March 28, 2024 - In this issue: | |
Senator Schumer Secures $1.5M for Waterfront Project | |
City of Kingston Children's Concert on Saturday | |
City of Kingston's CDBG 5-Year Consolidated Plan | |
Midtown Thriving to Launch with Public Meeting | |
City of Kingston Job & Board Opportunities | |
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Mayor's Message:
Dear Friends -
In the recent budget bill, Senator Schumer secured $1.5M for a City of Kingston waterfront resiliency project.
I want to thank Majority Leader Schumer for all he has done for Kingston, from helping to secure the $21.7 million RAISE grant last year, to delivering an additional $1.5 million to assist us in creating a vibrant and resilient waterfront. This area, which is prone to frequent flooding, is integral to connecting the downtown business district and beloved visitor sites – the Maritime Museum, the Trolley Museum, the Clearwater, and Hudson River Cruises--to the Kingston Greenline, the Empire State Trail, and the Sojourner Truth State Park. This initiative will not only maintain access for residents of the Ponckhockie neighborhood, it will help spur long-lasting economic vitality in our historic Waterfront District. I thank Senator Schumer for his ongoing commitment to Kingston, and for working with us to continue making improvements to the waterfront.
And back by popular demand, we will once again host the Peter & the Wolf and Carnival of Animals children's concert and storytelling event on Saturday at Old Dutch Church. I hope you will bring the whole family and enjoy this free event!
-Steve
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Sen. Schumer Secures $1.5M for Waterfront Project | |
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Senator Chuck Schumer has secured $1.5 million for the City of Kingston to fund the East Strand & North Street Roadway Elevation project.
Part of the group of DOT-funded RAISE projects, the East Strand & North Street Roadway Elevation project will raise the road on two portions of East Strand that experience frequent tidal flooding and ensure that travel to and from nearby residential neighborhoods can remain uninterrupted. In addition to raising and rebuilding sections, the road will be restriped, and adjacent sidewalks elevated, providing safety upgrades for pedestrians and cyclists.
The East Strand & North Street Roadway Elevation project will also help protect the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant on East Strand and will integrate with the Hudson River Maritime Museum’s Rondout Riverport Phase 2 project.
The $21.7 million RAISE grant that the City of Kingston was awarded last year, will support five ‘Weaving the Waterfront’ projects that complete vital connections between Kingston’s neighborhoods and our natural resources and upgrade with ADA-accessible infrastructure:
1. Kingston Point Rail Trail Phase 2
Phase 2 will include paving a 10-to-12-foot-wide ADA-compliant path for pedestrians and bicyclists. The new path will begin where Phase 1 ends at Garraghan Drive and traverse over an old bridge, pass behind the Trolley Museum, and end at a small trailhead on East Strand Street. Phase 2 includes fencing, interpretation of historical places, and the construction of a small building to exhibit 9/11 artifacts in the Museum’s collection.
2. East Strand and North Street Complete Streets
The project’s second component includes the development of ADA-compliant sidewalks, a multi-use path or bike lanes, Complete Streets amenities, and flood resilience measures for 1.2 miles along the roads parallel to the Rondout Creek -- Rondout Landing, East Strand Street and North Street. Complete Streets will be implemented from the end of Broadway in the Waterfront Business District to the intersection of North Street and Delaware Avenue near Kingston Point Park. Green infrastructure and a canopy of urban street trees on Rondout Landing and East Strand will provide shade, stormwater capture, and species biodiversity. Two sections of East Strand that experience flooding during spring tides will be raised and rebuilt.
3. Kingston Point Rail Trail Phase 3 – Trolley Trail
This component begins at the intersection of East Strand and North Streets, traveling east along the Trolley Trail causeway currently enjoyed by pedestrians and seasonal trolley tour patrons. An elevated 10-foot-wide, 0.72-mile climate-resilient boardwalk is proposed along the causeway adjacent to the trolley tracks. The boardwalk will traverse the length of the causeway before turning north to provide an accessible route up through Rotary Park, where the trolley route ends at a replica trolley station at the mouth of Rondout Creek. Shoreline stabilization of the causeway, utilizing living shoreline approaches, and historic/archaeological mitigation will be required to enhance biodiversity and protect the rich pre-historic legacy of the area.
4. Rotary Park & Kingston Point Park Pedestrian Connections/ Raising of Delaware Avenue
This component will complete the Empire State Trail/Hudson River Brickyards Trail connections through Rotary Park and Kingston Point Park with a safe, accessible path. A new network of sidewalks and multi-use paths along Delaware Avenue will create a linear connection that fills a critical in the Empire State Trail. Delaware Avenue between North Street and Rotary Park will be raised to address flooding, which will provide at least 30 years of access to the parks. Complete Streets will also be implemented to improve pedestrian and bicycle access and ADA-compliance.
5. North Street Complete Streets
North of Delaware Avenue, Complete Streets will extend along North Street. Adjacent to the Hutton Brickyards, a 10-to-12-foot paved pathway will connect to the Hudson River Brickyard Trail, completing the Empire State Trail/
Kingston Greenline. This path will provide multi-modal access to the Sojourner Truth State Park. Grant funds will be used for design and construction. Three new electrical vehicle charging stations will be installed at key locations, adding to an expanding citywide network of stations.
More information about the Weaving the Waterfront projects can be found at https://engagekingston.com/weaving-the-waterfront-transportation-project.
