You know spring is here when the robins start fighting with their reflections in your side-view mirror (and pooping down the side of your car).
Now, can I sue the robin? Well, at least it means spring is here! Next stop: the Car Wash.
Have you seen this one yet? It connects the dots between the traitors who tried to destroy our nation’s Capitol and take over the government, and the crazies who want to put an end to safe abortions. Click here: http://bit.ly/2Z6RPXR
Meals on Wheels of Greater Newburgh (MOW) has been chosen by Stop & Shop, Rt. 300, Newburgh, to be the beneficiary of its Community Bags Program for the entire month of February.
For every reusable Community Bag purchased at Stop & Shop during February, $1 will be donated to MOW. The eco-friendly bags cost $2.50 each.
“This is a great way to support the environment and help a good cause at the same time,” said MOW Executive Director Robin Bello.
MOW is a nonprofit charity founded in 1972 by Frederica Warner of Newburgh. Volunteers deliver its hot, nutritious meals five days a week to homebound individuals in the City of Newburgh and the towns of Newburgh and New Windsor who are unable to cook for themselves. MOW receives no regular government funding. There is a modest charge for those who are able to pay, but MOW relies on charitable donations from the public to cover the rest of its costs.
MOW President Carole McDermott said, “This news comes at a most opportune time. The pandemic has put an incredible amount of stress on our most vulnerable residents, and the need for nutritious meals is greater than ever. So, we are very grateful to Stop & Shop for making us the beneficiary of this program.”
For more information or to donate to MOW, visit www.mealsonwheelsnewburgh.org.
This is the bag you’ll be looking for at the Stop & Shop on Rt. 300 in the Town of Newburgh. Stop & Shop is giving Meals on Wheels $1 for every $2.50 bag purchased at that store.
HEY! Check out “Spatial Representation of Emotion,” a new art exhibit happening now through April 1 in Newburgh!
Artist Philippe Halaburda, who recently arrived in the Hudson Valley from France via Brooklyn, is exhibiting some of his latest works through April 1st at the AGC Gallery, 65 Liberty Street in Newburgh.
Working mainly in acrylics on canvas, Halaburda also offers three-dimensional artworks, such as brightly colored shapes on skateboard decks or an old easel. They are part of an art installation that is constantly evolving, highlighted by the use of colored tapes throughout the entire space.
Paintings in this exhibit can resemble the letters of the alphabet dancing with one another, or thrashing about as they tumble from some high place in chaotic and harmonious compositions in chaotic or harmonious compositions. The artist describes some of his work in digital terms as “psychogeographic maps.” He says he “builds imaginary codes and abstract algorithms,” influenced by his emotions and his perception of an environment.
Visitors can enjoy the show and choose their favorites by calling 917-353-2064 for an appointment any weekday; or watch him working on-site any Friday, Saturday or Sunday from 1 to 6 pm.
What does this Philippe Halaburda creation look like to you? To me, it’s letters of the alphabet, having way too much fun.
Hannaford Supermarket on Rt. 32 at the “Five Corners” in New Windsor has, for the 6th year in a row, chosen to make Meals on Wheels of Greater Newburgh (MOW) the beneficiary of its “Hannaford Helps Fight Hunger” reusable bag program.
For each reusable “Fight Hunger Bag” purchased at that Vails Gate location during the entire month of January, Hannaford will donate $1 to MOW.
“We are honored and excited to once again be named the beneficiary of Hannaford’s campaign,” said MOW President Carole McDermott. “Every purchase of a ‘Fight Hunger’ bag helps keep our wheels turning to deliver meals to the homebound in need.”
Founded in 1972 by Newburgh’s Frederica Warner, MOW prepares and delivers hot, nutritious meals each weekday to residents of the City of Newburgh and the Towns of Newburgh and New Windsor who can’t cook for themselves. MOW, a 501c(3) charitable organization, receives no government funding; it depends on donations from residents and businesses who believe in its mission of fighting hunger. More than 23,000 meals a year are delivered by more than 100 MOW volunteers.
