In an article in the most recent issue of the Kingston Times, the future of the Pike Plan seems to be torn between those who see it as a needed resource to the area while others — mostly the building owners — are simply done with paying added taxes to keep it up.
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Tugs Dance on the Rondout
Ward 9 resident Kate Lawson snapped some great photos of the tugs and barges on the Rondout this weekend. The boats did a little dance to break up the ice.
“Feeney’s were parallel parking a new barge that came in earlier this week,” Kate said. “Have you ever tried parallel parking a barge? It took a good 20 men, 2 tugs, a crane and over 5 hrs of jockeying to do!”
Kate said two tugs “did doughnuts in the creek to chop up the ice. Then came the tedious process of line throwing, lining up and a little more ice chopping.”
Fun stuff.
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz
A Cooper on Brewster
Early Saturday morning I noticed a large hawk that swooped down from my neighbor’s house on Brewster Street and grabbed a small bird that was preoccupied at a bird feeder.
In a burst of small feathers, the attack was quickly over and the larger hawk then perched itself on a tree branch to enjoy the meal. I snapped a few photos, including the one above, and looked up the bird. Based on the lateral, thick bands on its tail, I take this bird of prey to be a Cooper’s Hawk.
If you can help me confirm this, that would be appreciated. And if you have any similar bird or wildlife stories, I’d love to hear it. That’s one of the things that makes Kingston a great place to live: we’re in a city, but also blessed with some wonderful wildlife.
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz
Fresh Veggies in the Rondout?
Yep. Kingston Foods & Gardens is now offering fresh, organic fruit, veggies and dairy at its storefront at 33 Broadway. Organic apples are less than $2 a pound and avocados are $1.09.
The store also sells 7th Generation paper products, eggs, raisins, grains and more. Today, the store is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for the Art Walk.
Real Estate Agency Offers Assessment Service
As homeowners struggle with mortgage payments and rising taxes, Vetere Real Estate said it will help residents look at the market value of their property and will walk taxpayers through the necessary steps to help reduce current real estate assessments.
“We cover all angles as to re-grouping, lot line erasures, correct square footage, averaging square foot values, acquiring up-to-date comps and taking you through the proper steps to getting fair assessment values,” the agency said in a statement. “Let us provide you with information dealing with Town and City Assessors. Fees vary through representations that are required. We want you to save on your next tax bill.”
Vetere said it covers all of Ulster County and that the deadline in Kingston is March 1 for the 2010 tax year. For more information call 845 338-0571 or e-mail: kv*****@**************te.com. Ask for Karen Vetere or Regina Melnick.
If there are other businesses out there who can help residents have a more fair assessment, please let us at the KingstonCitizens.org blog know.
Kingston Citizens Wants Your Photos
Do you have any photos of you, your house, neighborhood or the city that you can share with KingstonCitizens.org? We’re looking for digital photos to occasionally publish on these pages. To submit, please include your full name and a caption, and send them to za*********@***oo.com.
NYSERDA Launches New Energy Saving Program
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) said today that it was rolling out a new campaign, “Power Management,” to help consumers save energy as well as money.
The program encourages consumers to use power management technology such as programmable thermostats, “advanced” power strips and other devices to better manage home electronics and appliances that can use energy even when off.
“Using power management products is one of the easiest steps to saving energy at home,” said New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) President and CEO Francis J. Murray Jr. in a statement this morning. “These devices, coupled with simple energy-saving actions, will help New Yorkers further reduce their power consumption while increasing their energy savings.”
For more details, see NYSERDA’s website here.
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz
Mayor Supports Tech Friendly Branding Effort
As the Daily Freeman reports today, the mayor is calling on residents to volunteer. James Sottile also cited accomplishments in the city under his watch, and suggested “promoting the city as a place for Web-based entrepreneurs” the Freeman wrote adding that he sees Kingston as an “upstate digital tech-friendly city.”
He must have got Mark Greene’s proposal. As reported here by Kingston Citizens on Jan. 22, Greene suggested in a report to Sottile and majority leader Bill Reynolds that the city market itself as a “Digital Tech-Friendly City.”
