The Foundry42 coffee and gift shop has called Port Jervis, a small city located on the state lines of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, home for five years. It’s a city that has seen its fair share of people passing through, with many not always opting to stay. That’s why foot traffic is crucial.

“The coffee and the pastries … that's the perfume that brings people in, and that's where it starts. So foot traffic means everything for our business,” said Foundry42 Director of Happiness Renee Meola.

Foundry42 has a front row seat to the town’s upcoming facelift. Meola and her business partner participated in the city’s application for the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative. On February 21, it all paid off, with the announcement of a $10 million grant toward the city center.

What You Need To Know

  • In late February, the governor's office announced that Port Jervis will be receiving this 2023's Mid-Hudson Downtown Revitalization Initiative

  • The town will receive $10 million to invest in its city center

  • Middletown, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Hudson and Newburgh are previous recipients of the DRI

“So Cooper [owner] texted it to me and I freaked out because it's a huge deal. This town, there are so many big, big dreams and like there are so many great ideas. But those things take money,” said Meola.

Middletown, Kingston, Hudson, Poughkeepsie and Newburgh, all now with renewed energy in their downtown blocks, are past Hudson Valley DRI recipients.

Port Jervis Mayor Kelly Decker has watched on the sidelines every year. Now that his city is a DRI recipient, he knows what areas will be handled first.

“When I was a police officer, we could drive the police car right down here and you'd sit here. But I remember sitting here and seeing these vacant buildings that were one time when I was a kid, really busy places,” Decker said. “This was JJ Newberry, that was Woolworth's. And now they're all vacant.”

But now he has the funds to fix it. In addition to filling storefronts, he has plans to repair them with a revolving loan system for business owners.

“They couldn't sustain [themselves] because, if you look at old windows or some of the old original windows, the wooden single pane, and … they can't afford to replace these huge windows, so part of the DRI would be part of that revolving loan or grant funding to be able to replace these,” said Decker.

Port Jervis fit the bill. Now it’ll have money to foot that bill.

“This town is beautiful already, but people want to make it so cool. And it's going to be, and this is going to help a lot,” said Meola.