Mayor's Message

New Zoning Code Hub & Development Guide

Special 2023 Burning of Kingston Events

Kingston Organics Program Update

Kingston Accepted into NACTO

Roadwork Update for the Week of October 16

Join the Community Development Advisory Board

City of Kingston Job Opportunities

Mayor's Message:

Dear Friends -

You may have just received a postcard in the mail about our new zoning code. The zoning code is designed to spur housing development and so we created a development guide, the first ever produced by the City. The step-by-step guide will help new developments move through the City’s processes much more efficiently.

I'm proud to announce that we were accepted into the National Association of City Transportation Officials. NACTO’s mission is to support cities to be safe, sustainable, and accessible, and provide equitable transportation options for all people. We are thrilled to be a part of this organization; we're one of only about 100 cities across the Country that are committed to creating the best possible transportation infrastructure for our communities, through policy, leadership and practice.

I hope you'll join me on Wednesday, October 18 at 2:00pm here in City Hall for my 2024 Budget Address.

-Steve

New Zoning Code Hub & Development Guide

The City of Kingston has created an informational hub for the new zoning code. To make it easier for Kingston residents to understand and use the new zoning code, the hub includes a 30-page development guide, an interactive zoning map, and an easy-to-use online version of the zoning code.

The City of Kingston’s new zoning code, which was passed in August 2023, is a form-based code that regulates the location, design, alteration, occupancy, and use of structures and the use of land. It is designed to make it easier to develop, while protecting what makes Kingston unique.

The resources, such as the development guide, are designed to help residents and small-scale developers understand and use Kingston’s form based code. While the code itself explicitly details the zoning requirements, the guide aims to clarify the code’s intent and the best ways to use it. It outlines Kingston’s context and goals, the components of the code, and how to build in the City.

In a form-based code, each parcel in the City is designated as a transect or special district. The code divides Kingston into 5 transects that range from the least developed (T1) to the most developed (T5). Special districts are designed to capture specific and/or existing parts of the city.

In addition to transect standards, a form-based code also has general standards that control characteristics, form, design standards, and incentives. Additional standards outline rules for specific parts of development like street design, usable open space, and large sites. To understand what this means, residents can begin by searching for a parcel in the interactive zoning map and looking at the property details on the left side of the page.

For more definitions, processes, and tips, see the City’s development guide. Additional materials and resources can also be found on the right-hand side in the "resources" section of this page. The zoning code resource page can be found at https://engagekingston.com/kingston-forward.

For the background on the zoning code adoption and public engagement process, visit www.engagekingston.com/kingston-forward-archive.  

Special 2023 Burning of Kingston Events

This weekend's Burning of Kingston will include several special events:

Jazz Vespers: The Plight of Slaves During the Revolutionary War on Saturday, October 14 at 5:30pm at Old Dutch Church, will feature the CDS Jazz Ensemble with Christopher Dean Sullivan on bass, Chief Baba Neil Clarke on percussion, and Neil Alexander on piano. The program will include readings from Ulster County’s first-ever Poet Laureate Kate Hymes, Reverend Evelyn Clarke reading The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton, and Old Dutch Church Minister Rob Sweeney reading his original work, Up from the Ashes.

Don't miss the re-enactors on Saturday, October 14 from 9am–5pm, and discover what life was like for members of the Colonial Militia and British Military in 1777. Visit the British encampment at the Henry Sleight House at the intersection of Crown and Green Streets, and visit the Colonial encampment at the Matthewis Persen House Museum.

There will be a special cemetery tour at Old Dutch Church on Saturday, October 14 at 7:00pm. The tour travels back to October 1777 to meet six historic women who survived the Burning of Kingston. Their personal stories will give you a different perspective on our history. This 1-hour cemetery tour is accessible and appropriate for all ages. Free, but registration required at https://www.burningofkingston.com/schedule-of-events.

A special Burning of Kingston finale Chamber Music of the Revolutionary War Period presented by the Bard Conservatory Ensemble will close out the festival on Sunday, October 15, 2023, at 3:00pm at Old Dutch Church. The concert is free and open to the public.

For the full schedule, visit www.burningofkingston.com.

Kingston Organics Program Update

An update on Kingston Organics: The free food scrap program has just passed 13 weeks of collection! To date, 6.46 tons of food scraps (12,920 pounds) have been collected. This service is available year round, including all your pumpkins and gourds! The program currently has 347 families registered, totaling 770 people. Registration is still open at www.engagekingston.com/kingston-organics.



As a reminder, this program is for food only. No non-food items are accepted, but ALL FOOD is accepted--raw, cooked, meat, veggies, fruits, fish, bones, dairy, bread, coffee grinds-- food in any form.

To learn more, visit www.engagekingston.com/kingston-organics.

Kingston Accepted to National Assoc. of Transportation Officials

The City of Kingston has been accepted into the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), an association of cities and transit agencies formed to exchange transportation ideas, insights, and practices and cooperatively confront national transportation issues.

“Safety is a top priority of my administration,” said Mayor Noble. “Over the last eight years, we have implemented many projects that improve the safety and infrastructure of our City and with the NACTO membership, we will be able to utilize best practices from our fellow communities and implement the best transportation strategies.”

To support long-term planning, the City of Kingston recently released the Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan, a strategy document that builds upon completed projects that include safety features such as improved intersections, signals and sidewalks. Recently completed projects include the Broadway Streetscape Project, the Broadway Grand Intersection Realignment Project, the Franklin Street Complete Streets Project, and the Pedestrian Safety Action Plan Intersection Project, among many others.

