Above: A memento left on the remains of a tree on Wall Street, cut down recently as part of Kingston's controversial "Pike Plan" to restore the 1970s-era wooden canopies over the sidewalks of the uptown Stockade district. Photo by local musician (and O+ Festival organizer) Alexandra Marvar; she says it's a piece of text art by Cody Walton, reproduced by a Kingston street artist called idleyes.
Though the Pike Plan has been theoretically in progress for years, it wasn't until recently that construction got underway. Local opposition to the project has gotten more intense since the area has become a construction site. Shokan resident Judith Boggess blasted the Pike Plan in the Daily Freeman's letters-to-the-editor section yesterday. An excerpt:
Right now the lots are filthy with winter debris and potholes. And you want businesses to stay Uptown and the community to shop there? Ludicrous! You can’t see the store faces and you can’t find a decent parking space to get out and walk around. I know where Artie’s Bar is, not because I drink, but because it has been there since the 1950s. And I know where Colonial Health Food Store is because it was there in the 1960s. But don’t ask me what other stores are Uptown, since the Pike Plan went in.
I was born and raised in Kingston, and can remember being able to see what stores lined Wall and North Front streets, and the streets were clean of snow and it was easy to park. If this was a pedestrian mall with no cars allowed, I could understand the design, but it’s time has come. Tear down the Pike Plan and the planters, Mayor Sottile!
And today, there's an angry letter from Wall Street resident Denise Orzo about the cutting down of Wall Street's few remaining trees, many of which had already been removed in preparation for the Pike Plan construction. From the letter:
The city of Kingston regularly makes such short-sighted choices. After the initial deforesting of Wall and North Front in 2009, two saplings were purchased and planted in front of Neko’s on Wall Street. They were lazily plunked between the residual lost tree stumps, and yet managed to weather the winters – much like Kingston manages to thrive in spite of our government, thanks to the will of caring citizens.
Recently, rather than making a simple, thoughtful effort to preserve the saplings and plant them elsewhere or donate them, both trees were cut down – a move so foolish and reckless, with life, with landscaping, and with taxpayer dollars.
Who made this decision? Whether or not removal of the trees is an aspect of the canopy project, cutting them all down now has given Uptown the desolate look of a wasteland. When will new trees be planted?
Orzo has been emailing city officials about her opposition to the Pike Plan as a resident of the Stockade district. Common Council member Charles Landi responded to Orzo via email last week; here's an excerpt from a letter he sent her.
1. Organizing the funding and construction of a project the size of the Pike Plan does not happen over night. It takes time, in this case it started in 2006. As it moved forward any opposition to it was not organized, it appeared as though it was a forgone conclusion. So Congressman Hinchey proceeded with securing the funding at the same time that Steve Finkle proceeded with developing the plans and construction documents. 2006, 2007, 2008 no organized opposition. As the funding and documents fell into place to replace the PP the opposition started to rear it's head late 2009, 2010, to date. By this time it was like trying to stop a freight train, to little to late.
So face it we will be living with the new Pike Plan like it or not.
2. Contractors who remove and replace trees do not have the time to stop and nurture little saplings because they are cute or for what ever reason. They are operating on a time table determined by their bottom line and profitability. I know that sounds cold but it is a fact of life. Rest assured that every tree that they removed will be replaced in root structures that will be more conducive to expansion and continued life. So face it we will have new trees to replace the old trees.
3. I live and work with Tom Hoffay in committee and on the council floor, I find him to be sincere in his efforts and decisions. It would surprise me if he knowingly did anything that would be detrimental to the good of the people that he represents.
(In her original letter to Landi, Orzo criticized Hoffay, saying he "has been aware of this opposition & has chosen to ignore the voice of the historically important and vital tax base which is the Stockade District.")
Want to see what the Stockade District looked like in 1976, when Woodstock artist John Pike's wooden canopy was being constructed? Freeman arts editor Ivan Lajara has some great pictures -- though, like the canopy itself, the photos look a lot older than their thirty-some-odd years.
