The budget seeks to address several issues facing the city, including an affordable housing crisis, aging infrastructure and crime. Robert Cavanaugh II, a councilman representing the third district, told Pipe Dream the council will now begin a 45-day-long process to review and amend the budget proposal. They will also hold public hearings with leaders from each city department and solicit feedback from residents about the budget.

“Real change — the hardest kind to deliver — is strategic and deliberate,” Kraham said in his address. “We want to be a City under construction. A city transforming. A city of promise and hope. We have to keep fighting for that change, and the 2026 Budget speaks to those goals.”

After explaining some of the city’s revenue sources and planned expenditures, Kraham addressed funding for public safety. His budget allocates $16.1 million to the Binghamton Police Department to address equipment needs and fund the police force.

He said violent crime has decreased by 30 percent during his tenure and that index crime, which includes offenses like murder and robbery, “is at its lowest levels on record.” Addressing issues with understaffing, Kraham said the police department will be fully staffed by the end of next year.

In line with these goals, Kraham wants to allocate $100,000 to a mobile crisis response program where licensed mental health professionals are dispatched to the scene on police calls. The funding will help provide vehicles, gear, training and upstart support. The budget would also create a new city attorney position to support the police and fire departments by “navigating the legal side of public safety issues.”

“I will be interested to see how their budget aligns with the police reform and reinvention collaborative report that they put out in 2021 to make sure that the budget is aligning with the goals set forward in that,” Councilwoman Hadassah Mativetsky ‘07, MS ‘12 said in an interview with Pipe Dream.

The budget will also allocate $12.3 million to the Binghamton Fire Department to replace an outdated fire truck and purchase new hazmat and utility trucks. Kraham said he is working with Rep. Josh Riley to secure federal grant funding to build a new fire station in the city’s North Side neighborhood.

Last month, the city council failed to approve Kraham’s proposed plan [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/binghamton-city-council-fails-to-approve-funding-transfer-to-the-citys-fire-department/169222/] to transfer $357,685 in federal Community Development Block Grant funding to the fire department for the purchase of new vehicles and firefighting equipment. On Sept. 10, the council unanimously voted to transfer $141,000 from the city’s general fund to the fire department, which Kraham said fell “short of meeting the department’s equipment needs” in a statement to 12 News.

Later in the speech, Kraham honored John R. Gaudet, the firefighter who was killed on Feb. 12 while battling a fire on Main Street by the Court Street Bridge, and commended the fire department for its support and courage.

“J.R.’s sacrifice serves as a tragic reminder of the dangers that our first responders face every day,” Kraham said. “In the wake of this tragedy, our Fire Department’s rallying support for J.R.’s family — and each other — will be remembered as one of the finest acts of compassion in the department’s nearly two-century history.”

Moving onto housing, Kraham reported a record-breaking $56.7 million total investment in residential construction last year. The city plans to break ground on new housing projects in the coming months, with more projects awaiting state funding.

To combat unfair landlord practices, the city will hire a second code prosecutor and a new paralegal to prosecute abusive landlords and repeat violators. The budget includes $300,000 to expand efforts to combat urban decay and demolish tax-foreclosed properties that have been in legal limbo since the pandemic.

He also announced a $10 million investment in infrastructure improvements like paving roads, fixing sidewalks and replacing aging water and sewer infrastructure. The city will also spend $3 million to install a whole-plant generator system at the City’s Water Filtration Plant, which would keep clean water flowing even if the plant loses power.

Kraham also highlighted the importance of community development with proposed investments into recreation and parks. After hearing from community members, a splash pad will be installed as a kid-friendly summer attraction in the city’s First Ward. Upgraded basketball courts at Webster Street Park and a new roof at the Recreation Park poolhouse will also be installed.

“Looking toward 2026, the City of Binghamton’s opportunities are endless,” Kraham concluded. “Let’s seize them. This budget provides the resources to do it. Let’s get to work.”

