FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2021
City of Kingston
Awarded $100,000
in Environmental
Protection Fund Grants
KINGSTON, NY – Mayor Steven T. Noble is
pleased to announce that the City of Kingston has received two grants for a
total of $100,000 from New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund
administered by the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River
Estuary Program.
On October 26, Governor Kathy Hochul
announced the EPF grant awards totaling more than $1.5 million for 39 projects
that will help communities along the Hudson River Estuary improve recreational
access, enhance environmental education, and advance stewardship of natural
resources.
The City of Kingston was awarded $50,000
to create a Community Preservation Plan from existing plans and inventories of
natural, cultural, and historic resources, as well as other sources of GIS
data. The Community Preservation Act (CPA) is a funding tool that helps
communities develop outdoor recreational facilities, preserve open space and
the historic character of a community, and create affordable housing. The City
will be issuing an RFP for a consultant to write the Community Preservation
Plan in the coming few months. The Community Preservation Plan is expected to
be completed by summer 2022.
The City of Kingston was also awarded
$50,000 for public kayak access to the Rondout Creek. With these funds, the
City will remove the existing unsafe public kayak dock on the Rondout Creek,
complete a design of a new kayak launch system, and construct and install a new
dock with full handicapped accessibility. The City will first complete the
design of the new dock. Construction on the Wurts Street Bridge may affect the
timing of the dock installation.
“New York State is committed to investing
in projects that will improve community resiliency and protect our natural
resources in the Hudson River Valley and across the state," Governor
Hochul said. "The 39 grants announced today, totaling more than $1.5
million in awards, will provide dozens of Hudson River watershed communities
with the support they need to improve recreation and access to the river while
working to preserve and protect the Estuary for future generations.”
“We are thrilled to receive these two
grants will help us create a Community Preservation Plan, which will crucial to
advancing the vision of our Open Space Plan and other critical land
preservation goals and to revive our kayak dock in the Rondout Creek, one of
the only public launches into our local waters and used by so many people from
kayakers to canoeists to rowers,” said Mayor Noble. “I look forward to getting
these two projects underway soon and want to thank the NYSDEC for their
continued support of our land use and access initiatives.”