Talk:Newburgh, New York/Archives/2016

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I appreciate the fact that someone took the initiative to write an article about Newburgh, NY. My mother's family is from Newburgh (we date back to the early 1800's in Newburgh) and she and my father are still living there. I lived in Newburgh from 1964-1975 when I left to attend college but I return several times each year. I'm relating all of this because I found some inaccuracies in the article that should be addressed. The mass Urban Renewal project that resulted in the total decimation of most of Water St, Colden St., Smith St., lower Broadway, Ann St., and Montgomery St. south of South St. took place between 1960-1964. When my family joined my father in Turkey in September 1961, my grandparents were living on Smith St. in one of two houses that my great-grandmother left to my grandmother and her brother, my great uncle. When we returned in April 1964, my grandparents were living several streets west of the river on Johnson St. The streets that were destroyed were the black neighborhoods, and had been the black neighborhoods since at least the 1920's. I know this because my mother and her cousins grew up on Smith St., and there were many other "old Newburgh" black families that grew up on Smith St as well. The impetus for development on that bare site took place ten years later when Rev. Frank Jones, then pastor of A.M.E. Zion Church, developed a number of assisted housing units there, These units were called Varrick Homes. Varrick Homes opened in 1973 or 1974. The apartments are still standing. Now as to the riots and the circumstances surrounding them: people who were alive then, living in northern cities, and old enough to remember the 1960's will remember for a while every summer there was rioting. The summers of 1964-1968 brought riots in major nothern cities (and in Los Angeles) for a variety of reasons. The Newburgh riots of 1971 and 1974 started at the high school, Newburgh Free Academy, or NFA. Someone else will have to detail the 1971 riots. I have clear memories of the occurances surrounding those in 1974. Some racial tension erupted during the fall after an African-American band, Yabu, won a Battle of the Bands contest at NFA. A young black girl had been beaten by a group of white boys the previous week. During the aftermath of the band event, her brother retaliated and that ignited the spark that was to become a mass fight which began at the high school the following week. When the police arrived, tear gassed the crowd, and began beating the black students (most who were only curious bystanders), the battle line retreated to the East End (re: the black neighborhoods) and changed character. The confrontation became a full scale riot, resulting in the city being put on curfew. A group of black student activists organized a one day walkout and boycott of the school, and presented a list of demands to the principal. Roseann Scamardella of Channel 2 Eyewitness News even came to interview the students. I do not recall any major changes that occured in the school as a result of these actions, but that was my senior year and I left the city in June, 1975. I'm certain other Newburgh natives will have more to contribute to the site. Keep up the good work. Pamwoodard 15:09, 26 May 2007 (UTC) I can back everything said by Pam Woodard. I was not only there during these events, I was a member of the band, Yabu, that won that competition and I witnessed the afteremath. I am also Pam's cousin and she has been an upstanding citizen and a grade A person her entire life. I was a direct witness and casualty of the foremention 1971 riots. I held the school door open at NFA for the riot police, who were running toward a disturbance outside, when that last cop going through the door proceeded to beat me for no reason. My mother Marion Smith, my pastor Rev. Frank E. Jones and other race to the high school to access my condition. When they arrived, I was in a crowd of well armed black students, facing off with a crowd of white students and both sides were held back by a long line of riot equipped police. The black crowd was pushed east toward lower Newburgh. I slipped out of the crowd because I no longer lived down there. I had to return to the school to catch my bus home but before I could a couple of car loads of white students stopped and came toward us with bats and chains. There were 12 armed white male students and 5 of us black students, including to tough females. One brother (Larry Joe Ramsey) went crazy and jumped on all twelve at once, but the police broke it all up pretty quickly. Thank God! I also saw my girl chewed up by a police dog while she stood around the school like everyone else. Lots of sick memories had to be forgiven and forgotten. The bottom line message in all of what I just said was that in 1971, a lot of young white people were still trying to treat blacks with no respect. Newburgh has always had a reputation for having areas of town that were the roughest and most dangerous places to live anywhere and with that mentally in most black sections of Newburgh, disrespect was not tolerated. Consequently, black people were finally aware they had the force to demand and get the respect that the U.S. Constitution said they had all along. And they got it! Good Work Couz! Mic Smith 6/20/07

Last edited at 04:33, 20 June 2007 (UTC). Substituted at 01:09, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Category reversal- small point

Daniel Case reverted [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Newburgh_%28city%29,_New_York&oldid=prev&diff=722452924 adding a category here

I think I see the argument from the point of the point source. (Your edit summary of reverting my categorization of Newburgh "we should add this to Lake Washington")

However, I am thinking not only of what Case indicates is the source of the contamination Lake Washington. My argument is that it is equally important to denote a community of exposure ( people and all ).

I dont know Daniel Case, sense fierceness but hoping he/others can see my point and resolve teh conflict civilly. --Wuerzele (talk) 13:38, 30 May 2016 (UTC)

[boy’s track team]

Dear Sir or Madam:

I would like to thank you very much for maintaining the Wikipedia along with the interesting information and facts about Newburgh. I found it both knowledgeable and enlightening. However, in your sports section I saw no mention of the boy’s track team who has won 10 National Championships and over 20 state championships while, producing over 90 track and Field High School All Americans. The boys track teams Alumni’s who moved on to completion higher include: Randy Patterson (Class of 2010 at Mississippi State), Aaron Steele (Class of 2007 Florida State University) Jarrell Warren (Class of 2006 Oklahoma State University), David Mc Fadgen III (Class of 2006 North Carolina A&T University), and Samry Laine (Class of 2002 Harvard University, University of Texas, and Georgetown University of Law Center). Samry Laine became Newburgh’s first Olympian, as he placed 10th in the triple jump during the 2012 London Olympics Games .

Please find these Newburgh Boys Track and Field accomplishes worthy and post them in your Newburgh Wikipedia. Many thanks in advance, and also feel free to contact me at any time if you have any question on any of these listed accomplishments.

Malcolm Burks Head Boys Track and Field Coach Newburgh Free Academy Newburgh Elite Track Club (845) 728-4330 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.15.37.222 (talk) 17:42, 24 July 2014 (UTC)

Things like that are better off in the article about the school, in this case NFA. Daniel Case (talk) 05:08, 25 July 2014 (UTC)