Undocumented Kingstonians reluctant to report crimes
Carlos came to Kingston six months ago, illegally, from El Salvador. He has a job in manufacturing and lives on a gritty street in Midtown Kingston. He says he often goes out of his way to avoid groups of young men hanging out on the dark tree-shaded sidewalks late at night. There’s another group Carlos...
Sweet relief, or ever-tighter belts?
In announcing his 2013 city budget back on Oct. 18, Mayor Shayne Gallo offered up a frozen tax levy, a significant drawdown from the city’s rainy-day fund and harsh words for Albany politicians who he says are driving communities towards municipal bankruptcy with a seemingly endless parade of unfunded mandates. “When you look at Albany...
Gallo’s first budget holds line on tax levy
Mayor Shayne Gallo has proposed a 2013 city budget that will freeze the property tax levy at its current level while avoiding layoffs or major service cuts. But, for the third year in a row, Kingston’s budget will rely on a hefty withdrawal from the city’s reserve fund, a situation Gallo concedes “is not sustainable.”...
Editorial: My best Hugh Reynolds imitation
Hugh’s taking a few weeks off to soothe his fevered brow before things really start getting politically and budgetarily serious around here, so I will do my best to fill the void. It will be tough to match the master. Here we go! Hey, Mr. Sheriff and Mr. Comptroller, can’t we all just get along?...
‘Twelve pages of BS’
In the wake of the Kingston Police Department’s withdrawal from the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team, Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum accused County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach of meddling and needlessly prolonging discussions on the division of assets seized by the multi-agency task force. At a Sept. 19 meeting of the Ulster County Legislature, an infuriated...
Ex-assistant chief files suit against city
Six months after he was suspended without pay, a high-ranking member of the Kingston Fire Department is headed to court to win his job back. An attorney for onetime assistant chief (and, briefly, chief) Chris Rea calls the disciplinary charges, which include payroll fraud and dereliction of duty, too little and too late to cost...
Kingston’s all dried out
Faced with a drought of historic proportions, Kingston officials are turning to neighboring communities and city residents for help with its water shortage. Back on Aug. 17, Kingston Water Department Superintendent Judith Hansen declared a drought warning and asked for voluntary water conservation efforts, a request based on falling water levels at Cooper Lake, the...
City budget math not adding up
As discussions on the city’s 2013 budget begin in earnest, some city lawmakers say that a combination of state-mandated expenses, rising health care costs and contractual obligations to municipal employees may leave them with no choice but to break a state-imposed 2 percent cap on property tax levy increases. “It’s not a pretty picture when...
City declares drought emergency
This just in from City of Kingston Water Department Superintendent Judith Hansen: Drought Emergency – City of Kingston Notice -Immediate Release September 6, 2012 Contact: Judith Hansen, Superintendent Kingston Water Department 845 331 0175 Drought Emergency On August 17, 2012, the Kingston Water Department declared a Drought Warning and asked our customers for voluntary...
Butts out from under the canopy
The Common Council is moving closer to enacting a new city law which would ban smoking beneath the Stockade District’s Pike Plan canopy. Earlier this month, the Council’s Laws and Rules Committee voted unanimously to approve a new city ordinance which would levy $100 fines on anyone caught smoking beneath the portico which covers sidewalks...
Safety Net cost jump set to slam city budget
Kingston’s share of payments into the Safety Net welfare program is on track to top $2 million. But unlike last year — when county officials came to the rescue using an unanticipated windfall to offset skyrocketing costs — there is no relief in sight. Safety Net is a state-mandated program which provides cash assistance to...
Plan to fix Uptown crater carries high stakes for city
As city officials scramble for a fix, the news emanating from a large sinkhole on Washington Avenue keeps getting worse. The sinkhole, which returned in March, a year after it was first filled in, is growing larger, causing more damage to underground infrastructure and, for the first time, threatening the city’s sewage treatment plant. At...