What is Binghamton like? (New York, Buffalo: relocation, housing, condos)

[economicoutlook]

Ok....I started a thread about Binghamton but no replies as of yet....so I will add here. I completely agree that 2+ years ago Binghamton was a pit and not much of a place to However, I have seen substantial change, especially now that SUNY has opened an extension of the campus downtown, by the river. It is just a single building, but does change the nature of the population in the center of the city during the day.""

As of yesterday at noon, the place is still a pit. What are you talking about. It is time to end the bull crap. call a spade a spade. The place is a dump. The governer talked about the amzn poverty before being elected and now Binghelltown is as far from his radar as West Virginias Apalachian poverty. Binghelltwon is disgusting and the area around it is even worse. I cannt think of a place in the US that is as disgusting or poverty embracing as Whitney Point and Windsor. Can you imagine a place worse. No education and no teeth and no hope and all that bull during the campaign for notten. dont let the elected idiots off the hook by talking as Binghelltown is better-it is a pit.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by economicoutlook

Ok....I started a thread about Binghamton but no replies as of yet....so I will add here. I completely agree that 2+ years ago Binghamton was a pit and not much of a place to However, I have seen substantial change, especially now that SUNY has opened an extension of the campus downtown, by the river. It is just a single building, but does change the nature of the population in the center of the city during the day.""

As of yesterday at noon, the place is still a pit. What are you talking about. It is time to end the bull crap. call a spade a spade. The place is a dump. The governer talked about the amzn poverty before being elected and now Binghelltown is as far from his radar as West Virginias Apalachian poverty. Binghelltwon is disgusting and the area around it is even worse. I cannt think of a place in the US that is as disgusting or poverty embracing as Whitney Point and Windsor. Can you imagine a place worse. No education and no teeth and no hope and all that bull during the campaign for notten. dont let the elected idiots off the hook by talking as Binghelltown is better-it is a pit.

Don't let the door hit your...

[Summering]

Well ,as most know, part of the problem with Binghamton is that IBM closed its doors there. That was a big employer of the area. Imagine a company that huge, closing down.
But, the area has two very big and well respected Plants with Lockheed Martin and BAE
( Brittish Airways)
I know people who love having spent their entire lives there. They won't be moving.
They attend all the wonderful shows at the Arena and at other various places.
There ae some very wonderful, gorgeous towns around Binghamton. Homes of great distinction in Endwell for one place. Also, nice homes in Vestal.
The Vestal area is great for ones shopping. There Sams Club is far better then the one down here in Easton, Pa. Their Wegmans is the ultimate in grocery shopping.
Granted that Binghamton, as an old town, needs to work on restoration. Restore, restore should be a big word at most meetings. There must be grants for town improvements and store fronts. Someone needs to get busy.
I felt the hospitals were certainly up to par.
There are some beautiful areas around without living in the city itself.
I love to travel far, far out when I visit the area........and adore seeing the large pieces of land and vastness. Some down to earth people are always a pleasure to meet.
If the town is as low as it gets.........I guess then the only way for it to go now is UP.

[mustangtiff21]

Originally Posted by Summering

Well ,as most know, part of the problem with Binghamton is that IBM closed its doors there. That was a big employer of the area. Imagine a company that huge, closing down.
But, the area has two very big and well respected Plants with Lockheed Martin and BAE
( Brittish Airways)
I know people who love having spent their entire lives there. They won't be moving.
They attend all the wonderful shows at the Arena and at other various places.
There ae some very wonderful, gorgeous towns around Binghamton. Homes of great distinction in Endwell for one place. Also, nice homes in Vestal.
The Vestal area is great for ones shopping. There Sams Club is far better then the one down here in Easton, Pa. Their Wegmans is the ultimate in grocery shopping.
Granted that Binghamton, as an old town, needs to work on restoration. Restore, restore should be a big word at most meetings. There must be grants for town improvements and store fronts. Someone needs to get busy.
I felt the hospitals were certainly up to par.
There are some beautiful areas around without living in the city itself.
I love to travel far, far out when I visit the area........and adore seeing the large pieces of land and vastness. Some down to earth people are always a pleasure to meet.
If the town is as low as it gets.........I guess then the only way for it to go now is UP.

