Newburgh, NY: Police State (New York, Beacon: hotels, travel, income)

[vangoghsear]

Don't bother coming to Newburgh, NY unless you like living in a police state. As of today, there are no stores allowed to be open after 11:30 PM because of the incompetence of the local police force, and the simple-mindedness of the city council in managing this city. A new ordinance they have put into effect, done with as little fanfare as possible, that is to say, as quietly as possible so there would be no uproar, has made it illegal for stores to stay open after 11:30 PM, ostensibly to prevent small time drug dealers from operating in the vicinity of neighborhood stores, but in reality, is a simple way for the city and the police department to further control the lives of it's citizens. The city has spent a large sum of money purchasing and installing surveillance cameras, the purpose of which was to reduce crime. Now this. Apparently, just having the ability to arbitrarily spy on citizens on the streets wasn't enough. Now the city council has decided they want to keep people locked up indoors at a time of their choosing. The next step will be the police department stopping and searching any person seen on the streets whenever they feel like it, or perhaps the institution of a curfew for all citizens will come first. Nevermind that there are people like myself that work nights, and that at times there are things I need to purchase at the end of my shift. We are lumped together with the drug dealers because it is simpler for the city to feel it has the right to operate in this fashion. If I need to purchase something, I can go to a gas station convenience store I am told. Well that is convenient for the gas station owner, but hardly for someone with a rather small disposable income like myself who shouldn't have to pay those kinds of inflated prices for things. I have to wonder if the reason for the gas station exemption isn't because the few here are owned by members of the city council or their friends. Anyway, anyone looking for a small city with something called "quality of life" would best be served searching elsewhere.

[Jason_Els]

Newburgh's, "quality of life," left 30 years ago. The city council is rife with corruption and the fact that it was once beautiful makes its current ugliness all the worse. How you stay there I don't know.

[Theresejenkins]

I grew up in Newburgh and left right after college - never looked back except my grandmother still lives there....we moved to Mt. Pleasant, SC and the quality of life can't compare - I wish I had grown up here!! Anyone thinking of moving south send me an email! I dread the thought of having to go up there to even visit.

[Fearringtonflash]

Wasn't Newburgh the subject of a very unflattering documentary made in the early 1960's?

I love the Hudson Vallye and its towns (I now live in NC and want to get back upstate), but as I recall, N'burgh has never had much of a favorable reputation, am I right?

[Jason_Els]

Originally Posted by Fearringtonflash

Wasn't Newburgh the subject of a very unflattering documentary made in the early 1960's?

I love the Hudson Vallye and its towns (I now live in NC and want to get back upstate), but as I recall, N'burgh has never had much of a favorable reputation, am I right?

No.

Newburgh was named, "All American City," by Look in 1952. It used to be beautiful and prosperous. All those crackhouse tenements used to be single family houses. The streets were cobblestone, and it boasts the widest Main Street in the country with lovely views of the Hudson. Newburgh was the hub of eastern Orange county. For ages, farmers in the region would bring their goods to market in Newburgh where boats would take the produce to New York. Passenger boats traveling the Hudson would stop there, and the Newburgh ferry was the main point of crossing the Hudson; connecting New England with the rest of the country. Newburgh was prosperous practically from its founding. Frederick Olmstead, the man who designed Central Park, designed Newburgh's largest park. It was even the first American city to have electric street lights!

Newburgh was someplace.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by Theresejenkins

I grew up in Newburgh and left right after college - never looked back except my grandmother still lives there....we moved to Mt. Pleasant, SC and the quality of life can't compare - I wish I had grown up here!! Anyone thinking of moving south send me an email! I dread the thought of having to go up there to even visit.

Me too, I left that hell hole a long time ago. Except for a couple of clubs across the river that was all the excitement besides all the crime I moved to AZ and now NC. I haven't visited in 19 years, maybe now that I'm on the east coast again I may go see some friends.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by Jason_Els

No.

Newburgh was named, "All American City," by Look in 1952. It used to be beautiful and prosperous. All those crackhouse tenements used to be single family houses. The streets were cobblestone, and it boasts the widest Main Street in the country with lovely views of the Hudson. Newburgh was the hub of eastern Orange county. For ages, farmers in the region would bring their goods to market in Newburgh where boats would take the produce to New York. Passenger boats traveling the Hudson would stop there, and the Newburgh ferry was the main point of crossing the Hudson; connecting New England with the rest of the country. Newburgh was prosperous practically from its founding. Frederick Olmstead, the man who designed Central Park, designed Newburgh's largest park. It was even the first American city to have electric street lights!

Newburgh was someplace.

Way back when. It was someplace in the 70's when the swat team had to be called to NFA everyday. What a shame it sounded nice in the old days.

