What Ever Happened To Abandoned Homes At Woodhaven Park In Rome New York?
Whatever happened to all of the abandoned houses located at Woodhaven Park in Rome, New York?
In Rome, from the nineties through 2017 you would have found an entire neighborhood of abandoned homes off of Gansevoort Avenue. These homes were closed off to the public since 1999. We were lucky to tour them before they were torn down, you can see those photos below.
Originally, these homes were beautiful and full of families. Woodhaven Park was the home of many workers stationed at Griffiss Air Force Base. Once the base closed in 1995, the need for base housing ended. Families moved on to other assignments, and the houses lay abandoned.
Around 1999, the homes started to breathe some life into them as temporary housing for Woodstock '99 workers from out of town. After that, the homes remained vacant for many years. They were recently torn down, and all that remains is an empty field.
So what's next for this property?
The Rome Sentinel reports that the Rome Common Council unanimously approved a resolution to sell a portion of the former Wright Park Manor and Woodhaven properties to Rome Industrial Development Corporation.
As part of the Rethink Woodhaven Revitalization Plan of 2018, the approximately 100-acre parcel bound on one side by Floyd Avenue across from MVCC’s Rome campus and another by Park Drive, would include an “overarching” theme of mixed residential and commercial uses, including multiple housing options that could include senior living. The city owns the entire area after a failed revitalization attempt by private developers. "
And as of July 2021, a negative declaration on a Site Environmental Quality Review for the first phase of a subdivision at Woodhaven Redevelopment Area was granted by the City of Rome.
Back in June of 2016, Some 300 homes were still standing. With special permission from Mayor Jacqueline Izzo at the time, we were allowed to take our cameras back into the park. We did not enter any of the homes, per her orders. The homes aren't even safe to be near. We did however walk up driveways, and hold our cameras into some windows. This is what we documented thanks to P.W. Creighton of the New York Shadow Chasers:
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