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I'm posting here because I'm tempted to buy and renovate a house in the city of Newburgh. I really like the idea of the cheap, culturally significant houses that have spectacular views of the Hudson. Both my grandfather and great grandfather were business owners in the city at one point, so I feel a familial connection to living there, as well. The city has allot of history to be proud of, even if many of the residents don't seem to know it.
My question is, from people who currently live in / own a house in Newburgh, is it really that bad? The waterfront and Washington Heights areas seem to be okay. I have visited the city countless times without incident. The worst I've ever gotten was glared at.There is a very high crime rate (one of the highest in America, I understand,) but my thought is that most of the violence is gang on gang, and localized.
I'm posting here because I'm tempted to buy and renovate a house in the city of Newburgh. I really like the idea of the cheap, culturally significant houses that have spectacular views of the Hudson. Both my grandfather and great grandfather were business owners in the city at one point, so I feel a familial connection to living there, as well. The city has allot of history to be proud of, even if many of the residents don't seem to know it.
My question is, from people who currently live in / own a house in Newburgh, is it really that bad? The waterfront and Washington Heights areas seem to be okay. I have visited the city countless times without incident. The worst I've ever gotten was glared at.There is a very high crime rate (one of the highest in America, I understand,) but my thought is that most of the violence is gang on gang, and localized.
Please help me with any information.
Thanks,
YouthCulture
I have never owned a house in the city, but I did live in the town. I also lived at college in the city and worked for the city government.
First off, where will you be? You mention the Washington Heights area, that certainly is not the worst part of the city but not one that I would be crazy about living in either. The violent crime in the city is largely due to gang violence, but other less serious crimes happen on a regular basis. Out of everyone I know that has lived in the city, the majority of them have experienced at least one or two break ins. Yes, certain blocks are worse than others and some blocks are fine but the rift raft doesn't necessarily stay in one area all the time. I don't mind walking around the city, for the most part, during the day but I am hesitant to walk around at night and would never walk around alone.
All in all, maybe you'll find Newburgh to your liking. While it has a lot of trouble, I do love Newburgh and I think it has the potential to be great city again. It has better real estate than any city out there, and it is such a beautiful area. I challenge anyone to find another section of the river with a better view. This being said, definitely do your homework as to where you will be, and consider the risks before making a final decision.
I have never owned a house in the city, but I did live in the town. I also lived at college in the city and worked for the city government.
First off, where will you be? You mention the Washington Heights area, that certainly is not the worst part of the city but not one that I would be crazy about living in either. The violent crime in the city is largely due to gang violence, but other less serious crimes happen on a regular basis. Out of everyone I know that has lived in the city, the majority of them have experienced at least one or two break ins. Yes, certain blocks are worse than others and some blocks are fine but the rift raft doesn't necessarily stay in one area all the time. I don't mind walking around the city, for the most part, during the day but I am hesitant to walk around at night and would never walk around alone.
All in all, maybe you'll find Newburgh to your liking. While it has a lot of trouble, I do love Newburgh and I think it has the potential to be great city again. It has better real estate than any city out there, and it is such a beautiful area. I challenge anyone to find another section of the river with a better view. This being said, definitely do your homework as to where you will be, and consider the risks before making a final decision.
Thank you for the advice! I can't tell you where I'd be living yet, just not in the area immediately east of DuBois, north of Broadway. That seems to be the roughest area.
My real goal is to improve the city in some way, since it's an area in such desperate need. I'm willing to accept that there are drugs and break-ins. Until the cycle of poverty in Newburgh is broken, it's an unfortunate reality. More recently, I have seen the some areas start to draw a pulse again. The waterfront is very safe, and I've never had problems in the around the Newburgh Brewery, even late at night. It would be hard work to turn the area around, but it doesn't seem hopeless to me. I feel it would be hypocritical to try to help the area without being a resident, though.
Earlier today, I talked to a man that had owned buildings in the city for several years. He was against the idea, but not because of the crime levels:
The way he put it, the city has allot of infrastructure problems. The sewage and water systems are falling apart, and water/utilities in the city are astronomically expensive.
On top of this, he said that the city is very skittish about allowing any changes to historical buildings, to the point where even routine improvement is impossibly expensive. He told me about how he wanted to put new energy efficient windows into his building, but was told that he had to rebuild the original windows (with wood inlays, at his own expense) or leave them boarded up. The buildings are also likely have asbestos and lead paint, which can be expensive to manage. The city always seemed to find a way to dock him during inspections.
On the bright side, he said that the crime wasn't really on his list of worries. He suffered a few break ins, but never anything major.
This has made me seriously reconsider my decision to move into the city. Having laws to protect historical properties is one thing, but micromanaging these laws to the point of chasing people away is another. I'm afraid that the amount of money that I'd end up putting into the house to keep it up to Newburgh's codes would bankrupt me. This really disappoints me, and sheds a little bit of light on why Newburgh can't revitalize itself despite its location on the Hudson.
...then again, the person that I talked to sold his building off a couple years ago. Maybe some of these laws have begun to change, with the recent renovation that's been going on?
Earlier today, I talked to a man that had owned buildings in the city for several years. He was against the idea, but not because of the crime levels:
The way he put it, the city has allot of infrastructure problems. The sewage and water systems are falling apart, and water/utilities in the city are astronomically expensive.
On top of this, he said that the city is very skittish about allowing any changes to historical buildings, to the point where even routine improvement is impossibly expensive. He told me about how he wanted to put new energy efficient windows into his building, but was told that he had to rebuild the original windows (with wood inlays, at his own expense) or leave them boarded up. The buildings are also likely have asbestos and lead paint, which can be expensive to manage. The city always seemed to find a way to dock him during inspections.
