The Power of You.

Photo courtesy of the Kingston Times.
Photo courtesy of the Kingston Times.

By Arthur Zaczkiewicz, MSW

News of Macy’s store closure at the Hudson Valley Mall is a serious blow to the local economy as over 70 jobs are expected to be lost. That’s on top of about 70 jobs that were eliminated when J.C. Penney shuttered its doors at the mall last year.

Facebook users expressed sadness – and confusion, too, over the announcement. How could this happen when there’s several hotels being built nearby? New hotels means business is good, right? Then there were a small handful of others who said the community who scared off Niagara bottling and its host of proposed jobs deserved this and/or was cursed. We could have used those jobs – especially in light of the Macy’s closure, right? Well, no.

While the Niagara plant proposal (and its subsequent demise), retail store closures and new hotel construction seem to be disconnected events, I would assert that they are all driven by a single, powerful – and possibly unstoppable – force: you.

Niagara Falls

As reported in great detail in the pages here, the proposed Niagara Bottling plant at Tech City was an exhaustive, emotional affair that resulted in a positive transformation of the community – especially in regard to increasing transparency.

The proposed project triggered the gathering of a strong, and unified majority that stood up against the proposal. Partnerships were formed between community groups. Meetings were held, and events staged – all lubricated by social media.

Citizens gathered and found common ground, which ultimately morphed into a single voice that clearly said this was not a suitable project. Clean, safe and readily available drinking water belongs to the people first.

It was awe-inspiring because citizens themselves made this happen. You made this happen.

Unfortunately, Niagara picked up and moved its project just two hours away, to Bloomfield, Conn. And now that community is trying to sort through many of the same issues that Kingston struggled against.

One of the key issues of the Kingston project was that of transparency and properly informing the public. How could Niagara strike a deal with city officials so stealthily? Why wasn’t the proposed project presented to the public earlier? What happened? Where’s the watchdog?

Read more…

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Why Does Passing The Water Referendum on November 3rd Matter?

Referendum

By Rebecca Martin

As part of our ongoing effort to educate citizens on the upcoming Water Referendum that will appear on the November 3rd  ballot,  we are happy to present this piece, “In their own words” to share insight from residents who live and work inside and out of the City of Kingston.

Our lives are intimately impacted by the decisions made by our elected and appointed officials on all fronts.  In this case, regarding water, by voting ‘YES’ to include the Common Council on all sales of water outside Kingston’s corporate limits, we have a real opportunity to assure better decisions to be made.

Please take note. The Water Sales Referendum will be on the BACK OF THE BALLOT on November 3rd.

Read more…

Global Trade Deals, Water and You

tpp

By Arthur Zaczkiewicz, MSW

WHAT YOU CAN DO:  A version of the trade “fast track” goes to the senate. Contact our senator NOW. 

WATCH Robert Reich on the Trans Pacific Partnership.

There’s been a lot of chatter on social media sites, in blogs and – more recently – mainstream news sites about “TPP” and “fast tracking.” It has something to do with jobs and it could help or hurt the economy (depending upon who you ask). President Barack Obama is involved, and Democrats and Republicans are gnashing teeth over the darn thing. Ring a bell?

But what exactly is TPP and why should we care?

Without boring you to death, here’s a quick rundown of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal:

  • TPP involves the U.S. working with 11 other countries (Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam) to reduce trade barriers.
  • The U.S. Trade Representative states that the “TPP is the cornerstone of the Obama Administration’s economic policy in the Asia Pacific. The large and growing markets of the Asia-Pacific already are key destinations for U.S. manufactured goods, agricultural products, and services suppliers, and the TPP will further deepen this trade and investment.”
  • And further, the USTR says as a group, “the TPP countries are the largest goods and services export market of the United States. U.S. goods exports to TPP countries totaled $698 billion in 2013, representing 44 percent of total U.S. goods exports. U.S. exports of agricultural products to TPP countries totaled $58.8 billion in 2013, 85 percent of total U.S. agricultural exports.”
  • President Obama has worked on TPP for the past six years – but mostly in private with about 600 business leaders and policymakers.
  • Recently, steps to make TPP a reality have been taken up in Congress, and lawmakers have struggled with a variety of proceedual aspects, including the so-called “fast track” policy that gives the President the power to negotiate trade deals (including TPP) on his own authority.

At first glance, TPP sounds like a great idea. It will bring down trade barriers that make it hard for U.S. to export goods to other countries. U.S. companies that would benefit from this include large manufacturers, multinational chemical companies, meat and processed food producers, drug makers and retailers.

Retailers in particular are interested in seeing this pass because TPP would lower the costs of goods they sell, which would boost their profits. And that’s good because two-thirds of our economy is fueled by spending on retail goods and services. And the retail industry is the largest private-sector employer in the U.S. with 42 million Americans working at retail, and in related services.

