Newburgh, New York
Centering a creek as a key community asset in a storied riverfront city.
In Newburgh, we are igniting a passion for nature in a historic city. We’re working with community members to plan for climate-resilient neighborhoods and increase access to open spaces that offer an oasis from heat, manage stormwater, provide habitat, and improve air quality. One focal point for these efforts is the planning of the Quassaick Creek Greenway, a 2.5-mile open space and trail network along Newburgh’s urban waterway.
Quassaick Creek runs through Newburgh before flowing into the Hudson River and forms the municipal border between the City and the Town of New Windsor. A long-held community vision, the Greenway aims to connect residents to the beauty of the creek, restore the creek’s ecosystem, and create a link to upland forests from the Hudson waterfront.
Scenic Hudson is partnering with community members, design experts, ecologists, and local stakeholders to ensure the design and implementation strategy reflects the community vision, meeting the open space needs of Newburgh and New Windsor residents while enhancing the landscape into a functional and resilient ecosystem. Read the plan here.
The Quassaick Creek watershed and the Greenway vision include the city-owned Crystal Lake. This hidden gem has become a beacon for community-led conservation by We Love Crystal Lake, Sanctuary Healing Gardens, and many others. Located next to Scenic Hudson’s Snake Hill, the lake and its surroundings provide a vital green gathering place within the City of Newburgh.
At Crystal Lake, local activists, the City, and other community stakeholders have collaborated to:
- Plan, build, and improve trails and a community garden
- Maintain a gateway and parking area
- Install new bike racks and benches
- Install new signage
- Support community events on site, including the popular Winterfest and Juneteenth celebrations, the latter led by the community
- Participate in community cleanups (we’ve already removed 1,250 pounds of litter from the shores of Crystal Lake)
In 2017, Scenic Hudson partnered with the City of Newburgh to set up a community garden at Crystal Lake, which continues to thrive. Local teens are learning about the importance of agriculture while growing fresh produce, telling stories of community resilience and caring for the land. This notable work is led by land stewards at the Sanctuary Healing Farm and Gardens at Crystal Lake. There is also a community-led effort to designate up to 109 acres of municipally owned lands around Crystal Lake as a public park.
We continue our commitment to the next generation of environmental leaders by supporting programs that immerse local youth in research and stewardship of Newburgh’s open space network and urban forest. In addition to our community engagement efforts tied to the Quassaick Creek Greenway, we support numerous environmental education programs that are advancing youth leadership and stewardship in the city:
- We participate in the Greater Newburgh Parks Conservancy’s (GNPC) partner roundtable where we collaborate with other leaders advancing environmental rights and access to open space to align efforts. GNPC has been a leader in street tree planting and coordinating an Environmental Justice (EJ) Fellowship, two programs that we have been proud to support. The EJ Fellows are key contributors and cofacilitators of Defining Urban Biodiversity, our community science partnership with the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies that is cataloging the wildlife that call Newburgh home.
- In collaboration with the City and the GNPC, we created an open space inventory, assessment, and improvement guide to help the City of Newburgh and local park advocates collaborate on improving the parks and open space network.
- We collaborate with local conservation and environmental justice groups on Quassaick Creekfest, an annual celebration to honor community, water, and biodiversity in the city.
- Each fall, we also hold community AquaBlitz events to create opportunities for people of all ages to get their hands wet and discover what’s living in their creeks and watershed.
Want to get involved in Newburgh? Discover upcoming events and volunteer opportunities, get updates on Quassaick Creek Greenway, or join community science projects collecting data on urban biodiversity and local watersheds.
