Honor Binghamton 150th Anniversary

Assembly Resolution No. 371 BY: M. of A. Lupardo COMMEMORATING the 150th Anniversary of the City of Binghamton on April 9, 2017 WHEREAS, It is the intent of this Legislative Body to honor and commemorate the distinguished histories of the communities which comprise the noble body of this great Empire State; and WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the City of Binghamton, in Broome County, New York; and WHEREAS, The City of Binghamton is located in the central Southern Tier at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers, a few miles north of the Pennsylvania state line and midpoint between the Empire State's east-west borders; and WHEREAS, Binghamton's location at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers was a natural site for settlement, first by Paleo-Indians, later by Iroquois tribes and then by settlers from eastern New York, New England, and the Middle Atlantic states; and WHEREAS, Following the Revolutionary War defeat of the British and their Iroquois allies, people rapidly settled the area; soldiers, who fought under Generals Clinton and Sullivan in south central New York numbered among the first large landowners; and WHEREAS, Originally called "Chenango Point", the City was named for William Bingham, a wealthy Philadelphia patriot who purchased a

10,000-acre land patent lying on both sides of the Susquehanna River; he secured a land agent, Joshua Whitney to develop the town and "...give preference to quiet, industrious farmers who will give reputation to the neighborhood, as well as from their skill in the management of their farms as their orderly conduct"; and WHEREAS, In 1834, village government was organized, and three years later, the first boat arrived over the Chenango Canal, transforming the region as stores, hotels and industries sprang up to capitalize on "canal fever"; and WHEREAS, The first train arrived on the Erie Railroad in 1848, and the City of Binghamton was incorporated in 1867; and WHEREAS, In the years following the Civil War, Binghamton transformed to a manufacturing boomtown; "Made in Binghamton, NY" came to mean cigars, sleighs, carriages, scales, book publishing, overalls, furniture, oil refining, electrical supplies, lumber, washing machines, pianos, organs, foundries, and machine shops as well as leather tanning; and WHEREAS, New wealth from Binghamton's industries transformed many residential areas with homes of elegance, that one visitor famously dubbed it the Parlor City; and WHEREAS, By 1888, the cigar industry was the largest industry employing 6,000 hands in 50 firms; Binghamton ranked second in production of cigars only to New York City; and WHEREAS, Shoe manufacturing was the second largest City employer; in

1891, the Lester Brothers Boot & Shoe Company outgrew its location on the south bank of the Susquehanna and moved to land west of the City; and WHEREAS, The company reorganized and later became Endicott-Johnson Shoes, which grew to over 20,000 employees in the region and created the villages of Johnson City and Endicott; and WHEREAS, Endicott-Johnson ushered in generations of immigrant shoemakers leaving the area a rich legacy of ethnicities and religions - Italians, Germans, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Lithuanians, Russians, Ukrainians, and Greeks who included Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Catholics and Jews - to add to the pioneering mix of English, Scots and Irish; and WHEREAS, In 1889, Harlow Bundy organized the Bundy Time Recording Company in Binghamton; Bundy was successful in attracting investors and soon, time recorders were distributed throughout the world; and WHEREAS, After merging with other companies by 1905, the Bundy Time Recording and Tabulating Company outgrew its Binghamton roots and moved to Endicott, New York; under the leadership of Thomas J. Watson, the firm changed its name to International Business Machines (IBM) and became a world leader in data processing equipment employing over 15,000 local residents; and WHEREAS, In 1928, Edwin Link, a maker of pianos and organs in his father's firm, developed the idea for a trainer for pilots of airplanes; a year later, he invented the flight simulator and began a business that would revolutionize the aerospace industry; Link further developed the idea of training simulation to include driving simulators, helicopter, naval and NASA rocket simulators; and WHEREAS, Due to the founding of IBM, and the creation of the Link Flight Simulator, Binghamton became home to a notable concentration of electronics- and defense-oriented firms; this sustained economic prosperity earned Binghamton the moniker of the Valley of Opportunity; and WHEREAS, Remaining fruitful over the ebb and flow of decades of growth and change, the City of Binghamton continues its commitment to enhancing the quality of life of its citizens, ensuring a positive business, institutional and educational climate, and providing all essential services; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the City of Binghamton, recognizing the significance of the role it continues to play in the life of the community of the State of New York; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to Richard C. David, Mayor, City of Binghamton.