Binghamton Panel Blocks Plan to Tear Down Court Street House

The owner of a downtown Binghamton business has failed in his bid to add a parking lot by demolishing a vacant house.

Satinder Singh of Vestal had sought permission from the city Commission on Architecture and Urban design to tear down the building at the corner of Court and Rutherford streets.

EKAM Properties purchased the house for $45,000 in October 2023.

Singh operates Court Street Beer and Grocery just east of the site. He told commission members last month that he had hired LCP Group to demolish the empty house.

Singh had described the structure as being in "bad shape." He wanted the building torn down in order to add three to five parking spaces for his convenience store.

Commission chairman John Darrow said members concluded the house is "a historically significant structure of the city of Binghamton."

The structure features elements of Queen Anne-style architecture, which was prevalent in the late 1800s.

After the commission voted unanimously to reject the demolition request, Singh asked what he was supposed to do with the old building. He previously had said the structure was not "fixable."

When he was advised to have a new roof installed on it so it could be put back into use, he said "the condition of the building is not repairable." He said the place has been empty for 15 years.

Last year, developer Phillip Akel spent months working to secure commission approval to tear down a house two blocks to the west on Court Street. He had said he wanted to add more parking spaces for a neighboring office he owns.

The house at 188 Court Street ultimately was demolished last December.

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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.