Newburgh: Momentum and Charm

By Anne Pyburn Craig | Photos by David McIntyre | Spring 2025 | Community Spotlight

Zip Code: 12550

Population: 28,237

Median Household Income: $51,006

Proximity to Major City: Newburgh is 60 miles from New York City and 90 miles from Albany.

Transportation: Newburgh is located at the crossroads of Interstate 84 and the New York State Thruway. There are four commuter bus runs to and from Manhattan each weekday, and the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry connects to Metro North’s Hudson Line. New York Stewart International Airport is located just outside the city. Newburgh Area Transit buses provide transit along the Broadway corridor on the half hour.

Nearest Hospital: Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital is within city limits. SCHOOLS: Newburgh Enlarged City School District serves 10,913 students in grades K-12 at its 13 schools. Independent schools include the San Miguel Academy and Nora Cronin Presentation Academy. Mount Saint Mary College and a SUNY Orange campus are located in Newburgh.

Schools: Washington’s Headquarters, Downing Park, Newburgh Free Library, Atlas Studios, Liberty Street, Thornwillow Press, Ritz Theatre, Bank Art Center, Waterfront Trail Urban Walk, Newburgh Wireworks, Waterfront Restaurant District, Motorcyclepedia Museum, East Side Historic District, David Crawford House, Newburgh Armory, Dutch Reformed Church, Newburgh Colored Burial Ground

The sparkling bay against a Mount Beacon backdrop at the foot of Broadway, the splendid architecture, the deep veins of culture and diversity, the history—George Washington didn’t just sleep here, he built his headquarters on present-day Liberty Street—have always made for a dramatic contrast with the rough-edged reputation that followed Newburgh’s mid-20th-century struggles with deindustrialization.

But the way it’s been going, poverty tourists may have to start looking elsewhere for fodder. A YouTuber called GhettoMerica drove around for 15 minutes in search of “dangerous hoods” in September 2023 and ended up getting roasted in the comments after capturing a small city buzzing with regular people going about their business amid mountain backdrops and classic rooflines, the occasional boarded-up facades interspersed with renovations in progress, corner stores, vibrant murals, and kids playing.

Newburgh, gritty spots and all, has been exerting her powerful magnetism at least since Henry Hudson’s sail upriver. In the past quarter-century, quite a few of those drawn in have been making a go of it and then some. “Anything I say should probably be taken with a grain of salt, since I own a business here, but Newburgh is honestly doing phenomenally well,” says Paul Halayko, a co-founder of Newburgh Brewery on Colden Street. “We’ve been here 13 years, and from where the city was when we opened to where it is now—it’s almost night and day.”

Small pockets of activity that were nascent then, he says, have blossomed. “For a very long time, we were the only business on Colden Street. Now there are a screen printing company and a CrossFit gym, and, more importantly, there’s a 66-unit apartment building that’s going to be leasing in the fall, on what had been a city-owned vacant lot, Halayko says. “And the change on Liberty Street in particular has been incredible. It’s every bit the thriving hospitality and retail district that you’d find in other Hudson Valley towns that have a bit of a better reputation.”

The affordable East End Lofts, developed by Westchester-based Kearney Group, and the urban resort being created on Grand Street by Foster Supply Hospitality from three long-vacant historic properties, underscore Halayko’s perception that the city’s redevelopment has gained serious traction. “People staying there will venture out of that hotel. They’re gonna be able to walk right over to the Liberty Street businesses, down to the brewery, down to the waterfront. And that’s gonna be huge for Newburgh and for the small businesses here. Foster Hospitality, Kearney, these are great businesses with proven track records of success who have decided that, yes, Newburgh is worth our time, money, and effort. And I think that speaks volumes to where Newburgh currently is.”

The Newburgh Cultural Scene

In 2013, writer and director Robert Fontaine came to Newburgh to film his feature Mi America and by 2014 he and his wife Monica were city residents. Today, they’re the proprietors of District Ramen at 47 Lander Street, on what was once ranked one of America’s most violent street corners. “We thought, ‘If we can just clean that one corner and draw good traffic…,’” he says. “And it’s gone from an abandoned block to one full of young couples buying homes and fixing them up, and new small businesses. And we seem to have hit the right cuisine and concept; people are rating it as one of the best places in the Hudson Valley right now, and we’re enjoying that.”

Robert Fontaine, owner of District Ramen on Lander Street. The popular Newburgh eatery reopened in November after a devastating fire earlier in the year.

Besides District Ramen, residents can feast on comfort food at Ms. Fairfax, Greek at Anna’s, Italian at Vesuvio’s, soul food at the Kitchen, or the Spot, Mexican at Tulum, Los Amigos, or Beso Taco Bar, and Jamaican at Firebox or the Hummingbird Jerk Center—to name just a few offerings from an incredibly long and varied list. The Waterfront District is an epic pub crawl. There’s live music and comedy at the Silk Factory, and the folks from Quinn’s in Beacon have opened up Untouchables, a formerly notorious Liberty Street bar, on weekend nights.

Another Newburgh/Beacon collab, this one with Hit House Film, will bring the In Frame Film Series to Safe Harbors’ Lobby at the Ritz; outside, on Saturdays, Safe Harbors hosts a farmers’ market on their Green. “There’s so much now,” says Halayko. “The hospitality, the retail, the phenomenal antiquing, all the artists’ lofts and studios. And all of it embedded in this gorgeous, pedestrian-friendly landscape.”

The Newburgh Real Estate Market

Antonio Sanchez, a Navy vet from the Bronx, started handling Newburgh real estate in 2019, just in time to experience the Covid frenzy. “That was crazy,” he says, “with two or three houses selling in a day. It’s calmer now. I see 38 single family homes for sale right now, so the inventory’s improving. And compared to much of the Hudson Valley, it’s affordable—it’s not hard to find a good single-family home. There’s one on Dupont Avenue going into contract right now for $250,000; there are grants you can find that help with the down payment and closing costs. But I still wouldn’t call it a buyers’ market; be patient, be ready to handle a little disappointment, and talk to a couple of knowledgeable local realtors.”

At press time, according to Realtor.com, the median price for a Newburgh home was $404,953. Under $200,000, there were a couple of three-bedroom options in need of TLC, some vacant lots, and smaller condos.

Sanchez points out that Newburgh hosts a wealth of multifamily opportunities. For sale at $399,000, for example, was a nicely-kept brick townhome steps from Audrey Carey Park with a conscientious long-term tenant downstairs and move-in-ready apartment upstairs, as well as “well-maintained mechanicals.” A four-unit renovated Victorian on a “chic” Grand Street block offered the buyer a move-in-ready one-bedroom with a big back porch over a peaceful yard, Jacuzzi, and Mount Beacon views for $650,000.

Just outside the city limits, in the town, luxury abideth. Pending at $839,000, was a rambling five-bedroom, 4,500-square-foot home with multiple patios, set on a cul-de-sac with outstanding views of the Hudson. For $950,000, you could own a four-bedroom Victorian on private Orange Lake, with hardwood floors, a guest suite, and wraparound deck.

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