Let’s make New Paltz work for all of us

We can make New Paltz work better without running for office!

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    LEARN WHAT DECISIONS ARE BEING MADE

    Our elected officials hide behind bureaucracy, bad communications and poor technology to keep residents in the dark. NPW monitors and publicizes the performance of our local elected officials.

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    MOBILIZE AND PRIORITIZE

    Our elected officials spend too much time gathering consensus and their priority is process over outcome. NPW will identify solutions and outcomes that our community desire and work to ensure our political leaders are held accountable to delivering for them.

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    JOIN US IN ACTION

    Together a relatively small number of people can make a huge difference to the decisions and actions taken by our local government officials.

Drive change without holding office

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    Watchdog and scorecards

    NewPaltz.works attends town and village meetings and meets with elected officials to understand their priorities. We also conduct community listening and events to surface civic conversations outside the town halls. Reporting monthly we publish data on official attendance, decisions made, progress on key issues and obstacles.

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    Independent working groups

    Eliminating the excuse of “we don’t have the bandwidth” from our officials, NewPaltz.Works is organized around 3-5 ‘winnable’, measurable, and actionable issues that residents care deeply about. We bring solutions, expertise and resident pressure to ensure swift action and measurable outcomes.

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    Regular news and rapid response

    Our newsletter provides regular local breakdown of everything that is going on in New Paltz (so you don’t have to attend all the meetings or break through all the bureaucracy). If you sign up for our text alerts we will also let you know when your participation will be most effective, helping residents ensure their voice are heard on topics they care most about.

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    Solutions not complaints

    NewPaltz.works is here to help both local government and residents engage together better. It is hard for people to know where, when or how to get involved. It’s also hard for officials who are constantly faced with complaints and conflict that slows decision making and action. We believe grass roots strategy and responsive governance would ensure all local governance works.

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Community priorities

  • TRANSPARENT GOVERNANCE

    Improved transparency and communications from our local representatives.

    —Reporting on attendance, financial interests and campaign finance contributions.

    —Helping people understand the functions of government and how decisions are made

    —Make it a priority to increase public engagement and participation.

  • KEEP NEW PALTZ AFFORDABLE

    The popularity of our town has reduced the affordability to many. We often think this is something we can’t do anything about, but local government can.

    — Update local regulations and taxes to serve the interests of the residents of New Paltz not outside interests or developers.

    — Modify building and zoning laws to facilitate revenue generation that serves our community.

    —Work with Farms and local businesses to provide affordable meal solutions for people who need help.

    —Make local transportation solutions a priority — free bus service, bike lanes and pedestrian areas improved.

    —Increase the efficiency of local government to reduce taxation.

    —Eliminate long-term tax incentives to corporations and non-profits so they all contribute fairly.

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  • PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT

    We live in a beautiful, natural and historically significant town that has been treasured and protected for generations.

    — Our local representatives need to put local protections in place to save our land, rivers, air, forests, wildlife and historic sites.

    — We need to ensure local laws exist in case state and federal protections are removed.

    —Our local environmental laws need to be enforceable with fines and penalties that match the cost of fixing the penalties and are genuine deterrents (including jail time for those who break our laws).

  • PROTECT OUR RIGHTS

    We want to live in a town where everyone feels safe and protected by the law.

    Our local representatives need to make sure the rights and freedoms of our community are protected.

    —Prevent violence and threats to all members of our community

    —Ensure supports and/or protections for vulnerable communities or individuals that might be targeted

    — Enact measures to ensure additional safety and protection for people attending our schools, courts, medical facilities, municipal buildings and workplaces.

  • LOW COST HOUSING

    New Paltz has a large population of tenants. Fair and available rentals for both businesses and families is the foundation of financial security for our community.

    —We need our local representatives to prioritize affordable, sustainable rents for all.

    —This includes cracking down on bad landlords, tightening rent and eviction regulations, increasing long-term rental solutions and incentivising landlords deliver better quality housing at fair market rates.

    —Facilitate fair financial contribution of all landlords, land owners, businesses and non-profits by helping them to make money and contribute to the community.

It takes a Village…

and a Town!

It’s amazing how few people are actually needed to make a difference. Average attendance at town meetings is less than 10 people.

A few informed residents who turn up to meetings and are willing to put pressure on local officials and hold them accountable to the interests of New Paltz residents, can make a real difference.

If you think you have an hour or two a month to fill a room, write a letter or post a video, then please submit this form

OUR COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

  • THE ENVIRONMENTALIST

    Lover of the Wallkill river and all things natural. As a leader within NewPaltz.works he monitors town decisions and policies regarding our wetlands, environmental conservation, and the decisions of the Community Preservation Fund and the protection of our wonderful open spaces.

  • Oranssi project manager Jaya Dixon

    THE FINANCIER

    Our finance specialist is focused on budget review and spending to identify areas of inefficiency and unnecessary expenses that increase our taxes. Her goal is to keep our local government efficient and accountable to residents.

  • Oranssi general contractor Reese Platt

    THE LOCAL ENTREPRENEUR

    Local businesses, farms, shopkeepers, arts, entertainment, restaurants and bars make up a significant part of our community. Our local entrepreneur brings a small business perspective to the review of decisions made by the planning board, the town board and the police commission.

  • Oranssi construction engineer Jamie Kokot

    THE BUILDER

    Our community needs someone to oversee the mirriad of energy codes, building and zoning requirements as well as keeping an eye of the special interests of developers and their influence of town decisions. Keeping New Paltz a place where property owners are free to improve their property as they wish while ensuring that our town and village environments aren’t taken over by subdivisions and developments.

  • THE STUDENT

    New Paltz is unique in it’s relationship with SUNY New Paltz and the number of residents who live in rental accomodation. While studying students become important members of our community and voters in our elections. Our student leadership builds strong relationships with the leadership at SUNY and represents the interests of students and faculty as local governmental decisions are being made.