Mayor's Message

Albert Brown Community Center Dedication Event

Clifton War Memorial Rededication

A Note on the Proposed Tree Ordinance

2026 Distinguished Artist Award Announced

Fourth of July Festivities Announced

Mayor Noble's Listening Tour Ward 4 Meeting

Upcoming Paving + Roadwork & Infrastructure Update

City of Kingston Board & Commission and Job Opportunities

Mayor's Message:

Dear Friends -

Memorial Day is a wonderful opportunity to honor the men and women who gave their lives for our Country, and to pay our respects to all those who have served. The annual Memorial Day ceremony will be held on Monday, May 25 at 1:00pm on the lawn at City Hall. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.

City offices will be closed on Monday in observance of the holiday. There will be no trash/recycling pick-up, and pick-up will be delayed one day next week.

-Steve

Albert Brown Community Center Renamed

Today, Mayor Noble, the Kingston Parks & Recreation Department, and the Brown family dedicated the Albert Brown Community Center (formerly the Rondout Neighborhood Center).

Albert Brown was an integral member of the Kingston community. He was a Kingston police officer who created many programs for youth and fought for racial equality. He launched the first Head Start Program in Ulster County and started a summer youth jobs program cleaning up the parks with Andy Murphy, a paid job to keep them out of trouble.  He created the Rondout Community Action Committee, which helped relocate Kingston residents who were soon to be displaced by urban renewal. Brown served as president of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and called on then-mayor Garraghan to combat housing discrimination. Albert Brown was extremely active in youth sports. He partnered with Hobbie Armstrong to create the first Kingston Parks and Recreation Department biddy basketball league and started the first PAL boxing league with Bill Costello Sr. serving as the boxing instructor. Brown was Kingston City Patrolman of the Year before his tragic death at the age 25 in 1967.

For his dedication to the youth of Kingston, especially those from downtown, the Rondout Neighborhood Center has been officially renamed the Albert Brown Community Center in his honor.  

Refurbished War Memorial at Clifton Avenue

Mayor Noble, the Kingston Veterans Association, and staff from the Department of Public Works were pleased to rededicate the war memorial at Clifton and Highland Avenues today.

Work by DPW at the site included new curbing, sidewalk, porous pavers, and the installation of two new benches, with the Kingston Veterans Association assisting with repainting the globe and brick masonry work.

Thanks to all who collaborated on this effort!

A Note on the Recent Tree Ordinance Proposal

In Kingston we love our trees and we love our community. These two things are intertwined more than you might think.

We know with certainty that flooding, severe storms, and extreme heat are increasing in frequency, and we know that mature trees are part of an infrastructure system that keeps communities safe. Protecting our canopy, not just for ourselves, but for future generations is vitally important.

I’m disappointed to see the proposed Tree Ordinance legislation, which has been with the Council for more than a year, die in committee. There has been ample feedback from the community provided to the Council – both in support of and against the Tree Ordinance – in order to make revisions and move it forward.

I truly hope that, as proposed at the Laws & Rules meeting, the Council continues to pursue an ordinance that works for the community, the majority of which support tree preservation efforts in some capacity.

This is an issue of protecting the common good and public safety. Not everyone will agree with any given legislation, but I encourage anyone who is concerned about climate change to get involved in the process of protecting our crucially needed tree canopy. 

We also have opportunities for free street trees! Find out more here.

2026 Distinguished Artist Award Announced

The recipient of the 2026 City of Kingston Distinguished Artist Award is world-renowned Tibetan singer songwriter Yungchen Lhamo.

The award ceremony will be held on Thursday, June 25, 2026, at 5:30pm in Council Chambers at Kingston City Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

Yungchen Lhamo is an internationally acclaimed Tibetan singer originally from Lhasa. In 1989 Yungchen left Tibet for Dharamsala, India to pursue her dreams. She later moved to Australia, where she began to sing prayers of meditation that inspired her first album Tibetan Prayer, which won the Australian Recording Industry Award (ARIA) for Best World Music Album in 1995. Yungchen was then signed to Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records label on which she released three more albums: Tibet, Tibet (1996), Coming Home (1998), and Ama, featuring songs with Annie Lennox and Joy Askew (2006).

