beyond it, leaders who dishonor the past–to reference the city’s website–and decide categorically to tear historic buildings down or sell them instead of taking care of them and honoring our past, leaders who get rid of the evidence in order not to have to answer for their negligence and lack of responsibility, leaders who contribute to the blight that plagues Elmira by adding to the parking or vacant lot inventory instead of working to revitalize the city. How can we trust the word of such leaders? The last assessment of the Brand Park pool was done in 2010, I believe. I have a copy of it, and it does lay out a possible scenario for restoration. There has been a lot of water over the dam since, of course, and it may be that the structure is too far gone to be fully restored. We cannot listen to the people who just scoff at the building, however, without any real knowledge of its state. If it cannot be restored to a swimming pool, then we should at least ask ourselves: are there other possible uses for it? Could we repurpose it and retain some of its charm and memory? Are there sources of funding for repairs? Tearing it down without an imaginative consideration first of other possibilities and without input from the public should be the last resort. It should be a fundamental responsibility of elected officials to take care of the property belonging to the City, that is to the people of Elmira. We elect them to be stewards, and they should be held accountable for their neglect. Like all residents of Elmira, our leaders should be required to maintain our city codes. And if we look at the other side of the coin, we must recognize that we are equally to blame, when we don’t hold them accountable. The City should, therefore, review its charter and revise it to ensure that the upkeep of our properties is an essential requirement of governing.

MsKreed, I wrote to Mr. Margeson. He refused to answer me. Also, why would he know the family members of the Florida seller and not the seller? Why pay 1 million when the asking price was about 600,000? And on and on. There are too many unanswered questions. I believe in transparency and accountability... I say check back pockets.

Yesterday, I wrote to the current mayor and city council the following letter. I hope you will support my proposal to examine all possibilities of rehabilitating and using the building prior to making a decision to tear it down: July 26, 2023 Open letter to Mayor Mandell and members of the Elmira city council It has come to my attention that you are intending to proceed with the demolition of the Brand Park pool. I object to this unwise decision and ask that no action be taken until after the election. First, the pool is of historic importance to the City. It is one of very few swimming pools like it left in the U.S., and it is a monument of great meaning to the many Elmirans who used to swim there. Second, you have yet to justify this demolition to the people. And have you investigated the cost of restoration? Have you asked for and received bids to restore or rehabilitate the facility? Have you looked into grants for historic preservation or considered the possibility of a capital fund-raising appeal to the citizens of Elmira? Have you asked Elmirans what they think of this ill-advised proposal? Tearing this building down is tearing apart the fabric of what gives meaning to Elmira and to our communities. It is the last resort that should be taken. We must first consider restoring it as a swimming pool, and if that turns out to be impossible, we should next attempt to retrofit the building, retain its historic value, and use, appreciate, and value it. Retaining this unique and valuable facility will give many returns to our city in the future, while tearing it down will erase any future tourist and recreational opportunities or any historic interest it might offer. As a candidate for mayor of Elmira, I believe that all options should be thoroughly investigated before embarking on the proposed resolution, and that Elmirans should be able to voice their opinions on the issue; therefore, I ask that the proposed demolition be suspended until after the election in November.

Chemung County recently bought a downtown building at 150 Lake St. The sale is shrouded in mystery. After a meeting of the CC Legislature in early May, I listened to a discussion between an Elmira businessman and Legislator Margeson. The businessman was upset that someone who had a plan in hand for the building’s use had offered to buy the building for about $600,000, the approximate asking price, and that the County, with no set budget for such a purchase and no plan for its use, then offered and bought it for a million dollars, thus taking it off the tax rolls. Apparently, the County then made the building available to several governmental offices, which turned it down. According to Mr. Margeson, there were originally 2 purchase offers, one of approximately $1,100,000–he couldn’t remember exactly–and the other, the County’s bid. He claimed that the offer of $600,000 came later. Curiously, he also couldn’t remember the name of the 1.1 million bidder. As for the seller, he knew that the person was a former resident of Elmira who now lived in Florida and still had family in the Elmira area, but he couldn’t remember his name either. It seemed inconceivable to me and to the businessman, whose understanding of the sale’s chronology was the opposite of what Mr. Margeson outlined, that someone would make an offer $400,000 lower than the 2 million-dollar bids already being considered. And if Mr. Margeson’s account was accurate, why would the County offer $1,000,000 when the asking price was $600,000? It also seemed odd that the seller would refuse an offer higher than the County’s. Mr. Margeson declared that the County was currently considering how it might use the building. Wonder why they didn’t think about that before buying it? Also, if they are thinking of using it, why have there been large “For Lease” signs outside the building ever since? You’ve got to wonder if this sale is a classic case of “follow the money.”