“We are very grateful to our local Hannaford Market,” said MOW Executive Director Robin Bello. “Their ‘Fight Hunger’ program consistently shows their commitment to the health and welfare of the people of our area. Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, this program is more crucial than ever.”
At Hannaford, look for the orange-and-blue bag (a photo of it is below) in the reusable-bag section. That’s the one that will help Meals on Wheels. Or, just ask the manager or any store employee to direct you to the “Fight Hunger” bag. You’ll be saving the environment and fighting hunger among your neighbors, too.
To learn more, donate, or volunteer, visit www.mealsonwheelsnewburgh.org.
Look for this bag at Hannaford! Every “Fight Hunger” bag purchased in January at the Hannaford Supermarket on Rt. 32 in New Windsor will result in a one-dollar donation to Meals on Wheels of Greater Newburgh.
https://bit.ly/3mgSgsj Everybody should read this piece in the new New Yorker about Mark Ellison, architect who creates unique, jaw-droppingly beautiful, and always-curvy homes for New York City’s billionaires. A bicycle rider and certifiable eccentric, he surely chose the right place for his own home: Newburgh.
Sisha Ortuzar planted three crabapple trees in front of his newly renovated building at 109 South William Street today. They will sport gorgeous blooms in the spring. Come by and take a look!
Entrepreneur Sisha digs Newburgh! With Randy from the Town of LaGrange, Sisha planted three crabapple trees today, surrounding each with a “gator” that will automatically water the trees for the next couple of years. These crabapples will add shade and beauty to our ongoing downtown revival.
Randy to the Rescue! Randy dug three tree pits at 109 S. William Street with his backhoe today, and then helped plant them, as well. His work made the planting of the three trees in one day possible.
The Newburgh Engineering Department is overseeing construction of a new sewer system on the south edge of the City, where a major sewer main broke last week. We called out the cavalry, with guys working all day every day since then to dig a new, three-level pipe to replace the old one, extending downhill from Liberty Street and Bayview Terrace to the base of “The Bluff,” where it will continue to the treatment plant. Like so many other weird things that happen in Newburgh, this is going to turn out to be a good thing for all of us. THANK YOU to City Engineer Jason Morris and his whole team!
The steel shoring for the new sewage pipes is, itself, more than 20 feet deep. Eventually the 3-foot-diameter pipes will descend, in 3 stages, to the bottom of “The Bluff.”
Merriam-Webster notes that in the first three days after President Trump’s COVID-19 infection was announced, there was a jump of 30,500% (yep, you’re reading that right) in the number of lookups for the word, “Schadenfreude.” Check it out: https://bit.ly/3niByJX
And, unrelated, this news reminded me of an old New Yorker cartoon I’ve had taped to the wall of my home office for a long while.
One of the great things about living in Newburgh has been the free “Porch Concerts” that Kathy Lawrence performed all summer on Sunday evenings. To cheer us all up during the most stressful year anyone can remember, Kathy brought her musical talents (and her mic and electronic piano) out onto her porch here on Bayview Terrace. She sang requests from the audience as well as her own favorites from the American Songbook. Though ballads are her specialty, she can rock with the best of ‘em, croon songs from the early days of radio and belt out hits from Broadway musicals of all decades. She can pivot to novelty tunes too, to satisfy some of us goofier listeners. Between numbers, she shares her phenomenal knowlege about composers and lyricists. Neighbors near and far came to sit on “the Bluff” across the street from her house and enjoy her strong and agile soprano voice. She is a delightful entertainer who further endears herself to her loyal fans by interacting with them frequently. Her sweet mom, Carol, is similarly gifted, and often joined Kathy on harmony. The audience brought picnic blankets or lawn chairs. Some of us busted out some wine or tea (or, in the case of at least one young music-lover, some teething biscuits).
