Informed by in-depth meetings and reiterative conversations with local residents and practitioners, Dept of Small Interventions pursues culturally-based and history-inspired projects in Newburgh, NY. The goal is to contribute to the revitalization efforts by promoting the city's assets and enhancing creative placemaking and placekeeping while building its capacity, collaborations, and participation.
Overview of projects are described below and individual actions are listed usually under events
#newburghny
Photo Credit: Found Postcard
the Regional Connector project, a planned one-mile bicycle and pedestrian path directly joining the Beacon Metro-North train station with the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge.
When the planned Fjord Trail, Beacon to Hopewell Rail Trail, and Fishkill Trail are completed, this alternative transportation connector will link three counties and nine municipalities together. The Regional Connector will provide needed safety improvements to bike and pedestrian transportation in the area, while increasing the available recreation opportunities, reducing automobile gas emissions, augmenting employment opportunities, boosting regional tourism, and creating critical investment in multiple NYS Disadvantaged Community census tracts and federal Justice 40 census tracts.
The Regional Connector will serve over 125,000 local residents in the area and welcome thousands of visitors to the Hudson Valley. The estimated $5.7 million (2020) project will have an outsized benefit on the Region, making it cost effective, timely, and impactful.
Project Team: Thomas Wright, Michael O’Brien, Eleanor Peck, Naomi Hersson-Ringskog
Dept of Small Interventions was awarded a Smart Growth Grant to a support a Downtown Analysis for lower Broadway in Newburgh NY. Together with The Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS® (HGAR) and fiscal sponsor The Fullerton, Dept of Small Interventions pursued a NAR Smart Growth program to hire a commercial revitalization specialist to engage community stakeholders in an analysis of Broadway (from Colden to Robinson). The team will collect survey responses and community feedback to produce a report that will chart a pathway forward for strengthening our commercial corridor.
“We are looking forward to harnessing the expertise and energy of commercial corridor consultant Rebeca Ramirez on this monumental project. With the pending infrastructure bill, the timing is right to do this important groundwork” says Naomi Hersson-Ringskog of Dept of Small Interventions. “This grant helps raise awareness about the importance of diverse commercial and transportation options, development within existing neighborhoods and community engagement. “ says Richard Haggerty, HGAR CEO. “Through the Smart Growth Grant program, Realtors® are collaborating to help stabilize and strengthen Newburgh’s future. “
NAR offers Smart Growth Grants to state and local Realtor® Associations around the country to support a wide range of activities and initiatives, including growth and development symposia; community visioning sessions; growth studies; transportation and walkability action plans; community planning and zoning policy; and the Smart Growth for the 21st Century course.
Download the final report here.
Other supplemental materials:
Download Presentation for Merchants & Property Owners - March 31, 2022.
Download SeeClickFix app for reporting issues on Broadway
Advocate for more small business support with the City’s participatory budgeting for the COVID Relief ARPA Funding and public hearing of HUD annual CBDG funds.
Pilot Program for Weekly Clean Up with Maggie Mehr of Keep Newburgh Beautiful and Ali Muhammed of Melanin Unchained. See event details here.
Dr Mindy Thompson Fullilove CityMaking Walking Tour of Broadway and Main Street Presentation.
Downtown District Monthly Meetings and Quarterly Collaborations including Carnival 2023
Downtown District co-sponsored way finding sign
This will be the second time that Dept of Small Interventions has partnered with HGAR to do a smart growth initiative. The first one was in 2020 to conduct a Community Bike Action Plan for Newburgh, NY.
Photo by: Joshua Brown Photography for UpRiver
Newburgh is a proud, culturally-rich and resilient city. We created Awesome Newburgh to promote the city's strengths and to catalyze community projects that engage and bring us together.
Since 2018, Dept of Small Interventions has convened ten trustees to donate $100 and select a local project, each month. We welcome all project ideas, and especially favor those that are open to the public and those that forge new collaborations or partnerships. Whether you are young or old, an individual or an organization, have a small and large project- we want you to apply!
