The Common Council of the City of Poughkeepsie pondered the creation of a Business Improvement District (BID) to jumpstart the local economy and voted to allow college students to live downtown as part of the ongoing effort at reviving the Main Street corridor at its meeting of Monday, Dec. 15.
Yet while such hopes for the future were entertained, Mayor John Tkazyik announced that he was moving forward with confronting the city violence which is at hand, saying in his opening comments that the gun summit of local civic and religious leaders which he had proposed will be held on Monday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m.
“I congratulate the mayor on holding this summit,” said Council Chairman Brian Doyle (D-4th Ward) in his comment period. “I hope the participants at the summit dig deep into the problem, not just the enforcement aspect but causes and solutions.”
The proposed BID, centered on Main Street, would cover 71 acres, and involve an increase in taxes on properties within the district that would finance improvements ranging from the physical enhancement of the streetscape to better security. The council had been due to vote on setting a date for a public hearing on the matter, but delayed that decision to its next meeting on Friday, Jan. 2, with an anticipated date for the hearing later that month.
“I am very interested in the Business Improvement District,” said Councilmember Mary Solomon (D-6th Ward). “But I want to make sure it doesn’t create more problems than it solves.”
“It is important to obtain the views of the people who live in the proposed BID,” said Councilmember Joe Rich (D-2nd Ward). “If the majority doesn’t want it, then we are obliged to vote against it.”
“The idea has merit, but there are some very significant and legitimate concerns to be taken into account,” said Doyle. “My inclination is this is going to be a process where we accumulate information. There would be a public hearing, the comments would be registered, then a 30-day waiting period would pass before the council votes on it where we could obtain more views. During that period there would be modifications put into place.”
Students, welcome
The council voted unanimously and without discussion to allow college students to legally reside in the downtown business district, reflecting Doyle’s comment, “We’ve been over this quite a bit.” The vote repealed a 2005 zoning ordinance that forbade students from residing in the C-2 district, and deliberately followed the recent opening of the Luckey Platt apartments located in the former department store at Main and Academy streets within district boundaries.
In other business, the council voted to accept a gift from the Exempt Fireman’s Association of a monument honoring fallen firefighters to be placed in Mansion Square Park. The vote was 6-0, with Councilmembers Thomas E. Parise (R-1st Ward) and Solomon abstaining, as they are members of the association. While voting in favor of the gift, Rich cautioned that such gifts should not be automatically accepted.
“I think they should be considered on a case-by-case basis,” he said.
“I want to express our appreciation for the gift that is being offered to the city,” said Doyle.
Lest this or any existing monument fall prey to vandalism, the city government was pressed by Doyle to move forward with the anti-graffiti initiatives that have been discussed at recent meetings. These include creating a task force, designing an educational brochure on the problem, and setting up a graffiti hotline. Assistant Corporation Counsel Paul Ackermann told the council he was looking into funding for these initiatives.
“I think these efforts are positive, but there continues to be a proliferation of graffiti, and we need to move on it, and I hope to hear more at our Jan. 2 meeting,” said Doyle.