“Right now, we have a humanitarian crisis.”
That's how Rashida Tyler, cofounder of the Ulster County Coalition for Housing Justice, describes the housing situation in Kingston.
Tyler, along with other activists in Kingston, are speaking out about what they call a citywide housing emergency. According to the most recent data from the affordable housing agency RUPCO, more than 450 people in Kingston are homeless.
To combat this, Mayor Steve Noble says the city will use a $200,000 grant to build tiny homes for homeless individuals.
“It’ll be one of the first tiny homes projects between Albany and New York City," Noble said.
Tyler says these tiny homes are a step in the right direction. But she also wants to see the city do more with abandoned homes here. Taking a walk along Henry Street, she points out several homes that could house people right now.
What You Need To Know
- Housing activists in Kingston say the need for affordable housing is at emergency levels
- Mayor Steve Noble outlined several steps the city is taking, including building tiny homes for the homeless and more affordable housing
- The Ulster County Coalition for Housing Justice wants to see the city do more, including renovating abandoned homes so they can be lived in immediately
“This is, obviously, probably a two bedroom, at least, for the first floor," Tyler says, while pointing at a two-story building with boarded up windows.
Noble says that the city is working to renovate over 100 abandoned buildings.
Activists like Tyler are also fighting gentrification. With the pandemic inspiring New York City residents to find homes in the Hudson Valley, some longtime residents are being displaced. Noble says he does not want this to happen in Kingston.
“Kingston hasn’t been, necessarily, the place that folks are moving. I think we only had a 1% change," Noble said. "Other places in the Catskills had 35, 45 (percent change).”
Noble adds that the city will look to regulate short-term rentals like Airbnb, encourage affordable home ownership through the Kingston Land Trust and add 60 additional affordable housing units through RUPCO.
That’s in addition to a citywide rezoning effort, which Noble says will be inclusive and incentivize developers to build workforce housing.
“We want to be able to make sure that anyone who is working here in the Kingston, Ulster County area, can afford to live here also," Noble said.
Tyler says her group will continue to advocate for the city’s homeless, low-income residents and tenants so it truly lives up to that inclusive moniker.