Economic Recovery Plan Released |
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City of Kingston Seeks Legal Services for Housing Efforts |
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Former Boarding House to Become Emergency Housing |
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Last Chance to Nominate for Distinguished Artist Award |
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City of Kingston Job Opportunities |
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Snow Emergency Update:
The Snow Emergency will continue into tomorrow. Vehicles must remain off-street or on the odd side overnight on Friday, February 25.
Thanks to great cooperation and compliance of no parking along Snow Emergency routes, DPW was able to clear these routes quickly. Parking on both sides of Snow Emergency routes WILL be allowed this weekend. For all other roads, DPW will continue to plow and clear.
Vehicles should be moved to the EVEN side of the street (or off the street, if possible) at 7:00AM tomorrow, Saturday, February 26, 2022.
The Snow Emergency will end at 5:00PM on Saturday, February 26.
Vehicles not in compliance with these parking restrictions will be ticketed and towed.
City Services:
- Trash and recycling WILL NOT be picked up on Friday or Saturday.
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Please note: trash and recycling was delayed one day this week due to the holiday on Monday. If your trash day is normally Thursday, your pick-up is cancelled this week. Please put your bins out on your normal day next week. There will be no fines or violations for additional trash next week.
- Please remove your trash bins and brush piles from the road to make way for plows.
- All parking lots and meters are suspended on Friday & Saturday.
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There are currently 221 active cases in Ulster County and 40 in Kingston.
Latest news:
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Economic Recovery Plan Released |
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After months of engaging residents, businesses and community leaders, the Economic Recovery Plan, an outline for allocating the $17.3 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, has been released.
The Kingston Economic Recovery Plan was created using federal guidelines, community input, plans for existing projects, and community feedback for new initiatives to support pandemic recovery.
Federal guidelines state ARPA funds may be used by local governments for:
- Costs associated with responding to Covid-19 impacts
- To support essential worker during the public health emergency
- To cover revenue losses caused by Covid-19 pandemic
- To make investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure
The City’s Economic Recovery Plan was drafted using a community-based needs assessment that studied the ways the community was/is impacted by the pandemic and has identified priority projects to serve as a catalyst for economic recovery.
“After a rigorous planning process, we are excited to get this infusion of Federal funding into the community,” said Mayor Noble. “The purpose of the ARPA funding is to aid our continued recovery from the pandemic, support businesses and families struggling with its health and economic impacts, and maintain vital public services. Our hope was to create an equitable plan by making investments that support long-term growth and opportunity. I believe the careful planning that has gone into creating the Economic Recovery Plan will help the City of Kingston invest our ARPA funds in a way that strengthens and supports the vitality of our community.”
Through the planning process, the City of Kingston has determined several funding categories are critical to the City’s economic future:
- Arts, Cultural and Tourism Development
- Business (Re)Development
- Housing Action
- Non-Profit Service Support
- Parks & Greenway Improvement Funds
- Public Health Protection/General Public Support & Safety
- Vital Community Infrastructure Projects
- Administration & Program Delivery
The full Economic Recovery Plan, which can be found here, has been sent to the Common Council for budgetary approval.
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City of Kingston Seeks Legal Services for Housing Efforts |
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The City of Kingston received $128,250 from the Zombie and Vacant Properties Remediation and Prevention Initiative to further work related to enforcement and legal action, homeowner outreach and education, and title searches. The City is seeking a qualified legal consultant to provide outside counsel on the current “in rem” foreclosure process, resolve title issues for City-owned properties, and enforce the Zombie Property Act.
The City has compiled a preliminary list of long-vacant properties, a significant portion of which are owned by banks or loan servicing agents. These properties create a community and economic development challenge. While in ownership limbo, many of these properties deteriorate, stress the surrounding community, and exert undue pressure on municipal services.
Based on the guidelines in the Zombie Property Act, the legal consultant will assist the Housing Director, the Building and Safety Department, and the Corporation Counsel office to incorporate legal strategies requiring the lenders and mortgage servicers to bring properties into compliance, expedite their foreclosures, and other initiatives which will relieve the impacts of current abandoned properties.
The legal consultant will also review the titles of at least six City-owned single- family and multi-family properties that have unknown or unresolved liens. Remediating the title issues will allow the City to transfer these properties to qualified buyers.
The full RFP can be found here. Proposals are due March 8, 2022 by 2:00pm.
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Former Boarding House to Become Emergency Housing
Mayor Noble stood with County Executive Pat Ryan, Congressman Antonio Delgado, Senator Hinchey, many other elected officials and housing advocates today to announce the purchase of the former boarding house, Elizabeth Manor. The former boarding house at 21 Elizabeth Street will be renovated and will be turned into much-needed emergency housing capability for our most vulnerable families.
Mayor Noble said, "Supporting emergency housing in the City of Kingston is an excellent opportunity to invest our American Rescue Plan funding at this critical juncture. This is one important step in a number of actions the City of Kingston is taking to bolster affordable and workforce housing. Thank you to the County for their leadership in this endeavor, and we look forward to a great partnership in reinvigorating Elizabeth Manor with such a positive purpose. It’s so important for children to be closer to their schools and to keep families together when in an emergency housing situation."
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Last Chance to Nomimate for Distinguished Artist Award |
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Nominations for the third City of Kingston Distinguished Artist Award are closing soon!
The Distinguished Artist Award recognizes the achievements of local artists and creative thinkers across all disciplines, including music, theatre, dance, literary, visual, or media arts. Nominees must be a resident of Kingston for a minimum of two years and have demonstrated a commitment to the local creative community. Finalists and recipients will be chosen based upon the level of their artistry, commitment to the art form, commitment to the community, and recognition in the field locally, nationally or internationally.
The award recipient should be willing to serve for two years and perform two public community projects such as a performance, lecture, exhibition, reading, or workshop. A small stipend will be provided to the awardee.
Nominate here. Nominations must be submitted by Sunday, February 27, 2022.
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City of Kingston Job Opportunities |
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The City of Kingston is hiring! There are currently several job opportunities including:
- Housing Code Inspector
- Senior Building Inspector
- Motor Equipment Mechanic
- Sewer Maintenance Foreman
- Historic Preservation Administrator
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Mayor Noble's Tuesday Radio Show |
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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 Amy Groves consultant from Dover, Kohl, the firm that is working on the City of Kingston's citywide rezoning efforts. Click below to hear their conversation.
If you missed the Kingston Forward events this week, visit EngageKingston.com to watch the meetings and find other resources.
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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.
This system is a valuable resource to submit service requests for streetlight replacement, roadwork, City signage, traffic calming measures and other concerns. Issues with snow removal and reporting of vehicles and sidewalks not in accordance with the Snow Emergency restrictions can also be submitted via Kingston 311. Photos can also be attached to illustrate service orders. Dial 311 from any phone within City limits to reach us.
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Sent on behalf of:
Mayor Steven T. Noble
845.334.3902
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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