Awesome Newburgh is a volunteer-run group. To learn more, to apply, visit bit.ly/AwesomeNB. Or if you want to get involved as a volunteer or a Trustee, email newburgh@awesomefoundation.org.
Follow us www.instagram.com/awesomenewburgh #awesomenewburgh
The Newburgh Transportation is a group of residents and volunteers who advocate for a safe and effective multi-modal transportation network for the city's residents and businesses. We are focused on pedestrian, bicycle and skateboards, cars and other motorized vehicles, public transit like bus, vans, and ferry, and parking.
Follow our progress via Facebook Group @NewburghTransportation
Projects to date that Dept of Small Interventions has spearheaded:
Complete Streets Community Workshop (followed by passed legislation)
Community Bike Action Plan (and funding thru NARS)
Cross Walk Analysis & Prioritization
Sidewalk Improvement District Feasibility Study (and funding thru OC Planning Dept Grant)
Bike Infrastructure Advocacy (Bike Repair Stations, EBike Demonstration, Bike Racks, Bike Garden, Sharrows Demonstration. Certain projects secured funding thru Greenway Grant)
Rescinding the Newburgh Beacon Bridge Curfew with New York State Bridge Authority
Larger Priorities
Master Plan for Bike and Pedestrian Improvements
Electric Vehicle Charging stations
LED Street Light Initiative Efforts- disrupted by COVID)
Smaller projects include Park(ing) Day, Critical Mass Monthly Bike Rides, Bike Match program with IMPACT inc, Bike Brochure Guide for Newburgh
The Fullerton in Newburgh NY is hosting a dynamic weekend with +20 events on October 6-8, 2023 focused on the city's architecture & history. Join us for workshops on historic tax credits, technical assistance grants, repointing brick, lead abatement, lectures about Latinos in preservation, kids scavenger hunt, AND MORE! This celebration marks the 50th Anniversary of the East End Historic District, the second largest district in New York State.
The weekend is organized in partnership with AIA Westchester + Hudson Valley and presented as part of @Archtober, NYC's annual architecture and design festival. 13 AIA credits offered.
Friday October 6
2pm: Rehab 101: Historic Tax Credits Workshop presented by NY State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) held at Hudson Valley House Parts (RSVP to thefullertoncenter@gmail.com)
3pm: The Preservation League of NYS presents its Technical Assistance Grant program (RSVP to thefullertoncenter@gmail.com)
4pm: Saving Our Churches : Sacred Sites Grant Program held at Hudson Valley House Parts (RSVP to thefullertoncenter@gmail.com)
5:30pm: (New)burgh Porch Ribbon Cutting featuring Architect Joshua Jow
Saturday October 7
9am: Keep Newburgh Beautiful Talks Trash!
11am: Architects Demystifying the ARC Process (RSVP to thefullertoncenter@gmail.com)
1pm: Look! Mira! Walking Tour: Johnston St
2pm: Demolition by Neglect: Saving a Building in 4 Days, followed by Saving A.J. Downing at 113 Liberty Street
3pm-6pm: Story Screen Presents Short Urban Films on Loop
4pm: Look! Mira! Walking Tour: William St
5pm: Lecture: Latinos in Preservation by Enrique Aureng Silvia at 113 Liberty Street
6:30pm: Story Screen Presents 'The Sixth Section' with Awesome Newburgh’s Laura Garcia and Rene Mejia Jr at 13 Liberty Street
Sunday October 8
9am: Building Shells : Building Community, a toolkit to vacancies in Newburgh
10am: Look! Mira! Architectural Scavenger Hunt with YouthBuild
11am: Look! Mira! Walking Tour: Dubois St
11am: Newburgh Creates: Experimental Lego Printmaking
12pm: Minecraft x Urban Archive: Digging For Urban Renewal
1pm- 3pm: Hudson Valley House Parts: Lead Abatement Workshop & Lime Mortar Repointing Workshop
3pm-5pm: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the East End Historic District at The Spirits Lab
Available on Site
Building Shells: Building Community Toolkit
Frederick Douglass in Newburgh Map
Andrew Jackson Downing Map
Look! Mira! Architectural Scavenger Hunt
Library Cart: Plans of Newburgh
More events are planned throughout the month organized by an incredible roster of local organizations including Newburgh Free Library, Newburgh Preservation Association and Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands. Be sure to follow individual organizations to learn about more programs and collaborations.
