T IMES
MID
HUDSON
Vol. 30, No. 31
3
AUGUST 1 - 7, 2018
3
ONE DOLLAR
Concert
at
The Wall Junior Nukes
reach finals
Page 12 Page 32
SERVING NEWBURGH AND NEW WINDSOR
Historians oppose a plan to demolish Church
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
A proposal to demolish the AME
Zion Church appears to have stalled
following an appearance before the City
of Newburgh Architectural Review
Commission in May. The more than a
century-old building has deteriorated
in recent years, but historians say the
building is culturally significant and
must be preserved.
“I see the church as a symbol, a symbol
of all the progress that has been made
by the African-American community in
Newburgh, the wider African-American
community in the Hudson Valley,” said
Orange County Historian Johanna Yaun.
“The history of that community is not
about one individual person, building or
moment in time, it’s the story about the
grand strides taken by the community.”
AME Zion Reverend Julius Walls Jr.
spoke in front of the commission on May
8, explaining the aged building, located
on Washington Street near Liberty Street,
had grown increasingly expensive to
maintain.
He presented a plan to demolish
the majority of the church, keeping
architectural features such as doors and
bells to be salvaged for use in a new,
handicap-assessible building. Church
officials also proposed that 50 apartments
be built on adjacent church-owned
property.
Walls said the building is not part of
State and National Registers of Historic
Places. However, according to the meeting
minutes, city Assistant Corporation
Counsel Jeremy Kaufman said the city
deemed the building “to have historic
character and contribute to the aesthetic
of the historic district.” Church leaders
were asked to return with a revised
plan with more details and information
required by the city zoning code.
An historically significant building
Orange County Historian Johanna
Yaun said she was “shocked” to learn of
the proposal.
“If we’re going to be tearing down
offensive monuments, we also need to
be able to lift up, preserve and highlight
the monuments that symbolize equality,”
she said, referring to Confederate
Continued on page 3
T he W all T hat H eals
Newburgh area residents turned out Tuesday evening as a replica of the Vietnam Memorial made its way down Route 17K, escorted by some 400 motorcycles. The Wall that Heals is currently
on display at the Newburgh Waterfront until Sunday afternoon.
WWW.MIDHUDSONTIMES.COM