Current or upcoming road safety projects include the Henry Street Safe Routes to School Project, ADA curb ramp replacements across the City, Safe and Accessible Flatbush & Foxhall, the Uptown Transportation Improvements Projects, among many others.



In June, the City of Kingston was awarded $21.7 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program, the largest grant award in Kingston’s history. The grant will support our Weaving the Waterfront transportation project, a multi-faceted initiative that will significantly expand the walkability of the waterfront, connect residents from underserved neighborhoods, and bolster the Waterfront Business District. The project will not only improve safety and access to park spaces, it also plans for climate and sea level change by elevating roadways in two flood prone areas, East Strand and Delaware Avenue. The project develops walking and biking access throughout the Rondout Creek and Hudson River Waterfront areas, and will increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists. New sidewalk and bicycle paths will provide connections to and from the historic business districts, will complete branches of the Kingston Greenline and the Empire State Trail, and will connect to the Sojourner Truth State Park. 

Under Mayor Noble’s administration, the Kingston Point Rail Trail Phase 1 (Phase 2 is under design) and the Midtown Linear Park have been created, both of which provide off-street paths and connections for walking and biking. The Kingston Greenline is a network of urban trails, complete streets, improved sidewalks, bike lanes, and linear parks in Kingston. 

The Be a Road Hero traffic safety awareness campaign educated residents on road rules for new and existing infrastructure to improve safety for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

For more on the City of Kingston’s transportation projects, please visit: www.engagekingston.com. 

Paving & Roadwork Next Week

The last round of paving will be Roosevelt Avenue from Albany Avenue to Kiersted Avenue and Cornell Street from Broadway to Foxhall Avenue.

Milling on Roosevelt Avenue is expected to begin on Monday, October 16, and paving is expected to be completed by Friday, October 27, 2023. Milling on Cornell Street is expected to begin Monday, October 16, and paving is expected to be completed by Friday, October 20, 2023.  

Central Hudson: Service replacements will continue the week of 10/16/23 on West Chestnut Street, Brewster Street, and Staples Street with lane changes and road closures.

Central Hudson’s Uptown paving/restoration work will begin on or around October 18, 2023, weather depending. Streets being paved will be closed to traffic. The tentative schedule is:

Day 1: Crown St from Green to John

Day 2: Crown St from John to N. Front

Day 3: John St from Green to Crown

Day 4: John St from Crown to Wall

Day 5: John St from Wall to Fair

Day 6: John St from Fair to Clinton

Day 7: Fair St from Pearl to Main

Day 8: Fair St from Main to John

Day 9: Fair St from John to N. Front

Day 10: Clinton Ave from Main to Pearl

TBD: Main Street from Clinton Ave to Wall St.

Work will be done daily, weather dependent, from 7:30am to 5:00pm. Most days work will be completed before 5pm and roads will be re-opened. No Parking signs on affected streets will be posted 24 hours in advance.

Henry Street Safe Routes to School Project: Henry Street from Wall Street to Clinton Avenue is being prepared for milling and paving, which is expected to begin the week of October 16, 2023. Storm and sewer connections at Prospect Street and Henry Street will continue.

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Citywide ADA curb ramps: 75 ramps have been installed to date. Ramp construction on North Front Street from Frog Alley to Fair Street to begin next week, as well as restoration on ramps on Walnut Street from Gill Street to Lindsley Ave. 

Wurts Street Bridge: Continue steel repairs and work on the pedestrian pole foundations. Excavate for sidewalk tie-in on the north side. Electrical conduit installation to continue. Steel repair walkway on top. Form and pour barrier. Work on south tower foundations. Joint installation may begin. Noise will continue to be loud on occasion while steel repairs are performed. 

Regular roadwork updates can be found here.

Drainage work/paving prep on Roosevelt this week

Dietz Stadium Construction Update

All municipal parking at the Dietz Stadium construction site has been barricaded off. The entire stadium site is now a construction zone and is closed to the public.

Exterior restoration of the grandstand continues, interior demolition of the grandstand has begun, and site demolition is complete.

The Japanese Knotweed has been properly removed and mass re-grading of the site has started.

Join the Community Development Advisory Board

The Community Development Advisory Board is currently looking for members of the public to serve. We need your voice to be a part of the process of allocating our annual federal Community Development Block Grant funding. Help determine how this over $700,000 economic infusion gets invested in your community!

Members of the Community Development Advisory Board will also help shape the next five years by helping to create the City of Kingston's Five-Year Consolidated Plan. Learn more here, or contact the Community Development office at City Hall.

Being a part of this board is a great way to serve your community. Please apply here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KingstonBoards

City of Kingston Job & Board Opportunities

The City of Kingston is hiring! Current openings include:



• Motor Equipment Operator.

Job descriptions and more details are available at https://kingston-ny.gov/Employment.

Upcoming Civil Service Exams include:

Engineering Technician on December 2, 2023

Office Assistant on December 2, 2023

Office Assistant I on December 2, 2023

There are currently two openings on the Ethics Board. By the City of Kingston charter, Ethics Board members must be a resident of Kingston, and no more than two Ethics Board members may be registered in the same political party. Members serve a five-year term. Apply here.

The City of Kingston has over 25 boards & commissions, and we're always looking for volunteers to serve the community. Application at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KingstonBoards.