Family Life

10.16.12 | Sarah Harnisch

Construction on the long-awaited American Civic Center park in Binghamton will start this week. The site is planned to remember the 13 people slain in Binghamton, New York by a gunman in 2009. The memorial took more then 3 years to plan and 2 and a half years to fund. More then 200-thousand dollars was raised from companies, foundations, private citizens, and the families of the victims themselves. Construction will take about 8 weeks. The memorial consists of a granite column with a glass shaft rising from the center that will be illuminated at night, and a circular paved area with benches. There are also 13 bird sculptures atop 16 foot high metal stands, one for each of the victims.