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CALL TO ACTION: Families who have school age children in the KSCD, as well as Ulster County residents who pay Kingston City school tax (which is 60% of the KSCD population), please CLICK ON THIS LINK to send a letter to support the Board of Education’s decision to reject the Kingstonian’s unprecedented 25-year, $21 + million PILOT and request that the UCIDA follow its own policy requiring the approval of all impacted agencies for a deviated PILOT in order to take any further action.
By Rebecca Martin
At the December 2, 2020 Kingston City School District’s (KSCD) Board of Education (BOE) meeting, the Board trustees rejected a (revised) unprecedented 25-year, $21 + million dollar Kingstonian PILOT request by a 6-3 vote. Thoughtful, factual testimony about the “PILOT” (and not the “project,” the completely misleading talking point that some of our elected officials and the developer has been pushing) was provided by trustees Robin Jacobowitz PhD, Cathy Collins PhD, Priscilla Lowe, Herb Lamb, James Shaugnessy and James Michael.
Why is this significant?
The Board of Education is one of three taxing agencies – which represent tens of thousands of taxpayers in Ulster County – which would be impacted by the Kingstonian developer’s request for an unprecedented 25-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) worth more than $21 million dollars for a parking garage (located in an opportunity zone no less) that, based on Kingston’s zoning code, would mainly provide parking for the developer’s high end housing project and luxury boutique hotel. The other two agencies are the Ulster County Legislature, which passed a newly crafted PILOT agreement by a vote of 17-6 (The Ulster County Executive branch commissioned a report by the National Development Council (NDC), who tweaked the PILOT in order to sweeten the pot for the school board) and the City of Kingston Common Council (which passed the original PILOT agreement, that would have proven to be even more harmful to the Kingston City School District, unanimously).
We’ve learned a lot over these past months about the concerning use of PILOTs in Ulster County and the negative impacts that they have on annual school budgets that must come under the tax levy limit. “Kingston City School District is funded by property taxes and state aid,” said James Shaugnessy, president of the Board of Education. “Property taxes are levied against the Full Taxable Value of nonexempt real estate…and if the (Kingstonian) project is subject to a PILOT agreement, then the new taxable value is never included.”
The Ulster County Industrial Development Agency (UCIDA) Amends its Policy to Allow Deviated PILOTs for Mixed-Use Housing Projects and Private Developers
On August 12, the UCIDA revised its Housing Project policy, authorizing their agency to grant tax breaks to “any housing project, or any mixed-use project that includes a housing or residential component, that has received the prior approval from the governing board of Ulster County and each town, village, city and school district in which the housing project is located.” (emphasis added). This change allows the Kingstonian developers to “deviate” to the tune of 25 years from the traditional matix, which is meant to encourage good economic development and measurable job creation, or real public benefits such as affordable or senior housing. In addition, it opens the flood gates to any private developer who would now be able to submit the same request.
Will the Ulster County IDA Override the Board of Education’s Vote to Reject the Kingstonian PILOT?
In a September 28 post by KingstonCitizens.org “The Complication of the Ulster County IDA Recent Policy Change and Public Hearing Date on October 1” we warned our community of the UCIDA’s new housing policy for mixed-use projects that implied that an approval for a deviated PILOT would require “prior approval from the governing board of Ulster County and each town, village, city and school district in which the housing project is located.” However, it also says that “…in the event that the Agency is not able to obtain the consents of all the affected Tax Jurisdictions to such deviation, the Agency may enter into such a PILOT Agreement that deviates from the policy set forth herein without the consents of such affected Tax Jurisdictions.” (emphasis added) In other words, if the UCIDA doesn’t get the answer they want, they can override a dissenting agency even if that agency stands to lose the most, such as the school district in this case.
When our concerns were checked with the UCIDA Chief Executive Officer Rose Woodworth by a local publication, she replied – and on record – that the agency’s policy of mixed-use housing projects and deviated PILOTs would need to get approval from all participating taxing jurisdictions, and that without those approvals they would not move forward.
Several months later, during the November BOE meeting at which Woodworth was a guest, and during which she received pushback from the majority of board trustees on the 25-year PILOT’s terms, she was asked squarely whether or not the PILOT would need the approval of all taxing jurisdictions to move forward. Woodworth said that she couldn’t answer that question for the board. Although their internal policy may require all taxing authorities approval, there was no such requirement under NY State law.
What happens next?
In July, the City of Kingston’s Common Council was the first of the three agencies to review the PILOT terms publically. They went on to approve the developer’s original terms, a 25-year 100% tax exempt PILOT worth $30.6 million dollars. Since late October, the new PILOT terms have gone in front of both the Ulster County Legislature and the Board of Education. According to the UCIDA, the Common Council will be required to vote again this time, on the revised PILOT terms. In the City of Kingston, all resolutions must go before an assigned committee (in this case, the Council’s Finance Committee) before going to the floor for a full council vote. Neither occurred in December.
However, if the UCIDA can approve the deviated PILOT with or without the consent of all three impacted agencies, then they could choose to not only override the Board of Education’s decision but also rationalize that because of the Kingston Common Council’s unanimous approval of the original PILOT terms, a revote wouldn’t be necessary. This would be unfortunate, as it would be in the community’s best interests for the Council to have to face their constituents and re-vote, following the BOE’s rejection of the PILOT. (**See Note Below)
We don’t know whether or not the Kingstonian PILOT will be voted on at the UCIDA’s next meeting on December 16. Keep an eye on their meeting page for when the agenda is posted. Until then, you can submit the letter in our “call to action” to support the Kingston Board of Education and to enforce a fair and transparent process.
CALL TO ACTION: Families who have school age children in the KSCD, as well as Ulster County residents who pay Kingston City school tax (which is 60% of the KSCD population), please CLICK ON THIS LINK to send a letter to support the Board of Education’s decision to reject the Kingstonian’s unprecedented 25-year, $21 + million PILOT and request that the UCIDA follow its own policy requiring the approval of all impacted agencies for a deviated PILOT in order to take any further action.
**NOTE: Since we published this post, we have learned that since the Board of Education rejected the revised Kingstonian PILOT terms, the Kingston City Council will not be required to revote. At this time, it is now the the UCIDA as to whether they will approve the PILOT agreement or not.
“25 years is really hard to swallow…this (PILOT) really shows how convoluted and complicated our funding system is and how problematic it is to fund school districts through property taxes…it is something that is often overlooked this issue with the tax levy and how it will impact our ability to raise funds going forward even after the PILOT is over…our levy is all that we’ve got and if this PILOT diminishes our ability to raise the levy over time that’s a problem that persists for decades…here’s the message. A deviated PILOT for 25-years doesn’t work for school districts. The way we are funded and the way that we raise revenue. It doesn’t work.” – Dr. Robin Jacobowitz, Board of Education Trustee
By Rebecca Martin
At the most recent Kingston Board of Education meeting on November 18, trustees had an unusual and perhaps unprecedented visit by Ulster County Deputy Executive John Milgrim and Ulster County Industrial Development Agency (UCIDA)’s Chief Executive Officer Rose Woodworth and their attorney Joseph Scott. The “county crew” advocated for the Kingstonian project’s proposed 25-year deviated payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) for a high-end housing project. Almost apologetic at times, they defended the PILOT terms for well over an hour while board members said repeatedly that PILOTs placed the school board and their budget in a tough position, particularly one as long as 25-years. Why the developer and/or the county didn’t have this conversation with the Board of Education earlier in the year to solicit this critical feedback rather than as some last ditch effort in the eleventh hour is perplexing, and perhaps transparent unto itself. The Board of Education’s role in PILOTs appears to be more of an after thought rather than a respected partner.
