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Council members disagree on hosting KSM trial in Newburgh

The flurry of press activity began Friday, July 29, as The New York Post printed “Upstaters’ terror-ific idea: Host evildoers and profit” with Mayor Nick Valentine extolling the virtues of holding the Khalid Shaikh Mohammed trial in Newburgh: I look at it almost as a tourist attraction. The international attention would put Newburgh on the map… [...]

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Kaplan: we have a bankrupt city

On Tuesday, January 26th, the Newburgh Zoning Board of Appeals heard a presentation in which William Kaplan asked for a variance for his proposed housing development on waterfront land adjoining his Regal Bag Building.  Assisting Mr. Kaplan was Lou Marquet from the Leyland Alliance, in addition to an attorney from Jacobwitz and Gubits.  Kaplan explained [...]

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• 2.3.10: Help Wanted: Director of Planning & Development... Seen in the Times Herald-Record classified section "new today:" "Director of Planning & Development. City of Newburgh, NY. Opportunity for innovative, motivated and creative individual to guide redevelopment efforts in historic river city.  Must have Masters & 2 years exp in economic development, real estate, public relations or related field.  Starting Salary $86,889. Excellent benefit pkg.  Send resume with cover letter to mmmills@cityofnewburgh-ny.gov by Feb 17th, 2010. EOE" This is the search that was first issued last year, that by some accounts garnered over 100 resumes.  City Manager Herbek had said he "wasn't very impressed" with those resumes at the January Lyceum meeting, and that the Director of Planning and Development position wasn't his top priority.  Currently Courtney Kain is Acting Director of Planning & Development. What changed? And if someone already submitted a resume, should they submit again? #
• 1.25.10 NO ON NOVESKY: Council voted 4-1, Valentine dissenting, not to hire consultant Neil Novesky to advise with CDBG funds. #
• 12.28.09: Sworn in today are council persons Regina Angelo and Curlie Dillard.  According to a press release, this will be the start of Councilwoman Angelo's 32nd term (since 1972).  Councilman Dillard begins his first term.  Both officially begin January 1, 2010; City Clerk Lorene Vitek swore them in. #
• Appearance Date: 9.24.09. On the docket: LOPEZ, ELAINE & HECTOR vs. NEWBURGH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AGENCY.  What will be the order of the Honorable Justice David S. Ritter to the Defendant's motion to dismiss?  Actually, I don't quite know how to punctuate "defendants" in that last sentence.  Should it be defendant's or defendants' as if Tarshis is acting on behalf of the NCDA as well as the City of Newburgh, conveniently their newly minted co-defendants? #
• 8.19.09 Waterfront Jazz tonight: Neil Alexander and Nail, 6:30-8:30 p.m.  For more info: http://www.newburghjazzseries.com/ #
• 8.17.09 On the chopping block: A controversial property on the sealed bid list is 257 Liberty, the building adjacent to Audrey Carey Park that is vacant and attractively decorated on its eastern façade with window paintings.  The property was sold to the Newburgh Community Action Committee in the past for a song, then bought back by the city by resolution 94-2005 on May 9th for $150,000.  In the minutes of that resolution, Councilman Bowles remarks that this "will benefit the Park and could also be a traveling spot where people can come into our City and obtain information about our City through a traveling library.  It will also be a place for young kids to see what the past has been through with pictures or movies."  Councilwoman App: "it was the Audrey Carey Park Committee [anyone recall who was on this?] that came forward and asked the council to please purchase this so that they could make it accessible to the Park participants."  Councilwoman Angelo: "will be voting 'yes.' This will provide bathrooms and a caretaker."  Mayor Valentine: "will be voting 'yes' after careful consideration and reviewing in his own independent way that this would be a benefit not only to the neighborhood but certainly to the Park, which he thinks is finally on track and moving forward in a very good way."  No comment, but a Nay vote from Councilman Cracolici.  In her comment, City Manager McGrane says the money for this will be coming from the "Property Management Program."  McGrane's Property Management Program mustn't have fared so well, since in resolution 174-2005 she is shuffling money from the "Equipment Contingency" budget line to the "Acquisition of Property" to cover the purchase.  No comments about the change in funding.  Councilman Cracolici comments "that he thinks the seller should be responsible for the asbestos removal."  Councilman Bowles comments that "this is a good thing for the Liberty Street area.  This is growth and we should do as much as we can for the people of downtown."  The resolution passes 4-1.  Update to 2009: Dwight Douglas and Lourdes Zapata, both now city alums, both were adamant that it would be impossible to make public use of the building due to the cost of making it ADA compliant.  Hmmm. #
