Ulster Strong

08/23/2026

"The Ulster County Legislature has unanimously passed Resolution No. 454, calling on Congress to pass HR 1340, also known as the More Homes on the Market Act. When passed, this bill will raise the threshold before capital gains taxes set in on home sales from $250,000 to $500,000 for an individual and from $500,000 to $1,000,000 for joint filers following the sale of a primary residence."

KINGSTON - The Ulster County Legislature has unanimously passed Resolution No. 454, calling on Congress to pass HR 1340, also known as the More Homes on the Mar

08/22/2026

*The proposed subdivision would place 30 homes on about 106 acres of a 624-acre property spanning Ulster and Woodstock.

*The (WLC) conservancy expects a challenge to the environmental determination to cost at least $70,000 over the coming months, Mossey (executive director) said. He said the organization has spent $86,891 on legal work related to the project, including its unsuccessful effort to contest the Planning Board’s authority.

*Kleinberg and fellow developer Eddie Greenberg said about 500 acres of the property, all in Woodstock, would be left undeveloped if the subdivision moves forward.

*Kleinberg said the developers have offered several times to sell the undeveloped land to the conservancy. According to Kleinberg, the conservancy rejected each offer. Mossey said the conservancy’s “number one goal” is to buy the property in its entirety, including the 106 acres slated for development in Ulster.

Opponents of Zena Homes are weighing two potential court challenges and focusing on Eastwoods Drive, the development’s proposed access route through Woodstock, after the project cleared two hurdles in the Town of Ulster last week. The Woodstock Land Conservancy and Stop Zena Development, a communi...

08/21/2026

NoVo Foundation’s Metro complex in Kingston to open in late 2026
"A former manufacturing facility on Greenkill Avenue known as The Metro will open in phases as soon as the end of 2026, the complex’s owner, the NoVo Foundation, announced during a construction tour Thursday.

The 70,000-square-foot building will have spaces for gathering, eating food and creating a wide array of objects, as well as places for learning and creativity, foundation officials said.

NoVo Foundation Executive Director Megan Weiss-Rowe said the project represents a $55 million investment in Kingston during a tour that was also led by Peter Buffet, who controls the foundation and its Kingston-focused arm, NoVo in Kingston, with his wife, Jennifer.

While the Metro project was originally focused on young people, Buffett and Rowe pointed out during the tour a number of facilities that will also offer projects for all ages.

Buffett said the project will open in phases over a course of more than a year."

https://www.dailyfreeman.com/2026/08/20/novo-foundations-metro-complex-in-kingston-to-open-in-late-2026/

08/20/2026

"We’ve spent years arguing over density, parking ratios, building heights, traffic counts, and sewer capacity. Those are important discussions—but they’re not the real conversation. The real question is this: What kind of communities do we want our children and grandchildren to inherit?

Somewhere along the way, we stopped designing neighborhoods and started approving projects.

As Chief Strategy Officer of Rand Commercial, I’ve watched proposal after proposal become a political battlefield. Every multifamily development is treated as either salvation or catastrophe. The result? Years of delay, mounting costs, fewer homes, and a generation of young families, teachers, civil servants, healthcare workers, first responders, and seniors who simply cannot find a place to live in the communities they serve.

It’s time to stop thinking about multifamily housing as an apartment complex and start thinking about it as a neighborhood."

Neighborhoods, Not Apartment Complexes, Build Resilient Communities That Are Safer, Healthier, And More Prosperous

08/20/2026

"The numbers statewide make the economic case plainly. In 2024, a record 315.4 million visitors came to New York, spending $94 billion, generating $145.2 billion in total economic impact, and supporting nearly 742,000 jobs. Tourism is one of our state’s largest industries, and well-maintained parks and historic sites are among the reasons people choose to visit — and to come back. When a trail washes out or a historic home closes for repairs it cannot afford, the loss is not only cultural. It ripples through every business that depends on those visitors.

Here is the problem: the Legacy Restoration Fund expired in 2025, and the need has not gone away. New York’s identified repair backlog now exceeds $1.1 billion, including more than $1.17 billion for the National Park Service alone. The America the Beautiful Act would extend the Fund for five more years at $1.9 billion annually — again financed with non-taxpayer dollars — while strengthening reporting and congressional oversight so every dollar is accountable. It builds directly on a proven model rather than inventing a new one."