One key reason retailers are supporting TPP is that consumer spending and behavior is shifting. When the so-called “Great Recession” struck, consumers were essentially traumatized into earning less and spending less. Overtime, as economic conditions improved, shoppers remained cautious. And the consistent, year-over-year sales gains that retailers experienced was suddenly in flux. Consumers are more wary of where and how much they spend, and they are increasingly spending their money on “experiences” instead of on “things.”

And we see the ramifications of this locally. At the local mall, J.C. Penney shuttered its doors (and 75 jobs) due to a softer retail sales market. And Office Depot closed as its competitor, Staples, acquired it and closed stores.

So, who again would want to jeopardize this shaky industry – one that employs so many people? Well, taking down trade barriers is a two-way street. As noted above, the trade deal would help many businesses. But it would also harm many others as well. Such as smaller manufacturers and farmers, which is why Congressman Chris Gibson is cautious on TPP. In a letter to constituents last week, he wrote:

“Last week, I finally had the opportunity to read the TPP. I am opposed to this agreement as it is written currently. I have many concerns surrounding agriculture, small business, workers, the environment, our personal privacy, and national sovereignty. Specifically, I believe the TPP could do the kind of harm to agriculture that NAFTA did to manufacturing in our country, undermining the ability of our farmers to compete with our global competitors. I am confident that if we got a fair trade agreement that put our farmers, small business owners, and workers on a level playing field with our global competitors, we would do very well. The proposed TPP draft would not achieve that goal.”

One example of who would be harmed is local dairy farmers and milk producers, like Boices Dairy. If TPP was passed, the market could be flooded with cheap milk from overseas and our local producers would not be able to compete. Apple farmers would also be threatened. Ulster County is the largest apple producer in the state, which is the second largest supplier in the U.S.

On the manufacturing side, TPP presents more problems than it solves. Last month, Kevin L. Kearns, president of the U.S. Business & Industry Council, said in a letter to council members that since 2000, “the U.S. has lost more than five million manufacturing jobs and 57,000 manufacturing establishments. This lost manufacturing has come at a real cost for America’s middle class. What should be paramount on the minds of our elected officials is how to rebuild this lost industrial capacity. The TPP is emphatically not the answer. Instead, it’s simply the latest in a long line of trade deals (like NAFTA, China, CAFTA, South Korea, etc.) that have opened the door to predatory trade with countries that have only their own interests at heart.”

Kearns is angry, and rightfully so. Economists repeatedly urge for policy that encourages bolstering manufacturing and related infrastructure. Why? Because these types of jobs pay the best and without it, the middle class can’t exist, and our economy would tank, which is what is slowly happening, according to economists from the Pew Research Center who say the middle class is evaporating.

Ok…so aside from harming dairy and apple farmers, how else is TPP a questionable policy? Well, according to drafts of the TPP released by Wikileaks and media outlets such as The New York Times, there’s a policy in TPP that would allow multinational companies to overturn local laws that impede their path to profitability via appealing to an international tribunal. But what would that look like? And why would that be bad?

Consider this possible scenario:

A major drug maker such as Pfizer – under the TPP policy – could say that certain laws in the U.S. (or any of the member countries) are limiting its ability to make profits. This could be laws that prevent the drug maker from releasing products without testing its safety on humans first. Pfizer could appeal to the tribunal and overturn these laws.

Or it could be a food company that says certain laws that prevent food additives thwarts its sales and profitability, and could appeal to the international tribunal to overturn these laws.

Another example would be Monsanto saying that local laws that ban pesticide use is reducing its sales and profits. It too could appeal to the international tribunal and have those laws overturned.

And the examples go on and on, which is why many environmental groups are against TPP. And they are joined by some strange bedfellows: Tea Party activists who see this as a threat to U.S. sovereignty. The biggest threat, though, is to environmental and consumer protection laws.

Last year the Sierra Club inked a position letter on the chapter in the TPP that allows for the tribunal review. Read it HERE

The Sierra Club said in a separate statement “a joint analysis by Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reveals that the current TPP environment chapter…could lead to increased stress on natural resources and species including trees, fish, and wildlife.”

Here’s another example of how this could be harmful. Consider this scenario – one that strikes close to the hearts of Kingstonians:

Let’s say Niagara Bottling (or another company like Nestle) decided to reconsider its business strategy. So they decide to go ahead and build a distribution center for their fleet of vehicles that serve the Northeast at Tech City. There will be no bottling at the plant – at least initially.

And then one day they decide to start drawing water, filtering it and then bottling it to augment their product supply. It could just be drawn from the current supply at Tech City and it could be a very small amount, say 40,000 gallons a day.

