At the City of Newburgh Council Work Session this evening, Acting Director of Planning and Development Courtney Kain informed the council of the potential acquisition of the New York State Armory site. This is a large parcel of land and buildings currently inhabited by the Army National Guard. Ms. Kain said the National Guard had confirmed that they were moving to Stewart Airport, vacating the property. She mentioned that there had been discussions with the county executive’s office as well as Congressman Hinchey and Senator Larkin; apparently, the county had no use for the site, clearing the way for the City of Newburgh to take it over.
Ms. Kain indicated that the city hoped to acquire the land “for free.”
After her presentation, Ms. Kain provided a diagram of the proposed use (click here for the diagram) should the city take possession, including potential consolidation of municipal offices, recreational facilities and a business incubator.
How unfortunate that Senator Larkin, County Executive Edward Diana, and even Mayor Nick Valentine and Councilwoman Regina Angelo could not have foreseen this dramatic turn of events three years ago, when there was a tsunami of lobbying going on for certain potential sites for the Newburgh branch campus of Orange County Community College. Read about that background here, here, and here.
The citizens certainly knew that the Armory was the cheapest site, with the most available parking, back in 2006. Yet for some mysterious reason, the site was not politically expedient.
For old time’s sake, here’s a slide from Antony Takahashi’s powerpoint presentation, which compared the alternative sites:
These political people in Newburgh suck! They are corrupt. They are stealing all the money. They dont fix no roads, paint the lines on the street, they dont fix shit either!