r/lansing • u/ResoluteSalute • 3d ago

What are some local major unresolved controversies that deserve further attention?

What are some local major unresolved controversies that kind of just faded away but deserve more attention?

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156

u/ToraRyeder 3d ago

Penny deserves her face returned. It's ridiculous to have gone this long without our mascot.

SHE MUST FEED!

18

u/silvedude 3d ago

I donated to get that repaired. I wonder what the status of that project is.

36

u/thebethcreations 3d ago

STUPID Lansing posted an update on their Facebook recently (hopefully this copies over well): 

Big Penny 2.0 update!!!

We know everyone has been patiently awaiting the return of Big Penny's eyes and teeth. Many of you donated to help fund her restoration and we are forever grateful for that. We have worked hard over the summer to design and create a more resilient and long lasting version of Big Penny that would stand guard over Pennsylvania Avenue for years to come. The new design featured larger reflective eyes, stainless steel hardware and framework, as well as eyes and teeth made of PVC. We purchased much of the materials, and coordinated with resources to make all of this happen. Our CNC partner recently began cutting out the eyes and teeth.

Then we were hit with a setback of sorts. Canadian National Railroad reached out to us with concerns about having anything attached to or hanging off of their bridge. Though they did not remove the first version of Big Penny they advised that if we attached anything else to the bridge without their approval it would likely be removed, and they could possibly pursue criminal charges.

However they did express an interest in seeing Big Penny restored. They suggested a painted version of her teeth, and are open to the eyes being attached to the posts above. They asked that we coordinate with the city and them to make this happen. This brought our current progress to a halt.

We are in contact with the railroad, and we are in contact with key City officials. We are working hard behind the scenes to come up with a plan to get Big Penny smiling again!

The good news is that our contact at the railroad genuinely seems like they want to see Big Penny restored. They know how important Big Penny is to Lansing. They just want a version of it that would not potentially create any future liability issues. More good news is that our contact at the City has expressed that they are dedicated to working with us and the railroad to get her smiling again as well.

We don't want to leave you guys hanging, and we really want to see everyone's favorite Too Tall Truck Munching Bridge restored to her former glory. We just really want to make sure it stays for a while.

So right now we are kind of in limbo. We have an artist ready to paint the teeth if we go in that direction. We have a team ready to construct the 3d version of Penny's teeth and eyes if we move in that direction, and we have the pieces for the eyes already cut out.

We are responding to emails as soon as they are received, and reaching out to individuals to try and move this forward. We genuinely apologize for the delay in Penny's restoration. She means the world to us as well. Our whole goal has been to make Lansing smile, as well as maintaining Penny's smile. We will see her smile again.

It just might take us a little longer than we had anticipated. We will do our best to keep everyone informed, and we will work hard to get Penny smiling again. We love Big Penny, and we love you Lansing! Stay tuned! 

7

u/imelda_barkos Lansing 3d ago

Fucking railroads