Demolition Drug Den: Mayhem Persists at Binghamton Parking Ramp

The State Street parking garage in downtown Binghamton has been closed for seven months but the problems continue inside the dangerous structure.

Demolition crews from Gorick Construction have been working at the parking ramp for the last few weeks.

Some people ignore warning signs posted outside the closed State Street garage in downtown Binghamton. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

Despite fencing surrounding the garage and "No Trespassing" signs, people continue to enter the structure to use drugs and set fires.

Before demolition operations start every day, workers search through the 12-level parking ramp to be sure no one is inside.

An excavator on the north side of the closed parking garage on August 5, 2026. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

They sometimes discover people in the garage, often in the floors below the street. They report finding discarded needles that have been used to inject drugs and evidence of small fires that apparently have been set to provide some light underground.

Firefighters were called to extinguish a blaze that was set in the basement of the structure on June 25.

A giant concrete cracker is used during the demolition of the downtown Binghamton garage. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

City police officers routinely checked the parking ramp before the demolition work began.

Gorick Construction is being paid $2.5 million to tear down the garage.

A surface parking lot is planned for the site after the demolition project is completed. The city plans to seek redevelopment plans for the property in the future.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: The State Street parking garage demolition site on August 5, 2026.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com.