Having grow up the first 23 years of my life in the Binghamton area, I can agree with what you are saying. Until I moved away from the area I never realized how bad of shape the area is in compared to other parts of the country. Trust me, I am not "bad mouthing" my home "area" but its not what it used to be either. It does have a few good companies left for employers however, unless you are in the education field or in aeronatics or healthcare you may be out of luck.

As Summering stated when IBM left that HURT the area. As well as others too. My father worked for Anitec (International Paper) and I believe....don't qoute me, that they had over 500+ people that lost there jobs. There are alot of other companies as well, and many that have downsized greatly. The area has been declining for about 10 years prior to that. I personally could not recommend the area to anyone to move to. I would recommend Scranton first anyday.

I look at Binghamton and compare it to the growth of my new home town and can't imagine what something like that could do for Binghamton. It would do so much good for people...I swear if I was a millionaire I would take it upon myself to build on the area!

Oh and yes Wegmans is the best!!! Of all the big shopping places they add down here....nothing compares to Wegmans. And I miss my speidie sauce!!!

[mustangtiff21]

Oh and ScrantonWilkesBarre, thank you for the nice pictures you posted...brought back some wonderful memories, even makes me a little teary-eyed. It makes me miss home....but then I remember how cold it is there right now!!

And also I like how you noticed the types of vehicles that people drive. I have always noticed the difference between Binghamton and the little town I lived in growing up (great bend PA) and the difference to those here in the south. I always figured if you were driving a newer vehicle you were doing well...here in the south so many people drive bmw's, lexus', mercedes and etc. Its just a different atmosphere is all I guess..... you drive what you can best afford and do well with it. :-)

[mmurph789]

SWB, binghamton will have its day...your ideas are great, and now all we need are investors. over the past year or so i have seen some great things happen. over by Kmart on the extreme northside of downtown there used to be a rather large row of vacant buildings, which have now been turned into many loft apartments. also over in the same general area the Kilmer building has been revitilized. also i feel most importanly is the new college center downtown...binghamton is on its way; still slowly but its getting there.......

[targetsh]

The only thing that is the pits is the self loathing of many born and bread Binghamtonians who would not know the value of change and redevelopment if the bricks were shoved right in their face. I'm a resident and realtor who relocated specifically to Binghamton from NYC because I appreciated the NYC style "template

[targetsh]

It is amazing how people can refer to somplace as "The Pit" when Forbes Magazine listed Binghamton the #2 market in the entire US for Real Estate market price increases for 2007 and Binghamton was named the 11th most secure and safe mid sized city in the US. I am a NYC transplant and a realtor who moved to Binghamton 3 years ago specifically because of the burgeoning revitalization movement. There is a wonderful downtown energy building to make Binghamton a thriving 24/7 environment. Numerous properties are being renovated, restored and refurbished in the core of downtown and neighboring walk-to-downtown locations. I personally am working with "pro-active" investors from NYC, Long Island to as far as Hollywood, California, who currently have active restoration projects in the works. The real problem is the long time residents and locals who do not have the experience and perspective of seeing what it is like to live thru the revitalizing process that took place in NYC neighborhoods like Park Slope, Fort Greene and Harlem. The old days of Binghamton are gone. The new days of loft conversion, art movement growth, business and technical incubators and a growing Binghamton University downtown presence will be a catalyst for a 24/7 "walking" city by the year 2010. To those that want to refurbish a loft, convert a building to coop or condo, or develop a retail or commercial long time dream. Take a chance. You;ll be joining a group of savvy entrepeneurs who have at least 20 such projects going on even as I type this reply. Binghamton RISING...be part of it!

[NOWILUVCLE]

damm, thoese photos are depressing..that is really sad.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by HomerBrink

SWB-the buildings in your photo above are in the process of being rehabbed albeit very slowly.

Thanks for the update, Homer. I'm sorry I forgot all about this thread until it was resurrected though. A return trip to Binghamton might be in order. How much more progress (if any) has been made on those buildings?

