ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) -- On Monday, November 18, the Elmira City Council passed a ban on homeless encampments within city limits. To follow up, on Friday morning, Mayor Dan Mandell shared how city officials plan to enforce the ban.
Mayor Mandell called a press conference on Friday morning to provide an update on how community leaders are taking action to try and reduce safety risks in the community. Shortly after the passing of the ordinance, community leaders took a walking tour around downtown Elmira to identify what they call "problem areas."
RELATED: Elmira passes ordinance banning homeless encampments within city limits
To start, Mayor Mandell said Elmira is a safe place for people to visit and live. However, a recent string of incidents has raised concerns.
"That tour included Wisner Park and the parking garage," said Mayor Dan Mandell. "We were able to identify potential problem areas and make plans to reduce risks. I want to thank all those who participated in that tour and I want to make sure the public they were taking every incident, no matter how small, very seriously."
As WENY previously reported, the council passed the ordinance in a 5 to 2 vote, but not every council member was in favor. In summary, the ordinance discusses "camping." So, if a person in the city were to set up a campsite, bedding, or some sort of structure, they could be fined or given jail time.
However, city officials say they are not looking to those repercussions as an immediate solution.
"We recognize that shelter first is the best approach to serving the chronically unsheltered, and that is not currently available in Chemung County," said Councilman Gary Brinn. "As the city and county continue to partner in the search for effective solutions to the surge in unsheltered homeless individuals in our community, the City of Elmira will primarily focus on removing encampments near vital infrastructure and in residential neighborhoods."
Brinn continued saying the city is not doing sweeps of all encampments. In fact, teams from social services, His Haven, and Catholic Charities are helping to bring vulnerable people into local systems of care.
"The camping ban ordinance gives us the necessary tools to keep the unsheltered and general public safe," said Mandell.
According to Mandell, the city is looking to invest two million dollars into the Centertown Parking Garage and expand patrols downtown to start with. However, he will need to meet with county officials first to nail down exact details.