The next meeting of the Kingston Board of Education will occur on Wednesday, December 2nd at 7:00pm where the trustees are expected to vote on the Kingstonian deviated PILOT.
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The following are recent letters that were submitted to the Board of Education written by James Shaughnessy (although James submitted his comments as a Kingston resident, he also serves as the President of the Board of Education), KT Tobin, Village of New Paltz Deputy Mayor and Andrea Shaut (submitted as a Kingston resident but who also serves as President of the Kingston Common Council)
READ: I Oppose the Kingstonian PILOT Agreement “Universal public education in the United States is based on all nonexempt property owners paying a fair share of the cost of educating our students through property taxes. I documented what other large multi-family rental properties and hotels pay in school taxes to Kingston City School District. The Kingstonian project proposes a property tax abatement of approximately 90% for 25 years, which in essence is the reduction the property taxes paid by residents and guests.” – James Shaughnessy, City of Kingston resident and President of the Kingston Board of Education
READ: My comments strongly encouraging the Kingston City School District board to vote No against the Kingstonian PILOT “You are now evaluating a revised PILOT that has been characterized as a “win-win.” In my view, the revisions are miniscule, insulting, and far from enough to change my mind. Saying the increase in tax payments doubles a tiny initial dollar amount is disingenuous spin and the complete absence of any analysis of tax cap implications further demonstrates that the school district and the families that comprise it continue to have little consideration in this process.” – KT Tobin, Deputy Mayor Village of New Paltz
READ: I ask the members of the Board of Education to have the backs of our young people. “These memories have been flooding back to me as I watch on the sidelines the discussion of the Kingstonian’s request for a PILOT. Perhaps their tax break won’t immediately lead to the elimination of the music programs, but what if? And is it worth the students losing even the smallest amount of their education? We owe our youth the greatest of opportunities. I am not willing to watch even the possibility of them losing a portion of their educational experiences without pushing back, because every day I am grateful for my experience and the teachers that I had in Kingston. In my role as president, I do not carry a vote on the Common Council. So I am here instead as a former student, the daughter of one of our great teachers, and an educator myself to ask the members of the Board of Education to have the backs of our young people. They deserve the best we have to offer. Let’s not chip away at it.” – Andrea Shaut, lifelong City resident and Kingston Common Council president
By Rebecca Martin
We’re coming up on nearly three years of following the Kingstonian project process, a proposed $58 million dollar project that promises 129 high-end units, 14 affordable units (with Area Median Income (AMI) based on Ulster County, nearly ⅓ higher than the City of Kingston), a 32-room luxury boutique hotel, 9,000 square feet of retail space, and a 420 parking space complex. The proposed Kingstonian deviated payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) is a 25-year, $30.6 million dollar deferment of taxes for a mixed use, high-end housing project. Since the Ulster County Executive has commissioned a study with the National Development Council (NDC) October 23, 2020 report, in an effort to ‘sweeten the pot’ doesn’t appear to have influenced members of the Board of Education – the agency who has the most to lose.
Here are the next important steps in the process for each of the decision-making agencies as we currently understand them.
Village of New Paltz
On November 4, the Village of New Paltz submitted the following letter to the Board of Education, members of the Ulster County Legislature, County Executive Pat Ryan and City of Kingston Mayor Steve Noble.
Prior to becoming Mayor of the Village of New Paltz, Tim Rogers went to business school and held a successful career in the financial industry. It’s clear in following his advocacy on the matter that our own elected and appointed officials in the City of Kingston do not understand the potential negative impacts that this unprecedented tax incentive may likely have.
“NDC’s suggested PILOT schedule for the Kingstonian is problematic for Kingston’s school district finances now and long into the future
National Development Council’s (“NDC”) October 23, 2020 cost/ benefit analysis for the proposed Kingstonian development is curiously silent about NYS Property Tax Cap law impacts and how PILOTs harm local taxing authorities’ ability to fund new services.
Property taxpayers, including those across the Kingston City School District that serves several municipalities, will likely face one of two outcomes if the Kingstonian developers receive the PILOT they asked for or if NDC’s proposed PILOT is used. The board of education will have to choose between:
This is just how NYS law and the Property Tax Cap formula works. It is unreasonable to list “net public benefits” from the Kingstonian without even mentioning let alone considering Tax Levy Limit (TLL) impacts. An alternative third option to these two could only occur if there was a material contraction in the number of students residing in the district.
School districts are primarily funded by property taxes and state aid. Property taxes are levied against the Full Taxable Value of real estate and its calculation is subject to the NYS Property Tax Cap law. Annually, each school district follows an eight-step formula to calculate its TLL. The TLL does not change when there is a change in the taxable value due to assessment increases; in that instance, the tax rate decreases. However, when there is significant new project construction, the NYS Commissioner of Tax and Finance calculates a Tax Base Growth Factor (TBGF) that increases the TLL to pay for services arising from the new construction.
If it’s fully taxed, the taxable value of $19 million for the Kingstonian would result in a TBGF of approximately 1.0042 and an increase in the district’s TLL of more than $440,000. However, when a new project is subject to a PILOT agreement, its taxable value is never included in the TBGF. This significantly limits a school district’s ability fund educating new K-12 students created by increases in housing supply.
Using NDC’s newly proposed PILOT, the Kingstonian developers would pay approximately $2.1 million over 25 years in lieu of school taxes. In comparison, if the project was fully taxed with an assessed value of $19 million at year 1 and the district’s ’19-’20 TLL of $105,589,983 escalated 2% annually, the developers would pay $16.6 million in school taxes.
Moreover, harm is perpetual. During years 26 through 50 the school district could see $23.8 million less in TLL because of the original PILOT. This would happen because the tax cap formula’s Tax Base Growth Factor never adjusts — even at the end of a PILOT’s term when properties become taxable.
Given these scenarios, if the district’s board of education opted not to cut programming because of its lowered TLL from the PILOT, the board could try to make up the difference and raise revenue by raising property taxes. This would require asking voters to support a tax cap override. And, a supermajority of 60% or more would be needed to vote in favor of raising taxes to offset the shortfall.
In 2020, only 13 districts across the state chose this option; there was a 69% success rate, compared with a 99% success rate for districts that did not need a supermajority approval of their budget. The Kingston board of education has never attempted a budget override.
We are troubled by this proposal to prop up investors of market rate for-profit housing, lodging, and retail. The Kingstonian could set a dangerous precedent for Ulster County that unfairly harms taxpayers and school districts’ ability to serve students. Please take a closer look at what is being considered.”
