The Newburgh Waterways Center is a new umbrella organization of rowing enthusiasts, Newburgh families, and water safety organizations that is reimagining waterfront programming for families in Newburgh and surrounding areas. The center occupies the Ward Brothers Community Boathouse, the former Newburgh Rowing Club site, located in Ward Brothers Memorial Park at 2 River Street on the Newburgh waterfront.
With a new board of directors and a new director of operations, Jacob Jordan, the center is reimagining and upgrading the boathouse, grounds, and program offerings. The center currently hosts rowing and kayaking programs for adults and children, as well as the Newburgh Corsairs Summer Rowing Camp, the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary (Newburgh Flotilla 10-6), and Orange County Rowing Association, creating a single destination for community access to the Hudson River on the Newburgh waterfront.
The Hudson has historically been a crossroads for communities and resources throughout New York State, and the Newburgh waterfront continues to be a vital gathering place.
The center is dedicated to making both Ward Brothers Community Park and the river more accessible to the Greater Newburgh community through partnerships with local businesses, nonprofits, and philanthropic organizations. With support from Sustainable Hudson Valley and Rotary International, the center recently participated in the annual Riverkeeper Sweep, with over a hundred volunteers from more than a dozen organizations cleaning the site, removing nearly a ton of invasive species, and creating new garden beds for wildflowers and pollinator plants as part of the Greater Newburgh Parks Conservancy’s Planting Power Newburgh project. Projects like this protect our shoreline from climate change’s effects, support a diverse riparian ecosystem, and increase the site’s natural beauty while reducing maintenance, building a more sustainable future for all.
The center also hosts the Newburgh Corsairs Summer Rowing Camp, an affordable summer camp for local youth that includes on and off water activities. Open to children ages 10–17 of any ability, the camp is run by experienced, dedicated staff certified in boater safety, rowing education, CPR, and first aid. Campers learn about rowing, kayaking, and the Hudson River environment from the comfort of the boathouse. Sibling discounts are offered, and partial scholarships are available upon request, ensuring that no one is turned away due to cost
This year, camp will run for five weeks (July 15–August 16), and participants can register for one to five weeks. Camp runs from 9 am to 3 pm Monday through Friday.