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OSI Grant Protects Key Kingston Property That Will Enhance Area Community Services

KINGSTON, New York — Thanks to a grant from the Open Space Institute (OSI), the Kingston Land Trust has protected a key property that will enhance local quality of life and aid in beautification. Located near the bustling waterfront, land will be a catalyst for the Kingston Land Trust to improve sustainability in the community as it grows. 

The Kingston Land Trust purchased the property, located at 61-81 Gross Street, from Ulster Habitat for Humanity. The property will serve as a base for cleanups and plantings along the Kingston Greenline — a system of trails, linear parks, and streets that will be a part of the future Empire State Trail.

“The acquisition of this property is a resounding win for the community of Kingston, today and for future generations,” said Kim Elliman, president of CEO of OSI. “OSI is delighted to continue our commitment to this beautiful and growing Hudson Valley hub. We applaud the commitment of Kingston Land Trust to improving the local community.”

This newly-protected land is located in the Rondout neighborhood of Kingston, situated between the City of Kingston’s Hasbrouck Park on its east side and, on its west side, a section of the Kingston Greenline that will open to the public this summer. 

John F Kennedy Elementary School and Rondout Gardens Public Housing are to the north and south, respectively, and a paved walkway called “Pathway to Knowledge,” that connects the two, passes through the property. 

To the west of the site is Iglesia Evangélica Amigos, a Hispanic church whose youth group has already participated in a program hosted by the Kingston Land Trust at which they tapped sugar maple trees on the property and along the Greenline. 

City of Kingston Mayor Steve Noble has indicated he plans to work together with the Kingston Land Trust to provide pedestrian access through this site from the Greenline to Hasbrouck Park. Some other ideas for using this property, that have arisen through brainstorming with partner organizations, include a garden area, a fitness station, a bike-fixing station, interpretive signage, outdoor education, and a covered meeting area. 

Finally, the Kingston Land Trust will also steward forests on the property to help the land transition from a successional forest on historically disturbed land to a more stable and mature upland hardwood forest. The parcels will act as an ecological buffer for the adjacent upland hardwood forest and calcareous crest, ledge, talus, and cave habitat, increasing connectivity of this biologically important corridor.

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