Binghamton Area News Roundup 7/25/26: Nurses Unionize, Protests, Demolitions & More
Unionization hits Lourdes Hospital, a man keeps his home, anti-surveilance protests and more news from the last week
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‼️Must-Reads
📹Activists Push Binghamton City Council on Flock Cameras
Activists including the group Southern Tier Alliance for Freedom from Flock are demanding that the City of Binghamton end its contract with Flock Safety, which provides automatic license plate readers and cameras groups like the American Civil Liberties Union say are used in ways that violate civil liberties and privacy (WSKG). Activists are concerned with potential access for federal agencies like ICE immigration enforcement seen in other municipalities, the potential for data leaks, and the possibility of wrongful stops (NC34 & WBNG).
Binghamton Police Department officials argue that data is secure, only retained for 30 days, and requires a specific case number and written justification to be accessed. BPD Chief John Ryan says access logs to the system are audited and Binghamton Police Department data is not shared with any federal agencies, only Binghamton University and the Town of Vestal Policde Department (WBNG).
Legislation is proposed to end the city's contract with the company, but other license plate readers, the majority of them from Flock, exist throughout the region (WBNG).
👨⚕️Nurses Vote to Unionize
By a 161-76 margin, Lourdes Hospital nurses voted to unionize. Nurses at the hospital, which was officially acquired by Guthrie in 2024, say they faced decreased work quality for patients due to recent changes, pay stagnation and burnout due to increased workload (NC34).
The nurses will be represented by 1199SEIU. In response, Hospital President Kathy Connerton says she does not believe a union is necessary and before the vote the hosptial published a web page attacking the effort, attempting to convince nurses that a union would be more harm than good.
Upon the passage, Guthrie says they will engage with the union in good faith and the results now head to the National Labor Relations Board for certification before contract negotiation.
🏠Fayette Street House to be Sold by City Council to Lone Occupant
The Binghamton City Council voted to sell 42 Fayette St., a former Anzaroot property acquired by the City after neglect, to the lone occupant for $500 (NC34).
The new owner, Paul Sidorski, has completed a home buyer course and is working on grants and getting help from local veterans groups to allow him to make necessary repairs to the home that was initially planned to be demolished (Pipe Dream) after years of repairing the home, replacing the funace and paying bills on the building himself in the face of an absentee landlord (Fox40).
