At Pattern for Progress”™s President”™s Day breakfast, held at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel & Conference Center Feb. 7, President and CEO Jonathan Drapkin unveiled the latest initiatives for a regional plan. The plan-in-progress for the Hudson Valley was set in motion a year ago, and this year”™s results will be presented at an end-of-year dinner, as was done in 2007, Drapkin said.
Drapkin”™s remarks, which were expanded upon in a separate interview, preceded a presentation at the breakfast by featured speaker Elliot “Lee” Sander, CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (see accompanying article).
To address the complexity of the challenges facing the Hudson Valley, Pattern for Progress has undertaken a multiprong approach, with committees formed to examine the issues of affordable housing, transportation, government efficiency and health care.
Drapkin noted that 2008 will prove to be more challenging than last year, given the economic downturn. The region also confronts growth pressures, which could prove transformative. “The Hudson Valley is at a crossroads about the future direction it will undertake,” said Drapkin. The key challenge: balancing economic development and job creation with quality of life and affordability.
On some issues, residents are sending mixed messages, he noted. For example, “We complain about our property taxes, yet there”™s a consensus we”™re concerned for our schools. The increasing conflict (about these issues) leaves everyone dissatisfied.”
The region itself is diverse, with some areas experiencing explosive growth and others lagging behind. Coming up with solutions “requires a sacrifice and the will to compromise,” he said. “We need a plan.”
While several planning initiatives are under way ”“ namely, Ulster Tomorrow, Greene County”™s comprehensive economic development plan, and Westchester”™s 20/25 ”“ there is no blueprint for the entire valley, Drapkin noted. “We need to restore our historic communities and sense of place, and at the same time show expansion in important regions,” he said.
Drapkin said one challenge is the high percentage of residents who are commuting outside their county to go to work. A total of 220,000 commuters travel outside the region for higher-paying jobs; in Putnam, commuters account for an astounding 72 percent of residents. “There”™s a social cost from all this movement,” he said. “How could we have grown so fast and yet have so many organizations gasping for volunteers? Why are we asking the same people over and over for more funding for worthy causes?”
One plank of Pattern”™s plan is the encouragement of transit-ordered development (TOD) communities, which would steer growth mostly toward existing centers. A potential model is Beacon and Newburgh. Together both cities provide “an incredible amount of assets,” including two waterfronts, numerous cultural and environmental attractions, a world-class art museum, two promising development sites and transportation links, namely the Metro-North train station in Beacon, the bridge over the Hudson and ferry service.
A “Beaconburgh” or “New Beacon,” as Drapkin referred to the new polis, would “attract a central mass of visitors and reverse commuters ”¦ there could be joint marketing of historic sites and one or two hotels” catering to overnight visitors. “The activity would culminate in significant economic development potential,” Drapkin said.
What”™s happening at Newburgh and Beacon is “actionable throughout the valley,” he said. “Making the cities into hubs helps preserve areas not designed for growth.”
Health care and education are critical issues that Pattern is beginning to address, Drapkin said. He cited:
”¢ Health care. Pattern is encouraging collaborative ventures among area hospitals as either mergers or partnerships. The group has formed a health care committee, chaired by Art Weintraub, former president of the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association. Current President Neil Abitabilo will also serve on the committee. While many health care issues “are hard for us to influence,” Pattern could help in certain areas, such as promoting more collaboration between the stakeholders.
An overall aim is to “create a seamless web of health care.” Developing areas of expertise within the valley would help make the Hudson Valley more competitive with other regions in the state and provide more comprehensive care to residents. “Instead of hospitals being all things to all people, they”™d look at their selves collectively and individually become better in a particular specialty. More patients could be served in our area, and it would reduce costs.”
”¢ Education. Rising property taxes are mostly caused by increases in school budgets, yet many residents are not satisfied with the quality of education, Drapkin said. “We must help schools achieve better results.” Pattern is promoting ways to support innovations within the public school system. The challenges range from high obesity rates among kids to insufficient resources to send students to college, he said.
Ӣ Housing. This spring, Pattern will host its second annual housing conference. Following last yearӪs conference, the housing advisory group has been expanded to include additional counties. The aim of the committee is to provide help to municipal planning boards and work with the state and the governor, who recently introduced a $400 million housing fund, to figure out solutions to the affordable housing crisis. Pattern regularly sends out a housing bulletin to planning and zoning boards in the valley to alert them to timely developments.
Ӣ Transportation. Pattern plans to participate in the regional transportation conference thatӪs being held March 18 at Rockland County Community College. PatternӪs director of transportation research, Mary Ann Crotty, is working on coming up with a set of regional principles for an interconnected transportation system for the region, which will be presented in some form at the conference.
”¢ Local government. Pattern has also creating a regional council on local government, “designed to pull together creative thinkers on how we can restructure the delivery of government services in cities, towns, villages and counties.” Drapkin said Ed Diana, the county executive for Orange County, is chairing the committee. Other members include Gerald Benjamin, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at SUNY New Paltz and resident expert on governmental issues, to explore how to improve efficiency; town of Fishkill Supervisor Joan Pagones, and Sullivan County Treasurer Ira Cohen. Drapkin, who spent 17 years in local government himself, said he has worked with Benjamin.
Drapkin said the government committee plans to sponsor a conference in September. “I hope this will provide a conduit for some of the best ideas coming out of Spitzer”™s commission on local government,” which is due to have its work done in April, said Drapkin. “We want to show how government can be more efficient and part of the solution.”
Last year, Pattern created a regional training program for leaders working at businesses or nonprofits. Each participant is charged with coming up with a regional application for their specialty.
Participants attend sessions featuring presentations by experts in various topics. The first class of 19 participants will graduate this June and Pattern is currently recruiting the next class.
“We need to keep our collective eye on improving the quality of life in the valley,” Drapkin concluded. Building an overall plan will take awhile, but in the meantime Pattern is moving ahead with the pieces. “It”™s comprised of all those parts. We”™re figuring out how to bring all together.”
