ENDWELL DEMOLITION COMPLETE!
It took two years to create the partnerships, build the support, and wrangle the funds, but at long last, these two dangerous eyesores are now completely demolished!
These scenes are from two flood-ravaged, abandoned buildings that were once in the middle of southern Endwell.
|
|
|
They were full of asbestos and had been ransacked by looters. They were both an eyesore and a dangerous mess.
|
|
|
They were located at 1605 Davis Ave, Endwell, NY. Right in the middle of a lovely neighborhood.
And now, they're finally gone!
After nearly 2 years of talking to officials, filling out applications, and looking for funding sources, I'm happy to say that these abandoned buildings are finally going to be demolished.
THANKS TO:
Broome County Legislature
Broome County Land Bank
Broome County Executive, Debbie Preston (Former)
Town of Union Supervisor, Rose Sotak
Town of Union Board Members:
Tom Augostini, Frank Bertoni, Rob Mack, Lenny Perfetti
Cornell Cooperative Extension
FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE
It is the partnership of these people and their organizations that has allowed us to gather the resources necessary to commission the engineering studies, remediate the asbestos, demolish the buildings, remove the waste, and then make the land usable again.
After nearly 2 years of talking to officials, filling out applications, and looking for funding sources, I'm happy to say that these abandoned buildings are finally going to be demolished.
THANKS TO:
Broome County Legislature
Broome County Land Bank
Broome County Executive, Debbie Preston (Former)
Town of Union Supervisor, Rose Sotak
Town of Union Board Members:
Tom Augostini, Frank Bertoni, Rob Mack, Lenny Perfetti
Cornell Cooperative Extension
FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE
It is the partnership of these people and their organizations that has allowed us to gather the resources necessary to commission the engineering studies, remediate the asbestos, demolish the buildings, remove the waste, and then make the land usable again.
The Demolition began in January 2017...
Former Christ the King Convent Building being Demolished in February 2017
Former Christ the King School Building being Demolished in February 2017
Backside of Former Christ the King School Building being Demolished in February 2017
Ground where former Christ the King Convent once stood is now cleared and ready to blossom into something new!
Ground where former Christ the King School Building once stood is now cleared and ready to blossom into something new!
Before the Garden
Before the garden, the area on the hill overlooking it was occupied by a Catholic school and convent, named Christ the King. Christ the King was built in the 1960's and many locals have fond memories of going to school there for kindergarten thru sixth grade.
During the 1980's the Syracuse diocese closed the school and merged the students into other Catholic schools. Sometime after that, the buildings were purchased by a developer who rented them to several different businesses for years. Then the floods of 2005/2006 struck and the buildings were badly flooded. The tenants left and the buildings never reopened. Mold grew inside, vandals broke windows and stole all the copper pipes, vagrants would break in and live there. They were quickly becoming a dangerous eyesore to the neighborhood.
After several years of sitting vacant and getting worse, the buildings went into tax foreclosure (circa 2012). At that point, Broome County became the owner. The county tried to auction them off for *any* amount of money, but no one ever bought them.
In 2015, while going door-to-door, I stopped at a house next to the buildings on Fairmont Ave in Endwell. The woman who lived there, Judi Healander, came to the door. I asked her what county issues were important to her and she proceeded to explain the saga of these vacant buildings. That day, we decided to work together to try to find a way to demolish the buildings and make something better for the neighborhood.
Judi & I went next door to Triumphant Life Church and spoke with pastor Darryl Reynolds. The three of us agreed that the ugly buildings needed to be torn down and that something beautiful needed to grow in their place. That's when the idea of a community garden sprouted.
The next stop was the Broome County Land Bank, which specializes in rehabbing and/or demolishing abandoned buildings. The Land Bank saw this as the beginnings of a successful project. So, they recommended that the three of us develop a full-fledged plan to include the Town of Union, as well as VINES, a Binghamton-based community gardening non-profit.
Together we were able to rally volunteers, form a cohesive plan, find money, and demolish the buildings on the hill above the Endwell Community Garden. It took years to get that money together, but looking back now, it's so worth all the time and effort.
During the 1980's the Syracuse diocese closed the school and merged the students into other Catholic schools. Sometime after that, the buildings were purchased by a developer who rented them to several different businesses for years. Then the floods of 2005/2006 struck and the buildings were badly flooded. The tenants left and the buildings never reopened. Mold grew inside, vandals broke windows and stole all the copper pipes, vagrants would break in and live there. They were quickly becoming a dangerous eyesore to the neighborhood.
After several years of sitting vacant and getting worse, the buildings went into tax foreclosure (circa 2012). At that point, Broome County became the owner. The county tried to auction them off for *any* amount of money, but no one ever bought them.
In 2015, while going door-to-door, I stopped at a house next to the buildings on Fairmont Ave in Endwell. The woman who lived there, Judi Healander, came to the door. I asked her what county issues were important to her and she proceeded to explain the saga of these vacant buildings. That day, we decided to work together to try to find a way to demolish the buildings and make something better for the neighborhood.
Judi & I went next door to Triumphant Life Church and spoke with pastor Darryl Reynolds. The three of us agreed that the ugly buildings needed to be torn down and that something beautiful needed to grow in their place. That's when the idea of a community garden sprouted.
The next stop was the Broome County Land Bank, which specializes in rehabbing and/or demolishing abandoned buildings. The Land Bank saw this as the beginnings of a successful project. So, they recommended that the three of us develop a full-fledged plan to include the Town of Union, as well as VINES, a Binghamton-based community gardening non-profit.
Together we were able to rally volunteers, form a cohesive plan, find money, and demolish the buildings on the hill above the Endwell Community Garden. It took years to get that money together, but looking back now, it's so worth all the time and effort.
Founding Volunteers & Partner Organizations
|
Emily Brown
Garden Advocate Binghamton Yoga James Dunn Garden Advocate CCE Master Gardener Chris Hritcko Site Co-Coordinator CCE Master Gardener Marcie Phelps Site Co-Coordinator Triumphant Life Church Rich Purtell Garden Advocate & Community Outreach Endwell Rotary Darryl Renolds Garden Advocate Pastor of Triumphant Life Church Jason Shaw Garden Advocate, Community Outreach & Government Liaison Broome County Legislature Linda Svoboda Educational Programs CCE Master Gardener Lisa Wilber Site Co-Coordinator Triumphant Life Church |
Broome County
Cornell Cooperative Extension Endwell Rotary Town of Union Triumphant Life Church VINES |