Weekly Link Round Up

The weekly link roundup is a collection of links related to Newburgh, revitalization, urban planning and anything else that might inspire change or create dialogue. Photo by HB.

Can money create a neighborhood? [C]
Tax increase likely in Newburgh budget plan [THR]
Report says Newburgh firehouses, police HQ loaded with dangerous mold [MHN]
Oft-Quoted Studies Saying Gentrification Doesn’t Cause Displacement Are “Glaringly Stale” [SF]

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2 Comment

  • The gentrification article has a lot of generalizations and holes and is specific only to NYC, a very unique housing market. I don’t understand why you have chosen to post this because this has absolutely nothing to do with anything that’s happening in Newburgh. We have one of the highest jobless rates in the state, anemic and undependable public transportation, zero rent regulations. We have at least 700 empty buildings. Any improvements are going be highly visible because there is still so much dereliction. The word gentrification is a great fear tactic that drives fake community activism(CVH) but in Newburgh using it in conversation for anything else is perplexing at best. Even if there was a hint of gentrification in the air, how could there ever be enough of a critical mass of development when the taxes are so egregious, infrastructure is failing rapidly and services are so spotty? We have politicians who continues to believe that Newburgh needs to provide more subsidized housing when, for a healthy sustainable community, the opposite is true. And unfortunately the bubble is providing a rare opportunity to develop market-rate and luxury housing on our waterfront that would provide more needed revenue but we’re stuck in a holding pattern of stale antiquated attitudes of being unworthy- and that bubble can only last for so long. Oh Newburgh, the city of continuously untapped potential.

  • This ain’t your grandparent’s gentrification. ‘1990s displacement’ has given way to a widening “affordability” issue. For Newburgh, gentrification is a non-starter as its over riding concern is how its fiscal position will hinder ANY “replacement” at a period when it should be benefiting from it most. There is no lack of data…
    It’s researched and published, just not distributed mainstream because, as Michael G. alluded to, it doesn’t fit the narrative. “When your paycheck depends on the lie…”. https://www.attomdata.com/news/market-trends/home-sales-prices/q3-2018-home-affordability-report/ This truth telling extends to Newburgh’s financial condition, and we’ve recently seen what happens to truth tellers. The city manager’s healthcare costs lament is a tired excuse that just scratches at the surface. Public servants aren’t excluded from the aging demographics shift and NYS no longer has SALT to pay for legacy models of employment. Across the U.S., municipalities are burying themselves alive in them and their seemingly better off municipal neighbors are whistling pass the grave yard. Financial contagion is always precluded by a “never happen” attitude. Municipal consolidation of public safety and infrastructure services is a must.
    As far as ‘money creating neighborhoods’ goes, it should be two-tiered. Tax, borrowing & insurance rates should be the inverse of what exist now. Producers and consumers of basic infrastructure and human essentials should be paying the lesser, offset in kind by corporate social media, eateries and sports complexes…not by the tax payers enlarge. Instead, what exist is affordability enabling of “necessities” all the while lowering ‘the rent’ for the large corporates (for profits & nons) making bank providing the “necessities”.
    What’s that hissing sound…bubble meeting 5%+ rates.