Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a
city in upstate
New York in the
United States. It is the
county seat of
Broome County. The population of the City of Binghamton, according to the
2000 Census, is 47,380 (
1990 Census: 53,008).
The
City of Binghamton is nestled in the
Southern Tier of New York, at the confluence of the
Susquehanna and
Chenango Rivers. The city is at the crossroads of Interstates
81 and
88, as well as the future
Interstate 86 (also known as
New York State Highway 17, The Southern Tier Expressway).
The Binghamton Metropolitan Area includes approximately 252,000 residents in all of Broome and Tioga (NY) counties. [
1] Binghamton is part of the "
Triple Cities," which also include
Endicott and
Johnson City, which are actually
villages. The region is now collectively referred to as "Greater Binghamton."
Greater Binghamton is also home to
Binghamton University, the top ranked public school in the Northeast United States. The University's presence is a driving force in the community, acting as an academic, athletic and arts center for the the community. The school also employs 1 in 10 local residents, and contributes an economic impact of over $700 million in Greater Binghamton alone.
* Binghamton prides itself in a rich history, including the home to
IBM,
Endicott-Johnson, and
Link Simulators, to the fifth oldest
zoo in the country.
* Binghamton is home to
Binghamton University, the top ranked University in the
State University of New York system.
* With 6 historic wooden
carousels, Binghamton is the carousel capitol of the world.
* With a rich ethnic history, the greater Binghamton area boasts one of the busiest summers of ethnic festivals in the country.
* Prides itself as the home of
Rod Serling, of
Twilight Zone fame.
Early history
The city was named after
William Bingham, a wealthy Philadelphian who bought the surrounding land in
1792. Before that, the first known people of European descent to come to the area were the troops of Gen.
John Sullivan in
1779, during the
American Revolutionary War.
Binghamton was incorporated as a
village in
1834 within the
Town of Binghamton and became a
city in
1867.
Binghamton was nicknamed the "Parlor City" for its neat streets and attractive homes, including many stately mansions. Ironically, many of those stately mansions are now "funeral parlors" (i.e.,
funeral homes.) During the late
1800s and early
1900s, many immigrants moved to the area, finding an abundance of jobs, leading them to call it the "Valley of Opportunity."
From
1923 to
1927 Binghamton was the Northeast headquarters of the infamous
Ku Klux Klan.
Binghamton is noted as being the birthplace of both
IBM and the
Link flight simulator. Until the
Cold War ended, the area never experienced an economic downfall, due in part to the generosity of employers (IBM and Endicott-Johnson) and also because of its defense-heavy industries. This concentration of the defense industry made the area the seventh most likely area in the nation for a nuclear attack during the
Cold War, and the population peaked at around 85,000 in
1950.
Binghamton is known as the "Carousel Capital of the World" for its collection of historic
carousels located in public parks around the area.
The name has frequently been misspelled "Binghampton".
Famous residents
Famous people from Binghamton include
Rod Serling (creator of
The Twilight Zone) and
Johnny Hart (cartoonist of
B.C. and
The Wizard of Id).
Richard Deacon of
The Dick Van Dyke Show also worked as an orderly in City Hospital, now known as Binghamton General Hospital. Binghamton scientist
Edwin A. Link invented the
flight simulator used for pilot training and video interface technology.
David Sedaris (comedian) and sister
Amy Sedaris (actress),
Anthony George (soap-opera actor) and
Jack Sharkey (heavyweight boxing champion) were born in Binghamton.
Elmar Oliveira also resided in Binghamton in his younger years and in 1979 when he became the first and only American ever to win the Gold Medal for violin at Moscow's Tchaikowsky International Competition. *
Internationally collected, published and
listed (pop artist)
Lorna Wallace
,[
2] was born in Binghamton.
Binghamton is located at (42.102225, �'75.911797).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.6
km² (11.0
mi²). 27.0 km² (10.4 mi²) of it is land and 1.6 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (5.43%) is water.
The north branch of the
Susquehanna River passes through downtown Binghamton. This branch rises in eastern New York and receives a number of tributaries above Binghamton, most notably the
Chenango, which joins from the north just outside of the business district. Major floods occurred in the city during
1865,
1936 and
2006.
In
1935 the Chenango suffered a flash flood, which was damaging, but less severe once it joined the larger Susquehenna. So much water came from the Chenango, that the Susquehanna flowed backwards for some distance above the confluence. In
1972 the remnants of
Hurricane Agnes flooded the entire Susquehanna basin downstream from Binghamton, but the damage in the city was minor. In
2006, the Susquehanna flooded again in Binghamton causing massive amounts of damage in the city and the entire metropolitan area. The Exchange Street and Washington Street bridges were flooded and the height of the river surpassed the floodwalls on North Shore Drive, Court Street, and Conklin Ave. The damage was extensive enough to force large scale evacuations, including that of Lourdes Hospital which was unable to pump water out of its basement fast enough.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 47,380 people, 21,089 households, and 10,417 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,752.3/km² (4,539.2/mi²). There were 23,971 housing units at an average density of 886.5/km² (2,296.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.18%
White, 8.41%
Black or
African American, 0.26%
Native American, 3.33%
Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 1.71% from
other races, and 3.07% from two or more races. 3.90% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 21,091 households out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.6% were
married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.6% were non-families. 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 13.2% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.
The area surrounding Binghamton, referred to in marketing as "
Greater Binghamton" - or the Binghamton MSA by the census bureau - is approximately 252,000 people. The Binghamton MSA is comprised of all of
Broome County and neighboring
Tioga County. Alternatively defined, the number of people living in an approximately 40 mile radius of the city is approximately 300,000. This count includes Broome, Tioga, and portions of Cortland, Delaware and Chenango Counties in New York and portions of Susquehanna and Bradford counties in Pennsylvania.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,665, and the median income for a family was $36,137. Males had a median income of $28,774 versus $23,014 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $17,067. About 16.5% of families and 23.7% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 28.4% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.