Kingston City School District Board of Education (BOE)
During a recent Board of Education meeting on November 4, Trustee James Michael, who also is chair of the Audit and Finance Committee, publicly revealed his concerns regarding the Kingstonian PILOT process and the Ulster County Executive’s NDC Study. Michael says that the BOE was not contacted by the consultant or the county while new PILOT terms for the Kingstonian PILOT report were being considered. Weeks after the report was released, the board said that it had still not received the new PILOT terms or any communication from the county. Superintendent Dr. Paul Padalino revealed at that time that he had received the new PILOT terms on that day (11/4) and would release it to the board following their meeting that evening.
The next Kingston City School District Board of Education meeting is on Wednesday, November 18 at 7:00pm. If you wish to submit public comment (live public comment is not permitted during Covid) please consider supporting the members who have correctly taken a stance against a PILOT for this proposal. WRITE: boe@kingstoncityschools.org
“Last Friday, I was reading the news with a headline that stated the county officials celebrated a new PILOT deal for the developers of the proposed Kingstonian project. That caught me by surprise. What I want to tell the county and the developer is that they ignored us (BOE) and they didn’t respect us at all. We are the biggest stakeholders of this development and the biggest losers as far as tax revenue…that’s what the politicians do. They always promise you something and do something else. Last year, Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan stated the Kingstonian project was unacceptable and absurd for the community. Politicians get paid, we don’t. We do this for the love of the kids. Politicians lie, but we don’t because we teach our children to be truthful and honest.”
“…(Joesph) Bonura stated on July 18 that if the PILOT agreement didn’t go through, the city would lose the $3.8m (Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant, DRI) grant….I met with Mayor Steve Noble and I asked him face to face, is it true that we can lose the grant money (DRI) if we don’t approve the Kingstonian PILOT and his answer was yes. That was a blatant lie….I had a conversation with the Director of the DRI grant program in the Hudson Valley. He told me that the city is not going to lose the grant. It can easily be allocated to the rest of the project.””We need more revenue for the district. They (the developers) were very arrogant, demanding and made an ultimatum and said either we have this project otherwise we don’t have a parking garage. Maybe the City of Kingston needs a parking garage, the developers want to build it and expect the city of Kingston taxpayers to pay for it, but to me that’s unacceptable.”
“When you think about the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency PILOT program, I want you to keep in mind the students because they have the most to lose and deprived of a good education…I send a message to developers, the Kingstonian developers and the future developers that the school district will not accept anymore deviated programs. I would suggest that the Kingstonian developers come back to the district with a more traditional PILOT program of 5- 10 years, not a deviated PILOT for two generations.”
City of Kingston Common Council
There has been mixed signals about whether or not the Kingston Common Council has to vote on the Kingstonian PILOTs new terms. It isn’t clear why they wouldn’t, as the terms are different then they were when their unanimous vote was cast over the summer. We’ll have to wait to see what sort of fancy footwork Kingston Corporation Counsel Kevin Bryant and Dan Gartenstein have in store.
If new PILOT terms appear, it would go in front of the Kingston Common Council’s Finance and Audit Committee (posted above). Please consider WRITING TO EACH OF THEM INDIVIDUALLY and request that if new PILOT terms appear for a council vote, that they align their decision with the Board of Education, as it is our children and tax paying families who attend the school district that have the most to lose.
Ulster County Legislature
In October when the Kingstonian PILOT terms were submitted to the Ulster County Legislature, both the Economic Development, Tourism, Housing, Planning & Transit and Ways and Means Committees each had a crack at it. At that time, it was already known that County Executive Pat Ryan had requested an “Independent” study regarding the Kingstonian PILOT terms. The Economic Development committee passed the old terms through anyway while Ways and Means tabled their decision until the study was delivered and the committee had time to review it.
With the results and new PILOT terms delivered in late October, the Economic Development committee did not take it up again during their November. We inquired with the Ulster County Legislative Clerk to understand why, and were told at the time of inquiry, “We still haven’t received any new document in relation to potential changes. As such, the resolution currently stands in the Ways and Means Committee. However, we anticipate having a new proposed agreement very shortly. The Ways and Means Committee members will have the option to amend the resolution in Committee to consider the new agreement.” Although the response didn’t answer our question thoroughly as to why the new terms would not have to be reviewed by both committees as was the case last month, at the Ways and Means Committee meeting this week, the committee adopted the new terms (that have not yet been made public). With much disrespectful banter from Legislators Dave Donaldson and Ken Ronk, Legislators Tracy Bartels and Lynn Archer called them out and held their ground securing the majority of votes to postpone the Kingstonian PILOT vote until committee members had their questions answered by the consultant. Legislator Eve Walters (New Paltz) publicaly stated that she would reject the Kingstonian PILOT agreement.
LISTEN
to Audio of the Ways and Means Committee discussion of the Kingstonian PILOT from 11/10/20
The next Ways and Means Committee meeting will occur on Tuesday, November 17 at 5:30pm. If they decide to pass the new PILOT terms through their committee, it will go to the floor that evening at 7:00pm for a full legislature vote. Since Covid, the Ulster County Legislature amended its rules to allow only public comment on items listed in the agenda. In this case, we won’t know whether or not the Kingstonian PILOT will be on the agenda until 6:30pm that evening, 30 minutes before the legislature meets. NYS Open Meetings Law has no requirements for when Agendas are made public. It’s a flaw in our system, in our opinion. A good practice would be to post agendas at least several days prior to any public meeting in order to allow the public to plan to attend and to prepare their comments.
ADDITIONAL READING
Missed the Kingstonian PILOT press conference event? Here’s a recap and next steps
Criticism of Ulster County’s Independent Review for the Kingstonian PILOT
The road paved by a $30.6 million dollar Kingstonian PILOT (in exchange for a parking garage): A timeline and next steps in October 2020
Highlights from the UCIDA Public Hearing on October 1
The Complication of the Ulster County IDA Recent Policy Change and Public Hearing Date on October 1
The Kingstonian Project PILOT Needs Independent, External Analysis to Review Economic Assumptions Before Approving $30.6m over 25 years
By Rebecca Martin
As we have recently reported, “The Kingstonian is a proposed $58 million dollar project. It promises 129 high-end units (to date, rents will range from $1,500 – $2,850), 14 affordable units (with Area Median Income (AMI) based on Ulster County, nearly ⅓ higher than the City of Kingston), a 32-room luxury boutique hotel, 9,000 square feet of retail space, and a 420 parking space complex. The developer is asking for a deviated Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) agreement where they will pay nominal taxes for 25 years. Community members who have been following the Kingstonian project’s PILOT request have asked for more detailed financial information to understand the potential impacts (including the developer’s “trade secrets,” which are fair game for a public/private partnership). Others are up in arms that a wealthy developer who wants to create high-end housing and a luxury boutique hotel in Uptown Kingston would have the audacity to request a 25-year, 100% tax exempt PILOT agreement worth $30.6 million dollars. Nearly seven months after the SEQR process concluded (where the full value of public subsidies should have been revealed but were not), the developers finally shared their PILOT request with the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency (UCIDA) and threatening the board that without approval of the PILOT, they would not secure the financing that they need and that the City of Kingston was at risk for the project and the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant to “go away.”
