Mayor Steve Noble used his 10th State of the City address this week to look back on a decade that he said saw Kingston reach nearly all of the goals contained in its 2016 comprehensive plan. Noble also used his annual address to the Common Council to chart a path forward on key issues like housing, traffic safety and sustainability.

“The state of our city is strong,” Noble said. “We have been resilient through a global pandemic, an unprecedented housing shortage, climate-related rising tides, steep inflation and civil unrest. Together as a community we have faced these challenges with strong action, smart planning and a powerful sense of purpose.”

The speech kicked off with a laundry list of projects and plans brought to fruition in 2024 including the Kingston Fire Department’s takeover of ambulance service in the city, the completion of a major renovation at Dietz Stadium and street improvement projects on Henry Street and Clinton Avenue. Noble also referenced the acquisition and preservation of 68 acres of rugged terrain along the city’s Rondout waterfront and the institution of a real estate-tax-funded Community Preservation Fund to pay for future land acquisitions and maintenance of public lands.

Then, Noble pulled back the lens, noting that at the time of his first State of the City address back in 2016 the city was poised to adopt the new “Kingston 2025” comprehensive plan. Noble said that he had recently looked over the plan and realized that 90 percent of the goals and objectives outlined in the document had been reached. Noble said the 2016 plan’s call for a streamlined planning process and more understandable land-use regulations had been fulfilled by the new “Kingston Forward” zoning code, while the emergence of a network of walking and biking trails connected to larger statewide trail network reflected the comprehensive plan’s call for a more walkable and bikeable city. With the 2016 plan fulfilled, Noble said it’s time to begin work on a new vision for Kingston’s future.

“Now is the time to think big and envision the city we want to see,” Noble said.

This year, Noble said plans are in the works for major projects in the city’s Uptown, Midtown and Rondout neighborhoods. In Uptown, Noble said he will push forward with a controversial effort to demolish the Pike Plan canopies which cover sidewalks along portions or Wall and North Front Streets. Noble said the 1970s-era canopies have reached the end of their useful life and tearing them down would help the Uptown business district.

“We believe returning our beautiful historic buildings to their original form will boost the economic vitality of Uptown,” said Noble.

In Midtown, Noble touted the “Midtown Rising” project which will develop a set of goals and objectives to address vacant and underutilized properties along the Broadway Corridor. The project is part of a larger effort to have the Broadway Corridor declared a state-designated “Brownfield Opportunity Area” — a designation which will open up new grant opportunities in the neighborhood. Downtown, meanwhile, residents will begin to see the fruits of a $22 million federal grant secured by the city in 2023, something Noble said represented an “unprecedented investment” in the city’s waterfront neighborhoods.

The issue of traffic safety was highlighted recently when a 77-year-old man was struck by a car and killed at the intersection of Broadway and Orchard Street. Last year the city lowered the speed limit to 25 mph and adopted a “Safe Systems” approach to traffic planning that emphasizes bike and pedestrian safety. Noble pledged to continue those efforts in 2025 with the installation of speed cameras in school zones, speed tables, new signage and other traffic calming measures as well as stepped-up traffic enforcement by city police.

Much of Noble’s tenure has been defined by a housing affordability crisis that emerged during his first term and exploded during the pandemic. Noble said he would continue to take a broad-brush approach as he works towards a goal of 1,000 new units of housing by 2029. This year, those efforts will include a feasibility study to look at the potential for new housing at Kingston’s underutilized business park and continued work to acquire and develop 300 units of housing at a long-vacant parcel adjacent to Route 9W in the Rondout neighborhood. Noble said he also seeks to implement a new form of government-backed housing which utilizes a locally funded revolving loan fund to help developers build affordable housing. The city, he said, will also seek out a developer to build new affordable housing on a long-vacant brownfield at Field Court.

Noble’s second year in office coincided with the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States. Trump’s tough talk on immigration sparked a contentious debate locally after Noble pushed for legislation declaring Kingston a “Welcoming and Inclusive Community,” a.k.a. a "sanctuary city," and reiterating a longtime policy of non-cooperation with immigration authorities. Now with Trump set to take another turn in office, and promising “mass deportation” of undocumented immigrants as well as harsh punishments for sanctuary cities, Noble said that he understood the fear felt by many city residents and pledged that Kingston would continue to be guided by its principles.

“During my tenure and throughout our long history Kingston has steadily charted our own course,” said Noble. “And we will continue to move towards our goals of equity, inclusion, preservation and progress no matter what comes our way.”