Currently a 50 unit homeless housing project is being rushed through the approval process in the City of Newburgh. The developer is claiming the project is for “Newburgh’s homeless population.” That is a half-truth because any project using NY State funding is NOT allowed to specifically target Newburgh’s homeless population. The reality is the project will be open to any homeless individual who applies, be it from Middletown, Kingston, Rockland County, Queens or wherever. Bad as that may be, the most destructive issue with this proposal is the program funding specifically includes providing housing for homeless “adults, youth or young adults reentering the community from incarceration.” In simpler terms, this project is intended to house violent felons, convicted criminals and similar people getting out of jail in the middle of the City of Newburgh.

The Newburgh Ministry is the project developer. The proposal is building 50 units of homeless housing on the site of two historic buildings to be demolished on Johnston Street. The City Council of Newburgh is actually supporting the project though I can’t imagine they understand it will be housing violent felons. The location of the project is less than 300 feet from Broadway and in the middle of one of the highest concentration of people living in poverty in the City of Newburgh.

Worth noting is Developer fees from NY State funding programs allow for up to 15% of project cost. If each unit costs $250,000, a 50 unit project will be budgeted at $12,500,000 with a developer fee up to $1,875,000. For that kind of money, it is no wonder the developers are pushing for the project.

If the project is built, however, the end result in Newburgh will be more poverty, more homeless people NOT FROM NEWBURGH on the streets, more people hanging out with nothing to do, more destruction of surrounding properties and the deterioration of Newburgh’s public image to its citizens, visitors and tourist. Also worth noting this project will pay NO property taxes even as it increases the need for more police, fire and public services with an end result of higher property taxes for all Newburgh residents.

Last, but not least, this project will result in more crime on Newburgh’s streets and to its citizens. Newburgh has an example of this type of problem that occurred in 2017. A felon from Queens was staying in a single room occupancy facility on Grand Street less than 300 feet from Newburgh City Hall. He came downstairs one morning and beat the housing advocate at the front desk to death.

This is a bad project for Newburgh. It does nothing to improve the safety or image of the City even as it increases taxes and poverty while putting its citizens at greater risk of crime and harm. Newburgh residents should show up at the Planning, Zoning Board and City Council meetings and voice their opposition. This project never should have gone as far as it has, and needs to be stopped now.