The city of Binghamton has been awarded a $10 million state grant to fund improvements to the Clinton St. area in the city’s First Ward.
The funding comes from the New York Downtown Revitalization Initiative [DRI], and can be used to improve public spaces, infrastructure, housing and economic development in the area.
New York Secretary of State Walter Mosley visited Binghamton Thursday to announce the state funding.
“Improvements aim to expand affordable housing, which is critical in this housing crisis that we're going through and something we all know we need quite desperately,” Mosley said. “It will foster public-private partnerships, local entrepreneurship, as well as grow retail activity, while at the same time retaining cultural and historical heritage of this area.”
Mosley said the next steps for Binghamton will be to develop a strategic investment plan.
“It's you, every one of you here, the communities, that will choose a project, not us,” Mosley said. “Whether it's zoning, infrastructure, streetscapes, housing, economic development, parks, public spaces, this process is about what you know best and what you know is best for the city of Binghamton.”
Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham said bringing businesses and housing back to the Clinton St. area has been a goal since he became mayor in 2021.
“What became clear was Clinton Street's potential, a place where new investments in housing, activating vacant lots and rehabilitating almost forgotten buildings,” Kraham said. “Where we could have an edgier, grittier, more eclectic district, all while keeping the charm and heritage of this special place.”
Kraham said the $10 million award from the state will help the city realize plans for new affordable housing developments and business investments.
“This revitalization plan is an ambitious but achievable set of projects: new housing, mixed use storefronts, streetscape enhancements, public art and facade improvements, all that tap into the potential of Clinton Street,” Kraham said. “Because Binghamton's history runs through Clinton Street. From the factory workers who helped the allies win World War II, to the generations of immigrant families who built their homes here, started this community and lived out the American dream.”
Villages of Bath, Dryden secure millions in grant funding
Binghamton was not the only Southern Tier municipality that was awarded state revitalization grant funding Thursday.
The villages of Bath in Steuben County, and Dryden in Tompkins County, will both receive $4.5 million in NY Forward funding. Mosley said the program is meant to reach communities that may not have the resources to apply for downtown revitalization funding.
“Some of the smaller, rural communities may have missed out on DRI funding and awards because they lack the service, they lack the staff, they lack the technical support or other resources necessary to go through this process,” Mosley said. “So [Gov. Kathy Hochul] developed the New York Forward program to ensure that no community, regardless of size or character, is left behind.”
The village of Bath plans to use the funding to improve the Liberty St. Historic District by improving public spaces and amenities and investing in new housing.
“This $4.5 million, that will translate into over $12 million investment added to the already $108 million being invested in the village of Bath, will have a significant impact,” Bath Mayor Michael Sweet said. “This is only the beginning. Over the next five years, people will no longer recognize Bath. We will rebuild from despair and will become a beacon of hope for all communities who have lost it.”
The village of Dryden will invest the funding in its Main St. area. It plans to make the village’s downtown more walkable, with improved shopping, dining and residential spaces.
“I think everybody's experiencing it: things go up, cost goes up,” Dryden Mayor Mike Murphy said. “And if your population stays the same, they have to bear the new cost. So we've been working on trying to get a development or housing or businesses to come in to help be part of the top tax base.”
New York state has awarded a total of $200 million in Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward funding in this round of grants. Municipalities must be certified as “Pro-Housing Communities” to receive funding from either program.