Juneteenth 2020 Julia Jackson Placard Ceremony Transcript 

Village of New Paltz
June 19, 2020
https://youtu.be/-r_MjqxE1sw

Mayor Tim Rogers opened the proceedings:

Good evening. I’m Tim Rogers, Village of New Paltz Mayor. I am here tonight at Hasbrouck Park. Two years ago we were here on a very cold February [afternoon], we were dedicating the park area to Julia Jackson, a former New Paltz resident. We are very excited to be back today to recognize our history, our challenged and checkered history, and we have some very thoughtful speakers with us tonight. We have Town Historian Susan Stessin-Cohn, we have high school teacher Albert Cook, and Jenn Berry, a reverend here in the Village of New Paltz. I go to lots of events, hear lots of different speakers, and I’m actually very excited and interested to hear these thoughtful speakers, so I’m going to hand it over to Susan.

Susan Stessin-Cohn, Town Historian:

You think that just because it’s already happened, the past is finished and unchangeable?

Oh no, the past is cloaked in multi-colored taffeta and every time we look at it we see a different hue – Milan Kundera

(more…)

Village Offices Closed in Observance of Juneteenth (6/19/20)

Village offices will be closed tomorrow, Friday June 19th 2020, in observance of Juneteenth. 

Village officials invite the public to honor Juneteenth by joining us for a re-dedication of a plaque for Julia Jackson at 7:00 PM on Friday evening. This is a virtual online event that you can tune into here: https://youtu.be/Ij9VLGv5Z0M 

This Juneteenth marks the 155th anniversary of the official announcement on June 19, 1865 that freed nearly a quarter-million enslaved people in Texas—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Yesterday, June 17, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued an Executive Order declaring Juneteenth an official holiday, and announced that the state will advance legislation to mark Juneteenth as an official holiday in perpetuity. Please read Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order No. 204 in full, here.

Wallkill Valley Rail Trail Community Opportunity Plan

Please join us for a virtual public meeting on Monday, June 29th from 7:00pm to 8:00pm to discuss The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail Community Opportunity Plan
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The Ulster County Transportation Council (UCTC) hired landscape architecture experts Weintraub/Diaz to lead the planning and design process for The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail (WVRT) to see how we may optimize multimodal active transport, open space, and recreational enhancement on the heavily used part of the trail within the Village of New Paltz.

The plan being conducted by the UCTC is in partnership with the Village of New Paltz, Wallkill Valley Land Trust, and Historic Huguenot Street. The Rail Trail is being examined from Plains Road north to Huguenot Street, approximately 1.5 miles, with a focus on the area from Plains Road to Mulberry Street.

For more meeting information, please visit:

2020-06-10 Water Main Break Updated 1pm

This morning the contractor working on our sewer mains accidentally damaged our 12″ water main on Hasbrouck Ave. It’s being repaired, but residents may see brown water because of the pressure change in the water main that caused the break. You’ll want to flush your lines to remove any discoloration. This water is not harmful and has not commingled with the sewer pipes. we have not issued a boil-water notice.