Superimposed rendering shows how
the ICC would look
KINGSTON – Extra paperwork hit the desks of city officials Monday night, when Kingston’s Planning Board reviewed a newly revised environmental assessment form (EAF) submitted by Irish Cultural Center of the Hudson Valley (ICCHV).
The group seeks $8 million to build a 16,000 square foot facility on Abeel Street, overlooking the Downtown waterfront district. The matter is currently under municipal review.
A neighborhood opposition faction raises traffic, parking, noise and zoning concerns in response; and this week’s session is the latest chapter in that ongoing discussion.
Changes to the EAF, “clarifications and expansions,” added detail to questions regarding parking and traffic, explained ICC planner Mark Rudikoff.
Particularly, traffic and parking impact are roughly comparable to Midtown’s YMCA, as opposed to larger Kingston venues like UPAC or BSP theaters, as calculated from square footage and peak use benchmarks.
Attendance times reach maximum during afternoons and weekends, leaving the morning rush hour unaffected for neighborhood commuters, project team leaders maintained.
“We understand the concerns, but you have to put it in context of what’s actually happening,” explained ICC attorney Ron Pordy. He noted that ICC’s capacity is dwarfed by UPAC and BSP, considering the ratio of seats to available neighborhood parking spaces.
Organizers have abandoned a previously suggested zoning law change, allowing off-site parking at a vacant lot across the street. ICC staff instead shifted focus to a waiver for all required parking beyond the 18 available on-site spaces.
“We look to the city to start implementing the laws and new parking areas to help this city grow into the 21st Century,” Pordy told the planning board. He added that Kingston routinely issues parking waivers to business applicants, including a 554 space waiver awarded in 2003 for BSP.
“Everybody’s waiting for the city to come up with the new parking that’s required under the revitalization plan; hopefully that is going to happen in the future because for the future of Kingston that has to happen.” Pordy said. “We could sell the lot and have a private homeowner build a mansion, instead of letting the public have those views, and the betterment of a community center.”
Two upcoming tribunals affect the project outcome. A public hearing will be scheduled in the next several weeks; along with separate pending zoning litigation, happening around the same time, both dates still unspecified.
Additionally, there are currently a series of ethics board complaints levied which affect project architect, former 3rd Ward Alderman Brad Will, who resigned from public office late last year.
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