Ulster County Legislative and Executive Branch throw curveball
On October 1st, Ulster County Legislator Lynn Archer appeared before the UCIDA during a Public Hearing on the proposed Kingstonian PILOT to announce that she and her colleagues were in favor of an independent, third party study of the proposed Kingstonian PILOT. “We are currently relying on the people benefitting from the project to provide the projected costs of the project without validation from an independent third party who has the knowledge of these types of complex endeavors,” she said. With the Kingstonian PILOT up for a vote in October it was a surprise and relief for a legislator to make that request. Up until that point, it seemed likely that the full legislature was poised to approve the PILOT terms even with so many outstanding concerns.
Several days later, County Executive Pat Ryan echoed those sentiments with his own press release, pledging that the county would pay for the independent cost benefit analysis. “Before a decision of this magnitude (the Kingstonian PILOT) is made, the public deserves an impartial assessment of the costs and benefits of the project. Therefore, I am calling on the project developers to disclose their financials to an independent evaluator so that we can have a full picture of the project. This level of transparency is critical given the scale and impact of the proposed PILOT agreement,” Ryan said.
On the same day of the County Executive’s announcement about his support for an independent review of the Kingstonian PILOT, a second announcement was sent from his office of a change in the Economic Development office. Tim Weidemann, who had served as Director of Innovation, was tapped as Director of Economic Development, replacing Lisa Berger who would now serve as Director of Tourism. Weidemann would coordinate the Kingstonian study on the county’s behalf with the National Development Council (NDC), a not-for-profit led by Daniel Marsh, a consultant who has a long history in the Hudson Valley.
When news hit about the selection of the NDC and Marsh in particular, some were concerned as to whether the organization could be impartial. Having served in a number of positions in Orange County, Marsh had also served as a consultant to the Kingston’s Local Development Council (KLDC) during the recent Gallo administration when Brad Jordan, one of the principal Kingstonian developers, was the council’s secretary.
The study was originally meant to be ready in time for the October 20th Ulster County Legislature Ways and Means Committee meeting and Kingstonian PILOT vote, and would cost somewhere in the vicinity of $10 – 15k, money that the county said it hoped would be reimbursed (by the developer, we presume). The promise for a study to examine the PILOT terms encouraged all of the other involved agencies to table their votes that month (that included the full legislature, Board of Education (BOE) and UCIDA) until the study was complete and each body had had the time to review it.
By Rebecca Martin
Community members who have been following the Kingstonian project’s payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) request have asked for more detailed financial information to understand the potential impacts (including developer’s “trade secrets” which are fair game for a public/private partnership). Others are up in arms that a wealthy developer who wants to create high-end housing and a luxury boutique hotel in Uptown Kingston would have the audacity to request a 25-year, 100% tax exempt PILOT agreement worth $30.6 million dollars. Nearly seven months after the SEQR process concluded (where the full value of public subsidies were not and should have been revealed), the developers publically revealed their PILOT request to the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency (UCIDA) threatening the board that without their approval of the PILOT, they would not secure the financing that they need and that the City of Kingston was at risk for the project (and the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant) to go away.
According to Rose Woodworth, the CEO of the UCIDA, the ground rules for a deviated PILOT (meaning that it’s not a standard PILOT under the unified tax exemption policy) include the consent of the involved local jurisdictions and in this case, the Kingston Common Council, Ulster County Legislature, and the Kingston City School District’s Board of Education. She also noted that the UCIDA “…could, if it so determined, to move forward without the consents of the local jurisdictions.” The process that Woodworth nonchalantly describes reminds us of the worst part of top down culture. It is not meant to be fair or inclusive, but only to provide the illusion of participation. Those “in charge” may override a decision if it runs counter to their desired and in many cases predetermined outcome.
There are still steps remaining in the process for the Kingstonian PILOT, one of which is an independent, third party cost benefit analysis of the Kingstonians’ financials requested and paid for by Ulster County. The National Development Council (NDC) was hired only last week as an unbiased third party. The report, that the City of Kingston should have requested last year, should be available any day now. If released to the public (and it should as a taxpayer funded study for a public/private partnership) we will be able to learn its legitimacy based on the materials the NDC has solicited from the developer.
Earlier in October, when Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan announced plans for this study, the Board of Education tabled its discussion on the Kingstonian PILOT until they could review the report. The Ulster County Legislature’s (UCL) Economic Development, Tourism, Housing, Planning & Transit Committee chaired by Legislator Brian Cahill on the other hand went on to pass the Kingstonian PILOT resolution to “…be fair to the developers.” The PILOT resolution appeared next at the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee chaired by Legislator Lynn Archer, where they wisely chose to table the discussion for the same reasons as the Board of Education.
The next bit may move very fast, with the Ways and Means committee meeting for a second time this month on Tuesday October 20 at 5:00pm. If the Kingstonian PILOT is on their agenda and it is passed out of committee, it goes to the Democratic caucus at 5:45pm and most likely to the floor for a full legislative vote at 7:00pm.
We’ve laid out a timeline of all of the events that have led us to this moment that you can review below. We conclude with “what’s next” for the remaining meetings regarding the Kingstonian PILOT in October.
There was good news (members of the Ulster County Legislature called for an independent, third party analysis as we did in our BLOG post last week. It’s the only sensible thing to do) as well as courageous and touching testimonies last evening during the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency’s public hearing for the Kingstonian project PILOT.
Here are the highlights. Click on the images to review each individual testimony.
There has been some confusion about the process for the proposed Kingstonian deviated PILOT, regarding whether or not the agencies (the Common Council, City of Kingston School District Board of Education (KSCD), and Ulster County Legislature (UCL)) must all agree on the PILOT terms in order for it to proceed. The source of that confusion stems from an expedient decision by the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency (UCIDA) to change its rules in ways that benefit the Kingstonian.
Rose Woodworth, CEO of the UCIDA clarified the question about the process and the Kingstonian deviated PILOT in a recent email:
(D) Review by Agency with Affected Tax Jurisdictions. Before the Agency shall enter into a PILOT Agreement that deviates from the policy set forth herein, the Agency shall (1) notify each affected Tax Jurisdiction in accordance with Section 8(A)(2) hereof, and (2) attempt to obtain the written consent of all the affected Tax Jurisdictions to such deviation. In the event that the Agency is not able to obtain the consents of all the affected Tax Jurisdictions to such deviation, the Agency may enter into such a PILOT Agreement that deviates from the policy set forth herein without the consents of such affected Tax Jurisdictions. The provisions of this Section 8(D) shall not apply in situations where the Agency holds title to property for its own account.
