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BINGHAMTON (WBNG) — On Friday, July 14 Democratic Binghamton City Council members as well as Democratic candidates for City Council spoke against the City’s recent PILOT agreement to award a tax break to a downtown housing development project.
The PILOT agreement will assist UB Family LLC with the development on Water Street.
City Council Member for Binghamton’s Fourth District Aviva Freidman said the legislation goes against the needs of Binghamton residents.
“This is a project that caters to the theoretical residents that may come in the future and does nothing to address the needs of current residents,” said Freidman.
City Council Candidate for Binghamton’s Sixth District Rebecca Rathmell said the project will have a negative impact on local residents.
“Every time City Council passes a housing project like the Water Street development that includes rental units well above anything resembling market rate it is our community who suffers,” said Rathmell.
In a statement to 12 News regarding the project Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham said, in part, “Despite false claims of reduced revenue and taxpayer burdens, here are the facts: This project activates a vacant parcel that has generated zero dollars in tax revenue for more than 50 years. The development will bring in nearly $4.5 million dollars in revenue for the City of Binghamton, Broome County and the Binghamton City School District. The project will also provide $4.5 million in public infrastructure improvements the City would normally have to pay for, and $1 million for parking garage maintenance. And it will put more people in our downtown, supporting the small businesses and restaurants that are at the core of Binghamton’s revitalization.”
The housing development will include a housing and a parking complex with 120 market-rate housing units and six workforce apartments on top of a new 486-space parking garage.
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