The Bridge

According to a review of city documents by The Bridge, owners of flood-damaged, substandard rental properties in a neighborhood with 62% of residents living at or below poverty (Census, 2013-2017 ACS), received FEMA Buyout payments far in excess of fair market values. In one case, 20 Carroll Street, the FEMA Buyout payment was four times the property's … [Read more...] about City Approves Questionable FEMA Buyout Payments: Owners Paid up to 4x Listed Fair Market Value

Each year, the City of Binghamton receives approximately $2 million from HUD through the Community Development Block Grant program, consistently ranked by Republican and Democratic mayors across the country as one of the most important funding sources to support investments in distressed neighborhoods, local housing needs, and nonprofits delivering essential … [Read more...] about Citizen Input Needed on Annual Federal Housing Grants to City of Binghamton

Iris Thor died on April 2. She was 96 years young. Iris was born in Buffalo, NY and was predeceased by her parents, two brothers and husband Harry A. Thor. Iris graduated in 1948 from the University of Buffalo with a B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology. While working toward an M.S.W. and serving the city of Detroit as a caseworker, she met and married … [Read more...] about Obituary: Iris Thor

So many in our communities are poor and struggling. And it's not by accident. We are being deliberately exploited and manipulated for the benefit of the 1%. Our bodies are being exploited for cheap labor, and our land is being destroyed as they extract resources to make energy, poisoning our water and our air and our soil and our bodies in the process. It … [Read more...] about Climate Justice Countdown