An arrest warrant was issued Thursday for an Elmira property owner after she failed to show up for her appearance in Elmira City Court.

Judge Thomas Ramich issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Elizabeth Holloway of Endicott when she did not appear in court, according to the city court clerk’s office.

“She will be arrested, and she will be brought in,” said City Councilwoman Susan Skidmore, D-1st District, whose district includes one of the two properties owned by Holloway that are listed in the criminal charges.

Holloway is the first city property owner in years to be criminally prosecuted for code violations.

The city said it has tried since 2005 to get Holloway to correct violations at two properties she owns in Elmira, including porches in danger of collapsing, a broken sidewalk, a collapsing chimney and a collapsing garage wall.

She was initially scheduled to be in City Court on Aug. 11 to be indicted on the charges. However, Ramich had adjourned her case until Thursday so she could obtain a lawyer.

Ramich first called for Holloway at 9:10 a.m. Thursday, but she did not appear, and her attorney — whom the judge did not name — was not in court either, Skidmore said.

Holloway’s lawyer is Kevin Kelly of Ithaca, the city court clerk’s office said.

Ramich called for Holloway again at about 10 a.m., and shortly after that, he was handed a fax sent by Holloway’s attorney requesting an adjournment because of an unspecified family court matter, Skidmore said.

The judge at that time decided not to grant another adjournment but issued a warrant for Holloway’s arrest, Skidmore said, noting she was not surprised.

“This is very indicative of her past behavior, right down to the verbiage on the fax, that ‘something has come up, and it’s the last minute.’ Now, attorneys know ahead when the court dates are. You assign another attorney. But even she herself didn’t show up,” she said.

Reached Thursday afternoon, Holloway said she spoke with Kelly Wednesday afternoon. She assumed he was in family court Thursday and that was why he could not appear in court in Elmira, she said.

Kelly’s law office confirmed that he was in court Thursday afternoon.

“My attorney assured me that I did not have to attend and that there would be a postponement,” Holloway said. “It would be postponed probably for two weeks, and in the interim time period, he would review all of the material.”

She said she has been collecting documentation to provide to Kelly, such as what she received from the city and the e-mails and faxes she had sent to the city.

“Those were in different places, and I had to get it and provide it for him,” she said.

Skidmore was clearly frustrated by the delay.

“This is not the first time she’s done this, and it probably will not be the last,” Skidmore said. “Even with the warrant, we still have no time line or time frame, so we’re basically back to square one, waiting to see what the courts are going to do for us.”

The city won a $500 civil judgment in 2007 and a $1,500 civil judgment in 2008 against Holloway for code violations at 514 West Water St., where she used to live. The current criminal charges against her include seven misdemeanors and one violation for the West Water Street property and two misdemeanor charges for a rental property she owns at 262 Caldwell Ave.

“I would just love to see the property fixed,” Skidmore said. “I would like it to be visible. It’s in the historic business district. It’s a beautiful house built in the 1800s that has been left to crumble. It has just progressively gotten worse because no action has actually been taken.”

She said she and residents of the West Water Street and Caldwell Avenue neighborhoods worked together to draw up petitions.

“All in all, we have about 55 signatures,” she said. “It’s nice to have the support of the community.”

The petitions will be provided to the Chemung County District Attorney’s Office to assist with prosecution efforts, she said.

Holloway said earlier she has contacted almost three dozen contractors but has been unsuccessful in obtaining one to complete the repair work.

But Skidmore said Thursday that she spoke with a contractor Wednesday night who told her Holloway contacted her but would not let him enter the house so he could go on the roof to see what kind of work was needed.

“I don’t know how you get work done if you don’t let people on your property,” she said. “When she appeared in court two weeks ago, she gave the same story — ‘I don’t have an attorney. I’ve contacted a few people, but nobody’s called me back,’ and then to (Thursday’s) fax where the attorney can’t show up. It’s just the same story over and over and over again.”

Skidmore expects that criminal charges eventually will be filed against other landlords.

“One of the things they always say about Elmira is that the people in City Hall don’t care, and we do care. We care deeply because we live here,” she said. “We need to take care of our community and get some of these houses back in order. Make it look like it’s a beautiful, livable place that people want to come here.”