MAYOR RYAN'S MESSAGE
Over the past four years, our community has made large strides in restoring the pride in Binghamton, and never was this more apparent than the past year. By coming together in difficult times, we’ve positioned ourselves for continued success, and I look forward to new gains in 2010 and beyond.
Improving neighborhood safety is a top priority, and we’re making great headway through creative initiatives that come at little or no cost to the local taxpayer. Since 2006, we’ve targeted more than 130 dilapidated buildings for redevelopment by landing more than $8 million in federal and state grants, including more than $4 million last year alone. In the next year, we’ll continue implementing these award-winning initiatives, and seizing new opportunities to remove blight, boost property values and attract new investment to our residential and commercial corridors.
Strengthening our infrastructure is also critical to enhancing our local quality of life, and our street improvement plan is growing more ambitious than ever. In 2009, we paved 50% more streets than in past years, we separated sanitary and storm sewers across more than 50 acres of the West Side and we replaced miles of aging water mains. In 2010, we’ll expand on this work by completing another long list of projects—a list that includes overhauling our two major gateways, Court Street and Front Street. And just as significant, we’re investing in our workforce, providing the training, tools and equipment necessary for more meaningful work, higher morale and greater productivity.
We’re also creating opportunity outside of City Hall. For example, since 2006, the Binghamton Local Development Corporation has leveraged more than $6 million in investment by issuing $1 million in commercial loans. In that time, more than 30 businesses opened in the downtown area, attracting new shoppers and spurring additional development. Last fall, renovations began at the Midtown Mall, which will become home to new apartments and commercial space. Just last month, we broke ground for the long-sought North Side Grocery Store, and it's expected to open by next fall. And in the coming year, construction will begin on a new, downtown student housing complex that will bring even more positive activity to the area.
Through all our efforts, we’ve prioritized sustainable development, which is vital to our social, economic and environmental health—both now and over the long-term. In 2009, we kicked off the City’s first-ever deconstruction projects, we began giving our youth hands-on training in green building practices and we installed permeable pavers at Kennedy Park, marking the first time the City has used such sustainable materials in a parks improvement project. In 2010, we look forward to launching the Binghamton Energy Efficiency (Be2) Program, one of the nation’s first energy efficiency loan programs for homeowners, and we’ll be helping develop the NYS Climate Action Plan, which promises to reduce the State's greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050. We’ve taken a leadership role in promoting sustainability, and it has put Binghamton on the front edge of the green economy.
Building a city that works for all of us requires that we confront our biggest challenges head on, and that’s exactly how we’re facing the pressures of the ongoing recession. We’re producing savings and revenues through a variety of approaches that include shared services with the County, streamlining services, growing our homeownership rate and restructuring the budget process to enable greater collaboration with the City Council and our many community partners. As our record shows, the more we join forces, the smarter our strategies will be and the faster we’ll emerge from these harsh economic times.
When my administration took office in 2006, Binghamton was at a crossroads: we could continue business as usual and slide into decline, or we could take the innovative measures necessary to grow and thrive. We embraced a new, progressive approach, and it has put Binghamton on the right track. As we begin our second term, we’ll build on our success by staying true to our principles and strengthening our community-wide partnerships.
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