Community Voices Heard

CVH Stands Out at Event Celebrating State Funds Coming to Support Waterfront Development

On Monday, June 30th, the City of Newburgh held a small, exclusive press event announcing $1.25 million in state funds coming to support the proposed waterfront development. State Senator Bill Larkin and Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez were the invited guests, and Congressman Maurice Hinchey made a surprise appearance. Although the event was announced only days before, and was held under a tent set up to accommodate about 25 people, 5 CVH members made our way there. While the politicians were speaking, a few members stood silently with signs that said, "Jobs and Housing for All," "Newburgh Residents First," and "Can I live here too?" Congressman Hinchey even mentioned they would be sure to address the issues our signs raised.

After the event, members got the chance to speak directly with and present letters to the State Senator, Secretary of State, and Congressman. The Times Herald Record covered the event, which you can read here. They also took pictures for an online photo gallery, which you can see below.

CVH Marches to City Hall and Disrupt Council Meeting Demanding Real Affordable Housing in Future Plans

On June 16th, Community Voices Heard members marched to Newburgh's City Hall and into the Council meeting that was happening that night. Even getting caught in a thunderstorm didn't stop almost 50 members from marching from our office on Lander St. to City Hall, where we held a press conference outside. CVH leaders Maretta Melvin, Anne Dehaney, and Brenda McPhail spoke at the press conference, and were interviewed for Cable 6 news!

City officials had originally hoped to vote on the Master Plan that night, but had postponed the vote. Even though it was not on the agenda, CVH leader Brenda McPhail spoke at the microphone and made it clear why CVH was there - explaining that our voices are being excluded from the planning for Newburgh's future and we want the Master Plan changed before it comes to a vote.

Brenda is quoted in the Times Herald-Record article below about how she feels that her community is being left out of the redevelopment plans. You can see the original article on the Record's website here. The Record also wrote another article about this event which can be seen here or by clicking the PDF of the article below. We were also covered in the Times Community Newspaper and Hudson Valley Press. The full articles are below or you can see the original here and here. Stories were also written in local papers the Sentinel and the online Mid-Hudson News. There is a video that was posted on YouTube that shows CVH inside the Council meeting.

CVH Members Meet with City Planner to Demand that Affordable Housing is Included in the Master Plan

On March 20, CVH members met with Newburgh's City Planner Ian MacDougall and Assistant Planner Garrett Duquesne. We invited him to meet with us so we could present our 6 recommendations for the City's Master Plan. The housing section of the Master Plan includes very little protections for low-income housing and very little direction to ensure affordable housing in the future. CVH members Jennifer Smith, Cleo McKinney, and Cleveland gave testimony about how their lives are impacted by the lack of good low-income housing and how the City could improve it with their Master Plan. After each testimony, we asked Mr. MacDougall if he would include that recommendation in the Master Plan, writing his "yes" or "no" answer on a scorecard. Our 6 demands included adding an Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance to require new development to include housing affordable to Newburgh residents, using Newburgh's Median Income rather than the Area's, and developing programs to rehabilitate abandoned buildings for affordable housing. Of the 6, Mr. MacDougall agreed to only one, but he did agree to mandate the inclusion of low-income residents and residents of public and subsidized housing on any Housing Boards or Commissions the City creates!