Broome Lawmakers to Vote On Vestal Nursing Center Demolition Plan

A special meeting has been scheduled to expedite the purchase and demolition of a Vestal nursing home complex wrecked by flooding 15 years ago.

The Broome County legislature is to meet Thursday afternoon to consider a $1.5 million plan to acquire the abandoned Vestal Nursing Center and have the site cleared.

The facility was evacuated as the water rose during heavy rains in early September 2011.

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar and county legislature chairman Daniel Reynolds are pushing for adoption of the plan to remove the "eyesore" this year.

An entity linked to developer Isaac Anzaroot acquired the property at 860 Vestal Road for $120,000 in 2015. Anzaroot said he wanted to convert the place into a senior housing complex.

The proposal to be voted on by lawmakers calls for the county Land Bank to buy the property for $650,000. The cost of tearing down the abandoned building has been estimated at $850,000.

Legislator Suzy Ryan held over the measure at an April 16 meeting. The proposal was expected to be voted on at the legislature's next scheduled meeting on May 21.

A special meeting to vote on the controversial plan was announced on Monday. That session is scheduled for Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Broome County Office Building in Binghamton.

Tarik Abdelazim had been a member of the Broome County Land Bank board of directors. He quit after the board voted to move forward with the Vestal Nursing Center acquisition.

Abdelazim repeated his objections to the proposal during a WNBF News interview on Tuesday. Despite the concerns he and other have raised about the plan, he said he expects the legislature likely will approve it at this weeks special meeting.

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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 @bobjoseph.bsky.social on Bluesky or @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.