Binghamton Community Center to Be Expanded

The Lee Barta Community Center is located at 108 Liberty Street in Binghamton. [Bob Joseph/WNBF News][/caption]

A big expansion project is planned for a community center named in memory of a Binghamton police officer who died in the line of duty.

A plaque honoring Patrolman Lee Barta is placed in front of the community center. [Bob Joseph/WNBF News][/caption]

The Lee Barta Community Center on the city's North Side is to triple in size based on plans being developed by city officials.

The $450,000 project calls for the demolition of an abandoned two-family house north of the existing 1,200-square-foot facility on Liberty Street.

The old structure is to be torn down in early January. The expanded community center is expected to be ready for use next fall.

A community meeting has been scheduled for discussion of the final design of the facility. The session is to be held in the cafeteria of Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School on Ogden Street on December 6 at 6 p.m.

$300,000 for the project will be coming from the state. Visions Federal Credit Union will provide $50,000 for the construction of a community room in the center. The city plans to cover the remaining $100,000 of the cost from federal grants and general operating funds.

The community center is named for Binghamton Patrolman Lee Barta, who was fatally shot on Liberty Street in 1995.

Cornell Cooperative Extension offers cooking classes at the center. [Bob Joseph/WNBF News][/caption]

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