Binghamton Riverside Homeless Encampment Site Cleared

Police officers and public works crews cleared out an area where homeless people had been staying along the Susquehanna River in Binghamton.

The encampment was one of several located around the city. The move to clear the site behind a concrete floodwall on Conklin Avenue on the South Side came after small fires had been reported in the area in recent days.

Police and public works department vehicles, including garbage trucks, showed up at the encampment between the State Street bridge and the Washington Street pedestrian bridge Thursday morning.

Rebecca Rathmell, who will be representing the neighborhood on City Council starting in January, visited the site shortly after workers began clearing it.

Rathmell said it was notable that local outreach groups apparently were not notified before the city operation began. She said there are organizations that provide "critical support, supplies and services to folks who are left with no other option but to sleep on the riverbank or to sleep under bridges."

Rathmell said the available emergency shelter beds in Broome County often are full on any given night. She said more needs to be done to provide assistance for those who don't have a place to stay.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: City employees were ordered to clear the site next to a flood wall on Conklin Avenue on November 21, 2024.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.