[Jason_Els]

Not just nice, but beautiful. Candy striped awnings on all the shops on Broadway, a trolley running down the center of the street. The old houses on the north side of town were designed by the same architects who did the townhouses in Manhattan and Brooklyn Heights. You could not just sail on the river from the yacht club, but swim, skate, fish (and eat it!), and ice sail without danger. The Beacon Theater had all the vaudeville acts from the city but also was seen as a good place to try out new Broadway plays. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz first tried out their Lucy and Ricky Ricardo act there. Being the first city in the country to have an electrical generation system gave Newburgh homes and businesses electrical appliances, heat, and lights before any place else.

Take a minute and look for old postcards of Newburgh on the net. There was a vibrant waterfront, bathing at Orange Lake, an enormous bandstand and restaurant in the middle of Downing Park, nice hotels, and lots of industry and commerce. The fairs in the summer brought people from all over. Newburgh wasn't just prosperous, it was downright well-to-do. You can see this in what's left of the architecture there and in Balmville just up the road. There was always something to do or see, parties to attend, business to build. Fashionable shops with clothes and jewelers from New York were there. The library was busy, there were societies, lodges, and clubs, one of the first movie theaters in the country, and lots of historical sights. Newburgh was a young and exciting place to be, absolutely nothing like what it is now. There wasn't even much crime compared to other places because there so many good jobs available. Unlike now, it had one of the lowest crime rates per capita in the country. A woman could safely walk Broadway alone at night if she had to.

I wish I could better convey what Newburgh was in those days. The only reason I know is because I've studied much of Orange county's history as part of my genealogical research. For a brief period in my early life, I knew my great-grandparents who were born in the early 1880s and my great-grandmother was raised in Newburgh so my grandmother's family traveled there often to visit relatives. I became interested in the history of Newburgh and what I discovered fairly amazed me.

I don't think any city in America has fallen so hard and so completely:

Newburgh's East End Historic District is home to more than 4000 historic buildings, making it the largest such district in New York State. A.J. Davis, A.J. Downing, and Calvert Vaux are among the many renowned architects who designed homes and buildings in Newburgh / In 1996, The National Trust for Historic Preservation called Newburgh's East End Historic District one of the "11 Most Endangered Historic Places" in the country. -Newburgh Revealed

Please take a look at the site quoted above, Newburgh Revealed. It will give you a glimpse into the history of one of the most beautiful and vital regional cities America ever had.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by Jason_Els

Not just nice, but beautiful. Candy striped awnings on all the shops on Broadway, a trolley running down the center of the street. The old houses on the north side of town were designed by the same architects who did the townhouses in Manhattan and Brooklyn Heights. You could not just sail on the river from the yacht club, but swim, skate, fish (and eat it!), and ice sail without danger. The Beacon Theater had all the vaudeville acts from the city but also was seen as a good place to try out new Broadway plays. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz first tried out their Lucy and Ricky Ricardo act there. Being the first city in the country to have an electrical generation system gave Newburgh homes and businesses electrical appliances, heat, and lights before any place else.

Take a minute and look for old postcards of Newburgh on the net. There was a vibrant waterfront, bathing at Orange Lake, an enormous bandstand and restaurant in the middle of Downing Park, nice hotels, and lots of industry and commerce. The fairs in the summer brought people from all over. Newburgh wasn't just prosperous, it was downright well-to-do. You can see this in what's left of the architecture there and in Balmville just up the road. There was always something to do or see, parties to attend, business to build. Fashionable shops with clothes and jewelers from New York were there. The library was busy, there were societies, lodges, and clubs, one of the first movie theaters in the country, and lots of historical sights. Newburgh was a young and exciting place to be, absolutely nothing like what it is now. There wasn't even much crime compared to other places because there so many good jobs available. Unlike now, it had one of the lowest crime rates per capita in the country. A woman could safely walk Broadway alone at night if she had to.

I wish I could better convey what Newburgh was in those days. The only reason I know is because I've studied much of Orange county's history as part of my genealogical research. For a brief period in my early life, I knew my great-grandparents who were born in the early 1880s and my great-grandmother was raised in Newburgh so my grandmother's family traveled there often to visit relatives. I became interested in the history of Newburgh and what I discovered fairly amazed me.

I don't think any city in America has fallen so hard and so completely:



Please take a look at the site quoted above, Newburgh Revealed. It will give you a glimpse into the history of one of the most beautiful and vital regional cities America ever had.

Balmville has some beautiful homes. Have you seen that house shaped like an Ocean liner? My husbands father was the builder on that job.

[mom2gurls]

Where is proof that this is happening in newburgh..is there a link that the residents can read please?