April 28, 2017 - In This Issue:
A Message From Mayor Steve Noble:
Dear Friends,

We are putting the final touches on our Community Celebration Day scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday, April 29th), 11:00am-3:00pm, at The Collective and Broadway Commons next to UPAC. This has been a collaborative effort between the City, the Bardavon, the Kingston City School District, the Bruderhof, and a number of wonderful community agencies and churches. Thanks to the generosity of our event sponsors, including Ulster Savings Bank, Health Alliance Hospitals, Members of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), Herzogs, Rondout Savings Bank and the Bruderhof, we will be able to offer an incredibly fun, family-friendly event. To kick off the event, I will be leading a community walk beginning at 10:45am, starting at George Washington Elementary School, down Henry St., making a right onto Broadway, and then finally into the event space at 615 Broadway.

While we walk to this fun neighborhood event, community members can learn more about our recently awarded grant of over $1.3 million for our "Safe Routes to School" project on Henry St. This funding will allow us to reconstruct the sidewalk and install bicycle amenities, high visibility crosswalks and ADA accessible ramps at all corners that currently do not have them. This is great news for Midtown and for our City! 

-Steve 
Community Celebration Day This Saturday
  
Kingston Community Day will be held this Saturday, April 29th, from 11:00am-3:00pm. The free public event will take place at The Collective/Broadway Commons (next-door to Ulster Performing Arts Center). The celebration will feature a wide array of family friendly entertainment, including live music, dance performances, a petting zoo and food from local vendors. Attendees will receive tickets to enjoy free food tastings. Additional food will be available for purchase.

For more details, check out the event Facebook page or visit: 
Kingston Visitor's Guide Now Available

Mayor Steve Noble is pleased to announce the immediate availability of the 2017 City of Kingston Visitor's Guide.

"One of the greatest honors I have as Mayor is to help tell the story of our beautiful city," said Mayor Noble. "I am proud of this year's Visitor's Guide, as it highlights the people and places that make our community such a wonderful place to live, work and visit."

With 76 pages and over 15,000 copies, the 2017 Visitor's Guide promotes tourism and beyond, encouraging visitors to re-imagine Kingston as their future hometown. New this year is a full spread dedicated to the City's thriving Parks and Recreation Department. Quality of life in the area is also promoted using local photographers in the new Kingston Highlights section, which makes event information for Uptown, Midtown or the Waterfront accessible and fun. This year's Burning of Kingston reenactment also receives a full spread to encourage attendance and involvement in the vibrant weekend long event celebrating the City's rich, local history.

From the start of tourist season through New Year's Eve, the 2017 Kingston Visitor's Guide is a powerful resource. Kristina Wolak of Ulster County Tourism claimed that the 2016 Kingston Visitor's Guide contained "...a wealth of information in an easy-to-read and attractive layout. It was one of our most popular resources..."

The 2017 Kingston Visitor's Guide is supported by stakeholders such as: New York State Tourism, Ulster County Tourism, City of Kingston, Ulster County Chamber of Commerce and local businesses and associations.

Kingston's Frank Campangna of ColorPage produces and distributes the guide at no expense to the City. "Our publishing division did it again! What a beautiful and tangible way to represent the attributes of our growing City. I am especially proud of this year's visitor's guide, as its development was a true cooperative between my staff and the Community at large. A true Keep It Local project," explained Frank Campagna, Publisher and President of ColorPage Marketing and Publishing Services.

The 2017 Guide is free and distributed throughout the Hudson Valley and Metro Regions and is available digitally here and at www.kingston-ny.gov. The electronic version includes links to events and supporting advertisers. The Guide can also be picked up at City Hall, the Kingston Heritage Area Visitors Center/Ulster County Tourism office at 20 Broadway, or mailed upon request.
City of Kingston Awarded Over $1.3 million for Midtown 'Safe Routes to School' Project
Bicycle and Pedestrian amenities and Improved Accessibility set for Henry St.

Mayor Steve Noble is pleased to announce the City of Kingston has been awarded $1,348,524 from the New York State Department of Transportation to support its Safe Routes to School project, which includes improvements to pedestrian and bicycle amenities along the entire length of Henry St., from Wall St. to Broadway. 

"I am incredibly excited to move this important project forward," said Mayor Noble. "The George Washington Elementary School student body has the highest percentage of walkers in the district and this funding will enable us to provide the infrastructure necessary to make Henry St. safer for the many children who walk and bike to school. This project will dovetail seamlessly with our upcoming Broadway Streetscape Project, allowing the City to invest millions of dollars into Midtown's transportation infrastructure."

The proposal, which was submitted in October 2016, will provide the City with up to 80% of the funds necessary to conduct the project's preliminary and final design, as well as construction. The project will include sidewalk reconstruction, bicycle infrastructure installation, high visibility crosswalk installation, and covered bicycle parking installation at the school. In addition, ADA accessible ramps will be installed at all corners of each intersection that currently lack them.

