Thanks to everyone who came out to support the first ever Newburgh Urban Market this past Saturday! We definitely got a positive response from visitors and the vendors themselves. We had everything from a cupcake school bus to handmade jewelry and pottery. It was amazing to the see transformation of an empty barren lot to a space full of life and people. We hope that the market can be the launchpad for other great things to come for Liberty Street and the entire City of Newburgh! Already there is one vendor talking about moving into a storefront on Liberty who has made a connection for a space.
We are still looking for vendors. Please use the vendor registration form if you are interested to participate in our next event, June 14th. Please see the Newburgh Urban Market website for future dates.
Last week a meeting was held in the Town and City of Newburgh to gather support for the Hudson Valley Casino and Resort that will be located at the intersection of I-87 and I-84 in the Town of Newburgh behind Orange County Choppers. So far city and town officials support the project and both municipalities have agreed to a revenue sharing agreement that would give the City of Newburgh 15% of the host community revenues providing an estimated $1,020,000 annually. The casino operator is promising an additional 15% that would give the City of Newburgh more than $2 million dollars annually total.
Mayor Kennedy was quoted as saying,
“While the City of Newburgh will see direct dollars for the siting of this casino in the Town of Newburgh, the increased property tax revenue will have a substantial impact on reducing school taxes…Between the added revenue for law enforcement in our City through our agreement with the Town, the arrangement we established with the casino itself, and the impact that this project will have on jobs, it’s a no-brainer for the City of Newburgh to offer its whole-hearted endorsement.”
The project proposal is promising 2,400 construction jobs and 2,500 permanent jobs with benefits. Salary ranges are anticipated to be between $30,000 – $70,000 annually for non-management positions and $70,000 – $180,000 annually for management positions. They are also promising to work with local restaurants, farmers, brewers, and distilleries that showcase the Hudson Valley.
Research about the economic development promised by casino’s tells a different tale. A study called Casino Gambling as an Economic Development Strategy by Terance J. Rephann found that:
“Casino gambling is adopted by economically struggling counties and can be a successful development strategy. The effects trickle down to other sectors of the economy, including recipients of income maintenance payments. On the downside, local governments and local workers do not appear to appear to reap the lion’s share of benefits, as much of the income generated by casinos is dissipated through leakages outside the host county.”
Other studies have found promise in the positive impact of casinos on economic development, but also acknowledge that it can be unstable and it is an industry highly impacted by outside factors. There are also the moral and ethical issues that many people are afraid come with a new casino. Rephann cautions that investment in the casino industry is an economic development gamble in of itself with location and competition being key factors. He also says that training mechanisms should be put in place so that the local labor force is equipped for the skilled jobs casinos may offer.
Casinos are also often one-stop locations sufficing all of the needs of visitors, giving them very little reason to patronize outside businesses. Such was the case in Atlantic City where, “the number of restaurants dropped 40 percent since 1977. Most people associated with the industry note that people don’t venture far from the casinos” (Dunstan, 1997). Another issue with Atlantic City is that it has “done little to revitalize the rest of Atlantic City and its business community. Atlantic City has been described as two cities. One is the casinos and the other is a city of boarded-up buildings with a unemployed minority work force.”
What do you think about the proposal for a casino and the partnership between the City and Town of Newburgh? So far, it looks like many support the project.
References:
Dunstan, R. (1997, January 1). Gambling in California. Gambling in California. Retrieved , from https://www.library.ca.gov/CRB/97/03/crb97003.html#toc
Rephann, T. J. (1997, January 1). Casino Gambling as an Economic Development Strategy. . Retrieved , from http://www.equotient.net/papers/casino.pdf
Walker, D. M., & Jackson, J. D. CASINOS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: AN UPDATE. The Journal of Gambling Business and Economics, 7, 80-87. Retrieved , from http://walkerd.people.cofc.edu/pubs/2013/JGBE2013.pdf
Thinking of opening a business and want to join the Newburgh Renaissance? Then you might want to consider Space Create that is opening new offices on Broadway. They are still looking for tenants, and the progress of their offices is looking amazing! For more info email : info@spacecreate.co
Various towns throughout the Hudson Valley have claimed different Saturdays as their day. In Newburgh, we had the last Saturday of every month that was supposed to be dedicated to art events and other local happenings. In recent years the idea had slowed down a bit but, this year businesses are bringing it back full swing! This is particularly true of the Liberty Street corridor businesses that are working on re-branding the neighborhood (more on that to come soon).
Every Last Saturday of every month local businesses, galleries, and restaurants will keep longer businesses hours till 8pm. All of the businesses in the collage above will be participating, including the Newburgh Urban Market (with the exception of June’s last Saturday). This is a great way to support the thriving businesses that are making Newburgh’s revitalization real! To keep up to date, check out the Last Saturday Facebook event page.
If you really want to contribute to the area, make it a goal to spend a certain amount of money each month locally to support businesses like the 3/50 Project.
Space Create is excited to announce yet another innovative company joining them. The Brooklyn-bred and now Newburgh-based, Noisemaker Media is a digital cinema production company dedicated to the advancement of aesthetically-driven content, artistic vision, and professional integrity.
We maintain a strong commitment to cinematic depth throughout every step of our creative and technical process allowing for incomparable results for our clients in their quest to captivate their target audience(s). Our unique approach has been applied to music videos, documentaries, commercial advertising, short films, and social media vignettes.
Founded in 2002 by Mark Carranceja, a commercial director is now a professor at SUNY Orange and a social entrepreneur. Noisemaker Media has relocated its base of operations to Newburgh, NY to join an emerging community of social entrepreneurs to cultivate a culture of creativity, collaboration, and connectivity.
Their 2014 Reel which includes their work on music videos, festivals with artists like The Roots, Busta Rhymes, Femi Kuti and even NYC Summer Stage .
There is still space available to rent. If you are interested in joining Space Create contact: spacecreate0@gmail.com
Remember the Parsons students a few months ago on Liberty? Well they are going to be back this Saturday at Georgetown Ice Cream Shop at 87 Ann Street aka Rue de Temple Antique Shop.
Stop by and see what ideas they have for improving Newburgh! If any of you would like to sell some pop-up items while you are there, email them at thenewburghproject@gmail.com