“As noted in the above excerpt from the UTEP, the Agency is obligated to get the local approvals regarding the PILOT deviation. And, as noted in the excerpted language, the UCIDA could, if it is so determined, move forward without the consents of the local jurisdictions.“
In other words, even if the three impacted agencies –Kingston’s Common Council, KCSD and UCL — don’t all agree to support the PILOT and its substantial tax breaks for the developer, the UCIDA may proceed to approve this anomalous PILOT request on their own. In short, the UCIDA – an appointed and democratically unaccountable body – may make a lone decision to approve the PILOT without the consent of all of the impacted tax jurisdictions like the School Board.
Back in July, the City of Kingston and Ulster County Industrial Development Agency received a letter from Victoria L. Polidoro, Law Offices of Rodenhausen Chale & Polidoro LLP. Polidoro represents several property owners in Uptown, Kingston. The Polidoro letter informed the IDA that the law did not authorize them to grant the PILOT application. “As a threshold matter the IDA does not have authority to consider or grant the Application for the Project which includes residential housing units. The IDA’s Housing Projects Policy, which was reaffirmed on January 8, 2020, only allows IDA financing in limited circumstances. It provides that:
A. The Agency will only consider the granting of any “financial assistance” (as defined under the Act) for following projects that provide housing:
With new information from the Polidoro letter, the IDA appeared to hastily approve a revised policy change a month later on August 12 authorizing their agency to grant tax breaks to “any housing project, or any mixed-use project that includes a housing or residential component, that has received the prior approval from the governing board of Ulster County and each town, village, city and school district in which the housing project is located.”
The UCIDA’s recent process change is troubling for several reasons worth analyzing. Through this policy change, the UCIDA has empowered and entrusted itself to unilaterally give away $30 million to wealthy real estate developers during a pandemic irrespective of the judgements of the very elected officials representing the jurisdictions impacted by the subsidy. The IDA itself is an appointed body and, therefore, democratically unaccountable, making their rule changes and subsidy granting power all the more offensive to the principle of procedural fairness. The damage done to due process by public officials who pledge to uphold the public interests is deeply corrosive, undermining a sense of trust at the core of good local government. We should demand more from those who represent us. At a minimum, citizens should expect that governing rules are clear, consistent and fair to all parties. Any changes to procedure should never benefit one party over another in the middle of a highly contentious process.
To make matters worse, the UCIDA has scheduled their required public hearing on the proposed Kingstonian PILOT, on October 1st, prior to the KCSD vote, which may take place on October 7 (or the 21). The UCIDA’s public hearing is also scheduled ahead of the UCL vote on October 20. By scheduling the public hearing before the other agencies (KCSD and UCL), the UCIDA prevents concerned taxpayers from addressing their members should either of the two remaining agencies reject the PILOT agreement for the Kingstonian. The UCIDA members have effectively foreclosed public comment following the votes of those other affected agencies, precluding an opportunity for the public to question them and advocate for fairness.
Take Action
Thursday, October 1st at 7:00pm
The Ulster County IDA public hearing on the Kingstonian PILOT will occur remotely. Please LIKE our facebook event to learn more about how you can participate.
The Kingstonian is a proposed $58 million dollar project. It promises 129 high-end units (to date, rents will range from $1,500 – $2,850), 14 affordable units (with Area Median Income (AMI) based on Ulster County, nearly ⅓ higher than the City of Kingston), a 32-room luxury boutique hotel (across from the Senate Garage which hosts “…dozens and dozens and dozens of wedding events each year”), 9,000 square feet of retail space and a 420 parking space complex.
The developer is asking for a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement where they will pay nominal taxes for 25 years; a subsidy worth approximately $30.6M, in exchange for a temperature controlled parking garage that will primarily serve its high end tenants and luxury boutique hotel guests.
Over and over again, the Mayor of Kingston, members of the Common Council and the developers tell us that Kingston needs this parking garage and that, with a PILOT, it could be built at “no cost to taxpayers.” If a PILOT allows a developer to defer their real mortgage, property, school and sales tax, how does their project come at no cost?
The City of Kingston missed both of its opportunities to request an independent, external analysis of the Kingstonian developers’ economic assumptions. The first came during the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) that ended last December and the second during the recent common council special finance committee meeting in July. The developers’ revenues which they call ‘trade secrets’ were not disclosed to the public, when the PILOT terms were approved by the full council in August. The public needs to know the profit margin or the “trade secrets” in order to determine whether to approve the PILOT.
With two agencies still left to vote on the council’s PILOT terms, the developer is making another attempt to persuade members of the Board of Education (BOE) and Ulster County Legislature (UCL) to support the PILOT, with a public action form letter crafted without any real substance. “The PILOT will provide tax relief and public benefit at no cost to taxpayers.” There it is again. “No cost to taxpayers.” The developer also claims that “…they have worked with Kingston City officials and the IDA Board to ensure that the dollar value of the public benefits of the Kingstonian outweigh the PILOT at zero cost to taxpayers.” But without an independent, external analysis to review their economic assumptions, the tax paying residents of the City of Kingston and Ulster County will never know.
In their letter, the developer claims “…that the benefits of the project include twice the public parking, 129 market rate apartments, 14 affordable apartments, 30 hotel rooms (when it is actually 32), an outdoor public pedestrian plaza/gathering space, long-desired public restrooms, 300 + new consumers to the marketplace offering immediate relief to the business district and generating much needed sales, occupancy, and property tax revenue, and an estimated 153 new jobs.” But the developer still isn’t able to pin down the number of parking spots they need for this project, even though the City of Kingston’s zoning code says that nearly 313 of their 420 newly created parking spots will be required to serve their high-end apartment tenants and luxury boutique hotel guests leaving us with approximately 107 public parking spots, fewer than the 144 parking spots that we currently have now. Even with a waiver to allow them to provide less, there will now be an influx of people – tenants, hotel clients, uptown businesses and residents all vying for parking. They assert that the overflow can park across Schwenk Drive if their garage is full. So why is the public being asked to fund a parking garage when they may be losing parking spaces, charged higher fees and possibly not able to find a spot to park in the temperature controlled lot anyway.
As for affordable housing, the 14-units that various politicians claim credit for was due to the hard work of advocates that pressed the matter and won. The developer ended up making the concession but expanded the size of their complex, making their original 129-unit project even larger, with a whopping 143-units in the center of Kingston’s historic uptown. As reported earlier, it appears that the developers are following the Area Median Income (AMI) not for the City of Kingston ($48,186) but for all of Ulster County ($69,539) that could make those starting rents nearly ⅓ higher.
As for jobs, they promised 40 full time positions in their application. However, 84% of them were based on a single person’s salary, at $20.73 per hour. This is insufficient income for anyone raising a child, and certainly not enough to rent a one-bedroom apartment in the Kingstonian (or nearly anywhere else in Kingston.)
The developer claims that “…this project comes at an opportune time when our local economy is in need of job creation, both affordable and market rate housing, and sales tax revenue. The project also creates an immediate economic boost from the construction phase and revenue from the new taxes that will be generated.” But we know that the PILOT request is coming at the worst possible time, in the midst of a global pandemic, and when our local, county, and state economic futures are unclear. In early summer, the City of Kingston, in preparation for a hit to their budget, began furloughing and cutting some of its workers. Tax revenue for Ulster County is unknown and the state may hold back state aid for the City of Kingston School District by 20%, while residents’ school tax bills have increased. Our Mayor and Common Council endorsed the loss of revenue at one of the worst economic moments in the City’s history without requesting an independent, external analysis to review the developers economic assumptions to understand whether or not the immediate or long term benefits are worth the PILOT investment.
