Jay DiLorenzo, President, Preservation League of
New York
State (PLNYS)
Excerpt from PLNYS
Press
Release -
ALBANY, January 24, 2007 – The Preservation League
of New York State has named the Kingston Stockade
District in Ulster County to the nonprofit group’s
annual list of the Empire State’s most threatened
historic resources, Seven to Save.
The State and National Register-listed and locally
designated Kingston Stockade District comprises an 8-
block area that developed over three centuries as
the business center of the city as well as the
location of county government. The original street
plan of Kingston was designed by Provincial Governor
Peter Stuyvesant in 1658, and the district retains a
large cluster of native limestone houses built by
descendants of the early settlers. However, more
than 300 years of architectural and historical
distinction is currently threatened by large-scale
development.
“Residential development could bring a much-needed
boost to Kingston’s economy,” said Jay DiLorenzo,
President of the Preservation League of New York
State. “But the scope and scale of proposed
developments will dwarf existing early architecture,
and forever change the character of the
neighborhood.”
The Teicher Organization has proposed a
condominium building including a parking garage and
retail space on the site of the City’s current 2-level
parking garage. The building would tower nine stories
above North Front Street, the boundary of the
Stockade District, and rise to 12 stories at the rear.
The Senate House State Historic Site, the first
capitol of New York State and an individual landmark,
is within the boundary of this district.
Local stakeholders have formed a coalition, Citizens
Concerned for Planning Kingston’s Future, Inc., to
reflect the broad concerns about the project. The
coalition includes Friends of Historic Kingston, Friends
of Rondout, Friends of Kingston Waterfront, Old
Dutch Church, Friends of Senate House, and many
citizens. “We are not necessarily opposed to
development on the site, but are calling for a
sensitive development process that includes proper
scale and design,” said Lowell Thing, a member of
Citizens Concerned for Planning Kingston’s
Future. “Such a project would contribute to the
vitality and growth of the city, but this oversized
project of 214 units threatens the character and
integrity of the uptown historic district.”
The city of Kingston has an established review
process that could guide the alteration of the
design for a more appropriately-scaled project, and
local advocates want that review process to be
implemented. “The existing zoning height restriction is
62 feet, set by the base of the Old Dutch Church
Steeple,” said Jane Kellar, Director of Friends of
Historic Kingston. “A building that exceeds this height
limit will irreparably alter the character of the district.”
Kingston was the third of the first three urban areas
settled in New York State – after Albany and New
Amsterdam – and was the leading urban settlement in
the mid-Hudson Valley. “What happens at Kingston’s
historic Stockade District is not only of importance to
this city but to the entire region, and indeed is of
statewide and national importance,” said Dr.
Christopher Lindner, President of the regional
preservation group Hudson River Heritage. “There are
alternatives that could bring new development to the
Uptown area while protecting its irreplaceable early
historical resources that stand remarkably intact. We
urge the city to fully explore and develop such
alternatives.”
