Downtown Haverstraw to Receive Major Facelift According to Albany Plans

By Yitzy Fried

According to a plan unveiled by Governor Kathy Hochul, ten million dollars will be invested into downtown Haverstraw, beautifying the area, updating it, and making it more accessible and walkable.

"Through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, we are making communities across our state more accessible and vibrant places to live and visit," Governor Hochul said. "This funding will support locally-led initiatives to reinvigorate Haverstraw's downtown, improving recreation, housing and business opportunities throughout the village to help the community flourish for generations to come."

Among the projects are: Stabilizing the shoreline and expanding a public walking trail, expansion of the Haverstraw Brick Museum, enhancing outdoor recreation areas, the construction of a multimodal ferry station, which will enhance connectivity to other New York towns, a downtown façade restoration fund, in addition to other projects.

Local politicians lauded the initiative. Among them was Village of Haverstraw Mayor Michael Kohut, who said, "The Village is excited to learn what projects have received awards from the State under the DRI grant. This has been a long and involved process, and I'm glad that we are soon to start the next phase, meaning implementation.

"We believe these projects that have received funding will be transformational for the Village and will catapult us into the group of highly successful river villages that dot the shores of the Hudson Valley now. Working together with NYS, over the next few years, everyone will appreciate Haverstraw's successful rebirth."