In Newburgh… Turning a Corner and Finding It’s Sold!

  |  January 9, 2015
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Being the creator of a Facebook blog-page (Newburgh on the RISE) is about bringing stimulating images and descriptive narratives to fans and followers on a regular basis. What that also means is aggressively hitting the streets in order to capture “that moment” for a post that will have meaning and message to those who love the city. But the truth be known, you can’t do that without being a huge “Burghie” (think “Trekkie,” only substitute spaceships and pointed ears with diverse historic architecture and mesmerizing Hudson River views).

Now add to that equation the matter of being a stakeholder, which happened, of course, when I purchased my historic rowhouse in The Heights neighborhood a little over a year and a half ago. I have to say, there is something empowering with that label when it is a city that is so passionately working on revitalizing itself.

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An interesting phenomena takes place when you are a “Burghie” and a stakeholder… even though your love of the city is idealistic and pure, it also morphs with the homeowner/investor in you. You start to notice the “for sale” signs, you check out Trulia and Zillow and you look for glimmers of hope in the market where you’ve placed your financial chip on the table.

Now, readers, here’s the interesting twist. Many of us who have discovered Newburgh truly know the value of its historic beauty, its “Downtown Brooklyn appeal in an upstate city reality” and its amazing affordable draw. But here is another solid reality… the Burgh… is starting… to SELL (shhhhh), it is being discovered (shhhhh!). Each time I turn a corner to capture a photo, a SOLD or SALE PENDING sign seems to visually greet me (or is it taunt me). It also seems like this past year, each time I blink, yet another creative transplant from NYC shares their newest story, describing their home restoration. There are mixed emotions when you feel that a best kept secret is being discovered by others. But like many hopeful urban cities experiencing a renaissance, there really is enough of this promising city to go around, shared by those who will not be displaced with those from near or far, eager to be participants in its future and embrace just how special it is.

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Newburgh craves to be loved, it merits being respected and so much of its affordable historic architecture deserves to be discovered. Each time one more person “turns a corner” and finds that home of their dreams, the city turns a corner. And sometimes what may seem like just a short journey brings unbelievably tall gains! Newburgh’s time is NOW!

About Mike Rizzo

Mike Rizzo — Brooklyn born, in a day when backyard clothes lines were vogue, a trip to Coney Island was literally "a day at the beach" and pasta was more at home being called "macaroni" — combines an old-school perspective to a new-energy audience with his passion for revitalization. A "tongue-in-cheek bucket list wish" to follow a love of Downtown Brooklyn row houses allowed him to affordably fulfill that dream recently in historic Newburgh. It also fueled a fire to visually tell the tale of this little city that could, with photos and comfy narratives in his blog Newburgh on the RISE. He brings Upstater readers some of the best of THE BURGH from RISE, in the hope to entertain and lead readers to fall in love with a Hudson Valley gem that deserves to be polished by our affection and respect.

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