Reviews & Comments
Newburgh, NY
The Truth About Newburgh....A Brooklyn tale -
8/8/2006I make reference to Brooklyn, because I grew up in Brooklyn in the 80s-90s. It was a place littered with issues of crime, poverty and drugs. With the exception of a few areas, a few blocks here and there, I realized very quickly it was a place I needed to leave ASAP. Worst of all, schools were horrible. Teachers that didn't care. Parents that didn't care. A City that didn't care.
You look at Brooklyn today, and you see significant changes. A gentrification process has been taking place over the last 5 years. Some see it as good change while others see it as another opportunity for those with money to displace those without it. What can’t be argued is the perception of people for an area that was at one point ‘untouchable’. The real estate market in Brooklyn has boomed in all areas and is mostly unaffordable. Crime and poverty are still significant issues. And worst of all, the right to a solid education in Brooklyn is not available for most, unless you live in a very specific school district or pay top dollar for private schools.
As I looked for a place to live with my family, I found Newburgh NY. There was an article in the NYTimes in Nov ’06, which spoke about a revitalization taking place. As we visited the city, we were awed by it’s beauty and history and it’s affordability. You can find a beautiful 1800s home by the waterfront (Hudson River) for 200K+. The same type of home would cost 1MM dollars in some areas closer to NYC. But nothing in life is free, so with this great find, we realized the city had some very deep-rooted issues. Most of these issues have stemmed from poor local government. It’s the same type of plague that affects many of the cities and towns all over the country. This affect had snowballed and formed a depressed city, with high poverty areas that attracted the typical crime and drug infestation alive and well in every city in the world. The irony of it all is that many of these affected areas just happen to be right by the waterfront. So the city’s most valuable asset, its proximity to the river, is also the city’s biggest ‘problem’ area. It’s something the urban renewal real estate tycoons of the 60s didn’t foresee. We on the other hand, see the picture clearly, and currently reside in the City of Newburgh.
So why move here?
1 - Historic district – Newburgh has the largest historic district in NY State. It has a number of historic landmarks such as “Washington HQ” – “Dutch Reformed Church” and “Downing Park”, which