Mayor's Message

CCE Thanksgiving Event

New Pavilion at Sojourner Truth State Park Open

City Hall Blood Donation Drive

ADU Design Contest Winners Announced

Landlord Ambassador Program Deadline Dec. 1

ARPA Affordable Housing Fund Deadline December 15

Roadwork Update for the Week of November 20

City of Kingston Job Opportunities

Mayor's Message:

Dear Friends -

Happy thanksgiving! I hope everyone enjoys a warm and joyous holiday with family and friends.

Next week, City offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 23-24. Trash/recycling will not be picked up on Thursday, and be pushed back one day. Yard waste will be picked up Saturday, November 25. The Transfer Station will be open on Friday, November 23.

This Saturday, November 18, the Transfer Station will also be closed.

As we head into the colder weather months, now is a good time to sign up for Smart911, our Snow Emergency alert system. You can sign up to get either a call or text for Snow Emergency updates here.

And don't forget to weigh in on the poll to name the greenspace at Broadway & Prince! The poll will close on December 1.

-Steve

CCE Thanksgiving Event

The Center for Creative Education’s 4th Annual Spread Love Thanksgiving Event on Thursday, November 23 between 10am -2pm is free for all.

In collaboration with Beyond the 4 Walls Outreach Program, all are welcome to partake in free food, clothes, resources, music, dancing, and a friendly smile from supportive, loving people sharing in a festive celebration. 

With the help of the community, local nonprofits, and businesses, the event hopes to feed over 1,500 families in Kingston and Ulster County. If you or someone you know would benefit from this event, please the event.

If you or someone you know is in need of delivery, please fill out this form. 

The "Spread Love" Thanksgiving event still needs:

• volunteers
• sponsors
• food delivery
• donations
• set-up and clean-up crews
• servers
• cooks, food prep and potatoes peelers (Sun-Wed. before the event)
• recycle & garbage collection
• indoor bathroom monitors

Visit CCE4ME.ORG to contribute time, support, money or resources to this heartwarming community event. We are all in this together!

Sojourner Truth State Park Pavilion Now Open

Today, officials from NYS Parks, Scenic Hudson and local elected officials held a ribbon cutting at the Sojourner Truth State Park pavilion. The pavilion is situated just off the Hutton Brickyard Trail, right on the Hudson River, and sits atop the former barge loading dock. This former industrial site is now a serene place for nature and contemplation.

The beautiful design, which blends naturally into its surroundings, highlights what a huge asset this pavilion is for the park and for our community.

I'm so proud to have the Sojourner Truth State Park in Kingston, and look forward to seeing more amenities added over time. Hope you enjoy!

City Hall Blood Drive -- Sign Up!

It's the season of giving - consider giving blood! City Hall will be hosting Red Cross for a blood drive on Tuesday, December 19 from noon to 5:00pm.

Most donations take about an hour so book your appointment, roll up your sleeve and become a part of the lifesaving mission of the Red Cross.

Go to redcrossblood.org to register today!

ADU Design Contest Winner Announced

The Yes to ADUs! Accessory Dwelling Unit Design Competition, part of the Plus One Home Program, a partnership between the City of Kingston, Ulster County, and RUPCO, winners have been selected!

The winning design will receive $25,000 to produce permit-ready construction documents, which Kingston homeowners can use to obtain building permits to construct new, detached ADUs. An evaluation committee composed of local design professionals reviewed all contest submissions and selected the DEMO Architecture team’s design. The runner up is Plus One by Andrade Architecture. A $3,000 award for the best non-professional/student design will go to Part & Parcel by Rafael Cruz.

“This competition was a fun, creative way to raise visibility about the benefits of ADUs, which are now allowed citywide with our new zoning code,” said Mayor Noble. “We believe ADUs will contribute to the relief of the local housing shortage, as they encourage density, housing variety, and affordability. I want to thank all the contest participants and congratulate DEMO! The winning design, which focuses on privacy and includes an enclosed outdoor area, is a stylish example of a detached ADU that might work in your own backyard.”

Plans from DEMO Architecture are expected to be available in early 2024.

The Yes to ADUs! Accessory Dwelling Unit Design Competition is funded with the City of Kingston’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. More at engagekingston.com/adu-design-competition.

