Due to the snow storm and snow removal there will be no parking on Main Street Until Further Notice
From the Mayor’s Office
September 9, 2024
NY Forward: A Vision for our Downtown
The Village calendar has been filled with projects and activities. Fall is on the horizon. The summer concerts are winding down, apple season is gearing up. School has started. The weekends bring visitors to pick apples and to enjoy the beauty of our Valley and Villages. The coolness gives us renewed energy.
The Village is in the process of applying for a NY Forward Grant. The grant is focused on downtown revitalization and the award is 4.5 million dollars. We look at this as a great opportunity to showcase our Village and to describe the challenges we face.
The Village has evolved and continues to expand. In recent history, the business district was concentrated on Main Street and Oakland Avenue. Now, it encompasses Railroad Avenue, West Street, Spring Street, South Street, upper Main Street, Elm Street, McEwen Street, and Forester Avenue. Interestingly, newspapers from the late 1800s show that businesses existed on all these streets even back then! This growth has brought many new businesses including restaurants and retail shops. It has also made us a destination for visitors and tourists. With success also comes new needs and new potential.
The nature of the grant is to define a series of transformational projects. This can be the physical space, the infrastructure which can include the streetscape, sidewalks and amenities, parking lot facilities, greenspace – our parks, in particular Railroad Green, Lewis Park (owned by the Historical Society) and the Linear Park that includes a portion of the Wawayanda Stream Corridor, transportation, and signage.
The nature of this grant is to leverage dollars through public/private partnerships. It is also about our partnership with the Warwick Valley Chamber, Merchants Guild, Historical Society and the Arts Community.
So, I’m requesting your input. This is for anyone who loves our downtown and wants to see it flourish. I will need more than a post on FB, please send an email to: clerk@villageofwarwick.org and include in the subject line, ‘NY Forward’.
This is a moment of imagining and reimagining our beautiful, Historic Village. Think about places you have been that have impressed you, surprised you. Think about what makes a place extraordinary, the events that we have and how they can be better through physical improvements. Think about a place like no other and what we can enhance, improve and make better for all.
A Special Village Board meeting will take place on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street. The next regular Village Board meeting will take place on Monday, September 23, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