The developer says that “…this project was initiated by the City of Kingston, and is a true partnership between the City, School, County, State and the citizens of our community and that without this partnership the project is not fiscally feasible and the taxpayers will lose the multitude of community benefits and added revenues it brings.” But in our opinion, a true partnership includes a developer who stands to make a windfall in the City of Kingston paying their fair share of taxes. Some community members have asked if it’s even wise for a project to proceed when a project like this isn’t ‘fiscally feasible’ without a $30.6 million dollar PILOT. The proclaimed community benefits are a temperature controlled parking garage (that the developer needs more than we do to serve their high-end apartment tenants and luxury boutique hotel guests), a couple of public bathrooms, a pedestrian plaza with a water feature, an internship to train their future $15.00 per hour wage workers and a walkway over Schwenk Drive. Is that the way we want to invest our hard earned, finite tax dollars?
As a public/private partnership, we think our community deserves more information before it decides on the $30.6 million dollar PILOT. We encourage our elected officials at the BOE and UCL to be responsible and request that an independent, external analysis is performed to review the Kingstonian’s economic assumptions to be reviewed in turn by all tax paying residents living in the City of Kingston and Ulster County.
RESOURCES
READ: The Kingstonian Project will require 343.5 parking spaces per Kingston’s zoning code
CALL TO ACTION:
We encourage all community members to draft their own letters to decision makers of the Kingstonian PILOT asking for an independent, external analysis of the Kingstonian’s economic assumptions and the feasibility of a $30.6 million dollar PILOT.
City of Kingston Board of Education
jshaughnessy@kingstoncityschools.org
sspicer@kingstoncityschools.org
ccollins@kingstoncityschools.org
hlamb@kingstoncityschools.org
plowe@kingstoncityschools.org
rjacobowitz@kingstoncityschools.org jmichael@kingstoncityschools.org
sjordan@kingstoncityschools.org
nscherer@kingstoncityschools.org ppadalino@kingstoncityschools.org
Ulster County Legislature and County Executive
Chair@co.ulster.ny.us
vfab@co.ulster.ny.us
Mary.Wawro@co.ulster.ny.us
Albert.Bruno@co.ulster.ny.us
Dean.Fabiano@co.ulster.ny.us
Brian.Cahill@co.ulster.ny.us
Abe.Uchitelle@co.ulster.ny.us
Peter.Criswell@co.ulster.ny.us
Laura.Petit@co.ulster.ny.us
HLitts3@aol.com
MaryBeth.Maio@co.ulster.ny.us
Thomas.Corcoran@co.ulster.ny.us
Kevin.Roberts@co.ulster.ny.us
Ken.Ronk@co.ulster.ny.us
Craig.Lopez@co.ulster.ny.us
John.Gavaris@co.ulster.ny.us
Tracey.Bartels@co.ulster.ny.us
James.Delaune@co.ulster.ny.us
Heidi.Haynes@co.ulster.ny.us
MannaJo.Greene@co.ulster.ny.us
Eve.Walter@co.ulster.ny.us
Lynn.Archer@co.ulster.ny.us
John.Parete@co.ulster.ny.us
LegislatorHeppner@gmail.com
exec@co.ulster.ny.us
JOIN US. Please ‘like’ our facebook events to keep up-to-date on Kingstonian PILOT public hearing and potential votes in October.
Thursday, 10/1/20 @ 7:00pm FACEBOOK EVENT
The Ulster County Industrial Development Agency (UCIDA) Kingstonian PILOT Public Hearing
Wednesday, 10/7/20 @ 7:00pm FACEBOOK EVENT
The City of Kingston Board of Education may vote on the Kingstonian PILOT.
Tuesday, 10/20/20 @ 7:00pm FACEBOOK EVENT
The Ulster County Legislature may vote on the Kingstonian PILOT.
WATCH:
“Say NO to the Kingstonian PILOT: A History of the project” and Press Conference
LIKE
Our Facebook Event and get up to date information on the October Ulster County Legislature Meeting
On September 15th at 5:30pm, KingstonCitizens.org, Kingston Tenants Union, Mid-Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), TownOfUlsterCitizens.org and the Kingston News hosted a press conference event in advance of that evening’s Ulster County Legislative meeting. It was our goal to raise awareness about a $30.6 million dollar tax incentive for a development project which proposes to build high-end housing and a luxury boutique hotel in exchange for a parking garage in the City of Kingston’s historic Stockade District.
READ: The Ten Things we Know about the Kingstonian PILOT
To start, the Kingston Tenants Union debuted their short film “Say NO to the Kingstonian PILOT: A History of the Project“ in an effort to help the public connect the dots in a four year saga. “This is a case study of steamrolled gentrification and suppression of marginalized voices in the process.” said Village of New Paltz Deputy Mayor KT Tobin after watching the film.
Speaker testimonies followed the film from the Village of New Paltz Mayor Tim Rogers, former City of Kingston councilwoman and Legislator Dr. Lynn Eckert, Kingston Tenants Union Juanita Velazquez-Amador, City of Kingston resident Larissa Shaughnessy and local comedian Duval Culpepper, all of whom encouraged the Ulster County Legislature and Board of Education to say NO to the Kingstonian deviated Payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT).
In scheduling the press conference on this date, it was our goal to help coordinate as many members of the public to speak during open public comment to the full 23 member Ulster County Legislative body during their remote meeting that evening.
What happened to public comment during the Ulster County Legislature on Wednesday?
Public comment during an open meeting provides community members the opportunity to exercise their First Amendment rights. The vitality of government is measured by the level of public interest and involvement, and community members are empowered when they make their views known.
Prior to COVID-19, the public would arrive at the legislative chambers and sign up to speak on any item, whether it was on the agenda or not. On contentious issues you could predict an overflow of the public spilling out into the hallway in order to have their two minute opportunity to speak to their elected officials in a public setting.
Since COVID-19, the Ulster County Legislature has been meeting remotely. To our surprise on Tuesday evening, with nearly 62 people waiting in a queue to speak on the PILOT for the Kingstonian, the clerk reminded the legislature of their new policy initiated in April which limits public comment to agenda items. The decision to enforce the public speaking rule was made by Chairman David Donaldson (D/District 6, City of Kingston) who is known to be in favor of the Kingstonian PILOT.
Unfortunately, the new public comment policy has not been clearly or consistently communicated to Ulster County residents. Although it is within the Legislature’s purview to set those speaking parameters (unless the public challenges it), we don’t recall the clerk making an announcement of the new policy at the start of past meetings, nor are we able to locate where they amended their presentation slide regarding the call-in number or, describing their procedure on the website legislative calendar where the public could intuitively find information about public meetings.
