Mayor Valentine (center) never missed a meeting in his 12 years in office.
By Nancy Peckenham
Newburgh Mayor Nicholas Valentine and two city council members who are leaving office with him at the end of the month reflected Monday on their time in power that they said gave them hope for the struggling city.
Mayor Valentine, who served eight years as mayor and four years as a city councilman, applauded the professionalism of acting city manager Richard Herbek, whom he credited with getting the city’s finances in order. He agreed with outgoing city councilwoman Marge Bell that the changes approved to the city’s charter last month will have a lasting positive impact on the city. He spoke about how the city oversaw the clean up of a contaminated riverfront site that could now be developed and how the Leyland Alliance brought new ideas for those projects, even though they never materialized. The city’s new Land Bank and the work done by the non-profit group Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh also gave him hope, he said.
Valentine spoke of his disappointments as well, including the decision to develop SUNY Orange’s Newburgh campus on lower Broadway instead of in the middle of the city, where he said it would have had a ripple effect on rundown neighborhoods. He described his frustration when Orange County officials refused to return more tax dollars to the city. “We are the stepchild of Orange County and tend to be the dumping ground,” Valentine said, adding that he had to shake off that rejection and move on.
Council woman Marge Bell showed a t-shirt with her favorite saying: "Be the Change You Wish to See in the World."
Councilwoman Marge Bell, who frequently clashed with the mayor during her four-year term, showed a sense of humor as she reviewed a list of accomplishments. Topping the list was the transformation of the Industrial Development Authority, which she said had been “a really serious breeding ground for smoke-filled back room, non-transparent activities” into an organization with a proper board.
Bell said the Newburgh Armory project and the Greater Newburgh Partnership gave her reason to be “ecstatic about the future of Newburgh” and she praised the Art Tour Bus that provides a narrated tour of historic Newburgh while displaying original art on the sides of the bus. “I’m happy to hand the baton over to the new council members,” Bell said, urging them to do their best to find a home for the Newburgh Jazz Series, which earlier this year said it was pulling out of the city due to lack of a performance space. Councilman Curlie Dillard pledged that he would make that happen before the end of his term.
Council women Christine Bello (l) speaks about how as council woman she forged friendships with people she never would have met.
Councilwoman Christine Bello, who lost her seat in an unsuccessful bid to become mayor, bid an emotional farewell to the council, fighting to maintain composure as she thanked the city manager and department heads for sharing their expertise. “It was a really incredible experience,” Bello said. “Nothing like I thought it would be.”
The newly elected officials – Judy Kennedy as mayor and Cedric Brown and Gay Lee as city council members – will be inaugurated on January 1, 2012 in a ceremony at the Activity Center on Washington Street at 4 pm.
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