First Fridays Bring Life to Poughkeepsie Community

Community members, business leaders and local government officials gathered for the year’s final First Friday Poughkeepsie event on Oct. 4. 

The celebration also marked the city’s third annual San Gennaro festival, featuring Italian-themed fare and a cannoli-eating contest. In addition, First Friday PK partnered with Family Services to kick off the 9th Annual Family Services Walk A Mile to end domestic violence and sexual assault. 

Attendees participated in a Halloween costume contest and visited the various vendors for trick-or-treating. Children played in the bouncy house and had their faces painted, a first taste of the season’s Halloween festivities fun to come. Poughkeepsie Mayor, Robert G. Rolison, stopped by to say a few words, but his speech was nearly drowned out by a cacophony of voices, barking dogs and pulsing music from DJ Smitty. 

Within months of first taking office, Rolison hosted the first installment of First Friday Poughkeepsie in 2016 at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House. With the help of sponsors, vendors and community members, First Friday PK celebrations now attract approximately 3,000 attendees per event, according to the First Friday PK website.

Each of this year’s six events represented a unique theme and occupied a different area of Poughkeepsie. At the first event, the city hosted Cinco de Mayo on Main Street and later in the summer held a Fourth of July bash, called “Red, White & Brew,” on the Walkway Over the Hudson. The San Gennaro festival found its home in Poughkeepsie’s Little Italy, and vendors lined Mill Street to welcome guests for the last First Friday PK of 2019. 

In the spirit of First Friday PK as a “community movement,” per its website, the event embraces the entire community, offering free admission and parking to maximize accessibility. The founding sponsors, Rhinebeck Bank and R.I. Baxter Building Corporation, and the First Friday PK committee helped the city bring these events to fruition. Brian Apfel, Director of Digital Marketing and Social Media at Marist College, sits on the committee and said he joined the effort two years ago, seeing its potential to affect change in the city and provide the community engagement he felt lacked in the area. 

“I went to my first First Friday two years ago and I was like, ‘This is exactly what I was talking about. This is so great!’ Friday after work, I park my car and there’s just so much to do,” Apfel said. “It was something to do with the family where you can experience music and food and art and whatever and just have a really nice time.” 

According to its website, each First Friday “aims to increase awareness of the City and showcase it as a thriving, safe, and attractive place to live and do business.” One vendor in particular demonstrated this entrepreneurial verve. Visham Chinkan and Pier Di Camillo grew up in Poughkeepsie and launched Obscure Oscillation Brewing Company eight months ago. 

“When people heard that we were opening the brewery it was like, ‘Oh my god, you guys gotta keep it in Poughkeepsie because you’re from here.’ A lot of our high school friends are here currently and they’re supporting us,” Chinkan said. “We hope to open up a bigger brewery around here and create jobs for people and make a living out of it.” 

Aside from businesses, local nonprofits use First Fridays as an avenue to expand their reach and inform community members about their offerings. Grace Smith House, a domestic violence prevention advocate and shelter, set up a table at First Friday PK to share information about their resources and promote their upcoming Grace Pumpkin Parade on Oct. 19. 

“We will take any opportunity we have to educate the community and to promote our services,” Branka Bryan, Grace Smith House’s interim executive director said. “Anytime we are at an event, doesn’t matter what it is, someone comes up and says, ‘Thank you. I’m a survivor. You helped me’ or there’s a way for people to get connected.” 

First Friday Poughkeepsie is just one example of recent innovation and growth in the city that strives to oppose Poughkeepsie’s long-held unglamorous reputation. A recent New York Times article states that despite the “train service, cultural attractions and reasonably priced housing like other once-bleak places, the city could seem like a rock in a stream, constantly bypassed by the currents of change.”

Rolison has acknowledged the city’s repute, but stands by statistics that demonstrate an upward trend. A study from the Division of Criminal Justice Services confirms that from 2009 to 2018, crime in the city decreased by approximately 50%, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal. However, the city continues to struggle in other aspects – the New York Times reports that 22% of the city’s population is still impoverished. 

But in recent years, the city, community members and entrepreneurs have taken steps to invest in the city’s revitalization. The renovated Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory includes coworking space, apartments and a cafe, serving as an “educational tool and community connector,” according to the Hudson River Housing website, and providing a homebase for local artists. Other housing developments, including luxury apartments at One Dutchess and 40 Cannon, which boasts a wine bar and an art gallery, seem to target a more elite demographic. 

Further developments are underway, including the $500 million construction project for the Bellefield at Historic Hyde Park. The final product, located across from the Culinary Institute of America, will include “two hotels, culinary shops, farm-to-table restaurants, a special event barn and educational center,” according to the Daily Freeman. 

These changes in Poughkeepsie reflect a greater shift in the region. Another New York Times piece discussed the “Hampton-ification of the Hudson Valley” and the wave of homeowners flocking to the area for its convenient access to the New-York-City-bound train while still maintaining its suburban charm. Upcoming projects and strengthened community engagement in Poughkeepsie could lead to an imminent increase in real estate, as has been the case in nearby counties like Ulster. 

For Apfel, projects like First Friday PK constitute productive steps toward fostering a stronger, livelier culture and community in the city, which could positively influence Poughkeepsie’s future growth and esteem. 

“Anyone could sit around and complain like, ‘Oh, I wish Poughkeepsie was nicer or cleaner or better,’” Apfel said. “Or you can get off your butt and do something about it.”