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR FUNDERS WHO MADE THIS POSSIBLE!
The Building Shells: Building Community project has been made possible with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts, the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, with additional support from the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, Hudson Valley Credit Union, and WASmith Insurance. The Open Space Institute’s McHenry Awards provided support for the walking tours, and the Look! Mira! kArchitecture Scavenger Hunt was supported by Urban Archive and the John E. Streb Fund for New York of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. And thank you to all the board members of The Fullerton who have donated both time and money to make this project happen!
Building shells, weathered by years of neglect and water damage, have become hazardous, an eye sore, a safety concern, a municipal burden, and depress property values. With each year that building shells stay on the market, the hope for contributing to the tax base diminishes. And with each passing year, the damage makes the rehabilitation more unlikely.
Governor Cuomo has replaced the State's top-down, "one-size fits all" approach to economic development with one that is regionally-based, bottom-up, and performance-driven. As a result, there may be more reliance on private investments to rebuild distressed properties and thwart zombie homes.
In a city like Newburgh that has close to 20% of its building stock vacant, how does a city disrupt this downward spiral cycle and attract this private investment? The City of Newburgh Vacant Property Revitalization Program, last updated in 2014, outlines different strategies to identify and repurpose vacancies. What has been the general progress and outcomes? What issues still persists or new constraints that stall redevelopment? What has been the role of ordinary citizens and neighborhood associations in furthering this program?
In this preliminary stage, DoSI has teamed up with The Fullerton to better understand the process of stabilizing these properties and the policies and codes that govern the rehabilitation of these structures. Once understood, it is important to convey this to the neighborhood and empower them to be part of the solution. It is hopeful that with more information about vacancies, the community has more agency for influencing the upkeep and the fate of these orphan/forlorn buildings.
Projects to date:
A toolkit about building shells and solution matrix
Love your block grant on Johnston st
Open call for creative intervention on building shell
Architectural research on 4 corridors
Walking Tours of Johnston, Dubois, Lutheran and William Streets
Scavenger Hunt of Building Literacy
Thank you to James Marston Fitch Foundation for their support on this project. Building Shells: Building Community is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
#BuildingShells
Photo: Stephen Zacks
Together with Horizons on the Hudson, we are creating the first traffic bike garden in Newburgh. A bike garden is a miniature makeshift street plan that has all the fun elements like yield, stop, crosswalks, and more. All these street elements help young bicyclists learn how to bike confidently and most importantly safely.
Stay tuned for Spring budding cyclists!
Together with Newburgh Arts & Cultural Commission, City of Newburgh launched its first arts and cultural study, a comprehensive inventory and assessment of the diverse arts and culture ecology in Newburgh, NY. Guided by a group of representative advisors and stakeholders, we will gather data and create an inventory of the broad range of arts-and-cultural activities and destinations in the City, conducting focus groups and engaging residents from all neighborhoods and communities.
The 2020 survey and maps established a baseline, offering a rich and in-depth understanding of the City’s cultural assets, how people engage with them, and how they can encourage economic, social, and cultural growth in Newburgh. The final report, which consolidates knowledge and recommendations, enables informed and coordinated decisions by City government, anchoring institutions, investors, foundations, businesses, organizations, and residents for future investment and growth strategies for the city’s cultural infrastructure.
Read the final report and see the project’s advisors, supporters, and progress, visit www.newburghculture.org
Urban Archive is a location-based mobile platform that empowers New Yorkers to learn about history where it happened. After approaching the co-founder, Ben Smyth, about expanding to the Hudson Valley, Newburgh will be the first city in the region to digitize its archives to the platform.
