Newburgh

Situated on the banks of the Hudson River 60 miles north of New York City, Newburgh, NY has experienced the shifts in America’s destiny for more than 200 years. Liberty Street, originally named King’s Highway by the British, was renamed by George Washington after the end of the Revolutionary War, giving its name complex, contradictory meanings. The street runs north to south and traverses the entire length of the city through neighborhoods ranging from magnificent historic houses overlooking the river, distressed communities and the city’s business district.

At its northernmost end are stately homes -remnants of its grand history as one of the most important shipbuilding and shipping ports along the Hudson River a century ago. Washington’s Headquarters (where General Washington called an end to the Revolutionary War) sits on a promontory overlooking the Hudson at the corner of Liberty and Washington Streets. From there, Liberty Street continues its southerly path through a dilapidated, rundown, and crime-ridden neighborhood, one of the many that has given Newburgh its moniker, “Murder Capital of New York State.” Poor black and Hispanic families struggle to keep their heads above water and their children safe. Poverty ranks as the number one social ill (drugs are number two), with poverty levels ranging from 40-55% and blacks and Hispanics making up nearly 100% of the population. In summer people take to the streets; crime and murders flare up and there is little reprieve for most.

I began photographing in 2015 after renting a studio in the middle of the Liberty Street corridor. From the moment I made my first photograph on Liberty Street, I wondered what I could bring to a conversation from which residents felt they had been shut off for years. No answers came, but an openness to discussion flowed freely. 

In light of the current divisive political climate and an uncertain future, Newburgh continues to struggle with its troubled history and reflects the questions posed by current social, political, and economic disparities, and the activism surrounding it.