Chuck Thomas of Newburgh's Conservation Advisory Council expresses concerns about the Regal Bag redevelopment plan that would include a parking lot near the waterfront in the City of Newburgh. [Allyse Pulliam photos for the Times Herald-Record[ ▲ The proposed site for a parking lot near the waterfront in Newburgh. ▲

CITY OF NEWBURGH – Cheers erupted, briefly interrupting Michael Muyot's comments at a public hearing before the City of Newburgh Planning Board, when he suggested where a proposed controversial large parking lot should go.

"It would really be better if the parking lot could be where there's a ton of parking lots already," Muyot said. "Down by the river. There's nothing but asphalt there. Why aren't we using that?"

Muyot was one of about 100 people who came to Tuesday night's hearing at the Activity Center regarding the site plan and special use permit application spearheaded by Newburgh philanthropist Bill Kaplan for a project to re-develop the Regal Bag building at 302 Water St. and construct a parking lot across from Regal Bag, at 35-37 Broad St.

Nearly everyone who spoke opposed the idea of building a 113-space asphalt parking lot on the hilly green area that greets drivers entering Newburgh's historic district.

Justin Dates, a landscape architect for Maser Consulting, said during his overview of the project at the meeting that parking plans would also call for an additional 15 spaces created on Water Street. Dates said the proposal includes adding a crosswalk over Water Street to the pedestrian walkway connecting to the Regal Bag building. The plan is to add an LED-lighted flashing beacon, activated by pedestrians, to alert drivers of someone wanting to cross the road, similar to crossings near Hudson Taco restaurant.

Plans for the Regal Bag building include creating 80 artist studios on the second through fifth floors of the six-story building, with 20 studios per floor. The top floor would be used as assembly space and the ground floor for storage and utilities, according to Dates.

Dates said a traffic impact study conducted for the project showed no impact to travelers, but many commenters believed otherwise.

"From 4-6 o'clock at night, traffic is backed up from Powell Avenue all the way up to Renwick Street," said Bill Exiner of Broad Street. "That's at least two hours a day when my wife and I back out of our driveway we can't get onto Water Street because there's so much traffic."

Residents were also worried about pedestrian safety and the plan's overall compatibility with the city's Complete Streets initiative.

"I'm having flashes of a pedestrian getting killed trying to cross from that parking lot to Regal Bag (by) speeding motorists, drunk motorists," said Judy Thomas, a Benkard Avenue resident.

Orange County Economic Development Director Bill Fioravanti, who lives on Montgomery Street, described earlier plans for the Regal Bag redevelopment to have involved a new restaurant and bar with riverfront views, co-working space and a coffeehouse.

In 2017, the City Council voted unanimously to support the project, but those plans have changed dramatically.

"Something done right, that's going to be a benefit to the city; that's going to keep the city green; that's going to create a walkable city; a welcoming city; that's what the City Council supports and supported two years ago," Mayor Torrance Harvey told the Planning Board. "That's not what's before us tonight."

lbellamy@th-record.com