At the top of the Heights, with the river and the hills behind us and the wonderful music before us, Kathy’s Porch Concerts have given us all a wonderful respite from our woes. Let’s hope she’ll do it again next year, no matter what’s going on in our country and the world.
Kathy Lawrence of Newburgh, an AirBnb Superhost, is also a super singer.
Kathy takes requests during her last Porch Concert of the year on Oct. 4. If it’s a song from the American Songbook you want to hear, chances are she’ll just happen to have the sheet music for it.
Tim took me out to dinner at the riverfront on my birthday Tuesday night, where we had a grand time watching the water and the light on the hills and the Sea Tow boat rescuing an unfortunate sailor. We ate (part of) the biggest Porterhouse steak i’d ever seen, and a slab of chocolate cake that could have fed a third-grade class, and of course we had a couple of drinks. Tim’s was boring red wine, but i had a goblet of something bright yellow with a thing sticking out of it that i thought was an aloe leaf but that turned out to be a pineapple leaf. i think it was called a “Lima Colada,” and i think it involved rum, lime, coconut shavings, pineapple juice and maybe a few other things. THEN as if it weren’t already a perfect night, we got home to find that my daughter, Rachel, had had a beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered to the house. I highly recommend turning 71, especially to those who have a sweet family to share their long life with.
Pretty, right?
A beautiful new painting of the various stages of the life of Frederick Douglass graces the lot across from the A.M.E. Zion Church on Washington Street in Newburgh, where he once preached. His words of wisdom here: “Without a struggle there is no progress.” VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!
PLEASE register to vote, and then VOTE in the 2020 election, to win the most important struggle of our lifetimes.
Please, Newburghers, if you haven't done so yet, go to http://2020CENSUS.GOV NOW and spend the 3 minutes it takes to answer the 10 questions! If you prefer, you can also answer the Census questions by phone, at 844-330-2020. You can even get the questions, and respond, in Spanish or other languages, if you prefer!
The feds give cities money for education, daycare, housing, healthcare, transportation and more based on POPULATION, so they have to know how many people live here! It doesn’t matter if you’re not a US citizen yet. They don’t care. They just need to know how many eople plive here, so we can compete with all the other cities asking for money. If you don’t answer, you don’t count. Only one person per household has to do it. PLEASE show up for Newburgh!
The celebration of our "freedom" on July 4th raises some questions this year. Here are a few that have been bothering me.
In the midst of police killings of unarmed black people and a pandemic that is keeping us from leaving our homes except to dart out for food, who in the U.S. is really free? Should cops carry and distribute face masks and lists of food pantries, health and mental health clinics and detox facilities, instead of guns? Should they be trained in conflict resolution and restorative justice techniques, instead of chokeholds?
How is it that Persons of Color contract and die from COVID-19 at a higher rate than Persons of Privilege, and might that have something to do with the history of Black people in the Land of the Free? Might it be related to 400 years of slavery, lynchings, denial of voting rights and jobs, segregation, unequal educational, recreational and social opportunities, mass incarceration and discrimination in housing and loans (otherwise known as “redlining”)?
What would moral, psychological, economic and social reparations for Blacks look like?
And finally: European Americans say we don’t “hate” anyone, but what is it when we mimic Black music, poetry, art, language and style for our own benefit? Isn’t racial hatred just simple math: the sum of ignorance plus fear plus greed? It’s ignorance of our Black neighbors plus the fear of black men “getting” white women plus the mania for not only more wealth, but for more wealth than others have.
In the rush to our backyard grills, let us also recall those whom we have stranded at our borders and the indigenous peoples from whom Europeans stole this land, and ask: How is freedom going for them?
The Black Lives Matter movement, combined with a horrid pandemic, makes this the year that can change everything. First, though, some questions need to be answered.
A meaningful Fourth of July to all!
