The Downtown Endicott Business Association is working to improve in the village's main business district, hard-hit by recent job losses in Broome County. The Business Association has been working to promote and revitalize downtown as an "ethnic and commodity diverse business destination," said J. Brian Luby, the group's president. To bring attention to the Business Association’s work, the group recently celebrated the work accomplished by the CITY Teen Leaders by holding a news conference in a parking lot off Washington Ave. in Endicott.
At the event, Luby highlighted the efforts of the Teen Leaders from the Community Improvement Trhough Youth (CITY) Project, Oasis After School Program and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County. Luby credited New York State Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, D-Endwell, for her ongoing support of both the CITY Project and the Endicott Business Association.
The CITY Teen Leaders took a neglected area owned by the village and created a community park. They built benches, planted flower gardens, installed fencing and built walkways. The ribbon cutting for the park is scheduled later this fall.
June P. Mead, Dept. of Human Development, is the CITY Project Director and Program Evaluator. Holly Welfel is the CITY Project Community Partner at the Oasis After School Program, Endicott. The CITY Project is part of the Children, Youth and Families At-Risk (CYFAR) Program, Sustainable Community Projects (SCP). It is supported by Smith Lever funds, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), U.S. Department of Agriculture.