After a year, they could document that local laws in Kingston that regulate corporate or commercial use of large quantities of water via the Town of Ulster or directly with the Kingston Water Department is impeding their path to better profits – noting that their strategic plan is to expand water bottling in the Northeast region.

In that scenario, they too – under TPP – would be allowed to have an international tribunal review and overturn any local Kingston City law that thwarts their path to profits.

Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed one of the steps that would allow TPP to happen.

The National Retail Federation, which represents the retail industry, immediately sent out a press release applauding the move. As mentioned above, retailers have a lot riding on passage of TPP; remember that their profits and long-term outlook depends upon it.

“Today’s vote on trade promotion authority will grant Congress new powers and responsibilities to craft and monitor our 21st century trade policy, and aid our trade representatives as they work to negotiate pending and future trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership,” the NRF statement said.

Up next is a senate version of the bill. They could include language that allows for Congress to give input on the component policies within trade agreements, including TPP. That might help protect consumer and local environmental laws. We’ll have to keep an eye on how things progress in D.C.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:  A version of the trade “fast track” goes to the senate. Contact our senator NOW. 

WATCH Robert Reich on the Trans Pacific Partnership.

Get informed about TPP by checking out the USTR website HERE

And the Sierra Club SITE

And here is the TPP draft pages from WIKILEAKS

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Arthur Zaczkiewicz, MSW, is an editor and writer with over 20 years of journalism experience. He is also a social worker and a community educator and organizer, and a Desert Storm combat veteran.

Imagining ‘Pop-up Stores’ in Kingston

By Arthur Zaczkiewicz

There’s an interesting Q&A story in the Watershed Post about a project aimed at re-imagining empty storefronts in the town of Roxbury. Designers are beginning work on creating “fantasy” retail spaces on Main Street, which will be open to the public for a month. The article is an interview with the mastermind behind the effort, architect Andrew Williams. Read about it here.

Read more…

Breaking the Chain, Part II

Kingston's new "Harmacy". Poetic justice, as recalled by Rebecca Martin
CVS. Photo by Nancy Graham.

By Arthur Zaczkiewicz

As we continue to slog through this recession (we’re in a double-dip one, according to some experts), there are a lot of actions citizens like you and me can do to help weather this downturn. As consumers (two thirds of our GDP is driven by consumer spending), we have a lot of power to change the economy – especially on a local level.

Read more…

The Economic Power of Open Space

The Rondout.

By Arthur Zaczkiewicz

As you may have read, a recent study revealed that open space in the nearby Shawangunks — Minnewaska, Sam’s Point and Mohonk preserves — feeds over $12 million to the local economy each year. The money comes from the 392,000 or so annual visitors to these areas. This spotlights an important trend: open space has value.

Read more…

Kingston’s Role in a Global Movement

One of the sessions last night. Photo by Norman Stockwell of WORT radio.

By Arthur Zaczkiewicz

The convergence of activists working for human rights, health care reform, climate change, and social justice, among others is happening right now in Detroit, Mich. Over 20,000 people have flocked to the Motor City this week for the US Social Forum to exchange ideas, participate in people’s movement assemblies (PMAs) and attend (and present) 1,000s of workshops with topics ranging from grassroots networking to change immigration law to learning how to mobilize citizens for better access to public funds.

Read more…

Seed Money for Parks

The dusk sky at Hasbrouck Park.

By Arthur Zaczkiewicz

The spat between the mayor and lawmakers over spending money on a gazebo at T.R. Gallo Park in the Rondout, as reported by the Daily Freeman today, can be easily resolved.

According to the Freeman, Mayor James Sottile is miffed over a decision by the Finance/Economic Development Committee to table — for a second time — his $4,000 request for installing the gazebo.

Read more…

Breaking the Chain

Kingston's new "Harmacy". Poetic justice, as recalled by Rebecca Martin
Kingston’s new “Harmacy”. Poetic justice, as recalled by Rebecca Martin

By Arthur Zaczkiewicz

Did you see this pic of the new CVS on Rebecca Martin’s Facebook page? The “poetic justice” as described in the caption is spot on. A chain store’s impact on a community can have long-term negative effects. Most obviously is the fact that profits generated by a chain store aren’t reinvested into the local economy as is the case with local, independent businesses. This is at the core of why shopping and buying local contributes to the creation of a sustainable community.

If you have a minute, please comment here on the local businesses you support:

Take a Healthy and Green Pledge

By Arthur Zaczkiewicz

Hello.

Long time, no hear – from me. Sorry I’ve been away for so long.

Much has happened since I’ve edited and posted to this blog. I’ve got much on my mind. One thing weighing me down is the weight of Kingston’s children, who are above average in regard to being overweight and obese. That’s dark news for their current health and their future health. I don’t have to tell you that obesity leads to heart disease, cancer and other ailments.

