KINGSTON – There’s too many poor people in Kingston. That’s the gist of complaints expressed Tuesday night at the common council’s Law and Rules Committee meeting, voiced by almost two dozen residents.
Opponents to a low-income housing proposal by Rural Ulster Preservation Company don’t want another low-income project developed at the old Kingston Alms House, located at 300 Flatbush Avenue.
The site was formerly utilized by Ulster County Health Department, until offered for sale as part of County Executive Michael Hein’s STRIVE Initiative – a tax-saving re-arrangement of county-owned properties .
RUPCO tendered $950,000 for the parcel last July, but it requires a zoning amendment to permit multiple dwellings in a single-family district.
The complex matter must first pass several other committees and public hearings, before the Law and Rules Committee gets a chance to participate.
A tentative Law and Rules public hearing is scheduled for January 17, but might be postponed, or combined with a similar hearing with the city planning board.
Guy Kempe, RUPCO vice president for community development, remained silent during the 20-minute dialogue, which was scratched from the agenda earlier that afternoon, unbeknownst to the activists.
Neighbors complained that the area already has several other low-income housing complexes, which they claim lowers property values and overall quality of life. Their rhetoric echoed sentiments expressed during the recent presidential campaign.
“I am going to fight this all the way,” said Karen Vetere, a real estate agent from nearby Chester Street Extension. “I am tired of hearing this is the best we can do for our city, that could be a beautiful little boutique hotel, or a higher class of apartment housing.”
Council Chairman James Noble said Ulster County owns the building, not the city.
“The City of Kingston has nothing to do with that building; the county owns it, all we’re looking at, is if we’re going to change zoning, that’s all we can do,” Noble said.
Majority Leader William Carey agreed. “We’ve done nothing with this yet, we’re not responsible for anything that’s happened to this point, the zoning is the only fight we have in this,” he said.
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