“If there’s one city where rampant development and housing reform have been on a collision course, it’s Kingston, a place that figures to be a testing ground for the efficacy of the new law. Rents are on the rise in Kingston, along with major capital investment in the form of new hotels and mixed-use development projects.
In recent years, activist groups like Rise Up Kingston, Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, MHAction, and the Kingston Tenants Union have advocated on behalf of Hudson Valley tenants and homeowners, organizing communities and helping to lay the political groundwork for reform. The calls have grown louder as more residents in upstate communities have become “rent-burdened,” meaning they pay at least 30 percent of their income toward rent.
And it seems to be working. In April, before the passage of the new law, local legislators in Hudson, Newburgh, and New Paltz backed an extension of rent regulation laws for their communities. After Kingston joined them in May with a nonbinding resolution supporting rent control, Kingston Mayor Steve Noble signaled his intent to push for reform in the city in a statement to the Daily Freeman:”