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PUBLIC AGENDA

WEDNESDAY , MAY 9

Town of New Windsor Planning Board , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 555 Union Ave ., New Windsor .

THURSDAY , MAY 10

Newburgh City Council Work Session , 6 p . m . City Hall , 83 Broadway .

MONDAY , MAY 14

Newburgh Town Board meeting , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 1496 Route 300 , Town of Newburgh . Newburgh City Council meeting . 7 p . m . City Hall , 83 Broadway .

THURSDAY , MAY 17 Town of Newburgh Planning Board , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 1496 Route 300 , Town of Newburgh .

By SHANTAL RILEY sriley @ tcnewspapers . com

The Town of New Windsor will move ahead to take possession of a private road through the law of eminent domain . Residents of the neighborhood at Deer Hill Road and Oak Hill Drive signed a petition asking for the town to take ownership of the ailing road , rife with potholes and drainage problems .

“ We ’ ve been trying to do this half our lives ,” said longtime neighbor Myle Donker at a public hearing last week on a proposed plan to condemn the roads to begin reconstruction sometime this summer .

Neighborhood residents signed and submitted the petition over a year ago , asking the town to take possession of the deteriorating roads , which branch off of Bull Road . If all neighbors agree to the project , the road is expected to be reconstructed sometime in September .

“ It is of equal benefit to every single homeowner , no matter how much footage they have ,” said town Supervisor George Green , speaking to neighbors last week . “ You ’ re getting a town road . We ’ re going to plow it , we ’ re going to maintain it .”

The lowest bid for the project came in at approximately $ 350,000 , said Green .

Mid Hudson Times , Wednesday , May 9 , 2018

Under the plan , the 21 residents of the neighborhood will have to pay for the cost of the project over a 15-year period . In exchange , they will receive town services such as road maintenance , snow plowing , mail delivery and school-bus service .

Town assessor Todd Wiley explained the neighbors would pay for the project through a special tax assessment that will show up on tax bills beginning in 2019 . Those taxes will go to repay a bond purchased to pay for the road project , said the assessor .

“ When do you arrive at a final cost for homeowners ?” asked neighbor Tim Quinn . Green said the total cost of the estimated $ 350,000 project would be divided up equally between the property owners and , if the project begins soon , the chance of running over budget will be low .

According to the New York State Attorney General ’ s Office , eminent domain , or condemnation , outlines “ the right of the government to take private property for a public purpose .”

Currently , each of the neighbors own a portion of the roads . “ We have to , by law , offer fair market value for ( the property ),” said town Attorney Michael Blythe . Those offers will be based on an appraisal of the lot with the most

“ In order for us to do the work , we have to own it ,” Green later reiterated . “ There are a couple of ways we can accomplish that .” First , property owners can go out and do a survey of their property … and subdivide a portion of the land and sell it to the town , he said . “ Or , we can condemn the property ,” he said , with no survey required . “ It ’ s a much cheaper and quicker way to do it and take possession that way .”

For the project to begin , however , all 21 property owners will have to agree to condemnation . “ For the town to take it over , it has to be a unanimous decision ,” the supervisor said . “ One resident on that road can stop the whole project by not taking a condemnation offer ,” said Green , or by filing a lawsuit . “ The town will not involve itself in a lawsuit because one or two people object ,” he added .

Once the New Windsor Town Board has made a decision to condemn , the town will send out notification to property owners who will then have 30 days to challenge the decision . After that period , the town may formally begin condemnation proceedings , said Green .

If all goes according to plan , construction is expected to end sometime in September .

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Philip Weintraub

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon stopped by Blacc Vanilla to chat with City of Newburgh residents on Tuesday morning . Nixon announced her intention to challenge New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in March . From left / bottom row : Cynthia Nixon , Omari Shakur ; Top row : Johanna Porr , ( unidentified ), Christina Amato and Iris Burnett .