Read more…

Top 10 Things Kingston Can Do to Be a Better Place

As the City of Kingston struggles under the yoke of a fiscal crisis spurred on by The Recession That Wouldn’t Leave, it seems like a good time to suggest some ways to make this a better place to live, work and do business. Some of these suggestions include some hard medicine to swallow, but in my humble opinion it is needed. So, in no particular order:

1.       Greater Unification. From the socio-economic to business to the political, Kingston – to thrive – needs to be unified. City leaders (business, civic, elected and appointed) need to set aside egos, agendas and self interests and place the greater good ahead of all. A recent example would be how Alderman Ron Polacco says people should come before politics. Brilliant. Of course there will be conflicts, but having a facilitator in a consensus-building session would help iron things out. It’s a process.

2.       One City. Kingston also needs to abandon its three sections (uptown, downtown and midtown), which is simply outdated and non-inclusive. What should be embraced is the idea that this city is composed of dozens of unique neighborhoods that as a whole make one great place to live, work and do business.

3.       Avoid Duplication. Along the same lines of unification is the idea that less is more when it comes to the operation of city governmen to initiatives in the private and nonprofit sectors. Simply put, duplication wastes money, time and people power. For example, having a single business association is better than having three – or four, if you count the Kingston Business Alliance. A single business association instead of three or four has greater clout and focus when it comes to protecting the interests of Kingston businesses.

4.       Improved Marketing. Having a Main Street Manager is a great first step in helping to market Kingston, but the effort should be well funded and positioned for the long term with specific marketing campaigns in place to promote Kingston tourism, business and real estate. The marketing also needs to be nimble. Take the recent Today Show spot that named Kingston as one of the country’s top 10 places to buy a home. Placing advertisements in the real estate sections of New York City, New Jersey and Long Island newspapers along with banner ads on websites touting this recognition would turn a spotlight on Kingston and garner greater attention.

5.       Hire a Spokesperson. The City of Kingston needs a human face. Someone to be a level-headed, thoughtful, apolitical spokesperson who can attend trade, real estate and green building shows to promote Kingston. This person would leverage social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and Wikipedia to create and sustain an online buzz about Kingston. This person would direct inbound inquiries to the right office, and facilitate meetings between businesses and officials. Of course, this person would also be well versed in the positive attributes – from a lifestyle angle – of Kingston as a great place to live. After all, no one relocates their business to places they wouldn’t want to live in.

6.       Redefine Economic Development. Instead of reapplying to the same dwindling pool of grants – mostly federal tax dollars, which is our money – the city should partner with existing businesses to “sharp shoot” economic development opportunities with contract-based businesses involving technopreneurs and solopreneurs as well as in the green building and green technology sectors. Last year’s Kingston Digital Corridor effort was an amazing first step in this direction, resulting in media coverage in national magazines that included BusinessWeek Small Business as well as website visits to KingstonDigitalCorridor.org that were global. Other recent initiatives included the opening of a co-working space – The Beahive – on Wall Street. The city needs to support more projects like these, especially since IBM is not coming back anytime soon.

7.       Celebrate History. From gorgeous Victorians to its rare bluestone sidewalks, Kingston has historical assets that touch people daily. Celebrate this. Inventory other historical assets such as the city’s stone houses, its museums, churches and municipal buildings and create promotional material such a photos and YouTube videos that position Kingston as a gem.

8.       Celebrate Cultural Assets. The same can be done with Kingston’s rich inventory of cultural assets such as its theaters, galleries and art studios. Get Kingston High School kids to shoot video profiles of these assets for YouTube. Have the kids create Facebook pages touting Kingston’s cultural assets. All of this can be connected and intermixed with existing work such as KingstonCitizens.org and Kingston Happenings.

9.       Create a Vacancy Tax. Kingston is full of empty storefronts and lots because there is no incentive for landlords and property owners to fill them. For empty storefronts, a vacancy tax forces them to lower their rents. Perhaps SCORE or other business development organizations could work with landlords to fill those storefronts with small business entrepreneurs. Give them six months free rent. Let their dreams become real, and the city can be transformed. With vacant lots, owners can avoid the vacancy tax by installing community gardens or small, “micro parks.”

10.   Innovate City Government. Create a paperless, green City Hall where residents print forms and documents on demand. Offer incentives such as time off to city employees who walk, bike or take public transportation to work. Create an advisory board for the common council and the mayor’s office. This board would be the conduit between those offices as well as with the public. Leverage existing public platforms such as KingstonCitizens.org to generate discussions and build consensus. Update the city’s master plan, and have visioning sessions with stakeholders every two years to make sure we’re on track.

– Arthur Zaczkiewicz