June 29, 2008

Former Binghamton City Deputy Mayor Rich David To Host News
Conference Monday To Highlight Completion Of Renovations to 45 Court St.
-David To Also Announce Plans For Future Initiative To Invest In Binghamton-

(CITY OF BINGHAMTON, NY) Former City of Binghamton Deputy Mayor Rich David today announced he will host a news conference to highlight the completion of a project to renovate 45 Court Street. The news conference will take place at 10:30 a.m., Monday, June 30, 2008 at the downtown building. (A tour of the building will take place immediately after the news conference)

Forty Five Court Street is currently a three-story, 3,006 square foot building that hosts both M&DR Nuts and Curry of India on the first floor. David transformed the second and third stories into a one-unit, 1,600 square foot residential loft to live in. The loft includes a new kitchen, dining room, living room, two bedrooms, and two full bathrooms. Renovations also include a complete façade enhancement consistent with the original look of the building, including an outdoor terrace off the 2nd floor.

“Buying a building, renovating it and designing the interior living space has always been a dream of mine,” said David. “In deciding where to purchase property I wanted to maximize the impact of my investment. I thought about purchasing a home in a neighborhood, but ultimately decided my investment would have a more significant impact in downtown Binghamton.”

“I worked for the City of Binghamton for six years, currently live in the Center City and love downtown,” stressed David. “During my time at City Hall I worked with a number of people who were investing and rehabilitating buildings downtown, which was what initially sparked my interest. I’m extremely excited to finally make my dream a reality and join the many dedicated individuals who are investing downtown.”

David will also announce plans for an initiative to continue investing in the City of Binghamton.

“I sincerely believe that as residents, community leaders and public officials, we all need to do our part and work together if we are to reach our common goal of success and prosperity,” said David. “I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work for the City of Binghamton from 2000 through 2005, and as former Deputy Mayor, I worked very closely on a diverse range of public and private economic development initiatives. After leaving City Hall I wanted to find a way to continue contributing to the economic and financial growth of the City of Binghamton. On Monday, I will outline my plans to make that a reality.”

David is currently the Public Affairs Officer at Broome Community College. From 2000 to 2006 he served in the Office of former Binghamton Mayor Richard Bucci, most recently as Deputy Mayor.

According to the book “Past and Present”, the building at 45 Court Street was the home of the Empire Drug Store, established in 1843 by R.C. Trivette. From 1855 to 1880, druggist D.J. H. Chubbuck did business under the Sign of the Golden Mortar at 45 Court Street. Among the occupants were also W.M. Quirk’s Poor Man’s Pharmacy and Webster’s Cut Rate Drugstore. Pharmacies continued on this site until Jacob Eisenberg’s drugstore closed in 1938. Upstairs was an old bookbindery, originating about 1858. Beginning in 1939, the right half of the storefront was occupied by the National Peanut Company, then by Planter’s Peanut Company, followed by M&DR Nuts.