November 3, 2020
The Hudson Valley city is home to a dozen start-up clothing companies, thanks in part to the Orange County Industrial Development Agency.
At the turn of the 20th century, the City of Newburgh hummed with more than 100 factories — many of them garment manufacturers. Then, like many urban areas over the years, it gradually fell into decline. But flash-forward to modern times and Newburgh — plus its mini fashion industry — has been on the upswing again.
Of course, since the pandemic hit, many of Newburgh’s manufacturing and other businesses — as in the rest of the Hudson Valley and elsewhere — have been in limbo, with some shut down and others reducing output.
The pre-pandemic boost in Newburgh manufacturing came, partly at least, thanks to support from the Orange County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and its Accelerator business incubator. At the beginning of 2020, the fashion cluster — its biggest — included 12 companies, and had helped create 70 jobs at its sites in Newburgh, New Windsor, and Chester. “We generally work with the new companies for about three years, but we continue as long as it takes for them to become sustainable,” says Laurie Villasuso, acting chief executive officer.
