Elmira - how bad is it really? (Plattsburgh, Corning: sale, apartment)

[archtopguitar]

Don't forget to check out the property taxes on the Elmira houses. One of the reasons the houses are so cheap is the taxes & utility bills are so high that it depresses the sale price of the homes. good luck!

[looking4home]

I don't know where you are looking for the city's stats, homeward, but I didn't think an incarcerated population was counted in the stats. It would be much higher, if that were the case, as many of those in prison commit sexual crimes along with their other crimes. Also, my old hometown of Auburn has a maximum security prison, and with a city population of about 28,000 and they don't have as many registered offenders. I have a feeling you touched on the reason - perhaps once the felons are released they stay within the community for their parole period or whatever. That's a scary thought in itself!

[karen824]

I don't think anyone here has mentioned yet that Elmira's downtown is practically a ghost town now. My husband grew up in Horseheads and his parents lived in Elmira for many years--they just moved to Rochester last year--so I've been going there frequently for visits since we got married 18 years ago.
As I understand it, the flood of '72 (when the Chemung River flooded) devastated the commercial part of town, and it's never really recovered. If you drive through downtown Elmira, you'll see street after street of empty storefronts. I find it very depressing. Apparently everyone drives to the big shopping area in Horseheads now--the Arnot Mall has expanded, and all around it are stores like Wal-Mart and other big box stores. It's a big shopping destination, but in the meantime the city of Elmira is just dead. They have tried to revive it over the years--they built some kind of sports complex there a few years ago--but I don't think it's helped much. So that's definitely something to bear in mind before you move there.
That said, there are some beautiful homes and neighborhoods in Elmira, and I'm sure you could find a nice place to live in a nice neighborhood. I never heard my in-laws say anything alarming about crime while they were living there.
Karen

[Ellie C.]

Hi and thanks for the responses. I researched the sex offender issue heavily because I too was alarmed when I saw that. I went to the Family Watchdog site, which is updated weekly. Great site, BTW. You'd be surprised who is living in your neighborhood. That one gives you photos and addresses of where they live and where they work.

Anyway, the city-data site does indeed include incarcerated people. Check the addresses and you'll see - all the ones on Davis Street - that's the prison. Family Watchdog pulls up 61 offenders, which is bad enough, but is actually statistically equal to Wichita, KS, which doesn't have a maximum security state prison in town like Elmira does.

As for racial tension, the Elmira P.D. just hired their first black police officer since 1986 and there are a few wahoos who posted on the Star-Gazette website that they were against this because he would be letting black people get away with stuff - just ridiculous racist spewing hatred. Honestly, rednecks scare me more than anything! My nightmare would be buying a house and then the neighbor putting a junk car up on blocks in the front yard, a broken appliance and a couch on the porch, and a Confederate flag up in the window.

I think there are some people trying to revive Elmira. There is a group of people who are trying to resurrect Eldridge Park, maybe not back into the amusement park it used to be, but just a nice park. They completely restored the antique carousel and I guess now there's talk that they'll try to refurbish the dragon boat. This is something I think is exciting and wonderful and I would like to be a part of.

Here's a wonderful website about the preservation society with pictures of all the old rides. Be sure to look in the section called "Remembering Elmira": http://www.eldridgepark.us/

Maybe if enough of the right people move back, Elmira can become a great town again.

[Ellie C.]

Scratch what I just said about "refurbishing" the dragon boat; it was burned (how awful). Maybe they were going to build a new one? That would be cool.

[homeward bound]

Very informative, thoughtful posts here--from the Usual Suspects and Newbies. Thanks to all, as always.

A few further questions.

Karen824, is the economic/demographic/mood-of-the-place trend downward, steady, or beginning to tick upward?

Ellie C., how/why did the Dragonboat burn?

Yes, in the Elmira pix I saw, the downtown did look very desolate. VERY sad since those handsome old commercial buildings look like they have terrific potential. My wife's much more the coffeeshop-hopper and shopper than I am, but so desolate a downtown is at least a big lost opportunity/neglected possibility to live near.

