Trouble at Binghamton’s Historic Strand Theater

Emergency crews were sent to the abandoned Strand Theater in downtown Binghamton to extinguish a fire that reportedly had been set on the second floor of the building.

Dispatchers told police and firefighters that a man apparently had set a "cooking fire" on the upper portion of the structure at 27 Chenango Street. The incident was reported early Wednesday afternoon.

The small fire had been snuffed out by the time firefighters entered the building through a rear entrance near the State Street parking garage. No damage was reported.

Other incidents involving people trespassing inside the historic theater have been reported recently at the property, which recently was involved in a foreclosure proceeding.

Chenango Flats LLC of Brooklyn acquired the Strand building for $100,000 in 2021. The same entity purchased the neighboring Stone Opera House for $900,000 at the same time.

The owners had announced ambitious plans for a housing project at the Strand site. That development was to have included 92 dwelling units with a total of 204 bedrooms. The plans also call for space for four commercial tenants.

Demolition and some other preliminary work was done at the site but the project eventually stalled.

In a social media post last summer, Mayor Jared Kraham said he had visited the site "to check on the progress" of the project. He wrote that "crews are at work transforming the long-vacant space into market-rate housing - one- and two-bedroom units not designed for students."

Property records show that an LLC based in Charlotte, North Carolina took possession of the Strand and Stone Opera House buildings in mid-August.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: Emergency crews at the Strand Theater building on November 5, 2025.

WNBF NEWS FLASHBACK: A look at our visit to the once-majestic Strand theater building in August 2022.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.