Downtown Binghamton Urban Farm to Expand

A farm site located four blocks from Binghamton City Hall is going to get bigger.

This will be the ninth growing season for the VINES urban farm on Tudor Street on a site just north of Route 363.

VINES executive director Amelia LoDolce said the program, which was launched in 2010, now utilizes nearly a half-acre of space.

Money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be utilized to acquire additional properties in the flood-prone neighborhood. Those parcels will be used for the planned urban farm expansion.

The future demolitions of nearby structures will force some of the farm's neighbors to move elsewhere.

LoDolce acknowledged that "tough decisions" are involved in developing plans for properties that have been subjected to repeated flooding.

The urban farm relies on labor from volunteers and from young people who participate in a summer employment program.

Last year, about 7,000 pounds of food was grown at the site for donation and sales.