Orange County Mayors Highlight Revitalization Efforts, Development Plans
By John Jordan
CAMPBELL HALL, NY—If there were some common themes from the recent presentations of the mayors of Middletown, Newburgh and Port Jervis they were their individual efforts to break free from a troubled past and the exciting opportunities that now exist in each of their now revitalized downtown districts.
The Orange County Partnership's Alliance for Balanced Growth held a roundtable program on Sept. 4 featuring the chief executives of Orange County’s three cities—Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano, Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey and Port Jervis Mayor Dominic M. Cicalese. The moderator was Conor Eckert, president and CEO of the Orange County Partnership, who asked the panelists about new projects and opportunities in their cities, the need for affordable/workforce housing and infrastructure investment. Approximately 150 business professionals attended the program held at the Country Club at Otterkill.
Newburgh Looks to the Future
Newburgh Mayor Harvey discussed the city’s troubles when he first took office in April 2018 as the city was on the brink of filing bankruptcy, faced mandated fiscal oversight from the New York State Comptroller due to the financial crisis of 2010 and was plagued by a high crime rate, hundreds of zombie properties and little investment.
Mayor Harvey said that in the past seven years the city has significantly reduced crime, shored up its finances and has embarked on a plan to revitalize the city and attract private investment.
The city’s efforts in improving its finances bore fruit five days after the ABG event. Newburgh announced that the 15 years of state oversight of its finances from the 2010 Newburgh Fiscal Recovery Act officially ended on Aug. 30, 2025 The NFRA, passed by the State Legislature in 2010, allowed Newburgh to borrow funds to eliminate massive, accumulated deficits while placing the city under enhanced state oversight. The law required annual budget reviews by the Office of the State Comptroller, strict financial reporting, and state intercepts of certain revenues to ensure debt repayment.
The City Council, City Manager Todd Venning and Mayor Harvey led a sweeping transformation that restored fiscal discipline, stabilized long-term finances, and rebuilt public confidence in City Hall. The Office of the State Comptroller now recognizes Newburgh as one of the best-managed cities in New York, awarding the city its top score for municipal fiscal health in five straight years—one of only two cities in the state to achieve this recognition. Moody’s has upgraded the city’s bond rating to A1 and awarded Newburgh its highest governance rating of G1—including its highest ratings for institutional structure, policy credibility & effectiveness, and budget management.
“This is more than the end of state oversight — it is proof of what disciplined management, hard choices, and community trust can achieve,” said Newburgh City Manager Todd Venning. “When I began this role, Newburgh was still under the long shadow of generational mismanagement that nearly bankrupted the city. Today, Newburgh stands tall as a city that has taken control of its financial future and positioned itself for long-term growth and prosperity.”
In reaction to the end of state fiscal oversight, Mayor Harvey said, “When I became mayor in 2018, Newburgh was still digging out of its crisis years. Today, we are stronger, more transparent, and more resilient. Newburgh’s progress is visible in every one of the city’s neighborhoods. Our residents and businesses can now look ahead with confidence, knowing their city is on solid ground and prepared to grow. We have created serious momentum as redevelopment of the 137-acre vacant ‘Hillside’ that was destroyed during the urban renewal era moves closer to reality. Newburgh’s future is brighter than ever.”
At the ABG session, Mayor Harvey detailed the city’s $150-million investment to improve its infrastructure, including the completed $32-milllion Interceptor sewer improvement project. He noted that the city has already approved seven new housing developments, has approximately 120 acres of undeveloped land and in total can now boast of more than half a billion dollars of in-progress development and infrastructure projects, including a downtown hotel project set to break ground soon and plans to begin work in 2026 to improve the city’s waterfront dock to eventually welcome cruise ships to the city.
Mayor Harvey predicted: “Within the next 12 months to 18 months you are going to see a full transformation of the River City known as Newburgh, NY and we are excited. If you are a developer, if you are an investor get in at the ground level because Newburgh is rocking.”
