Residents urge state action on rent stabilization and social housing; council approves multiple budget and zoning resolutions

Dozens of Kingston residents urged the Common Council on April meeting night to support two state bills aimed at expanding rent stabilization and creating public social housing, and to cancel a planned local vacancy study; the council then approved a slate of budget, traffic and property resolutions.

Speakers at the public-comment portion repeatedly asked the council to pass resolutions backing the Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants (REST) Act and legislation to create permanently affordable social housing in New York, and to cancel Kingston’s vacancy study that some speakers said could be used by landlords to strip local protections. "ETPA only covers around 20 of Kingston's rental housing stock, and Kingston has been the only upstate city to successfully opt in to rent stabilization," Ravan Ranga, political director for The Many, told the council. "The REST Act would allow municipalities to choose which sized buildings are covered ... and would allow municipalities to use publicly available data to opt in to ETPA instead of a costly vacancy study."

Why it matters: speakers said local rent protections and new state laws could expand coverage and reduce displacement. Naomi Dann, chief of staff at Housing Justice for All, said, "We do not need a vacancy study to know that we have a housing crisis." Several tenants and social-service workers described being rent burdened or serving clients who face homelessness; others argued building permanently affordable, publicly controlled housing is necessary because the private market will not produce enough low-cost units. Teddy Archswagger read a statement on behalf of Assembly Member Sarah Hanna Shrestha advocating creation of a Green Social Housing State Authority and use of union labor to build permanently affordable homes.

The council then moved through an agenda of formal actions. Members approved multiple budget transfers and administrative items, referred code amendments to planning and preservation boards, and authorized purchases and project financing. On one contested item—Resolution 49, authorizing the purchase of five parcels on Fourth Avenue—Alderman Michael Tierney said he would vote in favor "with some trepidation" and asked who would ultimately own any new housing built on the business park site; Alderman Michelle Hirsch voted no. The president called the roll and the resolution passed 7 to 1.

Votes at a glance - Resolution 48 (02/2025): Approve $9,700 2025 budget transfer in Health & Wellness (reimbursed by Rubco New York Main Street grant) — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 49 (02/2025): Authorize purchase of five parcels on Fourth Avenue — adopted 7–1 (dissent: Alderman Michelle Hirsch). - Resolution 50 (02/2025): Transfer $35,929.45 in unspent housing initiative private grant funds to 2025 budget — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 51 (02/2025): Transfer $74,193.55 to reconcile wastewater treatment facility accounts — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 52 (02/2025): Transfer $196,300 in police department budget — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 53 (02/2025): Appreciation/support for Dr. Margaret Carpenter — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 54 (02/2025): Refer Kingston Forward form-base-code amendments for review and set public hearing — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 55 (02/2025): Transfer $24,912.39 in fire department budget to close out 2024 — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 56 (02/2025): Transfer $649 in Parks & Recreation — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 57 (02/2025): Transfer $66,916 in Public Works — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 58 (02/2025): Transfer $17,956 in Public Works — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 59 (02/2025): Year-end transfers of $11,994,035 to the capital fund — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 60 (02/2025): Transfer $728,350 in City Hall general fund — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 61 (02/2025): Transfer $344,970 in City Hall sewer fund — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 62 (02/2025): Add handicapped parking on Down Street — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 63 (02/2025): Request to state to lower speed limit on Wirt Street bridge (state-owned roadway) — adopted 8–0 (council clarified the city lacks authority to change state roads directly). - Resolution 64 (02/2025): Amend Chapter 390 (vehicles & traffic) — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 65 (02/2025): Remove $10,200 vacant building fees for 55 Fair Street — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 66 (02/2025): Remove $6,200 vacant building fees for 62–64 First Avenue — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 67 (02/2025): Determine Flatbush and Foxhall Sewer and Drainage Project is a Type II action — adopted 8–0. - Resolution 68 (02/2025): Bond ordinance authorizing up to $600,000 in bonds for design of Flatbush and Foxhall Sewer and Drainage Replacement Project — adopted 8–0.

Discussion vs. decision: Public comments were expressions urging council support for state legislation and local policy changes; council members did not vote on those state bills (they are state-level measures). The formal council actions recorded were votes on municipal resolutions and budget transfers listed above. Where the transcript records specific dissent or substantive council questions (for example, Alderman Tierney’s concerns about ownership and affordability for the business-park housing project and Alderman Hirsch’s recorded no on Resolution 49), those are noted above.

Background and next steps: Commenters asked the council to pass local resolutions supporting the REST Act and permanently affordable social-housing legislation and to cancel the planned vacancy study; some said a vacancy study would be costly and vulnerable to manipulation. Several speakers urged that Kingston use state-level reforms to expand the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA) coverage. The council advanced and adopted local budgetary and administrative items; any state bills cited in public comment would need action at the state Legislature. The council set referrals and hearings where noted (for example, Resolution 54 refers form-base-code amendments to planning bodies).

Several public commenters tied housing instability to broader social harms: job and school disruption, barriers to family reunification, and public-health impacts. The council adjourned after a brief period of memorials and confirmed the next regular meeting date.