Mid Hudson Times Aug. 02 2017 | Page 3

3 Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, August 2, 2017 Mid-Broadway project inches forward By SHANTAL RILEY [email protected] Representatives from Mill Street Partners came to Newburgh City Hall this month seeking a confirmation of support for its proposed affordable- housing project, slated for construction on Broadway between Johnston and Lander streets. The Newburgh City Council voted again to support the project at a recent meeting, removing the word “conceptual” from the language of the resolution. The five-year-old project design includes 91 affordable-housing units and two retail spaces, including a 12,000-square-foot grocery store on the ground floor. Mill Street is applying for state tax credits to fund most of the $31-million project. A resolution of support from the city is required in order for the developer to secure state funding. “This was our first opportunity to come here to you to request a new resolution of support,” said Mill Street partner Patrick Normoyle, appearing before the city council on July 6. The council granted the developer a Artist’s rendering of the proposed Mid Broadway Development. resolution of support for the project last fall, but Mill Street did not have all of the municipal approvals it needed at the time, said Normoyle. “This is the first time that we will be applying for funding (when) we are ready to go,” he said. “We’re well poised to submit this application.” “It’s time,” said Councilwoman Hillary Rayford. “This has dragged on.” Not all people on the city council Safe Harbors Lobby at the Ritz presents TWISTED CATS Saturday Aug. 12 8 p.m. Join us for this exciting show benefiting the Ritz Theater! This unique group of musicians bring together a sound unlike any other. Enjoy Rock, Blues, Reggae, Broadway and Dance music featuring Patrick Stanfield Jones, Dave McMillen, Tony Cucchiara, Sharon Berman, Colin Pohl, Joanne Lediger, Phyllis Kee and Scott Vansickle at the Lobby at the Ritz Theater on Saturday, August 12. Tickets are $15, available on our website www.safe-harbors.org. Student tickets are $10 and available only at the box office, The box office opens at 7 p.m. the evening of the performance, at 109 Broadway. Thank you to our sponsors! New York State Council on the Arts Ulster Savings Bank and Mid-Hudson Times agreed. “I think it’s a bad project,” said Councilwoman Genie Abrams. “I just cannot get into a project that is that expensive to our tax payers.” Abrams was alluding to the project’s 30-year payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT), which critics say deprives the city of much-needed tax revenue. Parking is another so urce of friction regarding the project. A group of city residents outlined what they described as a lack of parking as a key complaint in a 2014 lawsuit they filed against the city. “I think we’re subsidizing this project with tax payer money,” said city Mayor Judy Kennedy shortly before the council voted in support of the project on July 10. “People are not going to have any place to park.” Last year, Mill Street Partners threatened to slap the city with a $31 million lawsuit if it did not follow through with a 2012 land development agreement for the project. The developers will still need to get an approval from the Newburgh Housing Authority to remove a deed restriction limiting development of the property to municipal purposes only. Mill Street attorney David Cooper said he was hopeful the housing authority would agree to lift the restriction in the coming weeks. “The deed restriction itself would prevent any private redevelopment of that site, no matter who is proposing it,” he told the council. “Otherwise the lot would just sit there vacant.” Knee Pain Has Cut into Your Life enougH aLreadY MUSCLE SPARING KNEE REPLACEMENT AT ST. LUKE’S CORNWALL HOSPITAL The St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital Center for Joint Replacement, led by Medical Director John McLaughlin, offers “Quadriceps Sparing Total Knee Replacement,” a minimally-invasive approach believed to decrease post-surgical pain and shorten the recovery period. Many patients are able to walk with a walker on the day of surgery and can be discharged from the hospital in one or two days. To learn more about Orthopedics and total joint replacement at St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, please visit www.stlukescornwallhospital.org or call (845) 568-2831. www .STLUKESCORNwALLHOSPITAL. ORg Transforming lives and building community through housing and the arts. Lobby at the Ritz • 107 Broadway, Newburgh • 845.784.1199 • www.safe-harbors.org SLCH_MuscleSparingTKR_Concept_MHT_Ad_3col_Quarter.indd 1 7/12/2017 9:57:20 AM