Middletown Continues to Make News
Middletown Mayor DeStefano discussed the latest developments in the city, including the announcement by DreamFields that it will be locating an approximately 50,000-square-foot cannabis processing plant at an industrial facility in the city at 55 Midland Ave. Extension. DreamFields’ subsidiary Jeter announced plans to open a state-of-the art new production facility in Middletown that it says will create hundreds of new jobs and will involve the investment of millions of dollars into the Middletown and Hudson Valley economies.
While noting that the project is not retail or involves cultivation of the cannabis, Mayor, Joseph DeStefano said, “This investment not only brings new life to a long-vacant factory building in our industrial zone, but it also creates well-paying jobs and new opportunities for our residents. Revitalizing empty industrial space with active, job-creating businesses has been a priority for us, and DreamFields’ decision to locate in Middletown demonstrates confidence in our workforce and our city’s future.”
Another significant development for Middletown was announced earlier in the day on Sept. 4 when Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblymember Paula Elaine Kay announced $3.3 million in state funding for the revitalization of the Kleiner Center on the campus of Fei Tian College (soon to be operating as Northern University). At the press conference, New York State Senator James Skoufis announced the State Senate would match the grant, bringing the total funding to approximately $6.6 million.
The Kleiner Center was built in 1968 as a recreation center for the Middletown State Psychiatric Center. Since its closure in 2006, the building was left to deteriorate. The state funding will help convert the center into a modern facility for community programming and engagement, including a theater and auditorium, a gymnasium, studios and conference rooms.
At the ABG session, Mayor DeStefano detailed the city’s past agreements to have neighboring municipalities purchase its water for development projects. He said the city is focused on the Route 17 corridor in Goshen and New Hampton as an area where the city could assist in fostering responsible development projects there. In addition, he spoke of the possibility of the city moving forward and tapping into the Indigot Reservoir in the Town of Mount Hope and Greenville for future economic development projects. The mayor characterized the Indigot project as “one of the most important public projects we will see in the next 10 to 20 years.”
The mayor also discussed the need for infrastructure investment and affordable housing not just in Middletown but all over Orange County. “Without infrastructure, without water and without sewer, you are not going to get much development,” he said. The mayor added that without the availability of affordable housing, Orange County will be hard-pressed to attract companies to invest or relocate operations here.
DeStefano said that Middletown, Newburgh and Port Jervis are the three largest providers of affordable housing in the county. However, he said, “The townships in this county need to recognize that they have to start building some affordable housing.” He noted that the only way the current housing crisis will be solved is by increasing inventory—both through affordable and market rate units. The City of Middletown’s Housing Authority is building 100 new housing units and renovating another 199 units.
Port Jervis’s DRI Award is a ‘Game Changer’
Port Jervis Mayor Dominic M. Cicalese, who was elected into office in November, 2023, also detailed a number of commercial, residential and mixed-use opportunities that now exist.
He noted that the city was awarded $10 million from the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative program in 2023 and that the city would be moving forward with DRI projects in 2026. The mayor said that since taking office, his administration has worked to build relationships with key players such as Orange County government, New York State elected officials, the Orange County Partnership and others.
“The DRI award was a game changer for the City of Port Jervis when it was announced,” Mayor Cicalese said. In connection with the DRI award, a project at 103 Jersey Ave. is taking shape. The proposed project to be built on a vacant lot will be a four-story mixed-use development that the mayor said will involve an investment north of $20 million. The bottom floor will feature commercial use with the top three stories consisting of affordable housing units.
Port Jervis also worked to be recognized as a Pro-Housing Community, which makes the city now eligible for state funding under the $600-million program. It has also streamlined the approval process and is in the process of rebuilding the city’s Industrial Development Agency that the mayor said “was neglected for years.”
“Another best kept secret is that our city is still affordable,” Mayor Cicalese said.
Among the opportunities he highlighted was the former Phil’s Ford site at 257 Main St. He said the vacant building will be razed and replaced with a four-story mixed-use affordable housing project. The city is also marketing the 80-acre Dick’s Concrete site, a current quarry, as a possible advanced manufacturing facility.
The sponsors of the ABG event were: Affordable Housing Concepts LLC, Attic Labs LLC, Catania, Mahon & Rider, PLLC and Ulster Savings Bank.
