Mid Hudson Times Sep. 13 2017 | Page 3

3 Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, September 13, 2017 City breaks ground on long-awaited skate park By SHANTAL RILEY [email protected] The City of Newburgh has finally broke ground on a long-awaited skate park at Delano Hitch Park. The skate park has been eight, long years in the making. “This is about our family,” said state Senator Bill Larkin Jr. at a ground- breaking ceremony on Friday. “Let’s go skating.” The 5,620 square-foot skate park is being constructed in the northwest corner of Delano Hitch, next to the Newburgh Activity Center at Washington and Lake streets. Construction is expected to wrap up in December, said city Director of Community Development Ellen Fillo. “We anticipate an opening soon after that,” said Fillo. The park will feature smooth skating areas, stairs, benches, rails and ledges. A small horseshoe pit will be removed at the site during construction, Fillo explained. An adjacent playground will remain. “After so many fits and starts, we are finally going to build the skate park that so many young people have requested,” Newburgh Mayor Judy Kennedy stated in an email following the ceremony. “I count this as a great win for Newburgh.” The $600,000 skate park was paid for with $500,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding and $100,000 of New York State Dormitory Authority funding through Sen. Larkin’s office. The skate park was first championed A new skate park at Delano Hitch Park will feature stairs, benches, rails and ledges. (Courtesy City of Newburgh Planning Dept.) by a group of Newburgh youth skating on a paved area behind Dunkin’ Donuts on Broadway and Wisner Avenue. The area was eventually closed off by the property owner. “Young skaters used to plead with the city council,” skate-park supporter Roxy Royal recalled. “We used to fear our children would get hit in the street,” she said, noting all the young skateboarders skating in city streets. After years of efforts to secure financing for the park, skate-park funding was reallocated to pay for street lights and street video surveillance following a bump in homicides last year. Many young skaters who lobbied for the park had, by Boil-water notice in effect for Liberty St., Elmwood Pl The City of Newburgh has issued a boil-water alert for residents using city water in a two-block area on Liberty Street between Elmwood Place and Nicoll Street, and on Elmwood Place from Liberty Street to Powell Avenue. The alert was triggered by a 12-inch, water-main break caused by a private contractor at Elmwood Place and Liberty Street earlier this week. “We were required to issue this notice because we lost pressure,” City Manager Michael Ciaravino said on Monday night. “The Orange County Health Department recommends that all water from this supply be rapidly boiled for at least two minutes prior to use for either drinking or food preparation purposes,” a city press release stated Monday. Affected residents may also use bottled water until the notice is lifted, the city states. The boil notice affects about two dozen properties. City Water Superintendent Wayne Vradenburgh said lab tests may take days to produce results allowing the county to approve a lift of the boil-water notice. “We will continue to test the quality of our water and work diligently with the Orange County Health Department to ensure the safety of our water supply,” the city statement read. To view a map of affected residences, visit the City of Newburgh website at Cityofnewburgh-ny.gov and click on the boil-water notice posted to the homepage. Contact the City of Newburgh Water Department at 845-565-3356 or the Orange County Health Department at 845-291- 2331 for more information. - Shantal Riley then, moved away from the city and onto college. But, at a meeting held by the city Planning Department in July, a new crop of skaters expressed their opinions on a proposed skate-park design. “We just want it to get built,” said skater Treasure Jackson, cutting to the chase. Created by Grindline Skateparks, the skate park design allows for a build-out of the park if and when the city can procure additional funding in the future, Fillo said. 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 SLCH_MuscleSparingTKR_Concept_MHT_Ad_3col_Quarter.indd 1 7/12/2017 9:57:20 AM