NEWBURGH – The group Community Voices Heard let their voices be heard with Newburgh City officials Tuesday evening as they expressed their feeling that more should be done to develop affordable housing in the city.

The group believes low-income people are finding it more and more difficult to find housing and they pointed to the riverfront redevelopment project that is being planned.

Group member Loretta Manning said they are pushing for more housing for the poor.

“They are getting ready to build up the waterfront and we are trying to get low-income families in the housing to be imported into the program they have, which is 40 year plan,” she said.

Mayor Nicholas Valentine said the waterfront project has gone through a planning process.

“When they are asking about affordable housing, within the Leyland project, there is 10 percent of that project that will be workforce housing and the other 90 percent is supposed to be market rate. That’s how we make our tax money,” he said. “There are certain projects within the City of Newburgh where you have to try to increase your tax base and the Leyland project is certainly one of them.”

The city conducted an extensive Charrette process seeking local input on what to include in the riverfront redevelopment.