A letter to the mayor
Mr. Gallo: the sinkhole progress is blocked, so it seems, by a single unknown person for unknown reasons.
I guess I might include the editor at this paper, too: what is going on? Mr. Zweben? Noble? DPW? Anyone at all?
There is no right of privacy for anyone in such a matter.
Would you like your citizens to FOIL the matter?
For the record, it does not seem that the sinkhole is a pressing matter for the city … it is for the people on Washington Avenue, but traffic and commerce is moving and the business of the city is moving along very smartly. Still, this failure to get the job done, to communicate, the inability for our government to get on with it is not a confidence-builder.
Gerald Berke, Kingston, KingstonCorridor.org
The Kingston Greenline’s already working
On Monday, May 11, RUPCO announced their latest project: a mixed-use commercial and residential development on the Mid-City Lanes site dubbed “Greenline Center.” Where did that name come from, and what does it mean? If you’re wondering, let us fill you in.
Two years ago, as the Kingston Land Trust ramped up its efforts to establish a system of multi-use trails connecting the county’s growing rail trail system to a Midtown hub, our work hit a snag. What would we call the project? Through a grant from Parks and Trails NY, we brought local marketing and branding guru Raleigh Green to bear on the problem. His solution was the birth of the Kingston Greenline brand.
Through a strong public-private partnership between the City of Kingston and the Kingston Land Trust, the Kingston Greenline has evolved into a critical component of Kingston’s renaissance. The project represents the intersection of several important community-building efforts to foster a strong economy, create a safe environment and encourage healthy lifestyles.
As an interconnected system of walkways and bikeways stretching from the Hudson River to Uptown and linking Kingston to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, the O&W Rail Trail in Hurley, and the future rail trail to the Catskill Mountains, the Kingston Greenline will provide new ways for people to engage in healthy physical activity as part of their daily routine. It will also make moving about our city on bike or on foot safer, since it’s designed for users of all abilities, young and old, and separates them from motorized traffic. And in doing all of this, it will draw tourists, encourage local spending, increase quality of life, stabilize and improve property values and spur investment in new real estate development.
To any remaining skeptics, we urge you follow along as the story of the Kingston Greenline unfolds. RUPCO’s name choice for its latest project is just another sign that the concept has legs. The project’s location — spanning the block between Greenkill Avenue and Cedar Street, just South of Broadway — is near the geographical nexus of the Kingston Greenline, so it’s no surprise that the proposal draws on excitement about the trail system.
The Greenline and Greenline Center will certainly help revitalize Midtown. I look forward to their coming!
Connecting the Greenline to it’s origin, its clear presence and now its very clear effect on the mindset of the city…
I have go say that when the Kingston Land Trust was formed, it was quite a surprise: a Land Trust? In Kingston? That was a huge shift in how the city could be viewed, and the talent and work that has been applied is outstanding.
I further would credit the public nature of it, the non profit, citizen staffed: this kind of talent and creativity and perseverance cannot be bought….
Kington Land Trust brought in a new view of Kingston, wanted and needed. Thank you!
However the Kingston Land Trust’s letter was meant to be interpreted, using the RUPCO proposal (the Greenline Center) for the opportunity to tout the Greenline Rail Trail, comes across as support to me. The KLT’s mission is charged in protecting open space. It hasn’t any business using a proposed housing project to project the Greenline’s success. On the subject of protecting things, where were they during the Niagara proposal? Absent. As I wrote earlier in the week to staff – perhaps we should work to rename the Cooper Lake reservoir as the Greenline reservoir. Maybe then, the public outcry would get their attention. Having worked so hard and intimately at the KLT, I’m disappointed that they have stayed quiet on the subject. I’m all for rail trails. But without clean water in our community, there is nothing at all. Affordable housing garners their attention at this early phase as a land trust? Why not our water supply – and now, in working towards a referendum to include the public? Both are perhaps a stretch – but given the choice, the latter is certainly more in line with their mission. Thanks to the Woodstock Land Conservancy for being a partner. The stakes are raised for them, too – but they were able to identify how critical the proposal was and took a step in.
Hey Reb, just wanted to point out that the letter does not endorse the project, though it sounds exciting at this early stage. There’s a good process that will unfold from here, as the project moves through the planning board and as RUPCO works out the kinks. I think we can all agree that they do what they do very well. As for Niagara, I think you’re right – if we renamed the reservoir, maybe there would be a role for the KLT! 🙂 Sort of being facetious, but my point is that I commend the KLT for the degree of focus they demonstrate. We all recognize how important it is to protect our water, but Kingston’s lucky to have you and many others working on that. Right now, the KLT’s focus is on connectivity, and it’s a big bite to chew!