Mayor's Message

Mayor Noble Meets with Stony Run Tenants

Mayor Nobles Announces Round 2 of ARPA Community Event Grants

Children's Concert on April 8 at Old Dutch Church

City of Kingston Job & Board Opportunities

Mayor Noble's Tuesday Radio Show

Roadwork Update, Week of April 3

Sound the Alarm Event - Sign up for a Free Smoke Detector!

Mayor's Message:

Dear Friends -

Happy spring! We have a lot of work scheduled for this construction season, so we're bringing back our weekly Roadwork Updates.  

Recently, I was able to visit two current projects - the Waste Water Treatment Plant and the Wurts Street Bridge. These represent major investments in City of Kingston infrastructure - over $60 million between the two projects. The Wurts Street Bridge is expected to be completed this year, as is the WWTP improvements. Our Cooper Lake Dam Project will continue into the summer, and will ensure the best quality water for our residents.

In the coming weeks, you'll start to see updates on more projects getting underway soon including Dietz Stadium, Henry Street Safe Routes to School, Uptown Transportation Improvement Project, city-wide ADA curb ramps and much more. We expect our paving season to begin in April as well, so stay tuned!

-Steve

Mayor Meets with Stony Run Tenants

Mayor Noble was pleased to meet with tenants from Stony Run apartment complex this week to discuss the proposed regulatory agreement with the Stony Run property owners.

Mayor Noble said, “I want to thank all the Stony Run tenants who came out to meet with me. They shared their concerns and asked great questions. I hope I was able to ease their minds and alleviate their concerns. My intention for the meeting was to make very clear to the tenants at Stony Run that they will retain their current protections under the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, which I passed in 2022. The regulatory agreement – if approved by the office NYS Homes & Community Renewal, would ensure that, in the event that ETPA should end, Stony Run will not return to market-rate. The agreement makes the apartment complex workforce housing for the next 40 years while also giving the property owners access to funding for much-needed renovations.

“My first concern is the health and safety of Kingston tenants. We have heard from many Stony Run tenants that their units desperately need improvements. I collected documentation of these issues at the meeting, and will work with the City’s Building Safety staff to make sure that any code violations are immediately resolved.

“I believe this regulatory agreement will only benefit the tenants at Stony Run, and I hope that last night’s meeting helped to reassure them that I am working to safeguard their rights and to make sure their home is a safe and comfortable place to live.

“From conducting a vacancy study and being the first upstate municipality to opt into the ETPA, to signing Good Cause Eviction law, to mandating affordable housing in every new housing development, to undertaking the massive effort to rezone our entire community, I have made housing a top priority. I established the Office of Housing Initiatives in 2020 to assist me in using every tool available to combat our local housing crisis.

“I also want to thank the Common Council for their willingness to see the benefits of this agreement while also helping me to clarify with the tenants and the public how it will help Stony Run tenants in the long run.”

At a special meeting on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, the City of Kingston’s Common Council passed a resolution to allow Mayor Noble to enter into discussion and negotiate a regulatory agreement with Stony Run’s property owner, AKER. Mayor Noble will bring the Stony Run tenants’ concerns to the negotiations, and once the agreement is finalized, it will be sent to NYS Homes & Community Renewal for approval.

For more on the City of Kingston’s housing initiatives, please visit https://kingston-ny.gov/housing.

Mayor Noble Announces More Community Event Grants

Mayor Noble announce the next round of APRA Community Events Grant Program awards for a total of $35,000 across four community groups: the Hudson Valley Current ($5,000) for the Open Table: Spring into Sharing event in May; Voice Theatre, Inc. ($5,000) for Youth Speak Matters, a youth theater show in July 2023; and the Clinton Avenue Methodist Church ($5,000) for the Third Annual Midtown Spanish Independence Celebration in September 2023.

The Center for Creative Education received $20,000 for the following events: Black Artivist Experience, Hispanic Heritage Festival, Spread Love Thanksgiving and Women’s Experience.