Does Elmira College enliven the place, or, since the students have to live on-campus for all four years (which is FINE w/ me!), is their positive effect on the economy somewhat limited?

Anybody have any take on the public schools--academic quality, safety, etc.?

Thanks to all!

[Ellie C.]

h.b. - The story is that Jasper the dragonboat started to rot and was deliberately burned by the owners. I'm sure more than a few people wish they hadn't done that. The people who are trying to bring the park back to life have a new "Jasper" on their wishlist, but who knows if it will ever happen. The carousel being rebuilt is a sign of hope though. Supposedly it is the fastest carousel in the world.

I think there will be ups and downs to come for Elmira, but ultimately it will land on it's feet. Right now it looks grim; even the Mark Twain Golf Course is up for sale. I hope it doesn't get bought by a housing developer and stays a golf course.

The city is now working with a man named Norman Mintz who is credited with the revitalization of downtown Corning, so finally someone is at least trying to take action to bring Elmira back from the brink. Even still it will take ten years to see the results of this, and without a major company bringing jobs in (besides the Dept. of Corrections) and possibly a national economic recession looming nationwide, a lot can happen to derail everyone's efforts. It's too bad they didn't begin this process sooner when there was more of an economic boom.

Even the original courthouse and post office is for sale. It's a stunning building, over 42,000 square feet. I don't know why it's vacant now.

Anyone else know?

[Ellie C.]

h.b. - try this site for school info: http://www.greatschools.net/city/Elmira/NY. Their rating system is a little confusing. The "great schools"rating is based on state test scores, so if I'm reading it right, a score of 6 puts that school in the 60th percentile of all schools. (It doesn't look like the Elmira city schools are churning out little rocket scientists.) The "star" rating seems to be based on what the parents rate the school. There are also separate ratings for Elmira City and Elmira Heights.

Hope this helps some with the school question.

[tviz25]

First of all to set things straight some facts about Elmira because I live in it-

-population- 30,000
-the population is on upswing
-the downtown is slowly coming back
-there is a large shopping area with a mall and many big stores such as a Wal-Mart Supercenter, Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.
-there are many bad spots in the city, but many good ones.
-Elmira was ranked #9 in America's top "green cities in the U.S.
-Ranked in the top in the nation in good housing
-there are 2 prisons-Southport Correctional Facility and Elmira Correctional Facility- I live one block from the Elmira prison- an inmate escaped one time and nothing happened.
-It is a very save place to live, granted you don't live in Hathorn Court or Dewittsburgh (public housing projects).
-There is a higher crime rate than cities of its size such as Ithaca, Jamestown, Auburn, and Binghamton
-Overall it is a good place to live

-I live here and ride all over the city all of the time and see all of it so if you have any questions ask me.

[eleachea]

Originally Posted by tviz25

First of all to set things straight some facts about Elmira because I live in it-

-population- 30,000
-the population is on upswing
-the downtown is slowly coming back
-there is a large shopping area with a mall and many big stores such as a Wal-Mart Supercenter, Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.
-there are many bad spots in the city, but many good ones.
-Elmira was ranked #9 in America's top "green cities in the U.S.
-Ranked in the top in the nation in good housing
-there are 2 prisons-Southport Correctional Facility and Elmira Correctional Facility- I live one block from the Elmira prison- an inmate escaped one time and nothing happened.
-It is a very save place to live, granted you don't live in Hathorn Court or Dewittsburgh (public housing projects).
-There is a higher crime rate than cities of its size such as Ithaca, Jamestown, Auburn, and Binghamton
-Overall it is a good place to live

-I live here and ride all over the city all of the time and see all of it so if you have any questions ask me.

i loved the town when i was there and have missed it so much, i went back one time since leaving and so much changed, i loved eldridge park i went there almost everyday. french fries with vinager and the bumper cars were my fav. just thought i would drop a line.