Friday, May 07, 2010

KINGSTON'S WATERFRONT

For anyone who hasn't been down to the waterfront in downtown Kingston, I have to urge you to do so one of these weekends. The bulkhead/walkway project that spans from Rosita's Restaurant to Dock Street is finally complete. You're going to be very impressed.

So I took a bunch of pictures this afternoon just to whet your appetite before making the trip. Here are some shots as it was being worked on...

I should point out that much of what we've seen could only have been accomplished with heaps of money through federal and state grants. Most of which (well over $1 Million) was brought to us by our Congressman Maurice Hinchey. DOT funds as well as Brownfield Remediation funds were diverted to this area as well as $200K of the Federal Stimulus money from early this year.

But like most municipal projects funded by taxpayer money, we have to make the investment and development choices that best utilize what has been offered in good faith. This walkway doesn't mark the end of our effort to revitalize our waterfront, it marks the beginning. In the decade to come, our Kingston leaders had better stay focused on the opportunity we've been given.

Here are some shots of the finished product:

8 comments:

debbie said...

Finally, it has come to fruition after many years of talk!! It looks great. Great place to stroll along the waterfront and enjoy the local restaurants.

Anonymous said...

Will the City of Kingston market this better? Where are we getting the best bang for the buck in our tourism department? Hey, who runs our tourism department? Do we have a tourism department? We could place ads in the subway shuttle between Penn Station and Grand Central like the county does. Oh wait, that shuttle is down for repairs indefinitely.Any other bright ideas?

Anonymous said...

this is all the economic development directors can do, no jobs for the city.he gets paid over $100,000 to development what?

Anonymous said...

My favorite part of Kingston made more beautiful. I am not a big fan of federal dollars going to these kinds of projects, but that won't stop me from enjoying it.

Anonymous said...

If the mindset of "if you build it, they will come" came into play here, I am all for it. This can only attract the tourists to visit and new citizens to live in our city.The weekend boaters who frequent the docks in the summer months will fully enjoy the new facelift. Fact be known, they spend money in the local restaurants that border the harbor and that contributes to our local economy. So in a way the economic director did contribute and do his job but he cannot rest on the laurels as he is paid a big salary to produce. His feet should be held to the fire...
5:50, if the federal government is gung ho to give out money for projects, I would rather they come to Kingston than some other destination.

9:58 As to tourism, I believe her name is Kate Cook whose office is in the Rondout district. But I feel that Nancy Donskj does a better job as she is motivated to promote the city being she is also a business owner in the Rondout Business District and if I am correct Kate is on the city payroll. You be the judge.....

Anonymous said...

Did you leave pictures of the illegal immagrants "at work" out on purpose?

Mike Madsen said...

Hey 5:02...Funny that you would ask ME about illegal immigrants. If I had found any, it would have been a different story, don't you think?

Anonymous said...

What happen to Dock street where Finkle steered millions to Oliveri and company but they destroyed the street?