RUPCO plan not best option for Alms House

Dear Editor: A public hearing was held Feb. 28 by the Kingston Planning Board to allow residents to voice their thoughts about the RUPCO proposal for the Alms House property on Flatbush Avenue.

It was reported that approximately 40 people spoke. It should be noted that 12 speakers were employees of RUPCO. Another three were not from Kingston but had connections to RUPCO. Of the remainder, those against this project represented a strong majority.

Our Planning Board and city should look at the big picture and advocate for economic development vs. low-income housing, which is RUPCO’s raison d’etre.

Having returned to Kingston in 2013, it is surprising to me at how many valuable Kingston real estate assets are controlled by RUPCO with substantial tax abatements essentially taking such properties off our tax rolls — Kirkland Hotel, Stuyvesant Hotel, Lace Mill — plus proposed properties: MidCity Lanes, Stockade Works and Alms House.

The three proposals alone add up to over $40 million in capital expenditures, which would equate to assessed value for alternative, for-profit ventures. The property tax potential of these properties is significant. The tax-relief PILOT deals requested by RUPCO on these three projects aggregate approximately $157,000 per year. The taxes that would be paid by forprofit alternatives would approximate $2.17 million year.

The city needs to focus on better uses for its real estate assets. Two offers without requests for payment-in-lieu-of-taxes deals came in after RUPCO’s was accepted for the Alms House.

Robb Engle informed the Planning Board that he has never seen Kingston promote itself as a potential for expansion in publications dedicated to attracting companies to various states and cities. Why?

The RUPCO proposal for the Alms House is not its best use for the city. Based on RUPCO’s inability to fill the former Kirkland space as promised, all proposals need to be carefully vetted.

Vinnie Rua, Kingston