MIDDLETOWN – The City of Middletown is the poster child for downtown economic development, according to a top official of Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress.
Joseph Czajka, senior vice president for research, development and community planning, authored a recent report concerning community redevelopment and its impacts on the populations in the cities.
He said Middletown has a winning formula for its rebirth led by Mayor Joseph DeStefano.
“The leadership and the capacity to do things there is amazing,” Czajka said. “They got a state grant, but they always want to improve their city and they don’t ignore the residents that are living there now. They have homeownership programs for current residents. They are trying to pull additional millennials into the downtown. They are pulling in people with disposal incomes so they can shop on the main street, but they are not ignoring their existing residents.”
In addition to attracting new types of businesses, including two new micro-breweries, the city is working up plans on how to spend a $10 million state grant for downtown revitalization.
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