Even one of the legislators at the meeting spoke out about the Chair’s decision to reinforce the April rule change on the very night when community members had carved out time to speak on a contentious topic before the legislature. “I feel obligated to state on the record that we have many times heard people speak on items not on the agenda…” said Legislator Abe Uchitelle (D/District 5, City of Kingston).
The challenges in following the Kingstonian PILOT process.
Like the number of public parking spaces the Kingstonian project has offered, the rules and governing procedures around the Kingstonian process are constantly changing to accommodate the developers interests. Rarely has any level of government – the city or the county – provided good lead time or clear instructions that would allow the public time for speaking preparation. In fact, several weeks back, we received information that the Ulster County Legislature’s Chairman Donaldson accepted a late communication on the Kingstonian PILOT (that came in after the August 21st deadline). In an effort to enable the legislation contained in the late communication to be considered at the September legislative meeting, long-standing rules would have had to be somehow interpreted or altered for an accommodation to be made. That plan never came to fruition yet it demonstrates the unfair terrain on which those opposed to the Kingstonian PILOT must operate.
During the September legislative meeting, the clerk announced to the public that they anticipate the Kingstonian PILOT resolution to come in front of the legislature in October. Yet the public will only be able to confirm that following the Laws and Rules Committee, which occurs the evening prior to the full legislative meeting. The agenda will only be made available the morning of October 20. If the Kingstonian PILOT resolution is listed as an agenda item, then the big night would be Tuesday, October 20 at 7:00pm. If so, we hope that not only will the public come out in force like they did this month, but the Ulster County Legislature will continue with remote meetings in order to accommodate every single voice. If Chairman Donaldson decides to make October the month that the legislature returns to legislative chambers, the result would limit the number of residents who are able to attend due to current Covid-19 restrictions on public gatherings.
TAKE ACTION
WATCH the film and recorded testimonies to learn about the history of the Kingstonian project and listen to a range of opinions from people who courageously spoke during the press conference.
READ “The Ten things that we know about the Kingstonian PILOT” and spend some time asking more questions in order to prepare your testimony for the next public comment session at the Ulster County Legislature.
CLICK HERE TO SEND A LETTER to all of the representatives in the Ulster County Legislature and ask them to assure that their October 20 meeting (or whenever they are scheduled to discuss and to vote on the Kingstonian PILOT), remain remote to accommodate all Ulster County residents during COVID-19’s restrictions on public gatherings and, to vote NO on the Kingstonian PILOT.
By Rebecca Martin
It’s been ten years since the last Census Population Count. Locally, while in the midst of COVID and deep unrest, 2020 presents us with another challenge to assure that community members take the census.
Why is the census important? “The census population count determines how many representatives each state will have in Congress for the next 10 years and how much federal funding communities will receive for roads, schools, housing and social programs.” For Kingston, beyond critical infrastructure needs, it means important funding that flows through the Ulster County and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) in support of programs for our community and those in need such as our Library, the Everett Hodge Community Center, the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston, the Center for Creative Education, the YMCA and others. What might not be well known, is that every person in our community that takes the census helps to provide a formula that equates to $1000s of dollars per person and that is allocated to support these important initiatives and programs.
Some ignore the census request concerned with records not being secure. But our constitution requires a census and protects all of the critical information collected as confidential, where it is not allowed to be used for law enforcement or other government agencies of concern.
Some say that the current president and his administration is using methods to deliberately diminish count and particularly in Democratic areas like the City of Kingston. It’s another reason why in Kingston, responding to the census must be counted as one of our important civic duties.
As of September 8, the Self Response Rate of Kingston community members taking the census is down from 2010 by a little over 11%, and that’s not surprising given the climate in our local community. Although there is a push to extend the census deadline, we have until September 30 to get as many of our community members as we can to take the census, and KingstonCitizens.org wants to help.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? Take the census today!
At tonight’s Village of New Paltz Joint Board meeting, the village board passed passed a position statement on Housing and Payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOTS).
The Position Statement was split into two pieces. “First, a comment on the formula as to why PILOTs are problematic because of the NYS tax cap law, and a housing project like this does a great job at illustrating just how problematic the way the law is currently written.” said Village of New Paltz Mayor Tim Rogers. ” It’s such a problem that over the last several years, there have been many bills to try to fix it. Several years ago, it was passed by the Senate and Assembly, but was vetoed by the Governor Cuomo. It’s a formula problem and harms the taxing authorities, and is why a municipality would never agree to a PILOT…when you construct new housing, you are going to end up with additional responsibility and expenses as a taxing authority, especially if you are a school district.”
Mayor Rogers went on to explain, “If you build 100 new units that have “x” number of bedrooms, you’ll have “y” K-12 age children. It’s just math, it’s what happens when you add units to any community. The way sales tax law is currently formulated, you end up with new units and the schools district has no way to increase their budget to accommodate the additional demand on their school district. It’s a fundamental flaw.”
Deputy Mayor KT Tobin agreed. “Unless it’s for affordable housing, I don’t think PILOTs are good public policy. I thought five years ago that they’d be dead by now, because promises for jobs did not materialize. The lack of clawbacks and systematic accountability mechanisms has well demonstrated the failures of PILOTS. And now that we’re in COVID – a pandemic – I can’t even wrap my head around asking for buy-in from property tax payers right now given the cuts we are looking at and the fiscal cliffs that school districts and municipalities are facing. It appears to be a combination of denial and lack of awareness that this is not the right time for this and my municipality will be impacted as well.”
During the meeting, Ulster County Legislator Eve Walter (District No. 20 – Town of New Paltz, Village of New Paltz) confirmed that “…typically the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency (UCIDA) has the capacity to approve or disapprove PILOTs on their own unless the entity is seeking a deviated pilot. In this case, the Kingstonian developers ARE seeking a deviated PILOT and that means that all three agencies would need to approve the terms (the City of Kingston, Board of Education and Ulster County Legislature). If any one of them do not, it would be a stop.” Legislator Walters later added, “This is about equity and taxes. This is about being one community.”
“Say NO to the Kingstonian PILOT” is a remote press conference on Tuesday, September 15th at 5:30pm. Get ready and CLICK ON OUR VIDEO LINK to join us and to learn what you can do.
Or, visit our FACEBOOK EVENT for up-to-date information on the Kingstonian PILOT process.
The Kingstonian is a proposed $50M, 143-unit luxury housing complex with a 32 room boutique hotel, 8,000 square feet of retail space and a 420 parking space complex. It also includes a walking bridge to the Herzog’s Plaza, which is owned by one of the developers. In exchange for closing a public street to create a “pedestrian plaza”, the developer promises a couple of public toilets.
The developer is asking for a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement where they pay no taxes for 25 years; a subsidy worth approximately $30.6M.
The Kingston Common Council unanimously approved the PILOT’s general terms. Although the Council may believe that the tax-free deal for luxury apartments is a good bargain for Kingston, it is only one of the three involved agencies that would be impacted by the PILOT and have to agree to the terms in order for the PILOT to go through. The other agencies include the Ulster County Legislature (UCL) and the Kingston City School District Board of Education (BOE).
