Latest Covid-19 Information |
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Traffic and Parking Changes on Broadway |
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20th Anniversary of 9/11 Ceremony |
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Mayor & Council Members Propose Good Cause Eviction |
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Mayor Seeks to Bond for Dietz Stadium Master Plan |
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Arts & Culture Master Plan - Take the Survey! |
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Grant for Wilbur & Ponckhockie Neighborhood Surveys |
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Tour de Kingston is Sunday! |
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A Message From Mayor Steve Noble:
Dear Friends,
After some weather setbacks, we are striping and painting Broadway today! The traffic pattern and parking will look a lot different, so I encourage everyone to visit the City's Facebook page for more info on how to use the new configuration.
After a steep increase in Covid cases due to the Delta variant, here at City Hall and other municipal buildings, we have reinstituted the mask mandate for visitors and employees who are within 6 feet of others. We have switched back to virtual for all of our Board and Commission meetings, all of which can be seen at the City of Kingston YouTube channel. The Common Council will also be holding their meetings via Zoom until further notice. Call-in details are at the City of Kingston website calendar and all meetings are live-streamed on our YouTube channel.
-Steve
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COVID-19 Information
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As of Friday, September 10, there are 595 active Covid-19 cases in Ulster County, 76 in Kingston, and there have been 274 deaths across the County. More local resources at Ulster County Covid-19 Information
- Ulster County is expected to have booster shots available starting September 20. More details will be forthcoming.
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The Emergency Rental Assistance Program is now accepting applications. Details here.
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The Excluded Workers Fund will provide a one-time payment to workers who lost income between March 27, 2020 and April 1, 2021 but are excluded from state Unemployment Insurance (UI) and federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). Applications are open at dol.ny.gov/EWFApply.
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Broadway Nears Completion - Changes to Traffic & Parking |
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As the new Broadway traffic configuration goes into effect, the location of the parking spaces on the north side of the street have moved away from the curb. Parking will be floating between the flow of vehicles and the bike lane in clearly marked striped spaces.
Protected bike lanes, also known as cycle tracks, increase safety for all road users by separating different types of traffic providing a buffer between cyclists and drivers.
Parking spaces on Broadway from Pine Grove to St. James will now be FREE, 2-hour parking.
How to drive or park next to protected bike lanes:
• NEVER drive or park in a protected bike lane.
• Take extra caution, look for cyclists and pedestrians where visibility is reduced by parked cars.
• Before turning, drivers must yield to cyclists and pedestrians
• Only park in available spaces clearly marked with white lines
Tips for biking in protected bike lanes:
• Yield to pedestrians at intersections.
• Watch for pedestrians crossing the bike lane to access a parked vehicle.
• Watch for turning vehicles when approaching intersections.
• Follow the bike lane signalization
• The cycle track will have two-way bike traffic. Watch for other cyclists who may be headed in the opposite direction.
Tips for walking across parking-protected bike lanes:
• Watch and listen for people biking. Look both ways as some lanes accommodate two-way bike traffic.
• Cross protected bike lanes at intersections unless accessing a parked vehicle.
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20th Anniversary 9/11 Ceremony on Saturday |
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The September 11 memorial event to commemorate the 20th anniversary will be held on Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 8:30am.
The Kingston Fire Department will host the ceremony in Firemen’s Park at the intersection of Washington and Hurley avenues, gathering at 8:30am and beginning the ceremony at 8:46am, marking the exact time the first plane struck the towers.
Chief Mark Brown will give remarks and lead the program, which will include Jolie Dunham singing the national anthem, Ulster AOH playing bagpipes, KFD firefighters laying a wreath, members of the VFW giving a 21-gun salute, and speaking from Reverend David Brechter, the Fire Department Chaplain. Parking is available at nearby Dietz Stadium.
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Mayor & Council Members Propose 'Good Cause Eviction' |
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Mayor Noble, Council members, and community groups Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, Real Kingston Tenants Union/Ulster County Coalition for Housing Justice and Citizen Action, held a press conference to announce that legislation for enacting Good Cause Eviction on a local level will be put forward to the Common Council.
Passing Good Cause Eviction would give every tenant in Kingston the right to a lease renewal and would protect against predatory rent increases and unfair evictions. The legislation stops landlords from removing tenants without an order from a judge, who would decide if an eviction is for a good cause. Good causes include failure to pay rent, violating terms of the lease, causing a nuisance, violation of the law, or in the event that the owner sells the building.
Mayor Noble said, “At a time when we are in the midst of both a housing crisis and an ongoing global pandemic, we believe that passing Good Cause Eviction will not only help protect tenants, it will be beneficial for our City, homeowners and neighborhoods, and good landlords as well. Everyone deserves a safe, secure place to live, and Good Cause Eviction gives tenants the power to demand safe living conditions without fear of retaliation. We know that housing instability has profound effects on a person’s well-being, including physical and mental health, academic success and gainful employment. This legislation would be one step in helping everyone in our community have adequate housing.”
