ROME, N.Y. — Mayor Jeffrey Lanigan is calling for the immediate demolition of the former Staley School building on Bloomfield Avenue after a fire that occurred on the vacant property Monday evening.
Since Lanigan took office in January 2024, one of his top priorities has been addressing public nuisance properties throughout the city. While much of that effort has focused on absentee landlords and neglected private properties, the former Staley School has emerged as one of the most dangerous and costly abandoned buildings in the community.
“This building has become an unacceptable burden on our neighborhoods, our taxpayers, and our first responders,” Lanigan said in a news release from his office. “Our residents deserve safe neighborhoods, not an abandoned school that continues to attract fires, vandalism, trespassing, illegal activity, and repeated emergency responses.”
The former George R. Staley School has remained vacant since suffering severe flood damage from Superstorm Fred in 2021. The property sits adjacent to the Mohawk River Trail and Lanigan said the vacant building has been exposing trail users and nearby residents to graffiti, blight and ongoing public safety concerns.
Lanigan has expressed his deep disappointment with the Rome City School District’s failure to resolve what he considers one of Rome’s most significant public nuisances.
Lanigan recently met with Rome City School District Superintendent Dr. Nerlande Anselme to discuss the city’s growing concerns with the Staley School’s deteriorating condition and its continued impact on the surrounding neighborhood.
“The Rome City School District understands and shares the community’s concerns regarding the former Staley Elementary School, particularly following recent reports of possible activity at the building,” Enselme said after the meeting. “We want our community to know that the district has remained actively engaged in addressing the future of the property since the building was severely damaged by flooding in 2021 and determined to be unusable.”
Anselme said that since the loss of Staley, the district has been working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in collaboration with the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services throughout the recovery process.
“As part of that work, the district formally requested FEMA’s consideration of a demolition grant, recognizing that safely removing the building was an important step in ensuring the long-term security of the site and surrounding community,” she said.
On December 11, 2024, the district submitted its request to pursue an alternate project through FEMA and specifically requested consideration for a demolition grant. FEMA later informed the district that an additional grant would not be provided for demolition and that the approved FEMA grant associated with the alternate project could not be used for that purpose under federal guidelines.
“Since receiving that determination, the district has actively pursued other grant opportunities and funding resources to support the safe demolition of the building,” Anselme said. “We remain committed to identifying the resources needed to move this important work forward as quickly as possible.”
“The district also continues to take steps to secure and monitor the property,” she continued. “After learning of possible activity at the building, our facilities team immediately inspected the site, secured an area that had been opened, and is taking additional steps to address potential access points.”
Lanigan is urging the Rome City School District to aggressively pursue FEMA approval for demolition and to work collaboratively with the City of Rome and our state and federal partners to expedite the removal of the structure.
“While I appreciate the Superintendent’s willingness to support demolition, we need more than support—we need action,” Lanigan said. “Every day this building remains standing is another day our police officers, firefighters, and taxpayers are forced to bear the consequences. Last night’s fire is simply the latest example. We look forward to working with our partners to resolve this issue.”
The former George R. Staley School. (Roger Seibert – MediaNews Group)