The Kingston Land Trust Hosts Fun, Local Events in September

By Rebecca Martin

The Kingston Land Trust, an urban trust with offices in Uptown Kingston, is hosting several upcoming events that are community based and fun.

On Wednesday, September 15th the Kingston Land Trust will host it’s first ‘Dinner and a Documentary’ series with  a complimentary screening of ‘The Chances of the World Changing” by critically acclaimed film maker Eric Daniel Metzgar. The event will take place at MINT Wine and Tapas Bar located at 1 West Strand in the historic Rondout section of Kingston. The community is invited to arrive at 6:00pm and encouraged to purchase drinks and dinner. The complimentary film will begin between 7:15 – 7:30pm and will include fresh popcorn and organic butter for guests.

Exactly one week later on Wednesday, September 22nd the Kingston Land Trust hosts its first annual Harvest Moon Benefit Concert. POOK (the Percussion Orchestra of Kingston) and the Kingston High School Jazz Combo will be featured. World renowned bassists Larry Grenadier and Vicente Archer will sit in with the combo (along with the youth musicians all being from Kingston, Larry is also currently a resident and Vicente born and raised).  The event will take place at the Falcon Arts Performance space, 1348 Route 9W  in Marlboro, NY. There is a suggested donation of $25 with children 18 and under for free.

To learn more about these event s and the Kingston Land Trust, click on this LINK.

KingstonCitizens.org: Where We’re Going, Where We’ve Been

By Rebecca Martin

This morning, KingstonCitizens.org was mentioned in Nancy Donskoj’s Main Street Manager blog. It was nice that some of the other blog efforts were being shared with her base. Thanks to all who do so much to help with outreach and community building mentioned here or not.

The piece got me thinking about KC.org in general and  how it all began, transitions, where we are now and where I believe we are heading.

KingstonCitizens.org  was an extension of a concept that came out of the Ward 9 community group that formed many years ago.  Our group met face to face each month which helped us to get to know one another and the strength of our voices and ideas.  A google group (now a Yahoo! Group) for online and ongoing communications allowed our dialouge to continue until we met again. This was an immediate tool that helped foster transparency, as our ideas were shared with a growing group of neighbors in the company of our Alderman. An Alderman, remember, is meant to reflect the collective voices (and not just those who live to their left and right) of his/her constituents when they sit on the common council to vote on their behalf. The idea was to enable citizens to become better informed to aid in that process so to make the greatest impact. Besides witnessing the new excitement and sense of possibility in my new friends and community members,  it was also a very large experiment to see if government actually did what it professed to do. What I learned from a front row seat was that at times it did, though more often it did not. It was evidence that citizens needed to take on a reasonably consistent and a more responsible role in what was happening around them.  That is if there was ever going to be a time for what was completely outdated and out of whack to come back to a current and balanced place again.

I like getting to the bottom of things no matter how difficult or uncomfortable that may be.  It’s a personality trait that embodies Mt. Everest highs and Dante’s Inferno lows.  But I don’t mind.  There is no end to unraveling a lifetime of experiences to get back to an authentic place and in learning from the cues to be more trusting, accepting and simple.

But I digress. Back on point.

The online Ward 9 Community group was a useful tool, so with the help of Beth Bengston-Gillis, Mark Greene and Arthur Zaczkiewicz, KingstonCitizens.org was launched on July 4th, 2007.  Back then, it was an HTML site. Remember those?  It was created years before we had heard of Wordpress or Ning and whatever else has come along since. Mark Greene had designed the most beautiful logo and ‘portal’  that allowed citizens to connect to any of the  nine online Yahoo! groups representing each of our nine wards. In that way, we were able to provide a current and organized place for citizens to gather, discuss and take productive action in their immediate neighborhoods.  Their updated Alderman and ward-centric information was posted at each of the group pages as it still is today.

A year or so later with the discovery of Wordpress, we joined the ranks when veteran journalist and my partner in the effort at that time Arthur Zaczkiewicz decided to write a blog as an extension of KingstonCitizens.org and to help fill in some of the blanks that indeed needed filling.

Today, our blog remains a useful tool for all Kingston citizens, public officials and local papers alike. It has never been our aim to ‘break stories’ or to participate in taking a stance on any political platform. We intend to find ways to nurture those who came on board long ago while collecting newly energized citizen voices to share their views and ideas with us all to keep the forward momentum.    We wish to grow our effort as a citizen journalism site and we would love it if you would join us.   All you really need to bring to the table is your willingness to share in the same spirit as is KC.org.

