elmira

Elmira residents packed the city courthouse Monday night. Many were against the measure and asked the city not to pass it.

The city of Elmira repealed a law that created a public list of rental property owners with code violations. The city is replacing that list with a report on housing in the community.

The software will analyze recordings to identify gunfire from up to 70 microphones placed on existing light poles throughout the city.

The law would have placed fines on people in "unauthorized campsites" of up to $1,000 and one year in jail, depending on the number of violations. Oftentimes, the campsites in question are created by people who are homeless.

Elmira residents are urging city officials to fund the restoration of the only public pool in the city. The Brand Park Memorial Pool has been closed to the public for decades.

The John W. Jones Museum in Elmira now has a statue of Jones, a formerly enslaved person who played a part in the Underground Railroad. WSKG’s Natalie Abruzzo spoke with Talima Aaron, the president of the board of trustees for the museum about Jones, the museum and his commissioned statue.

The Madison Avenue bridge that connects Elmira’s Northside and Southside has been renamed the Allen-Berry Bridge to honor two African American trailblazers in the city: A’Don Allen and Bessie Berry.

A new dormitory-style homeless shelter opened in Elmira Wednesday and will house up to 47 individuals—both men and women. It offers beds, locked storage, meals, laundry and showers, along with services to find permanent housing.

The new law requires the city to release a monthly list of owners with rental properties that are not properly registered and inspected, or have code violations.

A vacant building collapsed in Elmira earlier this month. The city’s mayor says his administration is working to address similar properties that are in various states of ruin.