There is an excellent post about the current status of the Liberty Street School over on the Newburgh Restoration blog. Complete with renderings of the planned renovations and 1980s Evening News articles! Great stuff.

The first Evening News article from March 1980 is very interesting. It's a bit difficult to read the scanned version, so transcript is here.

There are some great pictures of the Liberty Street School in February of 2009 at this Flickr site--here's a good one.

There are some interesting details on the situation with the abandoned Liberty Street School building over at this post on the Newburgh Restoration blog.

Back in February the Times-Herald Record reported that the Liberty Street School might get renovated and turned into condos.

One of Newburgh's oldest eyesores has been targeted for revitalization.

The city is negotiating the sale of the old Liberty Street School to Bluestone Developers of Uniondale.

Bluestone hasn't finalized its vision for the building, but preliminary plans call for offices on the first floor, with housing -- possibly condos -- on the second and third floors of the 24,000-square-foot building.

"I'm ready to go as soon as I get all the approvals," said Jerome Blue, president of Bluestone. The company, which already has acquired a pair of smaller dilapidated properties in the city, specializes in waterfront and rehabilitation projects.

The Liberty Street School provides a little bit of both. It's a short walk from the Hudson -- and ferry service -- making it an attractive location for commuter housing, said Mayor Nick Valentine.
...
Blue hopes to restore the original architectural character of the building, and is seeking old pictures of the school to guide the project, which he said will cost more than $3 million.

Bluestone has applied for tax breaks through the Newburgh-Stewart Empire Zone. The zone's administration board approved the application during its meeting yesterday morning at the Orange County Chamber of Commerce building in Montgomery.
...

The Liberty Street School may be a target of development. The Mid-Hudson News Network reports:

Newburgh may let developer renovate old school into condos

Newburgh -- The City of Newburgh may let Blue Stone Developers of Westchester County assume control of the long-abandoned Liberty Street School and extensively renovate it into 25 condominium units.

Mayor Nicholas Valentine is excited about the potential as additional housing stock in a neighborhood that could be reborn into a commuter area.

"It’s only a couple of blocks from the ferry and so much of what we are seeing in our East End development has to do with, 'can you walk to the ferry? If you can walk to the ferry, I’m interested because having a car or two cars as part of a family, you don’t need it if one of the spouses work in New York and commute, you can do this with a one-car family, which is a great savings."

Over at the Voy Forums, this post suggests more details (which have not been fact-checked):

[...] on August 12th of 2002 our city council with Resolution No, 151 authorized the preparation of a land Disposition Agreement with regard to the sale and proposed development of the Liberty Street School. It had to have been a City owned property. Then along came May 9th 2005, Resolution No.79-2005

A resolution rescinding Resolution 151-2002 and Resolution No. 17-2003 concerning the real Property known as Liberty Street School(Sec 45,Block5,Lot 18 in the City of Newburgh.

This property was to be developed as a Academy of arts. It is apparent the funding did not come through in a timely manner therefore the City took back their property.

From March 2003, an article in the Times Herald-Record:

Local artist Phillip Rudolph is taking on quite an ambitious endeavor in renovating the long-vacant Liberty Street School.

He wants to turn this forgotten school, sold by the school district in the 1980s, into an art center where the community can take classes and display work. Rudolph has organized a group of civic-minded folks to help.

Prognosis: It's on its way. The City Council agreed to enter into a land disposition agreement with Rudolph and the paperwork should be finalized shortly, said City Manager William Ketcham.

There's one large challenge: money. The group must raise cash to fix a leaky roof that has nearly demolished the interior.

It would seem the cash did not get raised.

The Liberty Street School is building 22. on this map. Here's an excerpt:

The Village of Ellenville was able to get another of Frank E. Estabrook's buildings listed in the National Register of Historical Places.