Supporters packed the council chambers for the vote
KINGSTON – The City of Kingston is the latest Hudson Valley municipality
to offer municipal IDs to its residents. Poughkeepsie and Middletown have
already approved municipal ID programs.
The council unanimously approved the program at Tuesday night’s session. Residents packed the city council hall for the vote.
Mainly geared to the undocumented population, municipal IDs will allow Kingston residents the ability to open bank accounts in some instances, have more opportunities when on fixed income, receive local discounts at participating businesses, take GED examinations, pick their children up at school, as well as attend public school events; and overall, let residents know they are an accepted part of the local community.
The common council had recently passed a memorializing resolution in support of municipal IDs, but now it has been adopted as a local law.
Ulster Organizer for Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, Diana Lopez, said it is a huge win for the undocumented community, which has felt left out with inadequate identification.
“As a community member, as a family, we have worked so hard on this and the turnout we had tonight; it was unbelievable,” Lopez said. “I am really happy and hopefully, in February, we can start getting our IDs.”
Although the local law has passed through the council process, Mayor Steven Noble said there are still a few more steps to come.
“There’s a few more steps to go, but it’s really great to see unanimous support from the Common Council,” said Noble. “Everybody worked really hard on this and we’ve been really supported from the beginning, and we’ve had a lot of support also from the City of Poughkeepsie, since they had done this just before we had.”
Noble said there will still have to be a public hearing, as per law, which will occur in a matter of weeks. After the public hearing that he will conduct, Noble said there will be a formal ceremony to sign the legislation into local law officially.
