Goshen Plaza gets renters, as Village of Goshen prepares for progress

Village of Goshen Building Inspector Ted Lewis has some good news for the people of Goshen: Goshen Plaza is getting rentals, he announced at the Village board meeting last week.

Construction on the 14-acre site, located between Matthew Street and Clowes Avenue in the Village, is slowing down, and now store rental permits are being sought at the building inspector’s office.

Goshen Plaza Liquors, which has temporarily resided on Green Street during reconstruction of the Goshen Plaza, has been granted approval to move back into the plaza location. Also given approval was Jenny’s Nails, and not one, but two gyms: one is geared for professional athlete training and the second for those who want a general workout facility.

Already open for business are CVS Pharmacy and Garnet Health Medical Center, a 16,500 square feet state-of-the-art outpatient facility.

Good news surfaced for coffee lovers too. Starbuck’s Coffee is currently under Planning Board review. The possibility hovers but hasn’t received final approval.

Lewis also noted that solar heating for buildings and homes has picked up dramatically, and in the interest of putting out fires safely when solar technology is involved, Lewis asked for Village Board approval to have an education session, led by professionals, for all levels of police and fire departments.

“We need to be aware of solar technology and have a course here to be proactive when fighting fires, so no one gets electrocuted,” said Lewis.

Also in the works, the Village of Goshen website is getting an update intended to be user-friendly, easy to navigate and a source of information vital to residents, businesses and industries in and around Goshen. The Board passed a resolution giving approval to hire Devine Design of Chester, NY, to update the Village of Goshen website. Total first year cost is $8,030 that includes all services: website accessibility; website building, updating and redesigning; monthly security updates; website hosting, free for the first year; and basics update package. The fee is already a budgeted item.

Tom Boxman, with the Goshen Fire Department, made a safety announcement, asking the public to remove batteries before putting items out for trash pickup. A battery was recently left in a child’s toy riding vehicle, and when the compactor in the garbage truck came down, it punctured the battery, causing a fire in the Department of Public Works truck. For safety’s sake, the fire department asks that all batteries be removed and recycled.

Additionally, a resolution to accept a NYS Water Infrastructure Improvement Grant of $3 million was passed. The fifty-percent matching grant will be used to renovate the filtration plant.

“At $6 million, we match with $3 million,” said Trustee Tony Scotto. “This is a fantastic step forward. We’re going in leaps and bounds in a time when we need it.