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Restore NY Program
The Restore NY program is a three-round state initiative that aims to remove blight, strengthen residential corridors, leverage private investment, and facilitate commercial development.
By securing the state's largest grants in Rounds I and II, the City has targeted more than 70 blighted properties for demolition, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. In May 2009, the City submitted a $5.3 million Round III grant to redevelop 50 additional properties.
- Round I: $1.67 million, 31 properties
- Round II: $2.5 million, 40 properties
- Round III: $3.4 million, 46 properties (UPDATED 9/5/09, see news release)
Click here for a full listing of the City's Round I, II, and III properties.
Award Winning Approach
Mayor Ryan's Restore NY Project Team took an innovative approach by rescuing dozens of properties from legal limbo. While the City already owned some of the properties to be included in its Restore NY grants, many others were owned by the Municipal Bond Banking Agency (MBBA), which had been unsuccessfully searching for new buyers for several years.
Rather than let these properties languish, the City leveraged Restore NY funds to redevelop 10 of the properties in Round I and 20 more in Round II. By Round III, all MBBA properties had been designated for constructive use.
The City’s creative link to MBBA was immediately noticed by state officials, and prompted MBBA to divest their entire portfolio, allowing other municipalities—including Syracuse and Buffalo—to tap the second round of Restore NY funds to regain control over abandoned, blighted properties. In June 2009, the New York Conference of Mayors awarded the City's Restore NY Project Team won 1st Place for Public Administration and Management in the New York Conference of Mayors Local Government Achievement Awards.
In 2008, the City's Blight Prevention Initiative won 1st Place in the same category.
Current Activities
The City's three awards included funds for demolitions, rehabilitations, and new construction of residential properties.
As of August 2010, the City has completed all demolitions funded by Restore NY I and II awards, and 19 demolitions funded with the Restore NY III award are well underway. The pre-demolition surveys have been completed, and the City anticipates demolitions will be completed by November 2010.
Rehabilitations made possible with Restore NY I funds are completed, and the City anticipates starting eight major rehabilitations before the end of the year with three different housing development agencies: First Ward Action Council, Community Potential Inc., and Home HeadQuarters. All rehabs will be sold to income-eligible homeowners, advancing the administration's goal of boosting homeownership and returning blighted properties to the tax rolls.
Major rehabilitations funded by Restore NY III are in different stages of development. The City anticipates directing nearly $1 million of the award toward new residential construction, locating many of these new, energy-efficient affordable homes on sites of previously demolished blighted structures.
Healthy Neighborhood Collaboration
Another innovative aspect of the City’s Restore NY Program is the Binghamton Healthy Neighborhoods Collaboration, which the City formed in 2008 in order to implement the Round II application. By bringing together the many players involved in local development—including workforce agencies, youth agencies, local unions, educational centers, realtors and developers—the Collaboration allows the City to leverage additional development resources, including Restore NY funds.
Through the collaboration, the City has used the Restore NY properties for the following activities:
- As a youth workforce training site, in conjunction with Broome-Tioga BOCES, Opportunities for Broome, and Broome Tioga Workforce Development
- To advance green building practices, including the training of local contractors in deconstruction as an alternative to demolition
- Expanding homeownership opportunities for low-income city residents, many of whom have been waiting on the City’s affordable housing program list for two years or more
