New economic plans outlined in Poughkeepsie

Hayley Tsukayama Staff Writer

The Town of Poughkeepsie held the second public hearing regarding its plan for the future of the area on Jan. 31. The proposed plan is a revamp of the 1990 master town plan. According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, around 70 people attended the meeting at Arlington Middle School to add their input to the draft of the master plan.

The town board will not make any final decisions about their 98-page master plan proposal until April, reported to the Journal, and will still accept any public suggestions for change to the plan.

One proposal included in the plan is to re-establish a town center in the Arlington Business District near Vassar College, as well as to build several smaller “hamlet centers” around the Town of Poughkeepsie in order to create a more village-like atmosphere.

Hamlet centers will be located in places like New Hamburg, Red Oaks Mill, and Rochdale. In addition to the Arlington District, there is also an “emerging center” along Route 9, according to the plan.

The unique shape of the Town of Poughkeepsie and its relationship to the City of Poughkeepsie makes it difficult to establish a central community, said Vassar’s Vice President for Finance and Administration Betsy Eismeier. While she has never been officially consulted for input, she said that she has had several conversations with town officials about the master plan.

“The College is very interested in the concept of a town center,” said Eismeier. “There are a lot of people in town who’d like to see Arlington come back as a pedestrian-friendly shopping district.” This effort works nicely with the recent façade renovations of shops owned by Vassar’s real estate company, College Properties, LLC.

The plan lightly criticizes the College for “isolating” itself from the city, making it difficult to integrate the school and the community. It does, however, point to the renovation of Raymond Avenue as an important step in revitalizing the Arlington Business District.

The conceptual blueprint for the Arlington district shows commercial development on the field near the Alumnae lawn, and was made without consulting the College. According to Eismeier, the College has “zero plans” to put buildings on that land.

The document also discusses plans for more bike trails, further development of empty land, and plans for more affordable housing. According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, some people at the meeting felt that the plans for affordable housing development were “lacking.” Representative Todd Tancredi (R-6th Ward), known in the community for his concern for senior citizens, said he would advocate for more senior housing.

Other criticism of the master plan involves new rules regarding signage policies for the town. In a flyer distributed to local businesses, Todd Baright of Foam & Wash voiced concerns about several parameters of the proposed law.

First, the ordinance “prohibits internally lit signs” and neon signs of any kind. Second, it has strict rules about the height and square footage of signs both in storefronts and on the roadside. According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, business owners fear that restrictions on signage will hurt their stores.

The master plan is available to the public at http://www.townofpoughkeepsie.com/.