Originally Posted by economicoutlook

oh too funny.lol lol lol You know a city is in real trouble when anyone can count the number of people living there! Must admit that getting 50 people to live in the dump of bingho is pretty amazn/

"These four new residents brings our downtown tally to an even 50, and we've only done several buildings along Court Street thus far"


Guess this guys bought some of the burned out industrial wastebaskets in the downtown area and put money into it. People with vochures 13 from the city can afford them and theys sure to set up active businesses cuase that trade is big time in Bingho these days. Bingho closes its eateries downtown by 4 because 1nce night rolls in watch out. Residents do need to be careful. The last few guys to invest in downtown bingho and to be touted as the big time saviors of Bingho were indicted with impressive swindles. I think Adam Weizman was robbing banks to pay other debts and another whose daddy is a developer in New York also ran into trouble. so you need to be careful about anyone investing money in Bingho. Few people would put there own money into the loser city so if money is being invested ya need to ask whose money it is.

First of all, I'm a 21-year-old college student who has an intense passion for urban planning, a sour taste in my mouth for urban sprawl after seeing the countryside around Scranton being devoured mercilessly for McMansions, and a fondness for historic architecture and preservation. I am not a property owner (yet), but I would most certainly consider being an integral part of Binghamton's eventual renaissance in the future. If Scranton can start rounding the corner, then why can't Binghamton? We are sister cities after all, are we not?

Next, I'm not "counting people." I'm counting potential people. An influx of several hundred new residents to Downtown Binghamton would transform it seemingly overnight as these folks would then patronize existing businesses and demand new ones. Bingo would go from being a 9-5 town to being a conceivable 24/7 city.

Finally, what city is a stranger to political corruption? If you think Binghamton is bad, then have a chat sometime with the folks in Scranton or the entire state of New Jersey. It will truly put things into perspective for you.

Originally Posted by mustangtiff21

Oh and ScrantonWilkesBarre, thank you for the nice pictures you posted...brought back some wonderful memories, even makes me a little teary-eyed. It makes me miss home....but then I remember how cold it is there right now!!

And also I like how you noticed the types of vehicles that people drive. I have always noticed the difference between Binghamton and the little town I lived in growing up (great bend PA) and the difference to those here in the south. I always figured if you were driving a newer vehicle you were doing well...here in the south so many people drive bmw's, lexus', mercedes and etc. Its just a different atmosphere is all I guess..... you drive what you can best afford and do well with it. :-)

Thank you, Tiff, for checking out the pictures. I also need to thank you for that uplifting DM you sent me many months ago that I never got around to replying to due to my own sheer laziness and forgetfulness. I'm not a very emotionally well person for a host of reasons, but the words of support were very much appreciated.

I didn't mean to sound like a had a touch of "class envy," but for the life of me I'll never understand how people in Binghamton, Scranton, Elmira, Williamsport, etc. whine about being "poor" before hopping into their nearly new SUVs. If you're truly struggling in life then why on Earth would you own a newer vehicle with poor fuel efficiency and high insurance payments? I myself know how to spend within my means. I drive a paid-off ten-year-old fuel-efficient sedan with monthly insurance payments of just $80/month. Is it pretty? No. Does it get the job done? Yes. Should I extend myself beyond my financial capacity just to keep up with everyone else, then complain when I start slipping on the payments and blaming it on "the area?" No. It seems to me as if a lot of people just like to complain in Upstate NY and Northern PA.

Originally Posted by mmurph789

SWB, binghamton will have its day...your ideas are great, and now all we need are investors. over the past year or so i have seen some great things happen. over by Kmart on the extreme northside of downtown there used to be a rather large row of vacant buildings, which have now been turned into many loft apartments. also over in the same general area the Kilmer building has been revitilized. also i feel most importanly is the new college center downtown...binghamton is on its way; still slowly but its getting there.......

It's nice to hear that Binghamton is rounding a corner. I saw Bingo making some very positive strides when I visited, and although I still prefer Scranton, I'll definitely be making repeat visits to your fine city. The scenarios I depicted in those images are very feasible.

Originally Posted by NOWILUVCLE

damm, thoese photos are depressing..that is really sad.

2008? Depressing. 2015? Drastically different. You might see the present, but I choose to see the future and what CAN be instead of what IS.