The Revitalization of Newburgh is Finally Happening.But For Whose Benefit? click to enlarge
This mural on the side of a building between Liberty and Johnes Streets commemorates
Frederick Douglass’s visit to Newburgh in 1870. Twelve years ago I was participating in a community clean-up of a vacant lot in downtown Newburgh when someone found a deer leg. The rest of the deer was nowhere to be found. The cleanup ended for the day shortly after that, on account of temporary demoralization. That lot has since been transformed into a lush and sustainable urban park, complete with sculptures that double as public cell phone charging stations and massive, stately photographic portraits of Newburgh residents peering down from the wall of the once-and-future Ritz Theater. If you re looking for one thing to symbolize the positive changes happening in Newburgh today, stand on the corner of Broadway (the widest main street in America) and Liberty Street