Some Binghamton residents return home

 Sections of this flood-ravaged city were reopened yesterday to residents chased out by last week's record flooding, though some neighborhoods will remain closed because of safety concerns, officials said.

The city was set yesterday afternoon to release details of its plan for letting people back into flood-damaged areas, even though many residents have already returned home, Binghamton Deputy Mayor Andrew Block said.

The areas still deemed off-limits are along the Susquehanna and Chenango rivers, he said.

The conditions of some structures are "just too dangerous," he said. "We're just not ready yet."

County and state office complexes in Binghamton reopened yesterday. And classes resumed at most city schools and at Binghamton University, where Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan met evacuees staying at a Red Cross shelter set up in the college's gymnasium.

The two rivers, which converge at Binghamton, overflowed their banks Thursday after 10 inches of rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee inundated the region. Large sections of the city and nearby communities were covered in several feet of water.

The Susquehanna crested at a record 25.7 feet, almost 12 feet over flood stage. At midday yesterday, the river stood at about 9 feet.

In Apalachin, just west of Binghamton, residents slogged through thick layers of mud as they returned home to check on their properties, many of which are likely to be condemned, officials said.

"All these houses are destroyed. They're gone," said village resident Carlena Hoover, 30, a mother of two boys.

"Everything in my house is pretty much garbage," John Prosinski, 41, said. "I'd rather not come back, but my daughter is in first grade. She loves her school."

Boil-water advisories remained in effect in many areas, including the city of Binghamton.

Some 20,000 residents of Binghamton and surrounding Broome County evacuated to escape the flooding, officials said.

Officials had no estimate on the number still forced to stay away from their homes, Block said.