City Planner, Presents on Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) to NorthSide Collaborative

This past week, City Planner, Richard Distel presented on the importance of community engagement when it comes to initiatives like the DRI. Richard highlighted the public engagement process being integral and mandatory to the DRI’s success, and how engagement helps to craft, refine, goals and strategies and gives input on project types and community needs. As well as gives feedback on proposed projects and the transformative potential of the downtown corridor. He also gave details about how this critical component takes place throughout the DRI process and is tailored to each community’s needs with activities that encourage participation from broad and diverse population.

The Northside Collaborative consists of more than 20 nonprofits, educational institutions, and local governments have joined to form the Northside Collaborative, which is committed to improving quality of life and addressing environmental justice concerns in Poughkeepsie’s Northside neighborhood. The partnership focuses on addressing issues such as: affordable housing, job training, youth empowerment, fighting gun violence, community organizing, food justice, increasing education opportunities, social services, arts, and urban farming.