Just when Mama Roux. our fabulous Louisiana-themed restaurant at Liberty and Broadway, was about to re-open after being closed for 150,000 years (it felt like) due to the COVID-19 crisis, some idiot smashed their font window. Did Stirling, the proprietor, curse the perpetrator? Did she seek revenge, or even restitution? No, she did something quintesentially Newburgh. She forgave him. At first I had no words for this response, but then two words did come to mind: “Amazing Grace.”
Can’t wait to visit Mama Roux’s new outside seating area and bar, adjacent to the wonderful restaurant at Liberty and Broadway in Newburgh.
Today i took a “loop hike” along the new Quassaick Creek Trail. i call it my “Into the Woods and Through the ‘Hoods” walk, because the route i take runs beside the scenic creek, past the ruins of some of Newburgh’s long-abandoned mills and factories, under the amazing arches of the Mill Street Bridge and along the overpass spanning Walsh’s Road, and then emerges onto Rt. 32 for a brief “road walk” before heading down S. William to William Street and through the Heights back to my house.
i was lucky to have my daughter Rachel Quimby, who’s visiting from Worcester, Massachusetts, as my adventuresome companion. It’s a rare day that is this picture-perfect.
There are few prettier places in Newburgh than our new trail, which I followed “Into the Woods and Through the ‘Hoods.'“ Hope to see you out there!
Alison Filosa of the Newburgh Conservation Advisory Council took advantage of one of the last nice days we’ve had (it’s going to freeze and snow this weekend, they say) to cut back and bag the dead grasses at Newburgh’s Downing Park. I wish everyone had her energy and commitment.
Alison whacked and bagged dead grasses for us recently, and directed a helper at Downing Park. As an employee of the Newburgh Community Land Bank and a key member of Newburgh’s Conservation Advisory Council, she’s one of Newburgh’s unsung heroes.
A miracle happened in Newburgh on April 25: On the 360 block of Liberty Street, my new friend Kula, her husband Steve, and their wonderful, energetic and friendly neighbors planted SIX syringa reticulata ("Ivory Silk lilac") trees, which will help mitigate climate change and provide peace, beauty, shade, cleaner air and soil, and less stormwater runoff for years to come.
It was a magnificent group effort that should stand as a model of community activism here in Newburgh. From coming to a CAC meeting to explain their idea, to choosing the species they wanted, to following through with Central Hudson to get the sites OK'd, to rustling up a truck and delivering and unloading the trees and topsoil, to providing the shovels, wheelbarrows, dollies and other tools, hose and water, to -- by the way -- negotiating all of this during a worldwide pandemic, these folks saw this project through to its very successful conclusion. No glitch along the way, including a mixup with a nursery employee not understanding the payment situation, could stop them! They have my complete admiration (can you tell?) and deserve the thanks of all.
The City of Newburgh’s Conservation Advisory Council, of which i am a proud member, provided the money for the six trees and six bags of topsoil (and also some muscle and cheerleading, as my pal Alison Filosa and i lent a hand, along with Mayor Harvey and Council member Anthony Grice), but it is “Kula and the Gang” (as i will forever call them) who are our true Newburgh Tree Heroes.
Feel free to organize your own neighbors to do the same thing. Conservation Advisory Council meetings are open to everyone.
It takes a village to plant a tree, but “Kula and the Gang” planted SIX on Liberty Street on April 25!
Stupidest thing ever said by a phone (and it says this every single time I reach someone’s answering machine:): “When you are finished recording, you may hang up.”
REALLY? YOU MEAN, I DON’T HAVE TO STAY ON THE LINE UNTIL THE TIME/SPACE FABRIC RIPS AND MY MOLECULES RETURN TO THE UNIVERSE WHENCE THEY CAME? OH, GOODIE!.
I don’t know; Maybe this corona-virus, social-distancing, sheltering-in-place thing is making me a bit testy.
HAH, I’m not even in the Top Twenty, Brian!
Welcome to my website, featuring my podcast, The Newburgh News. Always on tap: ideas, photos, interviews with intriguing people, and news of the goings-on and comings-up around Newburgh, N.Y., and the greater Hudson Valley.
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