To read Greene’s full report, click here.
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz
Uptown Snow Removal
City workers got to work on Wall Street early today, removing snow and ice that was piled high from two snowstorms.
Earlier this week several business owners complained out loud that the snow was eating up much of the parking, and making it difficult to park on Wall and North Front streets.
Pictured above is snow that was bulldozed in front of the courthouse before it was loaded onto dump trucks.
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz
Kingston Food & Gardens Open House
Kingston Food & Gardens, an organic and natural foods buying club said today this it will open its doors this Saturday, Feb. 7, night during the First Saturday Art Walk. The storefront, located at 33 Broadway on the Rondout, will be open between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
“Come learn about the benefits of the buying club and why organic products are better and healthy for you and your family,” the buying club said in a statement. “Yearly membership is $36, which allows members to experience up to 30 percent off the price of goods found at retail venues.”
“It’s so important that people eat clean, organic food,” said Kingston Food & Gardens President Jennifer McKinley. “Whole grains such as brown rice, millet and quinoa are essential for healthy bodies. We also offer members hundreds of other products such as raw cheeses, yogurt, agave, lentils, nuts, seeds and dried fruit. At the moment, our products are sourced from one of the largest national distributors of organic products. We are also working with a local distributor who specializes in fresh, biodynamic and organic local produce and dairy. And we are in the process of working with local growers, farmers and other producers to bring in their products as well.”
For more information, email us at: ki********************@***il.com
Vote Today for Carnegie Library Project
This is a reminder that a special vote is being held today for the Carnegie Learning Center. Financing is in place to renovate the center, at no additional cost to taxpayers.
The center, once completed, would house a digital arts program.
For more information see the Kingston Schools website here, which includes voting locations.
Working Together
Here’s in interesting story in The New York Times about a landlord in New York City offering to help out a retail tenant who owes close to $14,000 in back taxes. Why is the landlord helping? Because the retail leasee is a good tenant that draws traffic.
The lesson here is that the recession is causing businesses and property owners to reconsider prior “power dynamics” — which often favored building owners. Flexible arrangements are now a necessity as tough economic times create a more symbiotic relationship between between tenant and landlord.
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz
Tubby Row Renovation
A notice is circulating around Spring Street informing folks of a renovation that is in the works at the famed Tubby Row building on the street.
The notice urges residents to attend a special zoning and planning board hearing on February 9 at 6 p.m. at City Hall. The project calls for creating 18 housing units in the structure. The unidentified creator of the notice questions where residents of the renovated project will park.
I’m not sure how many units are in the current structure, but would be interested in learning more about this. Alderman Mike Madsen wrote about the project on his blog. You can read it here. Madsen said he alderman Bob Senor have concerns about the project and its impact.
There concerns echo prior worries over a proposed communal living facility proposed by Common Fire last year. That project never took flight, and like Tubby Row, parking was a concern.
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz
Hoffay’s Updates on Pike Plan, Valet Parking
Last week as I was gathering insights on the Pike Plan, I had emailed alderman Tom Hoffay (Dem., Ward 2) to get him to weigh in on the topic. Tom emailed back to say he was busy and would reply later. Well, a busy week got ahead of Tom and he replied this morning with an update of not only the Pike Plan, but other topics on his ward as well.
Thank you!
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz
Tom’s email:
I’ll give you a summary of the week, where four developments and the meetings and correspondence attendant to them, gobbled up the time.
Kingston Gives $15,500 in Presidential Race
For many Kingston residents, support of a candidate this year amounted to lawn signs and bumber stickers. According to OpenSecrets.org and Federal Election Commission data, our humble zip code of 12401 doled out just $15,500 in the 2008 presidential race.
The total contributions in 2008 for political action committees, elected officials and those seeking office totalled $49,657 for Kingston — well below the average contribution by zip code of $57,858.
If you are interested in seeing how much and to which presidential candidate that your neighbors gave to, click here, and click on the map tabs. This shows the address and amount given.
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz