Month: October 2025

Register today: Civics 101: The People’s Guide to Local Government

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Registration open!  Civics 101:  The People’s Guide to Local Government 
Facilitated by Rebecca Martin, co-founder of KingstonCitizens.org

Strong communities start with an informed public. Civics 101 gives everyone in Kingston the tools to understand, engage with, and shape local government — strengthening good government and building people power.

  • Explore the City of Kingston’s website and learn how local government works.

  • Hear directly from staff and elected officials as they share their expertise and explain the processes they oversee.

  • Gain practical tools and strategies to participate confidently in public life.

We especially encourage young people to attend — as elders, we are mentors, and we want to help you learn how to engage. Your current and future participation is critical! If you are a teacher in the Kingston City School District or a professor at Bard College, please share this opportunity with your students. We’re working on a Spanish translator and will provide a living document of all topics and resources discussed for future reference.

It’s free. It’s virtual. It’s for everyone.  Register today and help build a stronger, more engaged Kingston.

For more information, visit KingstonCitizens.org or contact ou*********@***il.com

 

2026 Sessions 

REGISTER: Tuesday, January 13, 6-8pm
Second hour: Discussion on school and property tax
With special Guest: Town Supervisor Tim Rogers

REGISTER: Monday, April 13, 6-8pm
Second hour: City of Kingston Charter Reform
With special Guests: Ward 9 Council member Michele Hirsch

REGISTER: Tuesday, July 14, 6-8pm
Second hour: Discussion on City of Kingston’s Payments-in-Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs) 
With special Guest: City of Kingston Assessor Daniel P. Baker

REGISTER:  Tuesday, October 13, 6-8pm
Second hour: Discussion on City of Kingston’s Boards, Committees and Commissions
With special Guest: City of Kingston Mayor Steve Noble

 

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About Rebecca Martin: Rebecca is a seasoned organizer and advocate with over 20 years of experience in coalition-building, strategic communications, and civic engagement. Originally from Maine, she has lived in the Hudson Valley since 2000, where she has worked to empower communities and promote government transparency. In Kingston, NY, she co-founded KingstonCitizens.org, leading initiatives such as the successful campaign to stop Niagara Bottling from purchasing the city’s municipal water supply and a Water Powers Referendum to secure public oversight of future water sales. As the first Executive Director of the Kingston Land Trust, she launched nationally recognized programs in urban agriculture, rail trail development, and the protection of African-American heritage sites.  At Riverkeeper, she served as Campaign Manager and Director of Community Partnerships, where she helped establish the Hudson 7, and co-founded the Water Justice Lab in Troy, NY.  She currently serves as Source Water Protection Coordinator for the Hudson 7 and managed a major report on the threat of landfill leachate to drinking water. In 2025, she joined Beyond Plastics as Director of Community Partnerships and Training, where she is building a Community Partnerships Program and leading grassroots advocacy and speaker trainings in the fight against plastic pollution.

Thanks to local artist Anna Gilmore for her work in designing our civics logo.

Kingston Hotel Faces Violations After Inspection

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By Rebecca Martin

At last evening’s Town of Ulster Board meeting, Warren Tutt, the building inspector for the Town of Ulster, provided an overview of his inspection of the Kingston Hotel. On September 18, 2025, he conducted a four-hour inspection, gaining access to 61 of the hotel’s 66 rooms. Every room inspected was found to have violations.

WATCH the recorded meeting on Facebook. Starts at 1:31:31

He reported issues ranging from mold to bed bugs and cockroach infestations. Even the six vacant rooms had violations, and he stated those rooms should not be offered until they are fully brought up to code.

The Kingston Hotel was originally approved by the Town to operate as a transient hotel, but it is now being used as long-term housing—without any of the infrastructure required to safely support that use. There are no proper kitchen facilities, no legal multi-family approvals, and none of the protections expected in regulated residential housing.

When asked why the inspection didn’t happen earlier, Supervisor James Quigley responded, “BOCES.” He noted that the building department had been tied up with other projects and only initiated the inspection about five weeks ago, after a report by Kingston Wire brought public attention to the issue.  But people have been talking about the poor conditions at the Kingston Hotel for much longer than that. 

As for how the inspection was carried out, the building inspector explained that there are three legal ways to gain access: permission from the owner, permission from a registered tenant over 18, or a court order. In this case, the owner provided him a key.

