WASHINGTON – This is the second year that Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey has attended the US Conference of Mayors’ summit in Washington, DC. For Poughkeepsie’s new mayor, Yvonne Flowers, this was her first time at the session held this week at the nation’s capital.
Both spoke with Mid-Hudson News by phone from Washington on Friday.
For Mayor Flowers, she was concerned about funding to replace lead waterlines in the city.
She noted Poughkeepsie is a fiscally stressed city and to meet new federal guidelines for replacing those lines will be a difficult task.
“The money that is out there that we are aware of the funding is not going to cover the full amount of the cost, and then under New York State, there are certain laws as to what money will be used on private property,” she said. “So, the question is how do we help residents to ensure that they don’t have to pay money out of their pocket and at the same time we don’t have to borrow money to meet what the EPA’s ruling will be.”
For Mayor Harvey, he wanted to hear what other cities, both large and small, are doing to curb gun violence and provide resources for young people.
