ITHACA, N.Y. (WHCU) – Colleagues remember a former Ithaca City Alderperson.

Susan Blumenthal passed away on February 16th, 2023, after eight years as a stage 4 cancer patient and a bout of flu and pneumonia.

She earned her Master of Regional Planning degree from Cornell University in 1978. She was appointed to the Ithaca Planning and Development Board in 1984, serving 11 years, eight of them as chair. In 1996 she joined Ithaca’s Common Council, where she served until 2004 and chaired the Planning and Development Committee.

She was instrumental in the decision to put Ithaca’s Farmer’s Market at Steamboat Landing and oversaw the economic studies that brought “big box stores” like Lowe’s and Walmart to the area.

“I had great respect for her as a thoughtful, knowledgeable local leader and independent think,” said George Frantz, who worked with Blumenthal as a municipal planner.

With former Democratic Tompkins County Legislator Stuart Stein, Blumenthal started the Tompkins County Beautification Program. In the late 1990s she founded the annual Pride of Ownership Award, which honors Ithaca City building projects “That are thoughtful, unexpected and lift the aesthetic experience of their settings and surroundings.”

“Susan was a model of public service to the City of Ithaca,” said Third Ward Democratic Committee Chair Ann Sullivan. “She will be missed.”

Blumenthal was 78.