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Children's Concert on Saturday | |
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The second annual Peter and the Wolf and Carnival of the Animals concert will be held on Saturday, March 30, 2024, at 3:00pm at Old Dutch Church.
The free, family-friendly program will feature award-winning storyteller David Gonzalez and classical piano virtuoso Frederick Chiu. Peter and the Wolf, a lyrical symphonic fairy tale for children composed by Sergei Prokofiev, will be narrated by David Gonzalez with Frederick Chiu accompanying on piano. A performance of composer Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals will follow, a musical suite of fourteen movements, each for various animals, including The Tortoise, The Swan, and Wild Horses.
David Gonzalez is a musician, composer, storyteller, producer, poet, actor, showman and impresario. Gonzalez holds a doctorate in Music Therapy from NYU and has performed for thousands of schools throughout the US.
Frederic Chiu recorded the most extensive complete piano works of Prokofiev. With his wife, he co-created the arts non-profit Beechwood Arts & Innovation to explore the integration of arts and technology. Chiu teaches at both Carnegie Mellon University and The Hartt School.
For more of the City of Kingston’s Arts & Cultural Affairs programming, please visit https://www.kingston-ny.gov/artandculturalaffairs.
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City of Kingston Releases CDGB 5-Year Consolidated Plan | |
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The City of Kingston has released its Five-Year Consolidated Plan and the 2024 Annual Action Plan for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, and will open a public comment period.
The City of Kingston’s Five-Year Consolidated Plan outlines the City’s housing and non-housing community development needs and priorities for the next five years (2024-2028). The 2024 Annual Plan describes how the City intends to allocate approximately $650,000 in CDBG funds.
The proposed use of funds outlined in the plans were developed by conducting focus group meetings with local service providers, analyzing results from a questionnaire distributed to local housing and homeless providers, holding public hearings throughout the City, and requests from local communities identifying needs.
The 30-day public comment period begins on April 1, 2024. A public hearing will be held for the Five-Year Consolidated Plan on April 16, 2024, at 10:00am in Council Chambers at City Hall. Public comments can be submitted in person at the public hearing, or by mail to the Office of Community Development; City Hall 420 Broadway Kingston, NY 12401 by April 30, 2024.
The City has also prepared an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, which identified barriers to fair housing choice within the City, as well as a Fair Housing Action Plan of activities the City may undertake to remove or ameliorate those barriers.
The City has also prepared a Citizen Participation Plan (CPP), which outlines the City’s responsibilities for obtaining public comment on the Five-Year Consolidated Plan, 2024 Annual Plan, Plan Amendments, the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) and any Section 108 loan application should the City undertake one. The CPP is available here from April 1-15, 2024.
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Midtown Thriving to Kick-off with Public Meeting | |
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The Midtown Thriving project will kick off with a public meeting on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at 6pm at City Hall and virtually via Zoom. Live Spanish interpretation and childcare will be available.
In November, the City of Kingston, in partnership with Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, won a Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) grant for $238,559 from the New York Department of State. With the funding, the City and Pattern for Progress will create Midtown Thriving: A Community Vision to Revitalize Vacant Properties, a plan for the redevelopment of vacant and abandoned properties within a 270-acre area running along the Broadway corridor. The planning process is an opportunity to proactively align future development and investment in Midtown with the local community’s priorities and needs.
The final plan, which is expected to take two years to complete, will be submitted to the State to complete the BOA nomination. Designation as a BOA by the State will give development in the area priority and preference for State programs, eligibility for pre-development funding, and will unlock additional brownfield cleanup program tax credits for property owners and developers.
Midtown Thriving Public Meeting
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
6:00-7:30pm
City Hall Council Chambers
& virtually via Zoom (registration required)
Live Spanish interpretation available
More information at https://engagekingston.com/midtown-thriving.
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Weekly Roadwork Update for Week of April 1 | |
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Clinton Avenue/Uptown Transportation Improvements Project: A public information meeting for the Clinton Avenue Uptown Transportation Improvements Project will be held on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 from 5-7pm, at Old Dutch Church, 272 Wall Street. City staff, consultants, and contractors will be available to help answer stakeholder questions about project scope, maintenance of traffic and sidewalks during construction and more.
The Clinton Avenue project will improve pedestrian access, traffic circulation, and key intersections within the Stockade Business District. The Albany/Clinton Avenue intersection will receive a replacement traffic signal, and the Clinton/Westbrook intersection will feature a new traffic signal. Sidewalk, curb, drainage, lighting, and paving improvements, along with landscaping, signage and striping improvements will be installed.
Work is expected to begin in May and continue through the end of 2024.
Post Office Park – crews will continue excavating, forming pathways, bench areas, and bicycle pads.
Henry Street Safe Routes to School project – crews have mobilized to complete the project. Currently they are installing curbs, ramps, and sidewalks at the Prospect Street intersection.
ADA Ramps Citywide – construction crew will begin mobilization to complete 32 ramps from last year’s project. The remaining ramps shall be along Main St., Pearl St., and Elizabeth St.
Central Hudson will start gas line replacement construction in April.
Weekly roadwork updates will be posted on the City website here.
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Construction at Henry Street & Prospect | |
City of Kingston Job & Board Opportunities | |
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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. 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/
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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:
www.kingston-ny.gov
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