Newburgh councilwoman decries constant social media posts about crime in Newburgh as crime decreases

Newburgh Councilwoman Ramona Monteverde told News 12 Thursday the steady feed of "misleading" posts about the city on social media is affecting the city's ability to attract business and tourists.

"The fear mongering, the 'Oh no, don't go to Newburgh,'" she said at an April City Council meeting. "I really take issue with that."

News 12 reviewed recent crime reports given by the city manager during council meetings.

The statistics show overall crime was lower in recent months than during the same time periods last year.

Despite some apparent progress, she says social media posts and comments -- some by city employees -- have stoked concern about whether Newburgh is a safe place to live and visit.

"People still have this stigma in their minds," Monteverde said. "They don't want to believe that we are on the rise, and that we've made a lot of positive changes in the city of Newburgh."

News 12 informally polled several residents, business owners and employees about whether they view the city as particularly dangerous and why many on social media still believe it is unsafe.

Many said anyone who is not in a gang or the illegal drug trade would not have to worry for their safety, though "your car might get broken into."

Nailah Arid, a barista at Betty's Snack Bar on Liberty Street, said the online claims about crime and danger in Newburgh could have something to do with the city's appearance to visitors: a homeless population, litter and vacant buildings still to be renovated.

"This place doesn't look completely developed, like Beacon for example," she said. "Beacon's very developed-looking compared to Newburgh. There's more new buildings. There's more traffic there."

A majority of the interviewees agreed the social media negativity is unfounded, but said city leaders are also partly responsible, and sometimes "shoot themselves in the foot."

Monteverde acknowledged city officials can do more to curb the negativity.

She said city administrators should be quicker to inform the community about violent crimes to stay ahead of rumors.

"The city manager is well aware the council has made it very clear we have to do a better job communicating," Monteverde said.

She is inviting the social media posters and other skeptics of the city to attend council meetings and hear the crime reports.

Newburgh resident Kristina Lewis said she has noticed efforts by some city leaders to break up the feed of negativity about Newburgh online by increasing their presence on social media.

Lewis said she appreciates Mayor Torrance Harvey – the most active council member on social media – taking questions in real time on Facebook.

"If I have a question [about crime], he always responds. "He seems to care about what's going on here."