Mid Hudson Times Oct. 03 2018

T IMES MID HUDSON Vol. 30, No. 40 3 OCTOBER 3 - 9, 2018 Open studios 7th win Page 21 Page 38 3 ONE DOLLAR SERVING NEWBURGH AND NEW WINDSOR Affordable housing Collaboration transforms 15 abandoned sites RFP process sparks debate at City Council meeting By KATELYN CORDERO [email protected] The ribbon cutting ceremony took place outside “The Hub” a community center that will be used for the police department, studios for artists and after-school activities. By KATELYN CORDERO [email protected] Things are looking up for the city of Newburgh’s historic east end thanks to the partnership of RUPCO with Newburgh Community Land Bank, the City of Newburgh and private investors that transformed 15 abandoned sites into affordable living homes. The restoration was done in clusters to spread development throughout the neighborhood rather than restore a single block. The 15 homes are on Lander Street, Johnston Street, South Miller Street, First Street and Dubois Street. There will be 45 apartments of affordable living for rent. The recipients of the newly restored homes will include seven middle-income families, five homeless young adults and two veterans in need. They will be overseen by Superintendent Eric Robinson. “It’s been a collaboration with the city, public and private sectors,” said Tara Collin Director of Communications and Resource Development at RUPCO. “They have taken great strides to be a part of a transformation of this size. There are so many opportunities here, this will give much needed rental houses and opportunities for low to modest incomes.” Among the renovated buildings was “The Hub” where the ribbon cutting ceremony took place. The Hub will be rented out by the police department as a community policing sub-station for $500 a month. It will also serve as a studio gallery/art space for artists and a meeting space for after school activities. The project was funded through Continued on page 2 WWW.MIDHUDSONTIMES.COM Debate over 41 Liberty Street at the Newburgh city council meeting on September 24 led into a larger discussion on the Request for Proposal (RFP) process. M a n y members of the public came forward to discuss the resolution that was 41 Liberty Street passed Monday in which five councilpersons voted in favor and two voted against. An RFP is a bid made for a property with adequate plans for development, a demonstration of the capacity to complete the work, details of financial resources, and a demonstration of ongoing operating capacity. All the details of each bid go into a scoring process, the bid with the highest score is presented to the City Council. The RFP for the property on 41 Liberty Street was released on Friday, March 30, 2018. Proposals were due by April 30, 2018. According to Alexandra Church, the Continued on page 2