I’ll be happy to get your on your way.

Contact me at rebbytunes at earthlink.net

Ulster County Transportation Council Meets August 31st, 2010

The next Ulster County Transportation Council (UCTC) Policy Committee Meeting is scheduled on Tuesday, August 31st 2010. It will be held at the SUNY Ulster Campus, Howard St. John Conference Room, Clinton Hall, Cottekill Road, Stone Ridge, NY. from 10:00am – 11:30am.

To see the complete meeting agenda, visit this LINK

If you have any questions, please contact either Dennis Doyle or Bill Tobin at (845) 340-3340.

CAC Holds Visioning Session

By Valeria A. Gheorghiu

This past Thursday, the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) hosted a Public Visioning Session on August 19, 2010 to plan implementation of the recently passed Climate Smart and Green Jobs Community Pledge.  With public participation, the Pledge aims to reduce Kingston’s electricity use by 15% by 2015 while simultaneously developing a green economy.

Read more…

Kingston’s Annual Bluestone Festival at the Maritime Museum in October

By Rebecca Martin

How many of you are familiar with the city of Kingston’s Bluestone and its history? Whether you are a novice or an expert on the subject, plan on visiting the annual Bluestone Festival on Sunday, October 3rd at the Maritime Museum in Kingston.

KingstonCitizens.org was able to have a quick sit down with organizer Ed Pell on how you can participate and what you can expect this year.

Read more…

Kingston Residents: Interested in Helping to Developing Walking and Biking Trails in Ulster County?

By Liz Lipton

For residents who are interested in developing walking and biking trails in Ulster County, here is a LINK to American Trails’ Web page with 50+  articles/ research studies on the economic benefits of such trails.

This Web page includes links to studies in the following categories: “Tourism,” “Benefits,” “Business,” “Valuing Trails,” and “Studies.” Here is a sampling of the studies listed in their respective categories.  Some of the studies in “Valuing Trails” and “Studies” are of particular interest to those concerned with property values.

Read more…

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…

Five Guys Named Top Burger

Fresh off the presses is Zagat’s fast food survey, which names Five Guys Burgers and Fries as its top choice in the U.S. — beating out California-based In-N-Out Burger as well as McDonald’s, Burger King and a host of other chains. After the news item here hit the wires, there was a flurry of inquisitions for where Five Guys is located. It turned into a top search on Yahoo! by Tuesday afternoon. All anyone knew about the fast food chain was that our President enjoyed the food there once. And you know what? We’ve got a Five Guys right here in Kingston, on Ulster Avenue by the mall.

Last year when it opened, I told a friend who frequents one in New York City. He says the line out the door of the joint is a block long during lunchtime. No wonder.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz

Free Bike Tour of Community and School Gardens

Join the Kingston City Gardens Coalition on a free bike tour through historic Kingston to see community and school gardens – as well as potential sites for gardens – this Sunday, August 22 at 10 a.m. The tour starts at Forsyth Nature Center and ends down on the Rondout in time to enjoy the annual Soap Box Derby. The tour is a great way to see the gardens and learn some Kingston history while also avoiding the traffic congestion of the annual derby.

Anyone interested in joining the tour should have a bike in good working order and a helmet as well as food and water. Please meet near the entrance to the Forsyth Nature Center promptly at 10 a.m. No reservations are necessary.

The Good Stewards aka ‘Project Forsyth’


There are many good works underway in the city of Kingston in the midst of some pretty tough economic times. For instance, stewards of the ‘Project Forsyth’ program are working to gain a substantial grant to update the park at Forsyth in Kingston for all of our families and visitors to enjoy. Forsyth is a premier location that hosts our city zoo (with a wide array of rescued animals ranging from bulls to peacocks), nature center, open space, tennis courts and children’s playground.

Read more…

Kingston’s Music Community Thrives

By Rebecca Martin

The musicians living in the city of Kingston is really astounding. Artists such as  Tony Levin, Gail Ann Dorsey, Larry Grenadier, Peter Wetzler, Vicente Archer, Peggy Stern and many more all call Kingston home.  It’s fitting that series such as the one we’re posting today are sprouting up here at home.  Follow this LINK to watch their last series performance.

Read more…