In the spirit of collaboration, Urban Archive Newburgh launched in 2019 and democratically brings together the digital collections of City of Newburgh’s archives in an easy-to-use resource built for public discovery and appreciation.
Urban Archive tries to integrate itself into existing programs such as the Candlelight Tour, Frederick Douglass Project, Walking Tours and more. Project partners include Newburgh Historical Society, Newburgh Free Library, Southeastern Library Resource Council. Other public and private archives and collections are welcome to join this effort. Please email info@dosmallinterventions.com to join.
Read more about the app here.
#urbanarchiveNB
Thank you to the following supporters the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area Grant Program.
Photo Credit: Urban Archive NYC
City of Newburgh has 4,000 tree pits that vacant. If each year we can plant trees, not only will we bring down that number but we will have created a process of getting to know our neighbors, working collaboratively with our government, and reaping many environmental and health benefits for our current and future residents.
For 2019, Dept of Small Interventions raised funds to encourage private public partnership in planting more trees in Newburgh. (This encouraged Scenic Hudson to do a project on South Miller St and also prompted the CAC to undergo streamlining the tree ordinance).
To date, Dept of Small Interventions along with Greater Newburgh Parks Conservancy and Conservation Advisory Council planted 12 trees along Liberty street in 2020. Then in 2021, DoSI teamed up Conservation Advisory Council and neighbors on Benkard Street to plant 9 trees in 2021. In 2023, DoSI partner with the Newburgh JCC and local elementary school GAMS to plant 7 trees on North Street.
Thank you to the donors for galvanizing this (hopeful) annual tradition, Conservation Advisory Council for their dedication to preserving our urban nature, and Department of Public Works for their expertise in street trees and digging. Together we all make an idea a reality!
Dept of Small Interventions partnered with The Fullerton to host an urban salon series to feature authors who have recently published a book about urban issues. The topics were democratically chosen by community representatives, specifically those volunteering and serving on the City’s resident led boards. Invited authors largely came from New York City or the Hudson Valley region. To enhance the lecture series, the events partnered with an existing organization or resident-led board to host at a site that is alternative but accessible to the community
The timing for these salon discussions is important. Over the past decade, Newburgh has seen a rapid change in neighborhood character, culture, and demographics. But, since the pandemic, the change has accelerated even more dramatically. Residents find themselves asking who is the change for? What could it look like? And how can they shape it for the benefit of all?
This salon series is aimed at having conversations around these and other citymaking issues. Changes to Newburgh impact all residents. This salon is about gathering people who represent and reflect Newburgh’s demographics.
This series builds upon past projects like the Barbershop Conversations in 2019, the Audre Lorde Reading Group in 2020, and Frederick Douglass in Newburgh 150th Anniversary in 2020.
In 1870, Frederick Douglass traveled through the Hudson Valley delivering a speech that endorsed the ratification of the 15th Amendment, providing the right for African Americans to vote. Specifically, on August 11, Frederick Douglass came to Newburgh and delivered his speech at the Opera House, a now demolished Broadway structure.
To commemorate the 150th anniversary and the legacy of Frederick Douglass, a group of organizations and individuals have been planning a series of events for the past two years as a way to raise awareness of this historic milestone and inspire civic reflection and action.
Work to date included:
• Barbershop Conversations : Civic Conversations
• Newburgh Barbershop Photo Exhibition with Newburgh Community Photo Project
• 'I Voted' Frederick Douglass Sticker for 2019 Mid-Term Elections
• Children's Reading Series with Gabrielle Hill
• Newburgh Peoples Chorus featuring curator Naima Safia Sandy
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Book Discussion at Newburgh Free Library
• Black Citizenship Poster by Thornwillow Press
• Audre Lorde Reading Group at Panja Culture
>>> A "Frederick Douglass in Newburgh" walking tour map was researched and created to identify and celebrate the significant historical sites of Newburgh's African American history. This project was funded by Orange County Tourism Office. Design is produced by Fishbulb Design and Par Avion Press. >> Download your copy here.