Landlord Ambassador Program: Deadline Dec. 1

With funding from Ulster County and the City of Kingston, RUPCO is administering $1.885 million in funds through the Affordable Rental Upgrade Program (ARUP) to provide financial assistance to landlords to improve the conditions of rental units in exchange for keeping rents stabilized for low-income tenants. The City of Kingston allocated $350,000 in ARPA funding to support this program, which will be awarded specifically to Kingston-based rental units. The funding allocated to ARUP for this program is part of the $4.6 million the City of Kingston has earmarked for housing action projects.

The program is open to landlords who own eight or fewer legal residential rental units. Funding may be used for repairs that address code violations, items that can lead to code violations, health and safety issues, heating, electrical, plumbing, structural issues, roofing, windows, siding, carpentry, accessibility, and energy efficiency upgrades. Beautification and cosmetic repairs are not eligible expenses. In exchange, the landlord must agree to rent the units to households at or below specified income levels and keep the monthly rental amounts stabilized at an affordable rate for a period of 5-7 years, based on the funding level.

The application deadline is December 1, 2023. More at https://rupco.org/arup/. 

ARPA Affordable Housing Fund Deadline: December 15

The deadline for applying for the ARPA Affordable Housing Fund grants to incentivize the creation of new affordable housing units in the City of Kingston is December 15, 2023.

The City of Kingston has allocated $1,000,000 of its federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for the Affordable Housing Fund, with the goal of prioritizing development or rehabilitation projects that result in the creation of housing rented at no more than 60% Area Median Income for a period of 20 years. The fund offers grant awards of up to $75,000 per affordable housing unit, up to $300,000 per owner or property.

Grant funds may be used for essential construction or rehabilitation, including but not limited to roof repair/replacement, upgrade of electrical systems, environmental remediation, windows, accessibility ramps, plumbing, and heating systems. Depending on the total cost of the repair, a certain number of units will be subject to the affordability restrictions for the full 20-year period.

Deadline is December 15, 2023. Further information, eligible fund uses, application & more at www.engagekingston.com/arpa-affordable-housing.  

Roadwork Next Week

Central Hudson: Service replacements will continue next week on West Chestnut Street and West Chester Street with lane changes and road closures.

Central Hudson will also be doing some gas main maintenance work at the corner of W. O’ Reilly St and Broadway. Work will continue until we are complete. Hopefully sometime around the end of December or early January.

Henry Street Safe Routes to School Project: crews will continue repairing storm and sewer at Prospect Street and Henry Street. Paving has been completed on Henry Street from Wall Street to Clinton and Broadway to Sterling. The remaining striping will be finished Saturday, weather permitting. The remainder of the project, including the final paving and landscaping, will be completed in the spring.

Citywide ADA curb ramps: construction of ramps on North Front Street is complete. Construction of the bluestone sidewalk on North Front Street in front of the municipal parking lot will be completed soon. Construction of ramps on Roosevelt Avenue is complete. Roosevelt Avenue is awaiting final paving.

Next week will be the final week for ramp construction. To date, 92 ADA compliant ramps have been completed on Clifton Avenue, Roosevelt Avenue, Walnut Street, E. Union Street, Gill Street, Highland Avenue, Hasbrouck Place, Stephan Street, Smith Avenue and N. Front Street. Crews have restored 110 feet of bluestone sidewalk on N. Front Street and installed 40 new feet of concrete sidewalk on Roosevelt Avenue. Crews also rebuilt three failing drainage structures on Walnut Street.



Wurts Street Bridge: Noise will continue to be loud on occasion while crews perform steel repairs. As long as weather allows and material is available, construction work on the bridge is expected to continue into January.



Regular roadwork updates can be found here.

N. Front Street bluestone sidewalk installation this week

City of Kingston Job & Board Opportunities

The City of Kingston is hiring! Current openings include:

• Deputy Assessor
• Motor Equipment Operator
• Part-time cleaner
• Part-time Housing Code Inspector

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

Upcoming Civil Service Exams include:

Assistant Director of Building Safety and Zoning on January 13, 2024

Building Inspector on January 13, 2024

Housing Code Inspector on January 13, 2024

Plumbing Inspector on January 13/2024

Senior Building Inspector on January 13, 2024

Firefighter Paramedic Trainee on January 13, 2024

Emergency Services Dispatcher I Trainee on January 27, 2024

Purchasing Assistant on February 10, 2024

Purchasing Coordinator on February 10, 2024

The following civil service examinations will be given on a continual recruitment basis. Exams will be given every six months and names will be interfiled on the eligible lists.

Office Assistant

Office Assistant I

Typist

There is currently one opening 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.

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-related 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/