So now that Bloomberg has decided he doesn’t want the 9/11 trials in NYC, Mayor Nicholas Valentine of Newburgh, NY is offering his hospitality.
As an NYC transplant in the Newburgh area, I’m putting in my two cents.
Personally, I thought it would’ve been a fine idea to hold the trials in NYC. It would have been cathartic for us to see these guys brought to justice right near the scene of the crime. Punishment if found guilty? Parade them through the streets of Bensonhurst or Maspeth. End of story.
NYC would’ve probably been a tad too busy to hold these huge trials. But Newburgh? There’s NOTHING going on there! Seriously, as long as it doesn’t cost the City of Newburgh anything, they should totally do it!
The Mayor knows that this would put Newburgh on the map. There’s a 20% unemployment rate, a ton of boarded up buildings and a handful of wonderful businesses struggling to survive. There are plenty of hotels in the area, an international airport, major roadways and oh, did I mention a military base? A friggin military base! Plus, West Point is just down the road a bit.
If commuters are inconvenienced by traffic on the bridge, they can hop a ferry across the river to Metro North. Problem solved.
So, who is against it? Orange County Executive Ed Diana says “Not in my backyard!” He wants it outside of the U.S. and says he will do everything in his power to stop it from happening in Orange County. “Forty-four Orange County residents lost their lives on that most horrific day, and to bring these monsters to Orange County is an insult to our residents,” Diana told the local Record newspaper.
Unemployment. High taxes. Struggling businesses. High crime rate. In a beautiful location on the river within an hour of NYC. With gorgeous architecture. Nah, better keep the status quo. Let’s keep Newburgh off the map.
Oh BTW, Mr. Diana, that was sarcasm.
3 Comments
I thought of you when I first heard about this! The mayor of Newburgh was on Brian Lehrer this morning — did you catch it? I thought he articulated his “pitch” for Newburgh quite well, and if you believe what he said it sounds like he has a lot of support from residents.
P.S. Love that he’s a tailor. That was actually a pretty amusing part of the interview.
Actually from a Newburgher (whatever that is) point of view, most everyone I’ve spoken to, including two of our city councilwomen (equal to the mayor in our city)- this idea was never discussed with them, even still today- are vehemently against the idea. (see NewburghAdvocate.com) There is not nothing going on in Newburgh any more than Beacon. I find it interesting how anyone can make the observation that our mayor has said anything of value other than make us a laughing stock. He wouldn’t know tourism if it bit him in the nose. In fact, if more people knew about Newburgh- with one of the largest intact Victorian historic districts in the US and the widest main street and,and,and- we would be a tourist destination no thanks indeed to Mr. Valentine who’s been in office for 10 years. Through all the babble though, I believe that our(and Beacon’s) State Legislator, Frank Skartados said it best: (from the Times Herald Record) “‘The defense of liberty and freedom and democracy has a price,’ said Skartados, D-Milton. ‘We have a responsibility to stand up and confront those who wish us harm.’
While acknowledging that many will take a ‘not in my backyard’ attitude, Skartados said that as long as security can be assured and the federal government pays the cost of that added security, this ‘opportunity to participate in the fight against organized terrorism’ would bring the area both national exposure and revenue from the lawyers, media and others who would be working here for the duration of the trial.'”
I’ve heard the mayor of Newburgh is not great. I’ll agree with you on that and one other thing…. “There is not nothing going on in Newburgh any more than Beacon.”
Beacon is a pretty dead town too. If they wanted to have it over here, hey I’d be for that.
They have to have it somewhere. There will be NIMBY’s crying wherever it is. But I do think it would be a good source of revenue for local businesses.