UPDATE 5/22: The city of Elmira issued a press release, saying that it has "discovered erroneous data in the reports as published" and is working to address the issue before its report in June. WENY News contacted the city to learn more about specifically what data was erroneous in the report. The city would only say that some data was inaccurate, but would not give specifics. 

WENY News reached out to 4th District Councilman Rev. Gary Brinn about the erroneous data. He said the data included information on properties were not rental properties, as well as those that did not have any open code violations. 

ELMIRA, NY (WENY) -- Last month, the City of Elmira announced the creation of a monthly public list of landlords who are failing to maintain their properties. On May 20th, the first list was released.

"The rental code violation list is really about giving prospective tenants the information they need to make [informed] decisions about where they're going to live. There's a desire to see some of our landlords who might fall behind on maintenance get those properties back up to code," said the Fourth District City Councilman, Rev. Gary Brinn.

It's an 18-page list of landlords who have one or more code violations in the city's 'Fight Against Blight.' It will reflect current code violations that haven't been remediated.

"So if a landlord repairs something that was cited by code enforcement, they'll come off the list next month. There is a separate list where you'd be listed for an entire year and that's if you use code violations to create a condition of homelessness. We hope that doesn't happen," said Rev. Brinn.

Rev. Brinn said when people receive their notices from code enforcement, it'll specify what needs to be fixed. He said the monthly list is a way to hold landlords accountable.

"Elmira has a housing crisis and it's multi-faceted. It includes hundreds of properties that are vacant, zombied, [or] neglected. Our population has a very high poverty rate and a lot of folks are paying rent they simply can't afford. It blights every single neighborhood in the city, truthfully. Here I am in the fourth ward and significant parts of my own ward are neglected rental properties," said Rev. Brinn.

If a tenant has an issue with where they live, Brinn said they should try to talk to their landlord first. If the problems don't get fixed, people can call code enforcement at (607)-737-5718 or they can fill out a form.