Free Mulch From the City of Kingston

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Mulch and other garden augmentations are a multi-million dollar business, so I’ve often wondered with the city of Kingston’s yard waste problems why it didn’t process and sell it back to the county for profit. I suppose one day, it may decide to do so. In the meantime, get all the mulch you need….for free.

The Dept. of Public Works will be offering City residents free mulch at the transfer station on the blvd., effective immediately.  It has been approx. 3 months since our brush pile was mulched and we have been turning it over, so it is now ready to be given away.  We will require residents to load their own barrels, pickups etc.    

We can load vehicles w/the appropriate cab covers such as small dump trucks provided that people contact the transfer station in advance. 

A banner is going on the B’way overpass to notify residents of the availability.    

Please advise people of this availability and suggest to them that they contact the transfer station prior to pick up, at 331-5787.

UPDATE: A Comprehensive Plan Fact Sheet and Call for Comments

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By Rebecca Martin

The City of Kingston just might very well be moving in the right direction.  

Below is a CP Fact Sheet that came straight from the planners office and describes what’s going in front of the Council Tuesday night. A helpful tool as you prepare to speak during the public comment session – or just to understand what the steering committee is asking the council for as you follow along.

Read more…

Youth Build Helps Maintain the City of Kingston’s Foreclosed Properties

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By Rebecca Martin
(excerpts taken from a letter generated by Fire Chief Rick Salzmann)

With the increasing number of foreclosures that the city of Kingston is experiencing, Building safety is receiving daily complaints regarding properties that are vacant and not being maintained.    In an effort to better deal with these properties, Ward 9 Alderman Hayes Clement suggested a meeting with Bonnie Landi at YouthBuild. As a result, Youth Build will cut grass and perform basic yard work at vacant properties, where owners have ignored the notices that the Building Safety Department have sent to them.

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An Opportunity For Citizens to Support A Comprehensive Plan in the City of Kingston

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By Rebecca Martin

An important opportunity has come to light.

On Tuesday, August 3rd at 7:30pm the common council will vote to support (or not)  a grant proposal pitched by city planning coordinator Suzanne Cahill through the Financial and Economic Development Committee. The meeting will take place at Kingston’s City Hall at 420 Broadway.

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Ulster County Fair!

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The Ulster County Fair kicks off next Tuesday, August 3, and runs to Sunday, August 8. There’ll be music, food vendors, and rides, of course, as well as cows, horses, poultry and other animals raised with pride from 4-Hers. For more details, check out the fair webpage here. Regarding the fair’s history, the event is in its 141 year and launched in Ellenville. Subsequent years had the fair at the Kingston Armory on Manor Avenue before movings for many years to Forsyth Park in Kingston. Read the history here.

Kingston Historian Releases New Book “Street Whys: Anecedotes and Lore of Kingston, NY”

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KINGSTON STREETS MAKE HISTORY

KINGSTON – More than a half century of research by City Historian Edwin M. Ford has yielded a new book, “Street Whys:  Anecdotes and Lore of Kingston, N.Y.” A book signing will take place on Saturday, July 31 and Sunday, August 1, 1- 4 p.m. at the Friends of Historic Kingston Museum.

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Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Larry Coryell and Larry Grenadier In Concert To Benefit Queens Galley

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Each year, Lydia DeJohnette organizes benefit concerts that feature her husband, the legendary Jack DeJohnette, in a series of concerts to raise money in support of the Queens Galley, Family of Woodstock and other local endeavors through live music. This year, the group will perform at Falcon Arts in Marlboro, NY as well as the Culinary Institute of America.

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Midtown Design Charrette A Big Success

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Last Friday’s design charrette that focused on the Kings Inn in Midtown was a fantastic success. Congratulations from all of us at KingstonCitizens.org.

Here is a press update from one of the coordinators of the event Patrice Courtney Strong:

“A very big thank you from the Business Alliance of Kingston for Friday’s excellent design charrette.

The TV coverage was great:  HudsonValley YNN

Here are two news articles that appeared:

Middletown Times Herald Record and Kingston Daily Freeman.

Another, lengthier one will appear Thursday in the Kingston Times.

We’ll be posting photos of your drawings as soon as possible on our web site.”

Pesticides Banned On School Property and Playgrounds

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By Rebecca Martin

Well I’ll be. As I was exploring the possibilities of a citywide educational campaign for removing pesticides from playgrounds, schools and municipal properties in the city of Kingston, my friend Alice Andrews pointed out that in April of this year New York State created legislation to ban pesticides from these very places (minus the municipal properties). That means, that it is not legal to spray pesticides on any school athletic fields or school playgrounds now in NY State. The new law will go into effect in 180 days, giving schools a full year to completely faze out all of their pesticides and begin to use organic methods.

Did you know that about 8 in 10 children are diagnosed with something called ‘Sensory Processing Disorder‘? Many in the field believe it is caused by environmental factors that include pesticides.

Let’s keep an eye on this in Kingston. Bring it to your Aldermans attention. Copy the legislation and bring it to your school principal. Let’s make sure what’s on the books is absolutely enforced.

Read the legislation HERE

Visit NY Senator Brian X Foley who sponsored the legislation HERE

Visit HERE for a local company that offers healthy alternatives to pesticides

Brand New Jazz Series in Kingston

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On Monday, July 19th LVanHart Artist Productions and 323 Wall Street will debut a brand new jazz series in Kingston, NY.  The concert series will focus on the brightest talent on the jazz scene today.  Guest artists will be drawn from the wealth of local talent that is in our geographic region, as well as bringing in the best that the New York jazz scene has to offer. 

 Jazz @ WallSpace is fortunate to have Steve Wilson and Vic Juris coming from NYC, joining forces with two ‘locals,’ Jay Anderson from New Paltz, and Dennis Mackrel makes his home in Woodstock.  This quartet exemplifies the mission of Jazz @ WallSpace.   These four fabulous musicians have all played together in different configurations, but never in this quartet.  Wilson and Anderson currently tour together in Maria Schneider’s Orchestra.  Anderson and Mackrel have performed together with Chaka Khan and Maria Schneider, as well as local favorite, Betty MacDonald.  Juris has performed with Wilson, Anderson and Mackrel, with his own groups, with the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars, among others. 

For more, contact Laura Hartmann at la***@******rt.com