County Prioritizes Oakley Shelter as Youth Opportunity Union (YOU) Faces Indefinite Hold

Following the county's decision to place the YOU on hold, the City of Poughkeepsie invited County Comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair to deliver the findings of his report on the YOU at the City of Poughkeepsie's Common Council meeting on Tuesday, July 1, at 6:30 PM. This follows the Dutchess County administration's April 2024 decision to place the Youth Opportunity Union (YOU) project on hold and redirect millions in ARPA funds. At the same time, the county recently chose to move forward with plans for a centralized homeless shelter on Oakley Street in the City of Poughkeepsie's 5th Ward. The county comptroller gave an overview of the fiscal impact of these decisions on the City of Poughkeepsie, the county's obligations under existing contracts, and the broader consequences of this shift in priorities-bringing to light the decision to fund the Oakley Street shelter while defunding the YOU.

Currently the county has failed to meet key contractual obligations laid out in the 2021 Contract of Sale for the YOU site, including financial benchmarks and development timelines essential to the project's completion. Time and time again, Dutchess County has failed to work in good faith with the City of Poughkeepsie. This is not the first time the county has backed out of an agreement that was meant to benefit our community.

Similarly, in May of this year, the City of Poughkeepsie learned that the Dutchess County Executive and County Legislature had decided to end collaborative efforts with the City to reach a commonsense compromise on the future development of a homeless shelter at 26 Oakley Street. The City's North Side already hosts the Dutchess County Jail, a facility that has negatively impacted the neighborhood's ability to grow and thrive.

On April 4, 2024, the YOU project-originally envisioned as a transformative youth and community center-was officially put "on hold" by the incoming administration of County Executive Sue Serino.

Just three months later, on July 19, 2024, the Dutchess County Legislature adopted Resolution No. 2024142, reallocating $4,009,585 in unspent federal ARPA funding away from the YOU to general education initiatives. Currently, no further County appropriations have been made to support the completion of the YOU.

The time has come to call out the county's failure to prioritize the future of our youth. The YOU project wasn't just another community initiative; it was the opportunity to invest in the next generation of leaders, builders, and change-makers. By defunding the YOU, the county is sending a message that our youth aren't a priority while continuing to funnel resources into a shelter plan that doesn't address the underlying needs of our residents.

Said Mayor Yvonne Flowers,"The decision to prioritize a homeless shelter on Oakley Street, while leaving the Youth Opportunity Union project in limbo, sends the wrong message to our community. The YOU project represented an investment in our youth and the future of the City of Poughkeepsie. We are deeply concerned about the long-term impact of the county's failure to meet its contractual obligations, especially since these commitments were made in response to the jail expansion in the City of Poughkeepsie. Nevertheless, the City is committed to continuing to advocate for the residents of our City and we will continue to work with the county to fulfill its commitment."

As the county pushes forward plans for a centralized homeless shelter on Oakley Street, the City of Poughkeepsie is raising concerns about the failure to meet benchmarkedobligations outlined in the Contract of Sale for the YOU site. The comptroller's address called attention to what these broken financial and legal commitments mean for the City of Poughkeepsie and its residents.