Mayor's Message

Save the Date: 2023 State of the City

City-wide Redistricting Public Hearing

New Year's Eve Concert Tomorrow Night

City of Kingston Awarded $50,000 Grant for Refrigerant Program

City of Kingston Job Opportunities

Mayor Noble's Tuesday Radio Show

Mayor's Message:

Dear Friends -

Wishing everyone a happy New Year! The City of Kingston is cohosting a choral concert at Old Dutch Church tomorrow, which is free and open to all. Downtown, Mariner's Harbor is hosting a ball-drop, so head down to the waterfront to ring in the New Year at midnight.

City offices will be closed on Monday, January 2 in observance of New Year's Day. Trash and recycling will be delayed one day next week.

And save the date for my annual State of the City address, which will be Tuesday, January 10. I'll be laying out my vision for Kingston in 2023, so I hope you'll tune in!

-Steve

Save the Date: State of the City

Mayor Noble will deliver his annual State of the City address on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at the Common Council meeting at City Hall in Council Chambers. The meeting, which is open to all, starts at 7:30pm.

City-wide Redistricting Public Hearing

The Common Council’s Redistricting Subcommittee will host a Public Hearing regarding the proposed redistricting maps on Thursday, January 12, 2023 at 6:00pm. The Public Hearing will be held in-person at City Hall in Council Chambers and virtually via Zoom.

Kingston, like other municipalities, must redraw current ward maps to align with 2020 Census data on local population changes. Under the City’s Charter, the Common Council must undertake this redistricting process to make the nine wards more equitable. The Common Council’s Redistricting Sub-Committee has been tasked with overseeing the ward map redrawing for the City of Kingston, and has been working with a consultant who has created three proposed redistricting plans.

The three draft redistricting plans and a Deviation and Demographics Report for each plan are available at Engage Kingston or in person at the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall. Plan A represents the alternative with the least change and makes the fewest possible adjustments to the existing wards while still bringing the City of Kingston into compliance with State and Federal laws. Plan B is an example of a potential alternative that makes more significant changes using the same legal guidelines. Plan C would create new wards based on census data and the City’s communities with less focus on keeping the current ward boundaries.

The Redistricting Sub-Committee will meet on Tuesday, January 3 at 6:30pm at City Hall in Conference Room #1 and will then hear public feedback at the Public Hearing on January 12. 

Redistricting Public Hearing

January 12, 2023

6:00pm

Council Chambers at City Hall or

Via Zoom (Click here. Passcode: 4EJdWd5d)

Written comment can also be sent to redistricting@kingston-ny.gov or to the City Clerk’s Office at 420 Broadway, Kingston NY 12401 until Thursday, January 12, 2023 at 1:00pm.

The Redistricting Sub-committee meeting with the consultants/mapper on December 27 can be viewed here. The Redistricting Sub-Committee also held an informational meeting on November 17. The recording can be viewed here.

The Common Council is expected to vote on the final maps before January 27, 2023. More information at www.engagekingston.com/redistricting. 

New Year's Eve Concert Event

The City of Kingston, in collaboration with Ars Choralis and Old Dutch Church, will co-host a special New Year’s Eve event at Old Dutch Church.

Forward Together, a classical chorale concert performance based on Langston Hughes's poem, Let America Be America Again, is the culminating event of the 150th Anniversary of the City of Kingston celebrations. The event is free, open to the public, and appropriate for all ages.

More information about the Forward Together event can be found here.

In addition to the concert event, Mariner’s Harbor is sponsoring a midnight ball drop in T.R. Gallo Park, which will be open to the public.  

Kingston Awarded $50k for Refrigerant Program

The City of Kingston has been awarded $50,000 for a Citywide Refrigerant Management Program from the State Department of Environmental Conservation's Climate Smart Communities Grant program.

With the grant funding, the City of Kingston will develop a municipal Refrigerant Management Plan, including an implementation program, to address the City’s purchasing, management, and disposal of refrigerants. The project, which will be managed by Julie Noble, the City’s Sustainability Coordinator, aims to educate the community and City staff about the dangers of refrigerants to the climate, as well as reduce the City’s greenhouse gas emissions from refrigerant sources.

Refrigeration and cooling systems contain GHGs that are many times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Leakage of refrigerants is a regular occurrence from HVAC equipment, refrigerators, chillers, window air conditioners and dehumidifiers. Refrigerants are also present in vehicles. This project will focus on reducing GHG emissions from refrigerants in the municipal building and fleet. More info can be found here.

City of Kingston Job Opportunities

The City of Kingston currently has several open positions, including Assistant Director of Building Safety and Zoning, Building Inspector, Fire Inspector, Motor Equipment Mechanic, and Motor Equipment Operator.

There are a number of upcoming Civil Service exams, including Accountant, Spanish-speaking Clerk, and Administrative Account Clerk, among others.

The Firefighter exam has been called for February 11, 2023.

For these and other City of Kingston job opportunities, please visit https://kingston-ny.gov/employment. 

Mayor Noble's Tuesday Radio Show

Mayor Noble hosts a weekly radio show on Tuesdays at 5:00pm which airs live on Radio Kingston and the City of Kingston Facebook page.

Last week, Mayor Noble spoke with Dr. Doyle, Executive Director and Chief Medical Officer of HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley about the Kingston Hospital move to Mary's Avenue. Click below to hear their conversation.

Next week's guest will be incoming County Executive Jen Metzger to discuss her plans for Ulster County and many joint initiatives with the City of Kingston.