In 2013, Yungchen moved from NYC to Kingston, where she began to volunteer with and be inspired by the community of people at Chiz’s Heart Street, which greatly inspired her musical work. That year, she released Tayatha, a collaborative album with Russian classical pianist Anton Batagov. Yungchen’s album Awakening was released in 2022, using her extraordinary voice and talents to explore themes of compassion-based spirituality while living with the stresses of modern-day life so sharply experienced by everyone during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her seventh album, One Drop of Kindness was released by Real World Records in September 2023. Yungchen is the founder of One Drop of Kindness Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization to help distressed communities in the U.S. and other countries through direct aid, charitable giving, community outreach, and the power of inspirational music and song.

For more information, visit https://www.kingston-ny.gov/distinguishedartists. 

Fourth of July Festivities

O’Connor & Partners, The Cornell, Brickmen Kitchen + Bar, and Mariner’s Harbor will sponsor Fourth of July events, including a fireworks display and concert on the Kingston Waterfront.

Leading up to the fireworks on Saturday, July 4, 2026, musical entertainment will be sponsored by Mariner’s Harbor. Starting at 6:30pm, the Breakout Kings will play on the City stage in TR Gallo Park. The fireworks, courtesy of O’Connor & Partners and The Cornell, will be set off from a barge in the Rondout Creek just after dark. The events are free and open to the public.

Parking will be limited. UCAT will run a free shuttle service, making regular pick-ups from the Kingston Plaza (adjacent to the ballfield off Westbrook Lane), from the Cornell Street parking lot (Thomas Street lot near Little Italy), and along Broadway at the Governor Clinton, the Andy Murphy Center, City Hall/Kingston High School, and Yosman Towers, dropping off at Garraghan Drive. Buses will start picking up at 5:00pm and the last bus will depart the Rondout at 11:30pm.

In the event of severe weather on July 4, the fireworks will move to Sunday, July 5, 2026.

Mayor Noble's Ward 4 Listening Tour Meeting

Mayor Noble, along with Council members from each ward, is hosting ward meetings with residents to hear their thoughts and concerns.

The next meeting will be Ward 4 on Monday, June 22 at 5:30pm. The meeting will take place at the Clinton Avenue Church at 122 Clinton Avenue.

The Ward 5 meeting will be held on Monday, July 20 at 5:30pm at Good Work Institute at 65 St. James Street.

Immediate requests for services can be made by calling 311 during business hours (Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm) or submitting a ticket here: https://www.kingston-ny.gov/311

Upcoming Paving + Roadwork & Infrastructure Update

Paving: June paving projects will be announced soon. Paving projects are expected to continue into October 2026.

Central Hudson: service replacements will continue on Albany Ave the week of May 26.

Please note: NYSDOT sidewalk project on Albany Avenue has been pushed to after the Central Hudson work on Albany Ave. is completed.

Weekly roadwork updates can be found here. For more information on paving projects, please visit https://kingston-ny.gov/paving

City of Kingston Job and Board/Commision Opportunities

The City of Kingston is hiring!

The Department of Public Works has several opportunities for Motor Equipment Operators. The annual salary is $58,101 with competitive benefits.

The position requires a commercial drivers license. Apply today!

Additional available positions include:

• Skilled Laborer - DPW
• Senior Building Inspector
• Skilled Laborer (Parks & Recreation) - evening shift
• Heavy Motor Equipment Operator

The following Civil Service exams are being offered:

• Spanish Speaking Clerk on November 7 (deadline: Oct. 22)

For more information on civil service exams and job opportunities, please visit https://kingston-ny.gov/employment



The City has over 25 boards & commissions, and we're always looking for volunteers to serve the community. For more information on what these boards & commissions do, read up here.

The following currently have openings:

• Ethics Board
• Conservation Advisory Council
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• Ulster County Planning Board (Kingston representative)

Find the application at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KingstonBoards.

Kingston 311

The Kingston 311 app, website, and phone system allow residents to quickly and easily report issues and submit service requests.

The Kingston 311 app, available for Android & iPhones, is a fast and simple way to connect to City officials in non-emergency situations. Photos can be attached to illustrate service orders.



This system is a valuable resource to submit municipal service requests. Examples include:

• Streetlight replacement
• City signage, including overgrowth blocking traffic signs
• Snow removal, reporting parking violations, and other snow issues
• Parks & playground repairs
• Report graffiti or vandalism
• Trail issues

Dial 311 from any phone within City limits to reach us, use the app or visit www.kingston-ny.gov/311/