If you are an HGTV fanatic you might know their show, “Who’s Lived in My House?” Some exciting news is that they came to Newburgh back in June to profile the Fullerton Mansion and it’s owner, Michael Green who is a William Fullerton expert! It was very hard to keep our mouths shut all this time! The home will be shown in two episodes, #1 “Hidden Passageways” episode # HWLMH-201H, and episode 5 (date and time yet to be announced.)
Also very exciting, was the use of local super-star florist, Jenny’s Floral Designs on Liberty Street. She did an amazing job making the home look beautiful for its TV debut. Let’s hope we can keep more positive vibes going for the City of Newburgh.
Today WNYC News highlighted the efforts of the Newburgh Land Bank with their article titled, After the Crash, Banks Paid Billions. Where’d it All Go? The article comes out on the heels of a new decision made in Albany to double the amount of land banks in New York State.
The Newburgh Land Bank is focusing on streets that radiate north of Broadway: Lander, Chambers etc, of which, 25% of properties are vacant. Don’t just read the article, listen to the audio as there are more details. They are hoping to make this area the poster child for change that a land bank can bring about to a neighborhood, block by block. Already the land bank has sold a large apartment building on northern Lander that is being rehabilitated as well as a church and, are looking to stabilize the roof of a defunct dog pound to an interested buyer who would not be able to fix the collapsed roof themselves. Fortunately, they are looking to save many buildings instead of looking at demolition, something these streets have seen too much of already.
The summer issue of Green Door Magazine includes a write up of the City of Newburgh. Erin Lindsey of EscapeBrooklyn.com writes about her experiences looking for an apartment in Brooklyn and the changes she has seen in her Crown Heights neighborhood. She also brings us along for her journey of looking for a rental option in Newburgh. Comparing what each location has to offer she says, “there’s probably a two-thousand dollar difference between the two locations. But the actual results may not be that different… rich with history, culture, and incredible architecture.”
She didn’t end up moving to Newburgh for work reasons, but believes that it will only be a matter of time before Newburgh is as popular a destination as Beacon because of dedicated community members that are deeply committed to the revitalization of the city.
The moment I saw 420 Grand Street I knew it could be a contender for John Foreman’s Big Old Houses column in the New York Social Diary. Thankfully, he agreed and took a trip to Newburgh to further discover the home. His tour has way more details, photos, and historical background than the real estate listing. If you loved what you saw the last time, definitely check out John’s tour! I particularly love the photo he was able to get below. Thanks John for coming to Newburgh!
It seems like every week a new Hudson Valley town is being touted the “next Brooklyn.” Many voice disagreement in using Brooklyn as an adjective to describe places that have little in common with the popular NYC borough. Today Brooklyn is known as being “cool, hip, or creative” while just two decades ago it was famous for race riots and depopulation. One could assume that when a neighborhood is being compared to Brooklyn, it is being compared for its qualities and characteristics.
Newburgh is not Brooklyn, it’s 60 miles away with mountain views and a 132 foot wide Main Street. But we can appreciate the comparison. Both are in New York State, both are urban dense municipalities, both have waterfronts, both suffered from deindustrialization and suburbanization, and both have amazing historic housing stock. And yes, Newburgh has a lot of ex-New Yorkers (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Long Island and beyond). Brooklyn has been successful at reinventing itself and is now a very desirable place to be. Chris Hanson, a realtor sited in the Are we really the next Brooklyn? article seems to think Newburgh is on its way:
“I think Liberty Street is the most important street in Newburgh, both commercially and residentially. You’ve got nice pedestrian traffic, Washingston’s Headquarters, storefronts with apartments above them — lots of them with river views. The fact that it isn’t a thriving commercial district right now is sort of mind-boggling. I think it will happen, and it will happen soon; it has real momentum. The clock is ticking on Liberty Street. That window is going to close in one year to 18 months… In the last six months, Brooklyn people account for at least 50 percent of my showings. They used to go to Beacon and find what they were looking for and stop there. Now they’re either coming directly from Brooklyn to Beacon to Newburgh or from Brooklyn to Newburgh.”
So what do you think? Is Newburgh on its way to sharing some of the characteristics that make Brooklyn desirable?
Many people are quite excited about the new land banks that have been instituted in New York State. Across the map land banks have been able to focus on rehabilitating and acquiring abandoned and vacant properties that municipalities do not have the power to manage. Newburgh’s own land bank has had such success with a red brick apartment building on Lander and an old church on Grand Street.
Newburgh’s own land bank director, Madeline Fletcher was featured by Center for Community Progress. She mentions the challenge land banks face in the future is to become sustainable and finding funding for day to day operations.
Photos © Tina Olsen