On the bright side, he said that the crime wasn't really on his list of worries. He suffered a few break ins, but never anything major.
This has made me seriously reconsider my decision to move into the city. Having laws to protect historical properties is one thing, but micromanaging these laws to the point of chasing people away is another. I'm afraid that the amount of money that I'd end up putting into the house to keep it up to Newburgh's codes would bankrupt me. This really disappoints me, and sheds a little bit of light on why Newburgh can't revitalize itself despite its location on the Hudson.
...then again, the person that I talked to sold his building off a couple years ago. Maybe some of these laws have begun to change, with the recent renovation that's been going on?
I am impressed with you commitment to Newburgh, and I do admire your view on the situation. With more people like you, maybe the city will be able to finally turn itself around.
I really can't say too much on the sewage and water issues, as I have never lived in a home in the city.
As for the historic buildings, however, whoever you talked to is correct. Newburgh has a long a rich history, dating back to its foundation by the German Palatines in 1709, then continuing on with Washington's residency in 1782-1783, Andrew Jackson Downing's architecture in the 1840's and so on. The Newburgh historic district is often advertised as being one the largest in the state and there are rules as to what you can do to your house if it is in the district. However, it is important to remember that not all neighborhoods are in the historic district(I've linked a map at the bottom) and that some of this historic areas are the most undesirable places to live in the city.
Earlier today, I talked to a man that had owned buildings in the city for several years. He was against the idea, but not because of the crime levels:
The way he put it, the city has allot of infrastructure problems. The sewage and water systems are falling apart, and water/utilities in the city are astronomically expensive.
On top of this, he said that the city is very skittish about allowing any changes to historical buildings, to the point where even routine improvement is impossibly expensive. He told me about how he wanted to put new energy efficient windows into his building, but was told that he had to rebuild the original windows (with wood inlays, at his own expense) or leave them boarded up. The buildings are also likely have asbestos and lead paint, which can be expensive to manage. The city always seemed to find a way to dock him during inspections.
On the bright side, he said that the crime wasn't really on his list of worries. He suffered a few break ins, but never anything major.
This has made me seriously reconsider my decision to move into the city. Having laws to protect historical properties is one thing, but micromanaging these laws to the point of chasing people away is another. I'm afraid that the amount of money that I'd end up putting into the house to keep it up to Newburgh's codes would bankrupt me. This really disappoints me, and sheds a little bit of light on why Newburgh can't revitalize itself despite its location on the Hudson.
...then again, the person that I talked to sold his building off a couple years ago. Maybe some of these laws have begun to change, with the recent renovation that's been going on?
I would love to know if this has changed as well and how the revitalization is doing. I googled it and a major project was in action but every link when I tried to visit it was dead. So I am not sure maybe they started it but got killed due to the same reasons that man you spoke to had issue with.
I have lived in Orange county for a long time. Newburgh has never been on my list to make real estate investments but many of my friends have owned or still own buildings there. It really depends on where the house is located as the demographics are all over the map in Newburgh. If you look for a house in the Baumville area, it's going to be a bit more upscale and generally very safe. If you look into the heart of the city, for me you would have to have a stomach made of steel and wallet filled to the brim.
Over the past year I started to investigate buying some investment rental homes in the city area because there are serious bargains to be found. I have since reconsidered because of how backwards the city is
.
You can find a large apartment building for bargain prices around $100-$150k or some homes in the $30-$50k range. They are definitely fixer-uppers. However, getting a building permit, dealing with the city gov't and following the complicated building codes will make you think different. There were many revitalizing projects in the horizons but many of them plainly disappeared after the investors found out how difficult and demanding it is to work with the city. Of all the surrounding towns and cities, to me the city of Newburgh is the worst to deal with. Any modifications to homes require a crazy amount of paperwork as well as numerous code requirements on renovations are very costly. Honestly I don't get it. So many buildings are in disrepair because no one wants to open up a can of worms - just leave it as it is - any improvements to the city will be scrutinized for no tomorrow so better to not start it. As much the city wants to have investors and prospective homeowners come in and make the place better, they put up too many roadblocks and projects planned are killed before starting.
Sadly, while it is good to get the codes to protect the public and the historical sites, they don't see that incremental improvements over time is far better than requiring people to immediately fix everything (and having people balk about investments)
Sounds like to me they have something in mind but not ready to do anything about it. If you want a town to survive and thrive you change the laws to help. Sound like they are just waiting for it to burn down and be beyond repair and then let outlet malls come in and buy it cheap. Sounds like they don't want the much wanted area to stay residential. But I could be wrong. If a big corporation came in bought up land tore things down to make way for retail it might revive the town but what a shame to lose all of that architecture and history to the area. Nobody seems to care about preserving the past anymore.
High Crime is just the result of many, many underlying issues in the City of Newburgh. High poverty, slumlord ownership, leaderless local govt , no enforcement of codes, central dumping ground for "regional" social services, overwhelmed police dept, poorly run Board of Ed and for this you get very HIGH, HIGH property taxes. This last part is one of the biggest issues for any type of real revitalization to occur.
The tax burden is placed heavy on the few honest homeowners who have made the city their home. It's tough to go to work everyday, only to see your taxes continue to skyrocket while your property values go down and any services provided underperform.
All of the guys I met that owned property in the city, always told me, it's a great place where you can make money as long as you don't live in the property. That slumlord business isn't for me. I've seen what it does to many families that are just trying to make ends meet but have little recourse.
If you do plan to invest/live in the city, make sure you look at assessed property values of similar properties to get the best idea of what you can expect to pay in taxes after you 'fix'. If you do live in the city, make sure you understand clearly what living(and investing) in a really high crime area means for you and your safety (as well as future +/- property values).
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Newburgh, NY
