As a resident and taxpayer, I submitted the following letter to Binghamton City Council to be read into the record during the Public Comment section of the July 26, 2023 City Council Business Meeting. July 26, 2023 Dear Council members, I think it’s appropriate we all reflect on the unanimous decision by the Binghamton City …
There is a lot of confusion around a controversial downtown project planned for the old Boscovs parking ramp that involves two lego pieces: five floors of private luxury housing project built on top of five floors of a public parking garage. This article is meant to fight through some of the intentional fog created by …
At the June 5, 2023 Binghamton City Council work session, Mayor Jared Kraham requested City Council approve a massive tax break for another wealthy developer to build more downtown luxury housing, even though Binghamton continues to suffer from a crushing shortage of quality, affordable housing and folks experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness are on the …
At the April 12 Binghamton City Council meeting, the GOP-led Council is expected to rubberstamp, as usual, Mayor Kraham’s request to (1) launder $500,000 of COVID recovery funds through the general fund, “liberating” the federal grant dollars from program rules, and then (2) immediately allocating this same $500,000 for a commercial façade improvement grant program …
BINGHAMTON – A small group of residents, including former public employees and housing justice advocates, launched today a new website that documents and tracks how Binghamton elected officials are spending the City’s $46 million in pandemic recovery funds (often called ARPA funds). “Former Mayor Rich David and current Mayor Jared Kraham have already allocated …
BINGHAMTON – This week, Binghamton City Council unanimously approved Mayor Kraham’s proposal to pay police officers a retention incentive using $363,000 of American Rescue Plan funding, federal dollars awarded to Binghamton to help with local recovery efforts following the pandemic. (Councilwoman Aviva Friedman was absent and did not vote). The proposal was introduced by the …
If Binghamton City Council is the community’s legislative body, ever wonder how they’re performing? After all, Binghamton is a strong-mayor form of government, which grants the mayor full executive and administrative authority over the day-to-day operations of the city. City Council, on the other hand, assumes the role of chief legislative body, expected to introduce …
On September 26, I submitted to Binghamton City Council and the Clerk’s Office two Requests for Legislation (RLs) that share common themes of transparency and good governmental reforms. Expand Broome’s Annual Financial Disclosure Reporting to Binghamton The first request pertains to emulating the longstanding practice of Broome County, which requires all elected officials, key …
A homegrown equity investment firm, founded by a former Binghamton University wrestler, is quietly attracting silent investors and gobbling up apartment buildings and two-family residences, illegally displacing long-term seniors and working families, and converting these properties into cash-cow student rentals. Brock Cvijanovich, who also uses the name Brock Orion, has been a key player in …
As reported here in June, New York leaders supercharged its most successful blight elimination grant program, Restore NY, with a $250 million allocation in the state’s 2022-2023 budget. The Restore NY program is managed by Empire State Development (ESD), the state’s economic development agency. ESD announced this summer that the $250 million in Restore NY …