The Red Zone begins at the start of the fall semester and lasts until Thanksgiving, a time when new students might be unfamiliar with their university campus and other students. More than half of sexual assaults on college campuses occur during this time.

From Tuesday to Thursday, the Feminist Collective, which advocates for intersectional feminism and the rights of marginalized groups, held a chalking event on the Spine, an informational presentation and a showing of the movie “The Hunting Ground” to raise awareness of on-campus sexual assault.

“I don’t think there’s enough spaces for people to comfortably talk about activism, especially to the extent that we engage in it,” Olivia Rutherford, the Feminist Collective’s co-public relations chair and a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, said in an interview. “It can be difficult to find spaces, even among friends, classmates, coworkers, to discuss activism and feminism and engage in that kind of rhetoric with other people who are also passionate about it.”

The events focused on sharing stories from sexual assault survivors and important statistics about sexual violence on college campuses in the United States. According to the American Psychological Association, up to 25 percent of female college students have reported being a victim of sexual assault, with women in their first year of college facing the highest risk of being assaulted compared to other college students.

“For us here, the main specific changes we’re advocating for is increasing knowledge of comprehensive sexual assault,” Gillian Rohde, president of the Feminist Collective and a senior majoring in biology, told Pipe Dream. “What is consent? What is coercion? What counts as rape?”

On Tuesday, students chalked a variety of messages across the Spine, including contact numbers for resources that are available both on and off campus. The University’s Violence, Abuse and Rape Crisis Center, located on the third floor of Old Johnson Hall, offers both private and confidential services for students, including meetings with a sexual assault advocate, deputy Title IX coordinator and bystander training coordinator. The Crime Victims Assistance Center, a local resource assisting all victims of crime, recently hired a new campus advocate coordinator [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/crime-victims-assistance-center-hires-new-campus-advocate-coordinator/168900/] to help student victims of sexual violence, stalking, harassment, domestic violence and other crimes.

The next day, an educational forum was held for students to learn about sexual violence risk in college, particularly at events hosted by fraternities. Rohde spoke about an Instagram page known as @shareyourstorybing, which shares the stories of students who survived sexual violence at Binghamton University from 2019 to 2022. The account references faculty members, resident directors, student assistants and 26 fraternities that are still present on campus.

According to the University’s annual security and fire report, there were 14 rapes and 17 reported incidents of fondling on campus in 2024.

“However, we have to remember that 80 to 90 percent of rapes are actually not reported to the police,” Rohde told Pipe Dream. “So let’s say these round out to about 10. There were probably 100 that actually did occur.”

“But I would again hold that up higher, considering the fact that we have 20,000 students at this university, and we’re supposed to believe that only 15 to 100 were sexually assaulted here?” she continued. “I don’t believe that.”

On Thursday, the Feminist Collective hosted a screening of “The Hunting Ground,” a 2015 documentary that focuses on the experiences of survivors who attended schools like Harvard University, Florida State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The film also highlighted the lack of action taken by college administrators and the police in response to reported assaults.

When asked if she had any advice for new students, Rohde highlighted the importance of partying safely and suggested that students research the groups that host parties and events on weekends.

“The school has a list of banned fraternities and sororities that operate,” Rohde said. “However, you must look for that list yourself, and it is updated every semester. So the most recent one is for spring 2025 and on the school website, under fraternities and sororities, on the ‘For Parents’ section, they list all of the banned fraternities and sororities.”

“So when you get those little slips of paper under your door, definitely double check where you’re going and always go with friends,” she added.

Harpur’s Ferry

Harpur’s Ferry is a free, student-run emergency care service for faculty, students, staff and visitors on and off campus at Binghamton University, available year-round at all times of the day. All volunteers are bound to patient privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and Harpur’s Ferry boasts advanced life-support capabilities, including intubation and advanced cardiac life support.

Harpur’s Ferry’s emergency number is (607) 777-3333, and its services can be requested when calling 911. For nonemergency calls, the station number is (607) 777-3399.

Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Office

Located in Academic B 202, the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs office aims to help students make informed, healthy choices regarding substance use. They offer a wide variety of services, from interventions with trained professionals to peer-to-peer engagement and drug-testing strips, available online. They can be reached on weekdays at (607) 777-3088 and by email at aodstaff@binghamton.edu.

The Consultation, Advocacy, Referral and Education team

Run by a group of licensed social workers, the CARE team helps students overcome difficult situations by sharing information, teaching practical strategies and connecting them with mental health resources. The team supports undergraduate and graduate students through case management services and assists with finding appropriate resources for each student’s care plan.

The CARE Team is open every weekday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the fall and spring semesters. Its office is located at University Union West 207. You can contact the office at (607) 777-2804 and by email at dos@binghamton.edu.

The University Counseling Center

For students looking for counseling, UCC provides free clinical and referral services. Located in Old O’Connor 264, it offers both in-person and telehealth options. You can call (607) 777-2772 to set up an appointment. The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. throughout the academic year. If necessary, the UCC offers urgent same-day services.

The Addiction Center of Broome County

The Addiction Center of Broome County offers a wide array of services for individuals suffering from substance abuse, including psychiatric evaluations and long-term care options like outpatient rehabilitation and treatment for children and adolescents. The center also offers educational resources like training for Narcan administration and suicide alertness.

The center’s office is located at 30 W State St. on the second floor. Staff can be reached at (607) 723-7308, and the office is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays.

Campus Recovery Support Group

An on-campus peer support system providing support to students in recovery from substance use, the Campus Recovery Support Group was established in spring 2021 by the University Counseling Center and the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Office.

The group holds weekly, confidential meetings led by peer mentors for both undergraduate and graduate students. They also maintain a relaxation and study space in Academic B 211. To learn more about the peer support group or to become a peer mentor, contact busober@binghamton.edu.

UHS Addiction Medicine Department

Offering “patient-centered, compassionate care for people with substance use disorders,” the UHS Addiction Medicine Department is the largest provider of opioid use disorder medications in the Southern Tier. It provides medications for opioid or alcohol use and overdose prevention training, and the staff consists of board-certified physicians specializing in addiction medicine, alcohol and substance abuse counselors, nurses and social workers, among others.

If you are seeking inpatient or outpatient substance use disorder treatment, you can go to their walk-in program at 10 Mitchell Ave., open from 9 to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. They can be reached at (607) 762-3288 for any questions or inquiries.

The UHS Addiction Crisis Line also provides 24/7 support, resources and next-step advice for sobriety, with connections to formal evaluations and inpatient or outpatient treatments. Its line is staffed by trained nurses, social workers and counselors and can be called at (607) 762-2257.

State Sen. Lea Webb ‘04, who represents Greater Binghamton in Albany, wrote in a January op-ed that energy costs will continue to rise. On average, New Yorkers spend around 3.4 percent of their income on their energy bills, but for low-income households, this increases to around 13 percent.

“The NY Heat Act is a critical step forward in addressing these challenges,” Webb told Pipe Dream. “By implementing this legislation, we will provide immediate relief to families struggling to stay warm during the winter months and ensure that no one has to choose between paying their bills and taking care of their loved ones. It’s time we put people first and take action to alleviate these burdens.”

Currently, the Home Energy Assistance Program assists New Yorkers with paying their energy bills. According to the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the state issued more than 1.4 million benefits as of January, an increase of 64,000 from last year. Because of insufficient federal funding, the program was temporarily shut down earlier this year, and on Jan. 25, Gov. Kathy Hochul reallocated $35 million to keep the program afloat.

Krueger’s bill would remove the 100-foot rule, which states that utilities must provide gas for free if a new customer lives within 100 feet of a gas line. Some critics, including State Sen. George Borrello, a Republican representing a Buffalo-area district, say it would counteract efforts to increase affordable housing options as it takes away residents’ ability to acquire cheap natural gas options.

