On December 18, Newburgh's City Council declared a housing emergency. The decision came after a study revealed that the city's rental vacancy rate fell below a five percent threshold. As part of the declaration, the Council activated the Emergency Tenant Protection Act to regulate rent in certain buildings—those with six or more units built before 1974. According to Mayor Torrance Harvey, the issue wasn't entirely unexpected.
"We had already paid for a housing study in 2019 with the Leviticus Fund," says Harvey. "I had already looked at human migration charts and data with the Hudson Valley Regional Council, and we knew that human migration was going to happen exponentially. Add Covid to that, and then the migrant workers being bused, and we knew that people would be moving here. We had anticipated it, but we didn't know that the housing study did not come with a vacancy study. Once we did that, we found out we were below the threshold."
Housing Developments
Despite the declaration, Mayor Harvey believes that the city is equipped to deal with its housing concerns. "We've been ahead of the curve on a lot of issues," says Harvey. "Because we have this information, we have six or possibly seven new housing developments already through the land use boards."
Many new developments are already in progress. The Kearney Group is currently engaged in constructing 66 affordable units at 15 South Colden Street, and Safe Harbors of the Hudson has secured a $15 million grant and subsidy to renovate all 128 apartment units at the Cornerstone Residence on 111 Broadway—along with a new roof, windows, and elevators. The Washington Street School, inactive for several years, is undergoing conversion into a mixed-use commercial and residential site, with an estimated 100 to 120 units. And Mana Tree Properties has recently repurposed an old factory to add 59 market-rate rental units to the city at Lofts at the Foundry.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh, a nonprofit that builds affordable homes for middle and low-income individuals, has also increased their efforts. "Before Covid, we were building three or four houses a year," says executive director Jill Marie. "We now have 14 under construction. That's indicative of the housing crisis that everyone is talking about."
In response to the housing emergency, Habitat Newburgh worked with their national affiliate to host a series of small group workshops as part of a safety initiative. "We get some pushback from people wondering what Habitat has to do with community safety," says Marie. "But it makes sense for us to invest our resources to make sure our homes maintain their value and that the community can stay in them. On a holistic level, the long-term of that is safety."
Marie notes that the workshops involved discussions with diverse groups, including educators from various fields, to collaboratively identify and assess the resources available in the city. "For example, we work closely with the Newburgh Hook Elite Boxing Club, a very small nonprofit here," says Marie. "They have an up-and-coming young boxer going professional, but they don't have the resources to really invest in that program. [Club director Leonard Lee] is training kids, getting them off the streets, and showing them a different way of operating. If we have a community invested in its youth and resources, there will be less violence."
Community Building and Activism
Several groups and organizations share Marie's perspective on empowering the younger generation. At the Newburgh Armory Unity Center—which runs 34 free programs for children on Saturdays—kids can take up to five classes per day in subjects ranging from science, math, swimming, acting, coding, art, aviation, and dance.
Most recently, the armory officially launched a new Lego-themed classroom, designed in collaboration with Legoland and the Merlin's Magic Wand Foundation. "It's really meant to teach kids about engineering and math through the fun of playing with Legos," says Max Cuacuas, director of operations. "We always try to do new innovative things to keep the kids interested; it's not a forced thing like, 'You have to go to school.'"
As for the armory's other offerings, Cuacuas highlights their All City-Wide Basketball League, led by Coach Harold Rayford. "Back in the day, when there was a lot of violence in the city, it was very 'this side' versus 'that side,' explains Cuacuas. "The league is meant to bring kids from different sides of Broadway together to play basketball."
The Boys & Girls Club of Newburgh—which offers programs in the arts, academics, and athletics for kids in kindergarten through late teens—has also expanded. For the past few years, the club has worked to build a new 20,000-square-foot facility called the Center for Arts and Education, which will house its Early Literacy Program and the Newburgh Performing Arts Academy. "After Covid, there was a series of starts and stops," says Kevin D. White, executive director. "But the project is on tap, and we expect to do a ribbon cutting this summer."
The club also offers a workforce development program for high school students. The program provides paid internships for 12 weeks, helps place students in part time jobs while in school and during the summer, and then directs them toward careers after they graduate. Additionally, its Diplomas2Degrees program assists high school students, especially first-generation college goers, in enrolling in higher education.
