First Ward Action Council, Inc.

Service Profile: First Ward Action Council, Inc. was incorporated in 1982 with a mission to work in a variety of ways to improve the neighborhood through advocacy, housing rehabilitation, housing development, and preservation activities. It completed its first housing rehabilitation project in 1989 and has continued to rehab targeted properties with the intent of improving the neighborhood while providing affordable housing.

In recent years the agency completed the "New Dwightsville" project involving the renovation of eight rundown, historic Victorian homes on a main thoroughfare into Binghamton. The high profile project garnered several awards including one from the Preservation League of NYS. The project also received recognition in Victorian Homes magazine. First Ward has renovated more than twenty buildings including several mixed-use properties. In 2005 the former St. Cyril's parochial school was converted into a senior living facility known as the Schoolhouse Apartments.

First Ward Action Council also operates a county-wide home repair service for seniors with funding from the Broome County Office for Aging, several municipalities, local corporations, and the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal. Other activities include a HOME homeowner assistance program.