A tax-free deal for luxury apartments in Kingston would be felt beyond the Kingston city boundary. Municipalities that pay Kingston City School taxes include the Towns of Esopus, Hurley, Marbletown, New Paltz, Kingston, Rosendale, Saugerties, Ulster and Woodstock. As a result, it’s not just Kingston that will be left with higher school taxes. PILOTs result in less tax revenue, which requires everyone else to make up the difference for a developer that stands to make a windfall in profits with a $30.6 million subsidy courtesy of the City of Kingston’s Common Council.
At a time of financial crisis when the coronavirus pandemic has led to cuts in city services and jobs, loss of tax revenue on this scale could be simply devastating. The proposed Kingstonian PILOT deal could potentially harm the least well off in the city as well as hardworking taxpayers who already struggle to pay high school and property taxes while wealthy real estate developers get a free pass. For county legislators advocating for social justice in housing, services for the poor, and children in need, the PILOT should be particularly worrisome. While not all PILOTs are exploitive, they must be balanced against the potential gains an investor or industry may bring to the area.
There is still an opportunity to stop the giveaway that Kingston’s Common Council shamelessly endorsed. CLICK ON THIS LINK to send a letter to the Ulster County Legislature and say no to developer welfare and tell the Kingston City School Board that education is a public good. Everyone should pay their fair share of school taxes, including wealthy real estate developers.
The Ten Things We Know about
the Kingstonian PILOT
By Rebecca Martin
In early March of 2020, we sought out Ashley Dittus, Democratic Commissioner at Ulster County Board of Elections and Roger Rascoe, Chair of the Ulster County Republican Committee, to ask a series of questions regarding the process of running for chair of the Ulster County Democratic and Republican parties.
This was of particular interest after learning back then that Ashley planned to run for the Democratic county chair seat while holding the position of Commissioner for the Board of Elections. It struck me as being potentially riddled with conflicts.
Now in September and with the upcoming county party leadership organizational meetings, a conflict emerged between the old and the new. Larissa Shaughnessy, chair of the Ulster County Young Democrats, put out a public statement, “…a spreadsheet document owned by Ashley (Dittus) was shared with our sitting Congressmember’s campaign staff and labels several Young Democrat members whom she suspects of not supporting her candidacy for Chair with the comments “kill” and “maim”.
Following the discovery, Ashley was asked by many influential party members to step down from her bid to lead the Ulster County Democratic party and instead, to continue to focus her efforts as Commissioner for the Board of Elections.
In a letter written by Pat Courtney Strong, a member of the County Democratic Committee who has run for both State Senate (2018) and Ulster County Executive (2019), she outlined many shared concerns.
“When I ran for the State Senate in 2018, I had the opportunity to meet many terrific, hard-working Democrats from the five-county area that comprises the 46th Senate District…In one of the counties, the Democratic Elections Commissioner was also the Democratic Party chairperson….it was not a good situation—both in “optics” and reality. It makes the party leadership appear to be a small, insular group that doesn’t welcome new voices. And it was plain to see that there is an inherent conflict in one person holding the two positions. It means that this individual has the responsibility of recruiting candidates—encouraging people she/he believes can win—as well as disseminating information to all candidates in a fair manner. It means that, as a county employee, the commissioner presents a budget to the county legislature—and then holds influence over those same people as party chair when they are candidates. These are just two of many conflicts that can arise…”
On Thursday of last week, Ashley withdrew from the race.
The above image comparison courtesy of Marissa Marvelli’s illustrated guide for understanding architectural appropriateness in the Stockade Historic District
On Friday August 21, another Article 78 and a Verified Complaint was filed by a consortium of Uptown business entities against the City of Kingston, Kingstonian Developers and state agencies.
The Article 78 suit filed against the City of Kingston, the Kingstonian developers, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation (OPRHP) and Empire State Development Corporation was to annul OPRHP’s February 14, 2020 decision (see below) determining that the proposed mixed use development (incorporating a 420 car garage, 143 apartments, 32 room boutique hotel, and 9,000 square foot retail/restaurant space, pedestrian plaza and walking bridge) located at the intersection of Fair Street and North Front Street, within the National Register-listed Kingston Stockade Historic District (KSHD), along with the rezoning of approximately 0.313-acres of property to accommodate the same, would not have any adverse impacts on the Kingston Stockade Historic District.
As we reported back in February, “…without any significant changes proposed by the developers, the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) chose to unsee the adverse impacts that it had identified in September 2019 in the course of its review of the Kingstonian. The only rational explanation for this unexpected and illogical about-face is that this is the result of political pressure exerted by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) and by extension, Governor Andrew Cuomo.
According to a February 14 letter to the ESDC from John Bonafide, Director of the Technical Division Bureau at SHPO, “After considering the material presented at our meeting and the subsequently submitted information, we have found that the evolution of the proposal has addressed many of the open preservation issues raised by this office.” However, the only change that has been made since his office last reviewed the project in September is that the Schwenk Drive portion of the development grew another story. Impacts that were identified in the agency’s September 19 letter, such as the project’s size, its monolithic scale, and its eradication of Fair Street Extension, have not been mitigated in the least.
SHPO’s comments on the Kingstonian are part of a consultation mandated by Section 14.09 of the New York Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law. It is required for projects that are funded, licensed or approved by state or federal agencies. The Kingstonian is set to receive $3 million in funding from the ESDC. The majority of the project site lies within the National Register-listed Stockade Historic District.”
READ: “The State Preservation Office does about-face for Kingstonian project amid political pressure”
At the same time, a verified complaint against the Kingston Common Council, Mayor of Kingston and the developers was also filed, declaring that a portion of the proposed Kingstonian project property owned by the City of Kingston is parkland and subject to the public trust doctrine. According to the complaint, it was illegal for city to sell or alienate the park without prior authorization from the State in the form of legislation enacted by the New York State Legislature and approved by the Governor of New York State and completion of SEQRA on the alienation.
The complaint also states that the Mayor’s execution of two different Memorandum of Understanding’s (MOU) dated 1/10/17 and 6/19/17 should be null and void as neither were done with the consent of the Kingston Common Council.
In the June MOU, Wright Architects oddly assigned all of its right, title and interests to JM Development Group for what appears to be a $50,000 sum.
READ the January 10 and June 19 of 2017 Memorandum of Understandings.
A public hearing will be held at 6:20pm tonight (Tuesday, August 11, 2020) regarding a promising proposal called the Golden Hill Housing Development. Dial (646) 558-8656, Meeting ID: 982 8635 1219
“In Resolution No. 179 of May 19, 2020, the County Legislature requested the County Executive to inventory existing County-owned lands that no longer serve a county purpose to ascertain if they are suitable to meet the County’s housing goals. Responsive to that request, the Executive identified the site of the former county jail on Golden Hill as a suitable site and released a request for qualifications to solicit and gauge interest from developers and concept plans for development of housing on the site. This memo reviews the project goals, timeline, and process for discussion with the County Legislature.”
A SUMMARY is available for public review. For more information or if you have any questions, contact Ulster County Deputy County Executive Evelyn Wright at ewri@co.ulster.ny.us or call 845/340-3633.
