Breathing New Life into the Hudson Valley

What does the future hold for the Hudson Valley? After reading both the Lohr and Foderaro articles, I was pleased to see that the technology industry and big housing money might be finding its way to the region- positive news compared to the depressing outlook of recent class readings. While some voice concerns that a luxury housing boom would alienate local residents in mainly blue-collar towns such as Sleepy Hollow, others seem to welcome the idea as a fresh start for the post-industrial region.

Lohr's article discusses the benefits of making the Hudson Valley the next Silicon Valley, specifically citing IBM's microchip plant in East Fishkill, NY. This is a win-win in more ways than one. Not only is the production of these items not being outsourced overseas, but it has the potential to bring new companies, communities, and people to the region. The development of this new community, in tandem with a housing boom could serve as the financial stimulus that the Hudson Valley needs to jumpstart its economy again.

Concerns over the clash of new townhouses/condos and unique existing homes are legitimate, however if the demand for housing become great enough, and pressure by organizations such as Scenic Hudson continues, perhaps new projects can be designed to better fit in with their surroundings. Best said by Lowell Thing, former president of Friends of Historic Kingston, "Gradualism is a good thing in cities and towns because they are complex environments. When you try to do things in one fell swoop, the results are unpredictable and often disastrous." Something tells me that even gradual change may be opposed in the Hudson Valley, even if it is the one thing that could bring the region back to the forefront of progress...