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  • I just came from a GREAT presentation of one new venture, SPACE CREATE, that should open its doors in June. You can see more by searching this blog.

    The GNP is also working on major collaborations with the City of Newburgh and a comprehensive zoning code was put together–you can see the draft form online at the City’s website…and there is more development, with community input, to come.

    And there are SO MANY MORE positive, tangible changes..!

    One great way to get a good overview is to join in the Newburgh Illuminated festival on the weekend of June 21/22. Have great fun touring the city, meet the people making things happen, and be inspired by a city that is lifting itself up little by little each day!

  • Let’s go from macro to micro on this…The U.S. has reached “peak work”, that is productivity has surpassed economic growth. The majority of U.S. gdp is now consumption based. The two conditions have contributed to a decline in the labor participation rate as well as in disposable incomes. Globalization dictates that this decline is not going to change. Now, place a city such as Newburgh, given its’ demographics, into this broader context and the consequential social economic problems become exasperated. As per safe
    ‘affordable’ housing; construction requirements, codes, and zoning mandates make the term ‘affordable’ a misnomer. The alternative is a lowering of standards (in general) as the economy and tax base require.
    In my opinion, the ‘City’s previous upswings have been a succession of ‘dead cat’ bounces as a result of broader national initiatives to pump the economy via short minded fiscal and monetary initiatives , aka ‘bubbles’ (btw, inflation doesn’t make anything go up in terms of ‘real’ value). As the ‘City does not operate in a vacuum, Newburgh, as a result, has lost its’ wealth and opportunities as they pertain to the majority of it’s ‘consumers’. Consumption in an environment of lost opportunities is in turn offset by subsidies. It’s a paradox, where in ‘assistance’ has the dual consequences in that it robs capital from those that have while enabling a further dependency by those that have not.
    Rebound ? Cher is correct in that the ‘City currently has some positive momentum. However, Newburgh is at a cross roads whereby it must choose between it’s current path, unsustainable for reasons I described above, or piggyback on the back of the evidently free and willing capital and provide the necessary municipal support.

  • Nice response, Walt. Could you elaborate a bit on what you mean by, ” piggyback on the back of the evidently free and willing capital and provide the necessary municipal support.?” Your position seems, on the surface, “Conservative,” or “republican,” and as a card carrying “Liberal New yorker,” I want to resist. However, I have invested my life to this city; I live here and have started a family here. I want improvement, I want change, and I don’t accept the current situation.

    • Eddie A
      Party line… I consider ‘politics’ to be a game played when the legitimacy of government is called into question, comprised of beggars amongst thieves. My “position” aligns with ‘Austrian’ economics, i.e. free markets. In contrast, the U.S. has been adhering to the ‘Keynesian’ approach, hence the asset ‘bubbles’, trillions of dollars of debt, dollar devaluation, persistent unemployment etc..
      As per piggybacking; the government’s primary role should be to manage the ‘City’s municipal requirements both proactively and reactively in order to initiate and proliferate capital investment. As progressively more capital continues to ‘find a home’ in Newburgh, the citizens who, to paraphrase you, have invested their life to this city, live here and have started a family here will reap the benefits of improvement and change.
      With this approach there will be demographic changes. However, if a community is to have a ‘backstop’ for those that are genuinely in need, then the assistance should be voluntary.
      btw, I don’t think tptb will even approach a change unless the risk/reward is in their favor. The cycling of fear to greed may be a welcomed game changer at this point.
      It’s Friday, enjoy.

  • “Defeatism is so Middle Class” said by the Dowager.

    OK. Now we have got THAT out of our system.

    The best part of the US economy is that which thrives on urbanism; which City of Newburgh has in it’s natural habitat–all ready to go. Some people don’t want to live with the really rough problems of old buildings. Others find it charming and worthwhile to live near the water and beautiful architecture.

    Even when some of it is inhabited by bad people–some of whom have been NEWLY attracted by the slum conditions. Because the worse the slum, the more social services are available. When I was young and just starting out, I did the opposite. I was attracted to a wealthy city–NYC– where I could be poor but happy. City of Newburgh population has some of the opposite. People who left NYC in order to be relatively better off in a poor place. I did OK with my strategy. I wonder whether the opposite works? I suppose I am curious enough to have tried it (in moving to Orange County) but so far, what seems to happen in the absence of real estate appreciation and high real estate taxes ( neither of which exist in successful NYC) is that people sort of stall out financially, then move on South so that they can retire on the nationally set SS.

    The great advantage that exists in City of Newburgh is the access to education which is quite good at every level in upstate New York. Yes, it is also available in NYC, but living and quality of life costs are much higher. Additionally, startup companies should be flocking here to take advantage of the fabulous commercial real estate opportunities in an urban setting. And they will. IMO, City of Newburgh has turned the corner.

  • Great read, it brings up a lot of real concerns with lead contamination in housing, however one must also remember there are many routes of exposure to lead including contaminated air, water, soil, food, and consumer products, all of which we’re exposed to daily. Lead Poisoning in older homes is Preventable by following the appropriate remodeling safety procedures. As far as – Is Newburgh Bouncing Back? YES, I believe it’s roaring back with a vengeance minus the violence but with a lot of sweat equity, a labor of love and a strong community involvement, existing and new.

  • So the games begin. I just received notice that my assessment went up again, approx. 5%. Really? The house adjacent to me still stands vacant and deteriorating for three plus years. My road has become a series of dips and pits having been dug up numerous times for infrastructure ‘patch work’. There are more city owned vacant properties than last year. Crime has become more prevalent in my north ward as I and my neighbors can attest to. The “Gateways” to either side of the ‘City are now littered pan handling zones. Indeed, it was convenient for the ‘City to raise municipal rates while housing prices were falling as it was more ‘palatable’ to the taxpayer. Remember, city and school tax rates DID rise this year, 3.52% and 10.12% respectively, despite the spin given by EVERY member of the council, the city manager and comptroller. As I commented recently, real world economics has caught up to the ‘City’s aforethought mismanagement. It is now apparent that wide spread cognitive dissonance is the game in play. Can it really be that TPTB fail to recognize that every dollar that is stolen from the tax payer is a dollar that will not, can not, be spent with discretion? Good luck to the Liberty Street corridor and the surrounding businesses that depend on the locals patronage. The city of Newburgh is slowly, but surely, becoming demographically polarized viola Chicago style. Hedge accordingly.