T IMES
MID
HUDSON
Vol. 30, No 1
3
JANUARY 3 - 9, 2018
3
1st off
the bench British
invader
Page 31 Page 5
ONE DOLLAR
SERVING NEWBURGH AND NEW WINDSOR
New City Council members sworn in
Major
developments
in store for
Town of
Newburgh
in 2018
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
Shantal Riley
The new Newburgh City Council. Several new members of the city council were swornin on New Year’s Day.
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
Newburgh City Council members
were sworn-in at a hope-filled New
Year’s Day ceremony attended by
friends, family and colleagues. Three of
the four council members arrive fresh-
faced to the city council.
City Judge Eddie Loren Williams
delivered the oath of office to each of the
council members. “I do solemnly swear
that I will support the constitution of
the United States, and the constitution
of the State of New York, and that I
will faithfully discharge the duties of
the office of the City of Newburgh City
Council…” each of the new council
members repeated after Williams, their
right hands lifted.
Ramona Monteverde, Jonathan
Jacobson, Patty Sofokles and Karen
Mejia, who serves her second term, took
the oath. “These are exciting times,”
said Jacobson, speaking to the audience
at the ceremony. “Never before have
we had such a diverse and talented city
council. I am very optimistic.”
Jacobson becomes the representative
in Ward 3, a position held for decades
by Regina Angelo, who announced she
would retire from the council last year.
“Regina has served this city for over
four decades,” Jacobson said. “That’s
one record that will not be broken.”
Jacobson is the former chair of the
city and county Democratic Committee.
He ran against Judy Kennedy in the city
mayoral race in 2015. Monteverde steps
down from the city planning board to
become city councilwoman in Ward 2.
“It is my hope that we can and will
create an effective team that will make
smart decisions,” Monteverde stated
following the ceremony. “I believe we
can achieve great things if we have
mutual respect and interact civilly as a
council.”
Patty Sofokles now serves Ward 4.
Owner of Sofokles Tax Service, she
is co-founder of the Downing Park
Planning Committee. She recently
served on the city’s ethics board and
assessment review board.
Mejia represents Ward 1. “I remain
excited and committed to helping our
city, our residents and our businesses
thrive,” Mejia later said. “Newburgh’s
best days are yet to come.”
City council terms are four years.
A host of construction projects are in the
works in the Town of Newburgh in 2018.
Town Supervisor Gil Piaquadio took time
to speak with the Mid Hudson Times on
Tuesday about some of the development
expected to take place in the coming year.
A new CVS store and pharmacy will
be completed sometimes in the spring
near the intersection of routes 52 and 300,
Piaquadio said. “The building has already
been framed,” he said.
Additionally, a new Cumberland Farms
will be constructed at Rock Cut Road and
Route 17K. “There is a Cumberland Farms
there now,” he explained and the store will
relocate to a new building a few hundred
yards north.
Gardnertown Commons construction
will take place all through 2018, Piaquadio
said. The housing complex, located near
the intersection of Gardnertown and Creek
Run roads, is slated to offer 164 apartment
units on 20 acres of property. The developer
will install a light to help ease traffic at the
corner of Gardnertown Road and Gidney
Continued on page 21
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