Lights Out in Section of Binghamton Parking Garage for Past Week

Dozens of people using a city-owned garage in downtown Binghamton have been parking in the dark for more than a week.

The lights on a portion of a below-ground level of the State Street parking ramp have been out for several days.

About 50 parking spaces are located in the area that has been without lighting for the past week.

The darkened area remains open for vehicles and many cars continue to park in the unlighted section.

It's not known what caused the lights to fail in the parking garage, which opened in 1970.

In an email to WNBF News on Tuesday, deputy mayor Megan Heiman said LAZ Parking, which operates the city garages, had "a vendor at the ramp today working on the lights." She said the lighting was expected to be restored soon.

Heiman added: "LAZ believes the outage was caused by an electrical issue at the parking ramp. Per LAZ, there is no easy way to block off those spots without also blocking access to all the spots on the lower levels."

The State Street facility has undergone repair work in recent years. The 12-level structure has been without working elevators for a couple of decades.

In 2016, then-mayor Richard David said the city planned to install new elevators at the garage. But that never happened because of structural problems that would have made  the proposed project very difficult or impossible to accomplish.

This story was updated with information provided by the Binghamton mayor's office.

VIDEO: A stroll through a darkened section of the State Street parking garage on November 27, 2023.

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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.