• Newburgh Mystery: Here is the organizational chart from the 2009 City Manager's Budget, prepared by Jean-Ann McGrane.  Can you spot what's missing? Leave your suggestions as a comment... 9.17.09 Update: Most commenters (what a wise, wonderful, bright bunch you are!) caught the Economic Development/Planning Department omission.  I think this is the cause of some of the more serious conflicts and confusions over recent years on the council (and in other areas) because agencies have been operating with minimal to no supervision or, in some cases, no awareness of their own existence (as in the recent example of the Newburgh Community Development Agency or the Newburgh Local Development Corporation). Since E.D./Planning was funded from, as I understand it, a combination of Newburgh Industrial Development Agency money and NCDA money, at a time when the boards of those two agencies were principally council members, it was one-stop shopping to do business in Newburgh.  The two agencies even shared offices and a "received" correspondence stamp: NIDA/NCDA, documents will show, or you can see it on even fairly recent letterhead of RFP or RFQ documents. The problem with all this is the absence of any kind of hierarchy of authority. With no chain of command, no boss or board to answer to, no department head or manager checking the time cards at the end of the day (time cards that apparently couldn't be conveniently coughed up when the Department of Housing and Urban Development asked to see them, so Mr. Emberger pinned the tail on the NIDA's donkey to foot the bill); not to mention the foibles of former economic development administrative directors Robert McKenna as well as his replacement Lourdes Zapata, Mr. McKenna in particular who has been vigorously and repeatedly thrown under multiple buses so many times by those left in City Hall it is a miracle he has any flesh left, even in effigy. When it stopped: it was after 2005 that the City Council ceased passing resolutions appointing members of the NCDA.  Oddly enough, in 2005 there was the passage of the Public Authority Accountability Act, and perhaps, just perhaps, somewhere in City Hall this attracted some notice. DiNapoli's Office: No problem here Recently, I checked with the Office of the State Comptroller as to whether there was any problem according to state law with the city acting on behalf of the NCDA without the agency's knowledge.  Jennifer Freeman responded at length, citing General Municipal Law 503-a: §  503-a.  Cooperation  with  agencies.  For  the purpose of aiding an agency established pursuant to the provisions of  article  fifteen-A  of this chapter a municipality may: 1. Delegate to such agency such of its powers enumerated under section five hundred three of this article as it may deem appropriate, necessary or  desirable  to effectuate the purposes and provisions of this article and as are not inconsistent with the powers reserved  to  the  governing body or the commission under this article or the powers granted to such agencies in article fifteen-A of this chapter. Ms.Freeman continues her citation, but the gist is that in this case, it looks like the City has the okay from the Comptroller to act for the NCDA. But what if it wasn't the city that was acting? What if, as a hypothetical example, it was a small group of individuals operating in abeyance of open government, including, as a purely fictional example, the mayor, the corporation counsel, the former acting city manager, and possibly an additional city council member? Back to reality At any rate, the organizational chart needs to be redrawn.  ALL of the suggestions mentioned by commenters below should be incorporated, and additional suggestions should be solicited, perhaps at a city council meeting and additionally at a public location such as the Newburgh Free Library.  It is only with a clear understanding of how such decisions get made that we can rest assured that our tax dollars are going to the right places. #