PORT JERVIS – Calling the coronavirus pandemic a “hiccup” in the rebirth of Port Jervis, Mayor Kelly Decker said the city will survive and continue its rebirth.
In his eighth annual state of the city address Wednesday evening, Decker called Port Jervis a “shining gem” on the shores of the Delaware River.
His 35-minute speech, delivered for the first time on Zoom, outlined the challenges the city faced in 2020 and his positive outlook going forward.
“We must continue to remind ourselves of our past of shuttered factories and storefronts is partially still here and that quote, ‘the last one to leave Port Jervis, turn the lights out’ bumper sticker is not a distant memory. If our future is not precisely planned and implemented, our amazing transformation can still slip away,” he said.
Decker noted the city is fast becoming a tourist mecca, a recreational destination for hiking, biking and other activities.
He also pointed to upgrades to Bon Secours Community Hospital and the Cornerstone Family Health facilities as well as a large veterans’ service center opened in 2020 as well as completion of the new Frank D. Bell Memorial Bridge over the Neversink River.
The mayor also had praise for the city’s employees from police and DPW to office personnel and the all-volunteer fire department that serves the city with a population of 8,600.
