Mayor's Message

Drew Andrews Appointed to Ward 7

Proposed Affordable Housing at 256 Washington Ave

Kingston Receives Solar Award

Kingston Organics Live Event on 9/19

Kingston Awarded $500,000 for Tree Maintenance

Kingston City Land Bank First to Utilize LCAP Funding

Roadwork Update for Week of September 18

City of Kingston Job Opportunities

Forsyth Park Family Fun Day on Saturday, September 16

Mayor's Message:

Dear Friends -

I am so pleased to appoint Drew Andrews as Alderperson to serve Ward Seven. Drew works each and every day to improve this community in such a positive manner. I know he will bring the same energy, positivity, and inclusive spirit to the role of Alderperson. I look forward to working with Drew alongside the Common Council.

This week, we announced two exciting projects on Washington Avenue that will both go before the Planning Board on Monday. One is a 100% affordable housing development in the former Chiz's boarding house location, and the other redevelops a historic former nursing house. Both of these projects would not be possible without the new zoning code, and I am pleased to see them both moving through the Planning process.

-Steve

Mayor Noble Appoints Drew Andrews to Ward 7

Mayor Noble is pleased to announce that he has appointed Bryant “Drew” Andrews to the Ward 7 seat recently vacated by Michael Olivieri.

Andrews is the co-founder of the Center for Creative Education (CCE), where he provides high-quality arts education, a safe and supportive learning environment, a platform for youth to find their voice and prepares, and guides students of all ages as they navigate life. Andrews is also the founder of Energy Dance Company and the CEO of Dance Xross Fitness. He has served on the Ulster County Restorative Justice Task Force, the Kingston Arts Commission, the NYSCA Arts Education Panel, and has served on the UPAC/Bardavon and the SUNY Ulster Foundation boards. Andrews has degrees in Human Services and Youth Counseling and has completed professional development programs at Stanford University and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Olivieri stepped down to accept the Business Manager position at the Kingston Water Department in July. As per the City of Kingston Charter, Mayor Noble has the authority to appoint a Council member to a vacated seat. Mayor Noble opened an application process for the seat. Andrews will serve the unexpired term that currently expires on December 31, 2023.

Proposed Affordable Housing at 256 Washington Avenue

Mayor Noble and the Home Property Group, LLC are pleased to announce plans for redeveloping 256 Washington Avenue, the former Chiz’s House property, into an affordable housing complex with up to 60 housing units.

The project will include a gut renovation and complete rehabilitation to modernize the property, including new plumbing, electrical system, windows, and energy efficient HVAC systems. The original boarding house rooms will be renovated to include bathrooms and kitchenettes, and the property will include an on-site manager’s office. Several studio units will be made adaptable for persons with physical disabilities.

Working closely with City of Kingston officials since the project’s inception, the development team has secured a long-term lease with Family of Woodstock to occupy the entire premises, including on-site support, ensuring long-lasting affordability. All rents will be affordable to residents making below 80% AMI.

“This is a great opportunity for redevelopment, and I am so pleased that this project will be 100 percent affordable,” said Mayor Noble. “The developers’ partnership with Family of Woodstock will provide much needed supportive housing to Uptown Kingston.”

Scott Rosen of the Home Property Group, said, “We are employing local architectural, engineering, and contracting services to deliver a best-in-class project to a greatly underserved part of the community and a brighter future for a once blighted property. As the owners of other properties in the neighborhood, we are committed to managing and maintaining the development at 256 Washington to the highest of standards.”

Michael Berg, Executive Director of Family Woodstock said, “Family of Woodstock Inc. is excited to join Home Property Group in opening 50 affordable housing units over the next few months to help address the crisis in affordable housing. We will be providing Permanent Supported and Rapid Rehousing services to individuals who are or have recently been homeless, and services to promote stability and move towards self-sufficiency.”

The developers will present the project to the Planning Board on September 18, 2023, to start the approval process and finalize the site plan. 

Kingston Receives Solar Award

The City of Kingston has received a Bronze designation from the U.S. Department of Energy’s SolSmart program for encouraging the growth of clean, affordable solar energy at the local level.

Local governments achieve SolSmart designation by meeting established criteria that are based on national best practices for building solar-friendly communities. To achieve SolSmart Bronze designation, Kingston has posted an online checklist detailing the permitting process for residential rooftop solar and has reviewed local zoning requirements and identified restrictions that intentionally or unintentionally prohibit solar energy development. These and other actions will make it faster, easier, and more affordable for residents, businesses, and nonprofit organizations to install solar in this community. 

A cornerstone of the SolSmart program is to provide equitable opportunities for underserved communities to access the benefits of solar energy, advancing the goals of the federal Justice40 initiative. In 2022, the City of Kingston established Kingston Community Energy (KCE), a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program in partnership with Mid-Hudson Energy Transition. A key part of Kingston’s CCA is making renewable energy more accessible to all demographics of Kingston, including the underserved communities. KCE is currently working to establish community solar opportunities, in partnership with PowerMarket, at reduced rates, so that the City can facilitate the transition off fossil fuels without increasing the energy burdens of constituents.

In 2019, the City of Kingston hired Cadmus and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to develop a long-term roadmap for the City to achieve 100% renewable and resilient community-wide electricity supply, and main tenets of this roadmap include scaling solar generation. The City also participates in two local Community Solar Projects for a portion of our municipal accounts, the Pointe Kingston Community Solar and the Community Solar Array at 241 Albany Avenue through Radio Kingston. Further, the City has three municipal solar arrays installed on municipal facilities: two at the Forsyth Nature Center, and a 49kW system at the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center, with additional municipal installations planned for Fall of 2023.

