290 Liberty Street — gone

Last week this house on Liberty Street in Newburgh, NY was demolished. Nobody wanted it so the city moved in with bulldozers and wrecking balls. Good dentists save teeth, good city governments save houses and this was a prize nineteenth century town house. For 20 years I have heard talk in the streets of Newburgh, at city council meetings and at meetings of special interest groups, that tourism is Newburgh's future. But all that will be offered for a tourist to look at will be gaping holes or condominiums if things continue like this. And there is no sign that it won't.