The Town issued a Notice of Violation, giving the property owner 30 days to fix the problems, with a deadline of October 31st. 

Supervisor Quigley confirmed that the Ulster County Executive’s office has been briefed on the findings. According to Quigley, County officials were “shocked” by the report.

Policing of the property has also increased. Quigley said that the Ulster Police Department has been monitoring the hotel for nearly two years. In September, the Town entered into a formal agreement with the property owner to provide additional patrols, with the owner billed monthly for the added presence.

“There’s a concern for the safety of the people living there, and for the surrounding community.” Supervisor Quigley said. 

According to the Ulster County Comptroller’s report released in April 2025, emergency housing costs are substantial and growing. By 2024, the cost per room for emergency housing is $102.86.  For the Kingston Hotel, if all 66 rooms were occupied year round, the total would be $6,788.76 per day, or $2,477,897 per year. That’s a significant amount of money for the Kingston Hotel.  So why is maintenance being deferred?

“This is a commercial relationship between the County and the owner,” Quigley said. “They have the responsibility to apply pressure to bring the building into compliance.”

The Town has not yet determined what enforcement action it will take if the property is not brought up to code by October 31st, though options include issuing further violations or pursuing legal action.

When hotels and motels end up being used for long-term housing, shouldn’t they be required to meet at least the bare minimum standards of a studio apartment? This stopgap solution that costs taxpayers millions each year and yet families are left to live in unsafe and unhealthy conditions. If property owners are making a profit by effectively operating these rooms as unintended long-term housing, where is the accountability? Are there any requirements in place to enforce safe, livable conditions? There should be. The ongoing neglect is inhumane. 

 

ADDITIONAL READING

Lessons from Kingston, NY  (Tenants PAC)

Families stuck for years in Hudson Valley motels, ‘just trying to survive’ (TIMES UNION)

Update on the Terra-Gen Battery Storage Proposal – Positive Declaration Issued

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By Rebecca Martin

Last night (October 2), the Town of Ulster Town Board, acting as lead agency, voted to issue a Positive Declaration (Pos Dec) under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) for the proposed Terra-Gen battery energy storage project. This important step formally acknowledges that the project may have significant environmental impacts and requires a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Two motions appeared to be cast during the meeting. The first was for the board to approve the Positive Declaration (Pos Dec) resolution (see page 50 “meeting documents”) —contingent on a letter from Terra-Gen’s attorneys stating they would not sue the Town over the decision or to table it.  The second was to formally adopt the resolution.

We were surprised the Town chose to pass the resolution during a workshop meeting—without setting the public scoping period—despite public requests for a 90-day comment window. Typically, both actions occur together during a regular legislative session, as scoping is automatic with a Pos Dec. We’ll have to wait to see how the board handles this at the next Town Board meeting. Still, we appreciate Board Member Clayton Van Kleeck’s leadership and the thoughtful questions he raised—especially in contrast to continued misleading statements about legal risk that have caused confusion and delay.

For months, Supervisor James Quigley publicly claimed that issuing a Pos Dec could expose the Town to legal action. As recently as the September 25 meeting, he responded angrily to a resident request for a Pos Dec and a 90-day scoping process: “I’ll call for a Pos Dec right now, and then we can get sued.”

These repeated warnings were not only misleading—they were legally unfounded. A Pos Dec is a routine requirement under SEQR when a project has one potential significant environmental impact. It does not oppose or block a project; it merely initiates a full environmental review. Suggesting that complying with SEQR invites litigation misinformed both the Board and the public and fostered unnecessary fear around fulfilling a basic obligation.

For those who continue to claim that issuing a Pos Dec would appear to be a result of public pressure: if you read the Town’s own resolution, you’ll see it explicitly identifies the potential impacts that the public has been raising for months (see page 50 of “meeting documents”). The record shows that the Town recognized the same environmental concerns the community has long voiced—proving that the decision was based on substance, not simply public outcry.

In fact, during last night’s meeting, Terra-Gen’s attorney Rob Panasci (Young/Sommer LLC) said that the company does not oppose the Pos Dec. When directly asked by Van Kleeck whether Terra-Gen would sue over the decision, Panasci responded:

“We’re not suing. I don’t know if there was some implication of that? We wouldn’t be able to sue you if you issue a Pos Dec.”

Despite this clear statement, the Board still insisted on a formal letter from Terra-Gen confirming no lawsuit would be filed—an unusual and unnecessary step that underscores the months of misinformation from the Supervisor and the town’s legal counsel.

