2022: A LOOK BACK
January
1: A seal is spotted swimming in the Hudson River near the Saugerties Lighthouse at the start of the year, a sighting called ‘unprecedented.’
7: The city of Kingston is sued over its sign ban, as members of two groups and an Ulster County legislator claim their First Amendment rights were violated.
7: A bicycle lanes section opens on Broadway in Kingston, but supply issues keep another section closed.
Jan. 8: Nearly a third of the Ulster County Jail’s 104 corrections officers, eight of the sheriff’s 57 full-time deputies and 19 of the jail’s 152 inmates are infected with COVID-19 during an outbreak, Sheriff Juan Figueroa says.
Jan. 8: Michael Lang, who co-created and organized the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in Bethel in 1969 and was a co-promoter of Woodstock ’94 in Saugerties, dies on Jan. 8. He was 77.
Jan. 14: The Kingston Common Council approves a Good Cause Eviction plan, as a state moratorium on evictions was about to expire.
Jan. 15: COVID-19 active cases in Ulster County hit an all-time high of 7,569 cases.
18: Kingston Mayor Steve Noble says the city has partnered with an affordable housing agency to implement a funding program to help landlords. In a press release, Noble says the city teamed with RUPCO, with the use of grant funding from Enterprise Community Partners, to administer the state Landlord Assistance Program.
19: Boitson’s restaurant announces it is closing after a decade in Uptown Kingston.
20: A homeless man with significant mental health issues who was found competent to stand trial in 2021 pleads guilty to first-degree manslaughter for the 2019 stabbing death of another homeless man. Lance Ferguson, 39, faces a sentence of 20 years to 25 years to life for the Aug. 11, 2019, stabbing death of Guy Andradez, 59. Andradez’s body was found on Aug. 12, 2019, under a collapsed tent that had been pulled over his body like a tarp in a home.
25: Kingston Mayor Steve Noble signs Good Cause Eviction legislation into effect for Kingston while at the same time saying the state should follow suit so all communities have such protections.
26: Convicted killer Gilbert Thomas is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the Dec 17, 2020, shooting death of 12-year-old D’Janeira Mason and injuring her 9-year-old brother.
26: Tony’s Pizzeria, a Broadway mainstay with a history dating back to 1937, has been sold, its owners announced.
27: Officials announce that more than 63,000 Ulster County residents had received a COVID-19 booster vaccination.
February
2. Kingston school officials step up measures to deal with recent social media posting of fights between Kingston High School students. Responses to the recurring problem were discussed during a Board of Education meeting.
4. More than 47,000 Central Hudson customers in Ulster County lose power in Ulster County because of icy weather conditions and as darkness fell power restoration efforts continued but little progress has been made.
5. A weekend ice storm that blanketed Ulster County has affected “tens of thousands” of county residents, and full electrical service is not expected to be restored for “a number of days,” Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan says.
7. In a whirlwind visit to Ulster County, Gov. Kathy Hochul promises to bring “the full resources of the state to bear in our storm recovery efforts” and to continue to offer the state’s support in the days ahead, but she also speaks of the humanity and heroism on display throughout the storm and its aftermath.
9: The second defendant in the December 2020 shooting that resulted in a 12-year-old girl’s death is sentenced to 20 years in state prison for actions Ulster County Court Judge Bryan Rounds said put into motion “murderous events.” Robert “Nikki” James, 47, of 49 Franklin St., Kingston is sentenced in Ulster County Court to 15 years in state prison on a felony criminal possession of a weapon charge, as well as an additional five years on a felony charge of criminal sale of a controlled substance.
10. Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan says that all visitors to county buildings no longer have to wear masks. But on the city of Kingston Facebook page, a posting says that non-vaccinated people visiting city municipal buildings still do.
11: Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. Central Hudson says projected bill impacts for natural gas will be an average increase of about 19%; about 46% for electric bills; and about 29% for combination electric and natural gas bills.
14: Senator Michelle Hinchey, D-Saugerties, says she has sponsored a bill that, if passed, would speed up the legalized marijuana program.
14: A 6-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted in 2019 from an upstate county is found hidden with her mother in a “small, cold and wet” space under a staircase in her grandfather’s home on Fawn Road, Saugerties police said.
16: Two Mid-Hudson Valley state senators from different parties, and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro take aim at Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. for big price hikes in customer electric bills. Sens. Michelle Hinchey, DSaugerties, and Sue Serino, R-Hyde Park, blast the utility’s announcement that customers could see up to 46% increase in their electric bills.
23: Owners of Grainne, a restaurant that opened in late 2020 at the corner of Wall and John street’s Uptown, say it has closed, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason.
24: Ulster County officials announce that the county will purchase the former Elizabeth Manor boarding house located in Midtown Kingston, in what officials say is another step in solving the county’s housing crisis.
25: A state lawmaker from Kingston says he is working with a utility watchdog group to review purchasing policies of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, said that he has teamed with the Public Utility Law Project to, among other things, review policy.
March
1: Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. says more increases in electricity bills are on the way, probably through the end of the year. Global events and strong demand for energy worldwide continue to place upward pressure on energy prices, the utility says.
1: More than $1 million will be transferred within the city’s budget to fund raises for members of the Civil Service Employees Association, as well as related raises for management confidential employees, some of whom had already received pay increases as part of the 2022 budget process. During a virtual meeting, the Common Council unanimously adopts transfer resolutions.
3: Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan says that the county will shift its approach to COVID-19 from a “pandemic” to an “endemic” mode.
4: Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan and County Sheriff Juan Figueroa honor area first responders, highway and utility crews, local officials, and community leaders who pitched in during the historic Feb.4 ice storm in Ulster County.
6: A rally of dozens in support of Ukraine during its war with Russia is held in Woodstock.