Supporters of the bill say it will reduce energy spikes by removing the need for natural gas in homes, arguing that costs will only continue rising if natural gas is the sole energy source available.

“The primary drivers of gas rate increases are inflation, property taxes, and repairing aging, century-old infrastructure and expanding the system,” Krueger wrote. “That’s why gas utilities are projected to charge New Yorkers 18% more for heat this winter, even though the price of gas itself has gone down.”

“NY HEAT will immediately take upward pressure off rates by removing the forced subsidies for system expansion and allowing for a planned, phased right-sizing of the gas distribution system that will avoid billions of dollars in unnecessary infrastructure spending while transitioning customers to cleaner, healthier, more affordable, more comfortable alternatives,” she added.

A provision in the 2023 state budget effectively bans gas-powered stoves, heating and furnaces in new constructions. The 2020 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act requires New York to reduce greenhouse gas use by 40 percent by 2030 and 85 percent by 2050, based on 1990 emissions. In 2015, the state banned high-volume hydraulic fracking, and in 2024, the Assembly passed bans on carbon dioxide drilling and fracking.

“Every new mile of gas pipeline costs an average of $3-$6 million — $60,000 per customer on that line — all subsidized by existing ratepayers,” Krueger said. “NY HEAT will end those subsidies.”

The Human Rights Institute hosted Todd Landman — a political science professor from the University of Nottingham — to discuss modern slavery and the methods used to combat it.

The lecture, held in the Admissions building on Tuesday, discussed the importance of data collection in the fight against slavery. There is no one legal definition for modern slavery — although international law has evolved over the past century to prohibit slavery and other forms of exploitation. The U.S. Department of State recognizes that modern slavery includes sex trafficking, debt bondage, child labor and involuntary servitude.

Landman is the research director of the Rights Lab at Nottingham, which collects data on modern slavery. The lab runs four programs, each concentrating on different elements related to enslavement, including the geographical reach, health effects and economic impact of modern-day slavery while investigating national and global gaps in anti-slavery laws.

He began the lecture by providing a current estimate for the number of people enslaved today — around 50 million — referencing a 2022 United Nations report indicating that millions worldwide are subjected to forced labor or marriage. He said “ending modern slavery requires robust and systematic analysis across multiple disciplines,” like the work done by the Rights Lab.

The largest group of modern slavery researchers, the Rights Lab works with several universities, including Binghamton University, to create evidence-based strategies to end slavery. Target 8.7 of the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals — a comprehensive 17-goal list adopted in 2015 that acts as a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet” — calls for ending modern slavery, human trafficking and child labor. Landman and David Cingranelli — a political science professor at BU and co-director of the Human Rights Institute — formed a partnership between their departments to create funding proposals and participate in international collaborative research.

“We are ultimately motivated by our commitment to the advancement and protection of human rights,” Landman said.

During the lecture, Landman emphasized that people who have experienced a form of slavery should not be referred to as victims but as survivors. These survivors are actively engaged in the research that the Rights Institute does. Landman said he was proud to be the internal examiner on a doctoral thesis that a survivor wrote.

He added that the data the Rights Lab collects is not just represented by numbers on paper but by real people stuck in these exploitative systems, referencing a project in the Philippines where data collection and money tracking were used to oust child pornography in the country. The study was presented to the U.S. Congress and resulted in the drawing of legislation ensuring companies like Venmo and LinkedIn are not used for illegal activity. The project was recognized by the president of the Philippines and acknowledged as a potential solution to child pornography in the country.

The Right’s Lab’s relationship with governments varies, Landman said, as some of them are not forthcoming with data about modern slavery in their country.

“Some governments are not yet ready to admit there is an issue or recognize that there is an issue and do something about it,” Landman said. “Others have pledged themselves in international frameworks and therefore need our expertise, so it’s a bit of both.”