Ironically, it was later stated on the record that Terra-Gen preferred a Pos Dec be issued sooner rather than later—exactly as SEQR intends for a project of this scope.

The next step is the public scoping process, which defines the content of the Environmental Impact Statement. We expect the Town Board to outline the scoping process and address the community’s request for a 90-day public comment period at the next town board meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 16.

Town of Ulster Town Board Workshop: “Positive Declaration” in SEQR for Terra-Gen Lithium-Ion Battery Project

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(click on image and turn to page 50 to review the resolution for a positive declaration in SEQR)

By Rebecca Martin

Tomorrow, the Town of Ulster Town Board will hold a workshop to discuss the next steps in the environmental review of the proposed Terra-Gen lithium-ion battery storage facility — a large-scale battery storage project that has drawn both interest and concern from the community.

At the heart of the discussion is the issuance of a “Positive Declaration” under the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process (see page 50 to review the resolution). This means the Town Board could (and it should) determine that the project may have significant environmental impacts, and a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be required.

What Is a Workshop?

A workshop is a working session where the Town Board meets to discuss issues in greater detail, but no formal decisions or votes are typically made. Unlike regular Town Board meetings, workshops are more informal and play an important role in preparing for major decisions.

Part of tomorrow’s workshop will focus on reviewing a Positive Declaration for the Terra-Gen (Alcazar) proposal (see page 50), which is included on the agenda.

The public may provide comments at the beginning of the meeting, limited to agenda items only and three minutes per speaker. At the end of the meeting, the public will also have an opportunity to comment on non-agenda items.

About the Terra-Gen Project

Terra-Gen, a U.S.-based renewable energy developer backed by Alcazar Energy, has proposed building a utility-scale lithium-ion battery energy storage system in the Town of Ulster. The facility is designed to store electricity and discharge it during times of peak demand — a critical function for supporting the transition to renewable energy sources like wind and solar, which produce power intermittently.

In the short term, the energy stored in the facility will likely come largely from the existing regional electric grid, which is still primarily powered by fossil fuels. This reflects the current energy mix in the area, and while it may limit the immediate climate benefits of the project, battery storage remains an important tool for grid stability and for enabling greater integration of renewables over time.

Based on the developer’s application, community members, elected officials, and subject-matter experts have identified a range of concerns, including fire risk, emergency preparedness, and the facility’s proximity to residential neighborhoods. Under SEQR, all that is required is one potential adverse significant environmental impact to justify a Positive Declaration—and several have already been identified. If issued, the Town Board’s Positive Declaration would trigger a full environmental review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR), ensuring these concerns are thoroughly examined before any decisions are made.

What Happens Next?

If the Town Board issues the Positive Declaration, it commits to a more thorough environmental review under SEQR, starting with a public scoping phase to identify which impacts must be studied. Terra-Gen will then prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), followed by a public comment period and hearings. After reviewing feedback, a Final EIS will be prepared, and the Town Board will decide whether the project may proceed.

This process allows the public and experts to weigh in on key environmental, safety, and land use concerns before final decisions are made.

It is not yet clear whether a majority of the Town Board supports the Positive Declaration. Tomorrow’s workshop should clarify who supports or opposes it, and why.

Crucially, the public should request a 90-day public comment period for scoping to be included in the town’s resolution. While the town may approve only 60 days, this extra time is essential for thorough review and meaningful input. Without this request, the town risks defaulting to the minimum 30-day SEQR requirement, which many believe is insufficient for the complex issues at hand.

What to Expect at Tomorrow’s Workshop

While no vote will take place at this workshop, it marks an important step in the process and gives residents a chance to better understand the Town’s next steps. It also signals that some of members of the Town Board are taking the environmental and safety concerns seriously, rather than rushing the project forward.

The workshop will be held tomorrow, Thursday, October 2, at 7:00 p.m at Town of Ulster Town Hall located at 1 Town Hall Drive in Lake Katrine. For more information, including the agenda and materials, please visit the Town’s Google folder.  

If you can’t make it tomorrow, you can send in your public comment to be placed on the record. Encourage the town to issue a positive declaration and 90-day public scoping process.  Submit your comments by 3:30pm tomorrow to the Town of Ulster’s Town Clerk Suzanne Reavy at:  sr****@*************ny.gov