The 2023 Community Events Grant Program is made possible with Federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The City has allocated $375,000 to support local events occurring in 2023 as part of city-wide pandemic recovery efforts.

Nonprofit groups and businesses located within City limits are eligible to apply for up to five events per year at up to $5,000 per event, for a total of up to $25,000 per organization. Events must be free and open to the public. Events must take place in 2023, and must have either previously taken place prior to 2020, or if new, not duplicate pre-existing events and focus primarily on youth and families as the target audience. Preference will be shown to applications for events that focus primarily on youth and families as well as those that draw audiences from diverse backgrounds.

Grant applications will be accepted through Friday, November 1, 2023. The last eligible event date is December 31, 2023. More info and the application can be found at: www.engagekingston.com/arpa-community-events-grant-program. 

Children's Concert at Old Dutch Church on April 8

The City of Kingston will host a special performance of Peter and the Wolf and Carnival of the Animals at Old Dutch Church on Saturday, April 8, 2023, from 3:00-4:00pm. The program will feature award-winning storyteller David Gonzalez and classical piano virtuoso Frederick Chiu. The concert is family friendly and free and open to the public.

Peter and the Wolf, a lyrical symphonic fairy tale for children composed by Sergei Prokofiev, will be narrated by David Gonzalez while Frederick Chiu accompanies on the piano. Followed by a performance of composer Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, a musical suite of fourteen movements, each for various animals, including The Tortoise, The Swan, and Wild Horses.

For more of the City of Kingston’s Arts & Cultural Affairs programming, please visit https://www.kingston-ny.gov/artandculturalaffairs.

City of Kingston Job & Board Opportunities

The City of Kingston Parks & Recreation Department has a number of seasonal jobs now open for the summer: Summer Camp Director, Summer Camp Counselor, Lifeguard, Pool Attendant, Tennis Instructor, Park Ranger, and Laborer. Call 845-481-7330 for more information.

The City of Kingston has a number of job openings, including: Motor Equipment Mechanic, Motor Equipment Operator, and Fire Inspector.

There are a number of upcoming Civil Service exams:

Receptionist on April 22, 2023

Environmental Educator & Sustainability Coordinator on April 22, 2023

Administrative Assistant on April 22, 2023

More information at https://kingston-ny.gov/employment.

The City of Kingston has over 25 boards & commissions, and we're always looking for volunteers to serve their community. Currently we have an opening as an alternate on the Planning Board.

Application link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KingstonBoards.

Mayor Noble's Tuesday Radio Show

On Mayor Noble's weekly radio show, which airs on Tuesdays at 5pm on Radio Kingston and the City of Kingston Facebook page, Mayor Noble talked with Parks & Recreation Director Lynsey Timbrouck about spring programming and more. Click below to hear their conversation!

Roadwork Update for the Week of April 3, 2023

Central Hudson: Gas main installation will continue next week on Fair St between N. Front and Main St and John St between Clinton and Wall St. Expect road closures and detours

Gas service replacements will begin on Crown St between N. Front and Green St and John St between Green St and Wall St. Expect road closures/detours.      

For more on Central Hudson gas work, see their project page.

Mayor Noble was able to visit the Wurts Street Bridge project and see the progress up close this week. The massive $50M NYSDOT project is coming along nicely, and is expected to be completed this year.

Sound the Alarm - Free Smoke Alarm Installation

To mitigate the effects from home fires, the Kingston Fire Department and the American Red Cross will host a Sound the Alarm event off on Saturday, April 15, 2023 from 9:00am to 4:00pm. KFD and Red Cross volunteers will be installing FREE smoke alarms in Kingston homes. Working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death from home fires in half. Sign up today!

For more information or to schedule a free smoke alarm installation, please contact Red Cross's Eastern New York Preparedness Team at (518) 649-5121 or [email protected].