Mid Hudson Times Jul. 27 2016 | Page 3

3 Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, July 27, 2016 New Windsor begins road upgrades at Oak Hill Dr. By SHANTAL RILEY [email protected] The Town of New Windsor has embarked on a road improvement project that will see portions of Deer Hill Road and Oak Hill Drive reconstructed to meet town rural road specifications. The neighborhood was quiet last Friday. But, the empty roads were pock marked with potholes, some large enough to swallow tires whole. Some 2,600 feet of roadway along Deer Hill Road and Oak Hill Drive is slated for reconstruction. Guard rails, catch basins and 500 feet of drainage pipe will also be installed. At a public hearing at New Windsor Town Hall this month, engineer Patrick Hines from the consulting engineering firm McGoey, Hauser and Edsall explained the private roads were badly deteriorated. “Currently the roadway is 18 feet and narrower in some spots,” Hines said. “We plan to bring it up to a 20-foot minimum width with a five-inch pavement section over top of 12 inches of new subbase.” The New Windsor Town Board voted to create a street improvement district to facilitate the project and closed the public hearing. Some 2,600 feet of roadway along Deer Hill Road and Oak Hill Drive is slated for reconstruction. The total cost of the project, including construction, surveys and design, will be $613,000. Twenty-two property parcels will benefit from the improvements, Hines said, and pay approximately $2,200 per year to fund the upgrades. Supervisor George Green did not provide an anticipated completion date for the project, but said it would be completed as soon as possible. New basketball courts at Delano Hitch Park By SHANTAL RILEY [email protected] He sailed through the air, ball in hand, his arm hooking up and around toward the basket. A few seconds later, the basketball made a “swoosh” sound as it passed through the hoop. Rayquan Bryant, 18, practiced with friends on a scorching-hot afternoon this week at the new Delano Hitch Park Basketball Courts. The park now boasts three full-sized courts, outfitted with six new basketball poles with acrylic backboards and breakaway rims. “It’s beautiful,” said Bryant, during a grueling basketball practice session on Tuesday. “It’s going to bring people together.” The courts were completely resurfaced with $170,000 in city Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. The work was carried out by Sun Up Enterprises, contractors out of Wappingers Falls. The City of Newburgh began plans for the new courts back in 2014, said city Recreation Director Derrick Stanton. “The courts are primarily used for pickup basketball,” said Stanton, although the Mexican-American Men’s and Women’s leagues play at the courts on a weekly basis. The city Recreation Department hosted the City of Newburgh Tournament of Champions over the weekend and will host a youth basketball tournament on National Night Out on Aug. 2. The city also hosts an all-star competition for junior NBA and All-City League players over the weekend of Aug. 13. The basketball courts are open daily until 10 p.m. For more City of Newburgh basketball news, go to Cityofnewburghny.gov - click on “Recreation Department” under the “Departments” tab on the homepage. Rayquan Bryant and J’Lin Johnson look on as Marvin Hall takes the shot at the new Delano Hitch Park basketball courts.