Alongside these efforts is the LYNC Community Foundation, founded by Melanie Collins. In 2021, the foundation advised on the design and planning of Newburgh YouthBuild, a pre-apprenticeship program that trains youth aged 16 to 24 for careers in carpentry, construction trades, the culinary arts, and nursing. Now, YouthBuild has a new home: Highpoint, the campus LYNC built out of a restored black Methodist church building and parish house.
LYNC aims for Highpoint to not only serve as the base for YouthBuild but also to expand educational and cultural opportunities for black women. The campus will house various community organizations, a coworking space, a Black bookstore and cafe, a wellness center, and a commercial training kitchen. Already, businesses at Highpoint include Hudson Valley Cheesecake and Wellness Shines On.
There's also been activism in the form of the "Newburgh Wants a Park" campaign, a coalition of 30 organizations seeking to designate 109 acres of Crystal Lake and Snake Hill as a public park. Activists behind the campaign are currently conducting a Community Input Survey to gather feedback on local residents' access preferences and conservation priorities for the lake.
Besides purely environmental concerns, the movement aims to address equity in Ward 3, a predominantly low income and 71 percent BIPOC neighborhood. "It's the only ward in the city that does not have a designated park, despite having the largest green space in the entire city," says Anusha Mehar, a Newburgh City Councilmember who helped spearhead the campaign and started the online petition to protect the space.
A Growing Art Scene
Since 2011, Umbra Sound Stages has been hosting film and television productions ranging from small indie projects to large-scale TV productions. As part of New York State incentives, projects filmed at Umbra are eligible for a 40 percent film tax credit.
"When a project comes in, it'll employ anywhere from 100 to 200 union employees—highly skilled craftspeople," says Summer Crockett Moore, managing partner. "And the shows have a 50 to 60 percent local-hire ratio. We hear over and over that people living in the region, who had to commute to the city for years, are now so happy to work in their own backyard."
In a former coat factory filled with antique printing equipment, Thornwillow Press publishes handcrafted, limited-edition books. They're now producing a free music series called Concerts at Calvary, which takes place at the Calvary Presbyterian Church and features a newly restored Skinner Pipe Organ. "It's unclear if there are any other Skinner instruments like it anywhere in the country," says Luke Ives Pontifell, Thornwillow founder. "Newburgh now has this million-dollar organ, and we needed to do something with it." On April 27, Brandon Patrick George and Lowell Liebermann will perform pieces for flute and piano at 5pm.
Meanwhile, in a similar historic setting, artist Daniel Giordano transforms industrial remnants and natural elements into sculptures within his grandfather's former garment factory. His materials range from clinker bricks collected along the shoreline to organic matter like deer skulls or water caltrops.
"The work is reflective of Newburgh," says Giordano. "I feel like I'm working in the wake of the Hudson River painters—everything they omitted, from train tracks and industry, to the destruction of natural grandeur and beauty." He's currently prepping for "Crystal Blue Persuasion," an exhibition at the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls that opens on June 22.
Finally, adding onto the scene is the Bank Arts Center. Located in the former Newburgh Savings Bank—a roughly 100-year-old building owned by the Gerald A. Doering Foundation—the recently opened center hosts Rosanna Scimeca's Savaggi Gallery, which exhibits large-scale, immersive sculpture installations incorporating light and sound. The gallery's current exhibition is "Inner Landscapes" by Burning Man artist Kate Raudenbush, which runs through August 10 and includes improvised ambient music as part of the New Music Program at various multisensory events scheduled during the show's tenure.
Looking Ahead
Newburgh's historical spots aren't confined solely to the arts; they also encompass food and drink. Owned and operated by a father and son, John and Gus Courtsunis, Commodore Chocolatier has occupied the same building since 1935.
In the town of Newburgh, the North Plank Road Tavern offers fine dining in a circa 1801 building. Originally constructed as a hotel, North Plank transformed into a tavern and boarding house, and eventually a speakeasy during Prohibition.
Still, along with these longstanding businesses, there have been a slew of new spots popping up. At 96 Broadway, Bar Brava is serving Spanish tapas and curated wine in the former Mama Roux space. Once a food truck for many years, La Mexicana has recently opened a brick-and-mortar taqueria at 109 Liberty Street. Leo's Hotdogs, which existed for decades as a cart, a food truck, and a trailer, has also opened its own standalone spot at 169 Broadway. And at 47 Lander Street, both District Ramen and the Downstate Kitchen & Coffee have opened in the past year.
In the midst of all the changes and activism in Newburgh, Mayor Harvey sums up its growth simply: "There's a renaissance happening in this historic city."
