‘Lead agency’ declaration delayed for Midtown work
City lawmakers had hoped to move forward with a resolution declaring the Common Council the lead agency in the environmental review of a Safe Routes to School project on Henry Street in Midtown but had to wait due to a lack of response from some involved agencies.
During a meeting last week, the council voted to refer back to its Laws and Rules Committee a resolution declaring it the lead agency for the review. The council also referred back to the committee a resolution declaring the project would have no significant environmental impact. The vote for each referral was 8-0, with Alderman William Carey, DWard 5, absent.
Alderwoman Andrea Shaut, D-Ward 9, said the city had hoped to hear back from all the involved agencies before 30 days passed, allowing it to move forward earlier with declaring a lead agency. But because that had not happened as of last week, the resolutions had to be referred back to committee, she said.
Kristen Wilson, director of the city’s Office of Grants Management, told council members during a caucus on July 1 that two involved agencies had not yet responded to the council declaring its intention
to serve as the lead agency for the environmental review.
The Safe Routes to School project on Henry Street is to extend from Broadway to George Washington Elementary School on Wall Street. It will use about $1.3 million in grant money from the state Department
of Transportation, with an additional $337,132 provided by the city.
The grant money will pay for new sidewalks and bicycle lanes. The sidewalk is to be on one side of Henry
Street, while a sidepath on the other would accommodate bicyclists.
More information about the project, including preliminary designs, is available online at kingston-ny. gov/henrystreet.