ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) -- Members of the Eldridge Skatepark community came together for a skateboard summit meeting. The gathering was put together by Andrew Patros, a former Chemung County Legislator, to gather input about how to make improvements to the skatepark.  

Patros has been taking his grandsons to the Eldridge Skatepark for years, during the summertime. Patros said he wanted to start a dialogue with the City of Elmira because consistent communication will bring forth collaboration.  

“It's a decent park but it needs, you know, some repairs, needs some improvements,” he said. “The only way to really get some good ideas is to have dialogue with folks and see if we can then work with the city.”  

Skateboarder Cameron Houver has been skating for the past three years. He said he has noticed that the skatepark gets worse every year.  

“I feel like there could be a lot done, as long as we get the right people...we could do a lot more and make it a lot more enjoyable for everybody,” he said. 

People raised concerns about the skatepark’s copings, cracks and safety regarding the bowl.  

“We have these big cracks where...you catch a lot of speed coming down that way and then you have a big-sized crack that you hit, especially for skateboarders and scooters and stuff like that,” he said. 

Houver said he sees the large cracks cause a lot of injuries for people who are trying to safely enjoy the park. He also pointed out cracks, bumps, and unsafe surfaces for people to skate down into the bowl. 

Patros said he will be hosting more meetings in the future until improvements have been made to the Eldridge Skatepark.