Learn more about Kingston's current and upcoming transportation projects here: www.kingston-ny.gov/KingstonOnTheMove

Save the Date
8TH ANNUAL KINGSTON CLEAN SWEEP SATURDAY, MAY 6th
    
The Eighth Annual Kingston Clean Sweep will take place on Saturday, May 6, 2017 from 9:00 am to noon.  Volunteers will pick up litter lying along the "Kingston Corridor" from the railroad crossing on Washington Avenue through the uptown business district, down Broadway to the Rondout waterfront, as well as on some side streets.  The Kingston Clean Sweep is sponsored by the Friends of Historic Kingston with support from the City of Kingston and numerous other business, service and civic organizations, schools, churches and individual volunteers.  This year, the event coincides with the City of Kingston - "Clean up the Parks" program. 
     
Each group or individual is assigned a section of the "Sweep Corridor" and is supplied with trash bags and plastic gloves donated by local businesses.  Volunteers are asked to bring their own rakes and brooms.  Filled bags are placed on the curb and picked up by the City of Kingston Department of Public Works immediately following the event.
 
Some of the participating organizations for this year's Clean Sweep include the Friends of Historic Kingston, Junior League of Kingston, Kingston High School, Kingston Rotary, Kingston Uptown Business Association, Ulster Garden Club, Young Ulster Professionals, Rondout Rowing Club and Ward Four. 
 
Last year, approximately 250 volunteers from students to senior citizens picked up almost 4,000 pounds of trash and 11 cubic yards of pounds of litter, yard waste and metal materials. Any group or individual who wishes to volunteer can contact Friends of Historic Kingston at (845) 339-0720, or email abrett1@verizon.net. Check out the Facebook event here.
Film Industry Continues to Grow in Kingston

If you have been traveling throughout Kingston over the past few days, you may have noticed that another movie is being filmed here. The film, titled "Departures", stars  Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) and Asa Butterfield (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children). 

This is the fourth movie to be filmed in the City in 2017, with additional inquiries for films, commercials and photo shoots coming in on a regular basis!   
When preparing to shoot a film, the first step is to contact the Mayor's office. A simple application can be found at www.kingston-ny.gov/filming
From there, staff will inform the crew of any necessary permits or other requirements and facilitate city-wide logistics such as traffic, parking, facility or park access, community outreach, and all other details.

   
The Kingston Police Department was transformed into a movie set for a scene in the film.  

   
The Kingston Fire Department also joined in for a scene.
Ulster County's Office of Employment and Training Summer Youth Employment Program

Did you know that the Ulster County Office of Employment and Training coordinates a program that provides paid summer work experiences for young people ages 14-20?  The Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) has been in continuous operation in Ulster County for over 40 years.  It is designed to provide w ork experience, w ork readiness skills and p ositive work attitudes. 

In 2016, 141 y outh were placed in 59 work sites all over the county. Of those, 76 of the young people were from Kingston and were placed in 29 work sites around Kingston!
 

Youth Eligibility:
  • Ages 14 to 20
  • Meet income guidelines (include proof of family income with application packet)
  • Need assistance finding summer employment
Applicants will be chosen based on an interview process which will begin in May. Participants must be available for work for the full program, from June 26 - July 28.  The application deadline is 
Friday, May 12, 2017.   


Cinco de Mayo 

The City of Kingston's 17th Annual Cinco de Mayo event will be held this Saturday, April 29th, Noon-9:00pm at Casa Viilla Enjoy a fun afternoon with neighbors and friends and immerse yourself in the the rich culture with tra ditional dancing, music, and food! 


Central Hudson Provides Weekly Updates
Central Hudson is now posting weekly updates for its natural gas line replacement projects. They will be posting these updates by Friday of each week at www.CentralHudson.com/gas-projects
Click on the link entitled "Weekly status update" on the right side of the screen, above the project listings. 

Upcoming Municipal Meetings

Monday, May 1st
Common Council Caucus 
7:00pm
City Hall, Conference Room #1

Tuesday, May 2nd
Common Council Meeting
7:30pm
City Hall, Council Chambers

Wednesday, May 3rd
Pike Plan
8:00am
Best Western Hotel

Thursday, May 4th
Parks and Recreation Commission
5:00pm
Everette Hodge Community Center

Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission
6:30pm
City Hall, Conference Room #1
Agenda

Friday, May 5th 
No meetings scheduled at this time.


To stay up to date on all municipal meetings each month, check out our monthly calendar here.  Most meeting agendas and minutes can be found here.
Kingston Happenings
The City of Kingston often receives requests to share upcoming events happening in our community. Our partners at 
KingstonHappenings.org  do an excellent job of centralizing this community information. So while our website is the best resource to gain information about City of Kingston sponsored events and important municipal information, Kingston Happenings can give you a greater preview of community events. Check them out today!
Sent on behalf of:
Mayor Steven T. Noble
845.334.3902
mayor@kingston-ny.gov

The purpose of this newsletter is to share important information, project updates, pictures and news from the City of Kingston. For more detailed information, visit: