Friends of Kingston Waterfront
Letter of Concern
 
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Let area officials know of your concern with the proposed Kingston waterfront developments with the sample letter below. You can copy it to email, or copy to a word process to print and send. Or click here to download a Microsoft Word file of the sample letter which you can edit and send.
 
We ask that you send the letter in one of three ways:
  1. Print five copies of the same letter and send them to the five addresses listed below, or;
  2. Print the letter and send it to the five fax numbers listed below, or;
  3. Send it as an email to Mayor James Sottile, cc it to the other three email addresses and copy it to Congressman Maurice Hinchey using his online form.

Suzanne Cahill, Kingston City Planner
Kingston City Hall
420 Broadway
Kingston, NY 12401
fax 845-334-3958
planning@ci.kingston.ny.us
 
Mr. Lee Molyneaux, Chair
  And Members of the Planning Board
Kingston City Hall
420 Broadway
Kingston, NY 12401
fax 845-334-3958
 
Mayor James Sottile and Kingston Common Council
Kingston City Hall
420 Broadway
Kingston, NY 12401
fax 845-334-3918
mayor@ci.kingston.ny.us
 
Chairman Richard Gerentine and Ulster County Legislature
P.O. Box 1800
Kingston, NY 12402-1800
fax 845-340-3651
rger@co.ulster.ny.us
 
Dennis Doyle, Ulster County Planner
P.O. Box 1800
Kingston, NY 12402-1800
fax 845-340-3429
planning@co.ulster.ny.us
 
Congressman Maurice Hinchey
291 Wall St.
Kingston, NY 12401
Washington DC
fax 202-226-0774
http://www.house.gov/hinchey/contact/

Sample Letter

[ DATE ]

Mayor Sottile and Kingston Common Council
City Hall
420 Broadway
Kingston, New York   12401

Dear Mayor Sottile and Kingston City Alderman:

I am writing to express concerns about the current proposals
on the Hudson Waterfront in Kingston and extending into the
Town of Ulster.  The properties known as the "Brickyard" and
the "Tilcon" properties constitute 650 acres of the last 1 1/2
miles of undeveloped waterfront and should be developed with
the utmost care and planning.  These developments should be
dramatically smaller in size, should be built in keeping
with the unique character of Kingston and the downtown
Rondout area, and should not be allowed to imperil wildlife
or natural areas or limit public access to the river.

The combined proposals indicate construction of over 2500
condominium and apartment units as well as commercial space.
This supersized type of development is wholly inappropriate
and destructive.  These developments would result in
excessive traffic congestion, air pollution, overtaxing the
already improperly functioning sewage system, and increased
drain of city funds, as well as a likely increase in
property taxes.  If allowed to build anything at all, these
developers should be required to provide the city with some
compensation to the community, such as a large waterfront
public park and preservation of the Delaware forest.

Like you, I value the City of Kingston, and know that with
the right type of development, Kingston can once again be
the gem of New York state.  I implore you to reject the
current proposals from AVR Realty Group and the "Sailors
Cove" and to demand an appropriate number of residential
units that are in keeping with the character of the city and
that are not environmentally destructive to the land and the
river.

The fact that all these developers are interested in
Kingston shows that we no longer need to take what we can
get, we can choose the Kingston of the future.  We can do
better.

Sincerely,
[ Name ]
[ Address ]
[ Phone Number ]
[ E-Mail ]

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