Newburgh

The Newburgh experience can be summed up with a play-by-play of a recent trip that I took down Broadway from the city limits.

At first, you're on a narrow shady street, dotted with small businesses. A deli, a dance studio, and the like. Pretty typical stuff. As you drive along, the city starts to slowly build up around you. The buildings get bigger and dingier. There are buildings that were unmistakably factories at one time, re-purposed to house gyms and storage facilities. Most of the city's chains are here on the outskirts.

The street then opens up into two lanes, and Newburgh's trademark brownstones start to appear. Most of the buildings are still occupied this far west, but the vibe of the city starts to come into play. Two kids ride through a crosswalk on a bicycle, one on the other's shoulders, barely looking to check traffic. A beat up Honda pulls out of a parking spot abruptly and unexpectedly (the parking is awful on Broadway.) You honk your horn to politely warn the driver of your presence: an older, bespectacled man yells out of the driver side window with a smile.

"Don't you worry, man. I see you! It's all good."

You keep driving down the now vastly wide Broadway, crossing the 9W intersection. It's here where you finally reach the heart of the city. It's a strange mix of beauty and decay. A pristine, marble white court house sits on a hill mere blocks away from beat up old row houses and fried chicken stands. Some buildings look like they've been unoccupied for 50 years. Broadway slopes down towards the river. The blocks are pockmarked with empty lots that just scream "urban renewal was here." There's a Latin grocery, more blight, a hotel, and a Broadway theatre. There's groups of young men huddled together on the cracked sidewalk, and garbage littering the side streets.

Finally, at the end of the road, even Broadway itself succumbs to blight, first becoming a poorly maintained red brick road, then a cratered mess of asphalt and ancient cobblestone showing clearly through the many potholes. End of the road. Just when you think you've seen enough, you're treated to a panoramic view of the surrounding Hudson River Valley, accented by rolling hills at the foot of Broadway, the sparse buildings down on Front Street, and the (still active) train bridge that bisects the city.

Newburgh is a city of extremes. On one hand, you have a bustling waterfront and some beautiful up and coming neighborhoods. There's an outstanding brewery, and the city is littered with historical parks greasy spoon luncheons that make it feel like a page out of history. On the other hand, crime is immensely high (the highest in New York State.) On any given side street east of 9W, you'll be able to find several buildings in severe disrepair. This isn't to be taken lightly; there are literally buildings with trees growing around their frames and so covered in ivy, you can't even see the structure except for in the winter. They've been unoccupied for so long, they're going back to nature. The roads are often poorly maintained, and several are still brick (fairly pretty, but they are in very poor repair.)

More than anything, it's very evident that the city is poor. Extremely poor. With years of work and a buildup of economy the city might be a great place to live. For now, it's a blighted dystopia, and a prospectors dream. Certainly not for everybody. Not for the feint of heart.

Newburgh is a large, sprawling Orange County city that has unfortunately gotten a bad rap over the years due to the high crime rate, overcrowding and racial tension, but there’s much more to Newburgh than meets the eye: it’s actually got quite a lot of charm, if you know where to look.

Settled on the Hudson River, overlooking the Hudson Highlands and Mount Beacon off in the distance, Newburgh offers reasonable prices with affordable living, and was once the headquarters for George Washington and his troops during the Revolution for quite some time, as well as the site for the first established Edison power plant, thus the first city that was ever lit by electricity. It was once a “gateway town” as the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry brought travellers from Newburgh to NYC, but now people mainly take the train from Newburgh’s Metro-North railroad.

Newburgh has lots of cute shops like antique stores like Home Sweet Home Antique or Bridge Over Time, and coffee/bakery shops like Cafe Machiatto, which is right across from George Washington’s Headquarters). There’s lots of parks like Chadwick Lake, which offers ice skating and boating. Cronomer Hill County Park has an observation tower that will give you great views of the river and beautiful Hudson Valley. The Newburgh Mall, conveniently located at the cross-section of interstates 84 and 87, offers Bed Bath and Beyond, Sears and the fashion store for all sexes and ages, Bon-Ton. The Library is a great place for family bonding, where you can enjoy Family Reading Day, as well as attend book groups and learn how to use the computer, with free classes for everyone. Hungry? You can have authentic Peruvian food at the delightful Macchu Picchu restaurant in town. Play Zumba at the community’s activity center, or learn about motorcycle history at the Motorcyclopedia Museum.

Schools are unique in Newburgh, as there is the Horizons on Hudson Magnet School for accelerated elementary school learners, where kids as young as 3 start classes and grades 1 through 6 are learning Spanish. Another accredited school is Sacred Heart St. Francis, which is for grades up to middle school age, and Newburgh Free Academy has mixed reviews but a great extra-curricular program.

Newburgh is known for its diverse population, which, while it might cause racial tension, makes Newburgh a very interesting place to live. It’s great for people who like to live by the river and country, but also like the city atmosphere. Commuters will enjoy taking the train or ferry to NYC, and enjoying the beautiful Hudson Highlands. Take a walk on Newburgh’s park shores, and you will know why people come to Newburgh.