The Expired Legacy Restoration Fund Invested Over $280 million Across New York State, Generating An Estimated $1.1 billion In Economic Activity

08/19/2026

Ulster County Revolving Loan Fund ONLINE WEBINAR
Free webinar for interested businesses and nonprofits
Thursday, August 20, 2026
2pm-3pm

Learn how the Ulster County Revolving Loan Fund can help local businesses and nonprofits access flexible, low-cost financing to support growth, equipment needs, and other investments.

Join this upcoming webinar led by the Ulster County Department of Economic Development to get an overview of the program, understand eligibility and funding options, and learn how to take the next step toward accessing capital.

*Free event, registration required*

Interested in apply for funding through the Revolving Loan Fund? Learn about the application process, requirements, and more.

08/18/2026

"As proposed by the developers, the overlays would allow projects to move forward without changing the underlying zoning on a parcel. The overlay zone is a fixed layer placed on top of an existing zone on a map to add extra rules and alternatives to existing permitted uses. In other words, the overlay would allow the construction of residential buildings in commercial or industrial zones as long as the projects met the specific requirements and restrictions of the overlay.

The overlay exists whether a developer builds or not. It does not replace the base zone; it works alongside it (or on top of it) to allow development where it would not otherwise be permitted. The creation is a permissive act – the town has no obligation to create an overlay. It is the developer’s burden to convince the Town Board of its value.

Overlays and floating zones are useful planning tools that facilitate variation from the rigid rules of Euclidian zoning — a system of land-use regulation that separates distinct activities—such as residential, commercial, and industrial—into separate, single-use geographic districts or zones.

Though commonly used interchangeably, floating zones function differently from overlays."

Rigid Zoning Rules Stifle Residential Development; Developers Propose Overlays & Floating Zones To Mitigate Zoning Limitations

08/17/2026

"On June 23, SUNY New Paltz announced a new undergraduate program in Deaf studies, a first-of-its-kind career pathway for a public university in New York that is expected to graduate at least 250 students over the next 10 years. Launching this fall, the Bachelor of Arts in Deaf Studies expands upon the Deaf studies minor offered by the university’s Department of Communication Disorders. An expected initial cohort of 25 students will take classes focused on both international and local Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities, learning how to communicate using American Sign Language and about the cultural prejudices people with hearing impairments face.....

"To justify the need for the development of a new major, the proposal cited numerous sources, including a 2024 report by Michelle Olson, a researcher at the Rochester Institute of Technology, as evidence of critical service gaps for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in rural New York. Olson’s study found that essential healthcare and communication resources were geographically concentrated around highly populated areas, like New York City, Buffalo and Rochester. While this distribution reflects larger populations of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals living in urban environments, it means less-populated regions are often left without accessible options for necessary counseling and developmental services."

The new major, available this fall, will be the first program of its kind offered by a public university in New York.

08/14/2026

"“Good planning for rural communities is based on local conditions, not models imported from large cities,” Tinterow summarized via email. “This proposal should not be adopted by the Town Board. These changes might encourage new market-rate residential construction, but they certainly will change the character of our Historic District and deliver more people using the aquifer and more traffic on Route 209. Are these our priorities?”

Supervisor Parete indicated a very busy agenda at the next meeting on August 18th."

08/13/2026

"Rulings from two town of Ulster boards allow the approvals process for the proposed Zena Homes subdivision to proceed, dealing a significant but unsurprising blow to opponents who have fought to stop it.

The town of Ulster Planning Board determined the proposed 30-lot Zena Homes subdivision poses no significant environmental impact. The next day, the Zoning Board of Appeals denied an appeal from Woodstock Land Conservancy claiming the Town Board should be the proper body to scrutinize the plans.

The project has an added layer of complexity because its only access is through Eastwoods Drive, a narrow, private gravel road in the town of Woodstock. The project’s success hinges on Woodstock Planning Board approval, which now includes more than a dozen waiver applications because the road does not meet town code. Deliberations in Woodstock were awaiting Ulster’s SEQRA, or State Environmental Quality Review Act, determination."

Rulings from two town of Ulster boards allow the approvals process for the proposed Zena Homes subdivision to proceed, dealing a significant, but unsurprising blow to opponents who have fought to stop it.