The student was identified as Dawensley Astrel, 21, of Binghamton. A week before he was apprehended, SUNY Broome was notified of the warrant — issued in Georgia — for his arrest. Once they were informed of the matter, Broome Campus Safety and the sheriff’s office coordinated to take Astrel into custody without disrupting campus operations or posing any threat to students or staff, according to a press release from SUNY Broome.

“College operations were not impacted, and at no point was there a threat to student or employee staff, which is always our top priority,” the press release continued. “We appreciate our strong working relationship with our partners and neighbors at the Broome County Sheriff’s Office, and we are grateful that this matter was handled swiftly and peacefully.”

Enrolled part-time at SUNY Broome, Astrel lived off campus.

“More excellent police work by our Warrants Division in bringing this wanted individual to justice,” said Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar. “Thank you to SUNY Broome’s Campus Safety team for their partnership in safely removing this fugitive from their campus.”

Astrel will be extradited to Georgia.

St. Michael’s Greek Catholic Church hosted its annual cultural heritage festival on Sunday.

The St. Michael’s Carpathian Festival, held in the attached community center from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., featured food, music, dancing and games. It highlighted the cultural heritage of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the immigrants from eastern and central Europe who migrated to Greater Binghamton and established a lively community. Attendees lined up at the entrance to purchase $1 food tickets that were exchanged for a variety of cultural and local specialties.

Sitting at the front of the hall was Elizabeth Fabian, 42, of Vestal, the adviser for the Junior American Carpatho-Russian Youth at St. Michael’s. Easter eggs imported from Czechoslovakia — a former state in central Europe — were being sold for $5, with the proceeds going toward the youth group. Prayer books, candles and palm crosses were also offered to guests.

Father James Dutko of St. Michael’s described the importance of the immigrants who moved to the northeastern United States and settled into the local community.

“My grandparents were immigrants, they came in 1906, 1907, from some of these villages in the old Austrian Empire,” Dutko said. “My grandfather worked in Esso Refinery in Bayonne for 40 some years, tough job. His four daughters and son [during the] Depression all went to college. They all got college degrees. They became teachers. His son became an officer in the Navy, in World War II he went to the Merchant Marine Academy. They became Americans — this was the American dream and they realized it.”

Dutko, originally from Buffalo, New York, moved to Freeland, Pennsylvania when he was young. His father was a priest and transferred to Binghamton when he was a sophomore in college. After spending almost 20 years as a priest in western Pennsylvania, he returned to Binghamton to join St. Michael’s, where he has been for 33 years. He described the church’s foundation as having been built by immigrants, many of whom worked for the former Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company.

“There was no diocese money, there was no czar sending stuff over here, there was no money,” Dutko said. “People were the shoemakers — saving their pennies, not buying their own houses, taking boarders in, doing all kinds of stuff for years, to build their own church. That was more important than anything else, that was the first thing — taking care of your soul. So, they built this beautiful place.”

There were multiple tables around the hall raising money for the church. Three women were sitting next to several tables filled with gift baskets and introduced themselves as “The Basket Queens.” Raffle tickets could be purchased and inserted into the corresponding container, and the raffle winners were announced toward the end of the festival. All money raised will go toward the church. Sue Fabian, one of the Basket Queens, said this festival was this year’s major fundraiser.

A baked goods sale was also held towards the back of the center, with both ethnic and American desserts being sold. Sara Trott, who has lived in Binghamton for nearly 57 years, described the significance of the festival to the community.

“I think every festival that takes place, people are happy to come, have a good time, eat, be merry, dance,” Trott said. “We’re going to have a live band here, and I think that in these times, it’s a reasonable cost to come here and enjoy. I really do.”

Dutko emphasized how the festival highlights how immigrant stories — past and present — are vital to the American experience.

“Immigration is demonized — people who came out of those roots better take a serious look at what they are saying, what they are doing, because their people were treated the same way,” Dutko said. “We better have to have a little compassion here.”