15: State Sen. James Skoufis, D-Cornwall, who once proposed ending daylight savings time, lauds the U.S. Senate vote that government moves to make it permanent next year.
16: Owners of Kitchenette on state Route 213 in High Falls say it will close its doors on Sunday, March 20, laying the blame on staffing shortages and rising labor and commodity costs, on top of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
21: Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan says he expects new businesses to begin moving into the former IBM site later this year, bringing to an end the nearly threedecade-long spiral of decay that has plagued the property since the manufacturing giant first sold the property to downstate developer Alan Ginsberg.
22: The former Tony’s Pizzeria on Broadway is set to become a new eatery, while two neighboring spaces will be transformed into a by-the-slice pizzeria and a retail market, it is announced.
24: Lis Bar at 240 Foxhall Avenue becomes the latest restaurant in and around the city to announce it will close. The Polish-inspired eatery at 240 Foxhall Avenue owned by Jonathan and Patty Rich announce that it will close Monday, March 28.
25: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer has promises to use his political clout to help the city secure an approximately $20 million federal grant to fund transportation and infrastructure projects along Kingston’s Rondout waterfront.
29: Jurors in the Truvock Noble case are offered conflicting scenarios during opening statements as Noble’s murder trial gets underway in Ulster County Court.
April
1: Days after opening, public comments balloon to 1,287 on a Public Service Commission online portal requesting opinions about billing practices of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp.
1: Jurors in the Truvock Noble murder trial hear a recorded interview in which Noble, who is charged with the shooting death of Eric Crawford, told police he was being hunted by people looking to cash in on a bounty someone had placed on his head.
4: Following five days of testimony from more than a dozen witnesses, the prosecution rests its case in Ulster County Court against Truvock Noble, accused of the 2021 broad daylight shooting of Erick D. Crawford in Midtown Kingston.
7: Truvock Noble is found guilty Thursday of seconddegree murder for the 2021 Midtown shooting death of Erick D. Crawford in a case that hinged solely on circumstantial evidence.
8: Floods swamp parts of the region, including the Rondout Valley Little League field in Rosendale, which gets about four feet of water from the Rondout Creek.
8: Democratic hopeful Sarahana Shrestha files designating petitions with the requisite number of signatures to force a primary challenge against incumbent state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill for the Democratic Party line.
11: Central Hudson announces that electric bills are likely to rise again this month as supply charges to Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. jump.
12: Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro announces an office building on 26 Oakley St. on the city of Poughkeepsie’s northside, will become an emergency housing facility for up to 100 single adults.
14: Two farms in Ulster County are among 52 statewide granted the first licenses to grow adult recreational use marijuana by the New York State Cannabis Control Board.
19: Ulster County Legislator Joseph Maloney calls for an investigation into what he said is the county’s failure to initiate foreclosure proceedings against a local property owner that has racked up nearly $10 million in back taxes over the past decade.
20: Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro announces WMCHealth is increasing the number of inpatient mental health beds in Dutchess County, two years after shutting down those services in Ulster.
25: In an unprecedented move Monday, Chief Assistant District Emmanuel Nneji declines to take part in the selection of a jury in Raymond Snyder’s murder trial, saying that based on a series of recent rulings by Ulster County Judge Bryan Rounds, the prosecution no longer has a “legally sufficient case” against the accused killer.
26: Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan signs a resolution authorizing the county to purchase the building at 368 Broadway utilizing federal funds provided through the American Rescue Plan Act to house mental health and addiction recovery services, including a planned crisis stabilization center.
26: Antoine D. Leonard, 20, of Henry Street, is charged with attempted murder in connection with an April 20 shooting on Cedar Street in Midtown.
27: A second-degree murder charge against Raymond Snyder is dismissed by Ulster County Judge Bryan Rounds in a bizarre case that saw the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office refuse to show up for the trial.
30: Two Kingston police officers gave false testimony during hearings in the Raymond Snyder murder case, a judicial ruling in the case reveals.
May
3: Kingston Alderwoman Michele Hirsch, D-Ward 9 calls for an independent investigation of the Kingston Police Department in light of recent judicial rulings handed down in the murder trial against Raymond Snyder, whose charges were ultimately dropped.
3: U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado of Rhinbeck is picked by Gov. Kathy Hochul as the state’s Lieutenant governor.
3: Local leaders and activists weight the impact of a leaked draft opinion that suggests the Supreme Court is likely to overturn the case that legalized abortion in the country.
4: Ulster County Pat Ryan signs a resolution creating a countywide land bank intended to help turn foreclosed properties into workforce and affordable housing.
4: More than 50 people attend a forum hosted by Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan along with state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-Saugerties, and Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston in response to a growing outcry from county residents who have experienced billing problems with the utility.
5: Ulster County’s annual financial report shows the county ended 2021 with a whopping $45.9 million surplus in its general fund, a windfall Ulster County Finance Commissioner Burt Gulnick attributed to a more than 20 percent increase in sales tax revenues.
5: The Common Council’s majority leader says lawmakers won’t investigate the Kingston Police Department’s handling of the murder case against Raymond Snyder, whose charges were dropped, because any investigation the council performed could be “flawed or merely performative.” Instead, the council opts to let the city’s Board of Police Commissioners investigate the matter.
6: One man is being treated for a possible broken jaw after being stabbed in the face during a street fight involving 50 to 75 people outside Gaby’s Café on Canal Street, village police said Friday.
6: The city adopts a resolution to spend up to $1.2 million to fund repairs and upgrades of the electrical system and docks at T.R. Gallo Park and along the bulkhead on the Rondout Creek.
12: Scipio Dubois, 29, a Kingston man accused of kidnapping his friend’s three children after agreeing to watch them last March pleads guilty in Ulster County Court to seconddegree kidnapping, a felony.