Dear Neighbors,

  First, thank you to all of you who have expressed concern and signed our petition.  I know it's a lot to read and during a busy time of year.  We sincerely appreciate your support and will do our utmost to keep you updated on developments through this site.  My intention was to have a more complete update out by the new year, but we've been dealing with a sick pet.  So please bear with the slightly less thorough nature of this first update.  You can read all of the comments/concerns we sent directly to the planning board as well as our other local legislatures on Dec 20th here.  Over the next few months we will continue to canvas other neighborhoods in the city of Newburgh and New Windsor distributing our petition to residents that might not have been notified by the town board initially.    

In the meantime here's a bit more we found out in the last few weeks:

#1 We discovered the builders (Farrell Building Group) is a larger interstate builder (with their own supply lines and workers) who got their start building custom homes followed by communities throughout the Hamptons, Connecticut and parts of Florida.  They now seem to have their sites on developing the Hudson River Valley with several luxury apartment complexes already up and running (Gardnertown Rd, New Windsor, Middletown & Fishkill) and several more projects within the Town of Newburgh in the works (currently slated for development in the town (between Rt. 300 and North Plank Rd. (section 34 Block 2 Lot 45)).  Why Farrell builders seems particularly smitten with the Town of Newburgh (they've set up their business office here at 182 S. Plank Rd) is a question I will look into.

#2  For residents who will be within sight line of the potential Little Britain Rd build (this is you Stony Brook Condo residents)  and who expressed concerns if buildings on Little Britain Rd would be in view, the Gardnertown Complex is a perfect example of what 75' from the property line looks like.  I've included a photo of residents who now back up to the Gardnertown community above.  

 #3  Seems it's a bit like whack-a-mole for our little corner of the world.  And that can feel discouraging (and exhausting).  But other potential projects you should also be aware of happening in our neighborhood.  

• unity place warehouse build (located on the corner of Old Little Britain Rd and Unity Place)  Thank you Joanides family for bringing the following to my attention!  I've linked the proposed build plan above.  According to a document sent from the planning board, "the project involves the proposed construction of a 154,700 sq ft warehouse facility on a total combined parcel of 12.8 acres.  ...Project proposes a 160 passenger vehicle parking spaces, 79 loading docks and 40 trailer parking spaces.  A public hearing will be held on Thurs Jan 5th, 2023 at the Town Hall Meeting room 1496 Rt 300 Newburgh at 7p at which time all interested persons will be given the opportunity to be heard."  
• At the same meeting on the 5th it appears the folks from Kingdom Hall will also be discussing their proposal to the town to build a second 5,000 square foot facility on the woodlands next to them (formerly for sale by John J Lease).  You can see all those plans at the link above.  Undoubtedly that will contribute (at specific times) to greater traffic on the surrounding roads.
• New mass build in Town of New Windsor directly off Little Britain Rd between Steele and MacNary Lane.  I believe I heard from neighbors abutting this build these were going to be apartments, but I haven't been able to find hard documentation of that in the town of New Windsor minutes yet, but will continue to keep looking.  Although that project is well under way- you can see the plywood structures from across the reservoir, it may only aid our argument about traffic in this area.

Finally a reminder that although it can feel like the Town Planning Board is against us, it is best that our communication and interactions with them remain respectful and not adversarial.  This is our chance to educate them to the concerns of their residents on over development of this area.  Something we know is all too easier said than done!  There is strength in numbers and now is the time we need to show up in person and voice our opposition.  We hope to see you tomorrow evening!