>>> On August 11, 2020 a number of events were organized including the unveiling of a mural by Vernon Byron, the reenactment of a Frederick Douglass speech by actor Oliver King, a City Council proclamation of this anniversary, the publication of a limited edition broadside with the famous orator's quotes by Thornwillow Press, and a musical performance by Christopher Dean Sullivan.
All events happened across the street from Newburgh's AME Zion Church, one of the oldest African American Churches in the Hudson Valley and where Douglass visited while in Newburgh.
Frederick Douglass in Newburgh is a consortium of diverse organizations including The Black History Committee of the Hudson Valley, Dept. of Small Interventions, Historical Society of Newburgh Bay & the Highlands, Newburgh Free Library, The Restorative Justice Center, Thornwillow Press and other individuals including Natalie McKensie and County Historian. Thank you to Humanities New York, Awesome Newburgh Foundation, Arts-Mid Hudson and The Fullerton for fiscal sponsorship.
For more information on program visit the Facebook Page at bit.ly/DouglassinNB
For resources on Frederick Douglass, visit the Newburgh Free Library's page https://guides.rcls.org/FrederickDouglass/inNewburgh
Thank you to Humanities New York for supporting the overall program. Thank you to Arts Mid-Hudson for support for Newburgh People’s Chorus. Without their support and many other volunteers and collaborators, these beautiful events could not flourish.
Delano-Hitch is a 26-acre recreational park, on the western side of Newburgh. The park offers a baseball stadium, soccer fields, softball diamond, basketball courts, a pool, playgrounds, a skatepark, and an activity center. Despite programming for youth, adults, and seniors, few locals access the park by foot, deterred by hazardous road conditions. Locals describe access as unwelcoming and “outright dangerous” as one resident from Independent Living shared. That’s one anecdote. Other documented experiences are similar like local senior residents trying to access the ShopRite, patients aiming to cross safely to get to Cornerstone Health Center, or members of the community accessing Planned Parenthood.
This stretch of land severely divides the quaint neighborhoods. The car-dominated environment with oversized four traffic lanes and faded crosswalks form a perilous barrier for hundreds of residents without a car. This being one of the six entrances to the city, it has become a thoroughfare that people mindlessly pass by. The city's highest concentration of financially assisted housing are along this corridor: Burton Towers, Lake Street Senior Apartments, and Mullins Apartments. These neighborhoods have come islands to themselves.
Dept of Small Interventions along with partnering entities like Habitat Workshop, Brandt:Hafred, Outdoor Promise, Impact Inc and Quassaick Creek Watershed Alliance, aim to build momentum to put the city’s Alta Design transportation analysis into reality. Through incremental projects, we have been able to build momentum for greater investment and imagination into the area.
Work to date includes:
Reimagine Lake St Charrette in 2019 with Yale Day of Service
Clean Up Muchattoes Lake in 2019, 2020, 2021
Youth-Led Design with Horizons on the Hudson 2020, 2021
Quassaick Creek Watershed Alliance Library Exhibition 2020
Reimagine Lake Street & Muchattoes Lake Report, 2021
Our intention is to amplify the area’s overlooked strategic location and articulate its important role for the immediate and larger community of Newburgh. This corridor is the lynchpin in connecting disparate green spaces to form the city’s longest trail while also providing the local residents access to immediate amenities that improve their quality of life.
To learn more about this volunteer effort, and the participating partners, please email dosmallinterventions@gmail.com. Each year there are a number of volunteer opportunities, please get in touch with us. We value the opportunity to form interdisciplinary collaborations in a multi-faceted site.
Coming soon! Newburgh Climate Ready is a subcommittee of the Conservation Advisory Council. It advocates for City of Newburgh and it’s residents and businesses to adapt to a changing climate while creating environmental justice. Adapting to climate change means adopting the climate smart communities program that is run by the state
Learn about current actions and see how you can get involved by visiting newburghclimateready.org or emailing newburghclimateready@gmail.com