We have reviewed the current Irish Cultural Center of the Hudson Valley's (ICCHV) proposal, and while we appreciate their effort to address the concerns raised by residents, businesses, and visitors of the Rondout neighborhood in Kingston, New York, the changes being presented now are not responsive enough to mitigate the adverse impacts pointed out to the Planning Board by the various agencies and the public, which include:

1)  Kingston's Heritage Area Commission recommendation of September 28th, 2016.
VIEW minutes from the meeting, which says, "Concern of Commission was based on scale of project that it is too Iarge for the property and adjacent area."

2)  State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)  dated September 30, 2016.
VIEW letter, which outlines concerns about scale, massing and design features, conformity with historic setbacks, brick color materials, and the overly industrial appearance of the Abeel Street elevation.

3)  An October 5, 2016 public hearing.  
VIEW Video from public hearing (VIEW part 2)

4)  A comment period that extended through October 12, 2016.
VIEW petition "Request a Pos Dec in SEQR" delivered 10/12/16

5)  Hudson Riverport Plan Consultants and Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA).
ICCHV representatives continue to impose their own interpretation of the relationship between their property and the Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) and Hudson Riverport Plan during the application process. However, the consultants on the Hudson Riverport Plan have submitted, in agreement with documentation provided on the City’s own website, that the ICCHV is not included in the BOA area, so the use of the generic environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared for the Hudson Riverport Plan cannot be applied.  The project should require a separate EIS, which would be part of a positive declaration in SEQR. 
* VIEW comment
* VIEW link to map on City of Kingston's website

Downsizing the building by 676 square feet still leaves the center 1213 square feet larger than it was in spring 2016 (at 15,000 square feet). The scale continues to be out of character with surrounding buildings and to potentially cause adverse parking and traffic impacts for the neighborhood.  Additionally, the proposal continues to ignore the fact that it is on Abeel Street, which causes zoning issues that we feel the city will come to regret in the long term.

It is for these reasons and more that we stand by and resubmit our original request that the City of Kingston Planning Board determine a Positive Declaration for the ICCHV’s SEQRA Action.  We encourage citizens to support the same by signing this petition and/or to attend the next Kingston Planning Board public hearing to speak on Wednesday, November 2nd at 6:00pm.  For more information on this and more, please visit our EVENT page.

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More information on Grow the R-T Responsibly neighborhood group.