The proposed legislation will be presented to the Common Council’s Laws & Rules Committee on September 15, 2021.
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Mayor Noble Seeks Bond for Dietz Stadium Master Plan
Mayor Noble announced a partnership with the Kingston City School District to move forward on completing the Dietz Stadium Master Plan.
This year marks the 100th anniversary and more than 30 years since Dietz Stadium has received more than $1 million in capital improvements. With funding from the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant, the City of Kingston developed an extensive renovation plan. The total cost, currently estimated with Covid-related price increases, is approximately $18.7 million.
To get the renovations underway, Mayor Noble will request Common Council approval for a municipal bond package in the amount of $13.7million. The City of Kingston Grants Management team will continue to search for additional funding opportunities and revenue sources to reduce the local share. If approved by the Council, construction is anticipated to begin 2022 and last two construction seasons.
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Arts & Culture Master Plan Survey Open
For the last year, the City of Kingston has been working on creating an Arts & Culture Master Plan, the first City-led comprehensive study of our arts and culture assets. The City of Kingston hired Lord Cultural Resources to conduct the study and the project has been managed by the Director of Art & Cultural Affairs with guidance from a Project Advisory Committee, along with support from the Kingston Arts Commission.
The Arts & Culture Master Plan was presented in a public meeting on Wednesday. Click below to watch the full presentation. A public engagement survey at Engage Kingston is open until September 22 for feedback. Let us know what you think!
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Next Round of Paving Announced
The next round of paving in 2021 will be Navara Street and Linderman Avenue from Washington Avenue to Twin Ponds Drive.
The Department of Public Works will begin milling these areas on or about September 20-24. Paving is scheduled to commence on September 27, 2021, weather permitting. Paving is expected to be completed by October 1. During this time, there may be detours and changes to the traffic pattern.
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Grant for Wilbur & Ponchhockie Neighborhood Surveys |
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The City of Kingston was awarded $27,016 from the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to support a survey of the Wilbur and Ponckhockie neighborhoods.
The Historic Preservation Fund’s Certified Local Government (CLG) Grant Award will help fund the surveys of the Wilbur and Ponckhockie neighborhoods, which will advance the City’s historic preservation efforts and will result in the determination of eligibility of new potential local landmarks as well as the State/National Register designations.
The City’s Planning Department will oversee this initiative in conjunction with the cooperation of the Friends of Historic Kingston and members of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission. This research will build upon previous individual National and State Historic Registry listings, studies already conducted, and the Historic Buildings Inventory identified in the 1987 Urban Cultural Park Plan.
At the conclusion of this research, the project team will be creating a digitized inventory of historic assets in, and for, Wilbur and Ponckhockie, along with a detailed written history to be included in a later comprehensive city-wide preservation plan. This information will also be used to nominate eligible properties located in these two neighborhoods to the National/State Registry.
In 2013, the City of Kingston received funding from a CLG grant to conduct a survey of historic resources in Midtown. The purpose of the study was to identify historic resources in Midtown, to make recommendations for their preservation, and to recommend how they can best be used as resources for economic and community development. The survey was completed in 2014 and can be found here.
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Tour de Kingston on Sunday, September 12 |
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The Tour de Kingston is this Sunday! All rides begin and end at Forsyth Park.
Start times and distances:
8:00 Registration Opens
8:30 “Dirty Thirty” 30 Mile Gravel Ride
9am 25 and 50 Mile Road Rides
10am 8 and 16 Mile Rail Trail Rides
11am 5 Mile Family Ride – this ride is free but please register!
The deadline for online registration is tomorrow Saturday, September 11 at 12pm. Registration is $40 for adults and $10 for youth/students for all rides except the 5-mile Family Ride. The Family Ride is free, but you must register to participate. Once online registration closes, you will still be able to sign up the day of the ride. Day-of registration increases to $50 for adults but stays at $10 for youth/students. Registration at https://www.bikereg.com/tdk21
Parking is at Dietz Stadium. Registration includes post-ride lunch and raffle ticket. All proceeds benefit Tour de Kingston Community Scholarships and the bicycle programs of the YMCA of Kingston and Ulster County. Helmets are required for all riders. Masks are required for all riders at registration. Masks are optional while riding, but please practice social distancing as much as possible. Event details are at https://www.tourdekingston.com/
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Sent on behalf of:
Mayor Steven T. Noble
845.334.3902
mayor@kingston-ny.gov
The purpose of this newsletter is to share important information, project updates, pictures and news from the City of Kingston. For more detailed information, visit:
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