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Moved to Oneonta from New York City in 1970.
Arrived September 2nd. The snow began September 7th. I think it snowed every night and almost every day into April.
I think my first trip to Binghamton was in April of 1971. Enjoyed Binghamton. It was almost a city, certainly more of a
city than Oneonta. I did not, however, enjoy the tedious Route 7 drive.
In 1972 I purchased a sporty little Peugeot
from Andy's Sports Car Center in Endicott. The drive became fun. Visited Binghamton more often, having made some friends
and having discovered Philadelphia Sales. And, of course, when the Oakdale Mall opened there was another reason for visiting.
Became Muslim in 1978. Had to come to Binghamton to find Muslims to witness my declaration of faith. A year or so
after that the masjid on the corner of Susquehanna and Carroll opened. I visited more frequently.
In the early
eighties I moved to a rural area outside Oneonta. As my appreciation for country living increased I found Binghamton less
attractive. Of course the ride had improved with the opening of Interstate 88. And the mall was attractive as were the masjid
and the Muslims.
But I had changed. And Binghamton was changing. It was no longer almost a city. In my eyes Binghamton
was now a city. It had urban economic problems. There was blight. There was crime.
One day in the early nineties
I was sitting with a friend in Columbus Park, across the street from the masjid. A Crack Crazy appeared in front of us brandishing
a large hunting knife. There were children in the park. He ranted about wanting someone to know he wanted out of the game.
It was not a message either my friend or I could deliver since we knew nothing about the drug game or its players.
So we did not respond. Sat quietly and watched the crazy, each planning how to make him eat his knife if that became
necessary. It didn't. He left us. He also left the park, so we didn't bother to call the police. That would have been
futile anyway given, as I learned later, that at the time Binghamton PD was overwhelmed with the antics of crack players and
crazies.
Binghamton had a serious "illegal immigrants" problem. The "illegals" were mostly
from New York City. One illegal was familiar to me. Over the years I had seen him among the street-corner idlers in my parents'
Queens neighborhood. In the same year as the knife incident, I saw him working the streets of Binghamton. He was gainfully
employed, no longer idle.
I now live in Binghamton. Not something I thought could ever happen. But
it happened. Maybe I would rather be elsewhere. Maybe not. Maybe I am here to help.
Binghamton is in recovery.
From blight. And from the blahs.
I see economic development happening. It appears to be working. The
blight is being reversed. However, economic development is destined to fall short--or fail--if something more important does
not happen.
That something more important is the reversing of "urban blahs." A city has the blahs when
residents lack a sense of ownership of the city and a sense of connectedness with other residents. The phenomenon sometimes
occurs naturally with growth--especially with "sprawl." In Binghamton it happened largely due to the assault of
the illegals.
The remedy is community development--ongoing community development emanating from many quarters.
Community development in cities does not succeed when city hall is the sole leader of the effort or the sole actor. City hall
must have help. 3 March 2011 Naim AbdurRafi
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