Find out more about Kingston’s solar initiatives at www.kingston-ny.gov/solar. More information about Kingston’s commitment to clean energy can be found at www.kingston-ny.gov/energy.

Kingston Organics Live Event on September 19

The City of Kingston and the Climate Smart Kingston Commission are hosting a Kingston Organics Live event on Tuesday, September 19 from 5:00-7:00pm at Forsyth Park.

Come to learn all about the Kingston Organics pilot project, and about composting in general! This free, family-friendly event is part of Hudson Valley Climate Solutions Week.

-Learn about the Kingston Organics project -- with live demonstrations

-Visit the Food Scraps Drop Off Site “Open House”

-Enter to win the Backyard Composter Giveaway

-Learn more about Community Compost Company

-Purchase Hudson Soil Compost

-Check out a Composting Demonstration by UCRRA, and much more!



Kingston Organics: LIVE

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

5:00 PM 7:00 PM

Forsyth Park parking lot below the tennis courts

157 Lucas Avenue

City of Kingston Granted $500k for Urban Forestry

The City of Kingston has received $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service to hire a full-time Urban Forester for long-term tree protection and maintenance.

With this grant funding, the City of Kingston will establish an Urban Forester position to manage the City’s urban forest holistically, taking a comprehensive approach. The Forester will analyze the City’s existing programs, policies, and conditions, engage the public in decision-making, and use that information to develop and implement a plan to increase canopy cover and resilience, decrease invasive species, address environmental sustainability, and more.

“We are thrilled to receive this grant funding, which will help us maintain our beloved trees,” said Mayor Noble. “It has long been a challenge to properly care for our many urban trees across the City of Kingston, and with climate change, we foresee maintaining healthy trees will both be more challenging, and more necessary. We look forward to having someone on staff who will assist the City and residents with plans and procedures for ensuring our trees thrive. We expect the Urban Forester will also help us achieve our goal of planting 1000 trees by 2030, which was outlined in our Open Space Plan. I want to thank Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressman Pat Ryan for their efforts in helping secure this funding for Kingston.”

Studies show that communities with access to trees and green spaces are associated with improved health outcomes, reduced crime, lower average temperatures, and an influx of other kinds of investments and new economic opportunities. The U.S. Forest Service grant is intended to increase equitable access to trees and green spaces, increase tree cover/shade, diversify our tree types, protect our trees from invasive species, and many more proven benefits of trees. The USDA’s announcement can be found here.  

Three New Kingston Land Bank-Renovated Homes For Sale

The Kingston City Land Bank (KCLB) is the first organization in New York State anticipated to close on affordable home sales under the New York State Legacy Cities ACCESS Program.

The KCLB purchased the 4 homes in this project: 29 Rogers Street, 63 German Street, 237 East Union Street, and 169 Hurley Avenue from the City of Kingston for the full price of back taxes. The first 2 properties to be sold—63 German Street and 237 East Union Street—have been fully rehabbed and will soon be sold to first-time homeowners. Each of these 3-bedroom homes will be sold for $194,995. Sales and marketing for the final 2 homes in this project will commence this month.

Mayor Noble said, “I congratulate the Kingston City Land Bank on the completion of two new renovations, which will soon mean affordable homeownership for two more families in our community. These homes, which were once vacant and a blite, will now be a vibrant part of the neighborhood. Thanks to the Kingston City Land Bank for their work, and to Governor Hochul for the State’s LCAP program, I look forward to seeing community members thrive in their new homes.”

More about the LCAP Program and Kingston Land Bank can be found here.

Paving & Roadwork Next Week

The next paving project will be Hooker Street from Lincoln Street to First Avenue; Moore Street from First Avenue to Second Avenue; and Szymanski Street from Third Avenue to the dead end.

Milling is expected to begin on Monday, September 18, with paving on Thursday, September 21 and Friday September 22, 2023, weather depending. 



The Kingston Water Department's valve replacement project will be finishing up next week. On Monday, work will be on Foxhall and Prince, and on Tuesday and Wednesday, restoration of sites and paving will commence.

The project will involve some lane/road closures and detours. There will also be water shutoffs for customers in the vicinity. KWD will be doing outreach to the residents in the affected areas, and will be putting door hangers on the homes/businesses that are anticipated to be without water. The Kingston Water Department Facebook page will be updated as work progresses.

Central Hudson: service replacements will begin on New St. and gas main installation will continue on Delaware Ave, Brewster St, Levan St, and Staples St.

Henry Street Safe Routes to School Project: crews are currently replacing storm and sewer connections at Fair Street and Henry, and repairing sewer connections at Pine Street and Henry Street. Concrete sidewalk installation continues along the north side of Henry Street, with bluestone sidewalk installation along portions of the north and south side of Henry Street. Granite curb is now being installed along the north side of Henry Street. Underground utilities are being repaired and/or replaced, and old lead lines are being removed and replaced with copper as they are discovered.

Wurts Street Bridge: Contractors will be working tomorrow, Saturday, September 12, sealing the deck. This work will not be loud and should be complete early afternoon. Next week: Paint touch up and caulk, continue steel repairs, form and pour moment slab South end and form and pour parapet walls North and South ends. Electrical conduit installation to continue, and steel repair walkway on top.



Regular roadwork updates can be found here.

City of Kingston Job Opportunities

The City of Kingston is hiring! Current openings include Engineering Technician, Senior Building Inspector, Maintenance Helper, School Crossing Guards, and a Motor Equipment Operator.

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

Upcoming Civil Service Exams include:

Recreation Leader on October 21, 2023

Economic Recovery Plan (ERP) Project Manager on November 4, 2023

Finance & Operations Administrator on November 4, 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.

Forsyth Park Family Fun Day on September 16!