The area is greatly driven by Binghamton University, the top ranked public school in the Northeast United States. Students add 14,000 people to the population each school year. The University employs about 1 in 10 Greater Binghamton Residents, and contributes an economic impact of $700 million in Greater Binghamton and $894.5 million in New York State.
Binghamton refers to itself as the "carousel capital of the world," with six antique
Herschell carousels in the region - one of the world's largest functional collections of old-style carousels. The
Ross Park Zoo is the fifth-oldest zoo in the nation. The Binghamton area is the home of the regional dish known as the
spiedie, celebrated at the annual Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally, held at Otsiningo Park. The
B.C. Open, part of the
PGA Tour, will play its 34th, and final tournament at the En-Joie Golf Course in
Endicott in 2006. (Editor's note: As the En-Joie Golf Course underwent severe flooding recently, the final B.C. Open will be played at the
Atunyote Golf Club on the grounds of the
Turning Stone Casino & Resort in
Verona, NY.) The area's
Kopernik Observatory is the largest public observatory in the northeast.
Employers
Current major companies in the area include
Binghamton University,
Rockwell Collins,
IBM,
L-3 Communications,
Lockheed-Martin,
Endicott Interconnect Technologies,
Gannett,
Frito Lay,
Maines Paper & Food,
BAE Systems,
American International Group and
Universal Instruments.
Education
Primary and secondary education in Binghamton is provided by the Binghamton City School District, Broome County Catholic Schools, and the Susquehanna School at South Bridge. The city's school district serves over 6,100 students in 7 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 1 high school. The are 6 catholic schools in the county, 3 of them, 2 grade schools and 1 high school, are located in the city. The Susquehanna School is a private middle school which has a capacity of 72 full-time students.
Binghamton University, part of the
SUNY system, is located in nearby
Vestal. It offers not only highly ranked education, but a great deal of arts, and division 1 athetics.
Broome Community College and
Davis College (formerly Practical Bible College) also call Greater Binghamton home.
The
Ridley-Lowell Business & Technical Institute and the
Elmira Business Institute provide short-term career-oriented training.
Metro area
The nearby suburb of Vestal has many strip malls along a five-mile stretch of the Vestal Parkway (
NY 434).
Johnson City has the region's largest indoor mall, the
Oakdale Mall. Other area shopping centers include the MetroCenter, in downtown Binghamton.
Sports
The area is home to the
Eastern League's
Binghamton Mets (AA affiliate of the
New York Mets) and the
Binghamton Senators (
AHL affiliate of the
Ottawa Senators). Division I College Sports are played at
Binghamton University (a member of the
America East Conference). Division III College Sports are played at
Broome Community College. The area is also home to two semi-pro football teams, the
Broome County Dragons (members of the
Empire Football League) and the
Southern Tier Green Machine (members of the
North American Football League).
Transportation
The area is served by a medium-sized regional airport,
Greater Binghamton Airport. Destinations served by the airport include
Philadelphia (
US Airways),
Detroit (
Northwest Airlines),
Atlanta (
Delta Air Lines), and
Dulles Airport serving
Washington, D.C. (
United). Intercity bus service is also available out of downtown Binghamton via
Greyhound (with destinations including
Syracuse,
Albany,
Rochester,
Scranton,
Toronto,
Washington, D.C., and
New York City.)
Shortline/Coach USA also service the region, with daily departures to
Olean,
Elmira,
Turning Stone Casino,
Utica,
Atlantic City,
Monticello, and
New York City.Public transportation in Binghamton and outlying areas is served by
BC Transit, a service of the Broome County Department of Transportation. Students at Binghamton University are also served by OCCT (Off-Campus College Transport).
The current Mayor of Binghamton is Matthew T. Ryan.
*
Cutler Botanic Garden*
Ross Park Zoo* The six carousels in Broome County, two of which are located in Binghamton
*
Binghamton University*
Rod Serling Museum*
Roberson Science CenterA History of the Binghamton Slovaks, by Imrich Mazar: A chronicle of one of Binghamton's largest ethnic populations.
From Vision to Excellence: A Popular History of Binghamton University, by Karen T. Hammond: Although Hammond's book focuses on the
SUNY campus, it also provides interesting information on the city of Binghamton.
Binghamton (Images of America), by Ed Aswad and Suzanne M. Meredith: A photographic history. There are several companion books dealing with
IBM,
Endicott,
Johnson City, and
baseball and
hockey in
Broome County.
A Mind of Summer, by Erik Grayson: Includes
Tales of Three Cities, a short oral history of the greater Binghamton area.
Diary of a Binghamton boy in the 1860's, by Morris Treadwell: Early Binghamton through the eyes of a young boy.
The Binghamton Blues, by Nino Lama: A series of fictional thrillers set in and around the city of Binghamton.
Partners All: A History of Broome County, New York, by Gerald R. Smith.
Working Lives, Broome County, New York, 1800-1930: A Social History of People at Work in Our Region, by Ross McGuire.
Broome County Heritage: An Illustrated History, by Lawrence Bothwell.
Broome County: A Contemporary Portrait, by Karen Hammond, Suzanne M. Meredith, Kirk Van Zandbergen, and Leslie Van Zandbergen.
A Picture Post-Card History of New York's Broome County Area--Binghamton, Johnson City, Endicott, Owego, and Surrounding Communities, published by the Kiwanis Club of Binghamton
Binghamton has two sister cities, according to
Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
*}}
Borovichi,
Novgorod Oblast,
Russia *
La Teste-de-Buch,
Aquitaine,
France*
City of Binghamton, NY 
