Binghamton Crews Cleaning Up Dozens of Properties Each Month

City public works employees are being kept busy with cleanup operations at private properties across Binghamton.

It's not uncommon to see a convoy of three large green garbage trucks and several workers roll up to trash-strewn sites in residential neighborhoods.

Mayor Jared Kraham told WNBF News the city public works department conducts between 20 and 30 such property cleanups each month. In an email, he said the number of jobs is typically lower during the winter months.

The city takes the action only as a last resort. One residential property on Prospect Street in the First Ward was targeted early this month. The mayor said in that case, the public works crews were assigned to the site on a work order from the code enforcement department.

Kraham said the "property was cited twice last year for garbage and high grass, and earlier this year as well." He said the owner previously had cleaned up the site before the public works department was called in to do the job.

In some extreme cases, city attorneys and police officers have been sent to accompany public works employees in handling property cleanup operations.

That's the type of situation that occurred in February 2023 when the city enforced a lockdown order after another Prospect Street property was the source of ongoing criminal and trash complaints.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: A property cleanup operation getting underway on Prospect Street in March 2025.

Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.