The city of Binghamton has won a prolonged legal battle over its use of eminent domain to take ownership of a shopping strip on the city’s North Side.
The Binghamton Plaza retail strip has been around for decades. The building has deteriorated in the past few years, and many of its storefronts are now vacant.
Last year, the city announced plans to condemn the property, which sits along the Chenango River, next to the Cheri A. Lindsey Memorial Park. City officials hope to demolish the plaza, expand the park and connect it to a walkway along the river. The city also plans to redevelop the area, though officials say building housing could be complicated because the plaza site was once a city dump.
"This is the city's namesake plaza, and yet it has not been invested in," Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham said. "It sits at an incredibly strategic site, near multiple interstates, but also on the riverfront and on the State Street corridor, which is ripe for reinvestment."
Several long-time businesses renting space in the plaza have pushed back against the plan. The company that owns the plaza filed a lawsuit asking a New York appellate court to stop the city from acquiring the property through eminent domain.
They argued the city did not meet the requirements of an environmental review or have a clear enough plan for the project.
But last week, the court unanimously sided with the city, ruling that it was justified in condemning and acquiring the property.
Kraham said the city plans to support the remaining businesses when the time comes for them to relocate. He said the project would be a lengthy process and that the businesses will not have to leave anytime soon.
"Just as the residents of the North Side don't deserve that blighted plaza, those small businesses don't deserve to deal with the conditions they're having to deal with with," Kraham said. "Facades of the building literally falling off, places where the roof is caved in and it has to be fenced off due to safety issues."
Kraham said the plaza owners have 30 days to appeal the ruling. If they do not appeal, the city will begin the process of acquiring the property, which includes an appraisal to determine the value of the plaza. He said demolition would not begin until next year.
