Seneca Falls, storied NY birthplace of women’s rights, weighs dissolving village to cut taxes

Storied NY village Seneca Falls weighs dissolving

SENECA FALLS, N.Y. — A tax squabble is forcing voters to decide next week whether to dissolve the boundaries of a central New York village known as the birthplace of women’s rights and the inspiration for a classic Christmas movie.

The March 16 ballot question in Seneca Falls asks whether the 179-year-old village of 6,600 should be absorbed into the surrounding town of the same name.

Even though the name won’t change, some residents worry that a “yes” vote could erode the village’s storied identity.

Supporters say the ballot proposal would do away with a costly duplication of governmental services.

The village was the site of the first known women’s rights convention in 1848 and claims to be the model for Bedford Falls, the mythical community depicted in the 1946 movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”