Broome Land Bank May Buy Flood-Wrecked Vestal Nursing Home

Controversy has erupted around the possible purchase of a Vestal property where developer Isaac Anzaroot planned to develop a senior housing project.

A member of the Broome County Land Bank board of directors quit after a vote to authorize the agency's executive director to offer up to $650,000 to buy the site at 860 Vestal Road.

This story has been updated with a statement from the Land Bank at the end of the article.

The nursing home was shut down due to flood damage the building sustained in September 2011.

An entity linked to Anzaroot acquired the property for $120,000 in 2015. Anzaroot told WNBF News he planned to convert the place into a 128-unit senior housing complex.

The Vestal Zoning Board of Appeals approved a site plan for the project in 2018. Then-town supervisor John Schaffer said he believed Anzaroot might start construction at the site in the spring of that year. But that never happened.

The site now apparently is owned by a New Jersey-based investment group.

A proposal to buy the property was discussed during a county Land Bank executive session in late March. After that - in an open meeting - agency chairman Aaron Martin told the board "there's a desire to move forward on this as soon as possible."

Martin said there is a "proposed partnership between the Land Bank and Broome County" to buy the site and demolish the damaged building. He said "the county may be taking action very soon" but there was no explanation for the sudden urgency to deal with the situation.

Land Bank board member Tarik Abdelazim cast the only vote against the plan. He later resigned from the board, saying the move "seemed wildly irresponsible."

In a statement posted online, Abdelazim said the "blighted eyesore is beyond repair and must be demolished." He added that the building is in a floodplain with no potential for redevelopment. He concluded the "property is not worth one dollar."

Abdelazim concluded that "wants to urgently bailout an unknown speculator hiding behind an LLC for a flood-damaged property that has no redevelopment potential."

The Broome County Land Bank provided this statement to WNBF News after this story was published:

The Broome County Land Bank Corporation remains steadfast in its mission to address blight and revitalize communities throughout Broome County.

The Land Bank is always reviewing vacant and dilapidated properties to advance its mission, and though this specific property has been subject to discussions over several months, no finalized purchase contract has been executed for the property at 860 Vestal Road, the former Vestal Nursing Center, which has sat vacant and decaying for the past 15 years. Any potential acquisition would be through an agreement with the lender for the former owners and no proceeds from the sale of the property to the Land Bank would go back to the previous owners.

Whether it's the former Red Carpet Inn in West Endicott, 50 Front Street in the City of Binghamton, the former Christ the King School in Endwell, or the dozens of other dangerous properties we've been able to remove from neighborhoods, the Land Bank will continue to work diligently with County leaders, community partners, and local governments to further our mission, and build on our successful history of removing dangerous, blighted eyesores that have plagued Broome County communities.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: A visit to the abandoned Vestal Nursing Center on April 6, 2026.

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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.