Binghamton Area News Roundup 2/27/26: Vestal Police Shooting, State of the County, Amtrak and More
Binghamton looks at rail connections, a Vestal man is shot on a mental health call, a grant for redeveloping the 'dinosaur' building, PILOT funds owed and Garnar talks progress
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‼️Must-Reads
🏛️The State of Broome County?
County Executive Jason Garnar delivered the 2026 State of the County address Wednesday, highlighting wins like becoming part of Hochul's childcare pilot, adding housing units and redeveloping vacant properties (NC34).
Garnar also put a lot of focus on the youth, announcing more support for the Broome County Youth Bureau, and spotlighted increasing enrollment at SUNY Broome and job growth (Press & Sun).
🚄Amtrak in Binghamton?
"The time for Binghamton to act is now," said Mayor Jared Kraham, announcing that the city is seeking a firm to assist with a rail Corridor ID grant proposal that would give up to $500,000 grants for planning and development (WBNG).
Following the momentum of the Scranton to New York City Corridor ID project to reestablish passenger rail between the two cities, Kraham said this could help reconnect and revitalize Binghamton - but not to expect anything soon given the time-consuming nature of the process (Press & Sun).
Personally? I would love a new line connecting us to Syracuse, Scranton (to connect with New York City), Allentown and Philadelphia.
🚓Mental health call in Vestal ends with man with knife dead from police gunshot
New York State Police report that on Wednesday, Vestal police responded to a report of a mental health crisis on Sequoia Lane. There, police found Eslam Ahmed Hegazy, 38, with a knife threatening self harm and made "numerous requests" for him to drop the knife, a report from New York State Police said, before he threw a television at officers (NC34).
After repeated verbal commands and attempts to deescalate, the man threatened officers, raised the knife and advanced towards police, the report said. Officers then shot the man, who died from the injuries (New York State). No body camera footage
The case is being investigated by the New York State Attorney General's office, and a vigil was held by area residents, with a rally planned for this afternoon in Vestal's Memorial Park (Medium).
A GoFundMe by the Islamic Organization of the Southern Tier in support of Hegazy's wife and children has already raised more than $23,000.
