Old media and new media are uniting in an unexpected way and the result is an upsurge in interest in Kingston, the first capital of New York State, aiding what supporters hope will be a cluster of home-based computer entrepreneurs.
But publicity by itself cannot solve what ails the city about 90 miles north of Manhattan on the west shore of the Hudson River and the numbers so far fall far short of a renaissance.Â
The New York Times real estate section featured a cover story about Kingston, in its Sunday, July 5, edition, telling of the attractions New York city-based second home buyers found in the relatively bucolic and comparatively cheap environs of Kingston and Ulster County.
The publicity touched off a surge of hits on the web site of the nonprofit cyber-based KingstonDigitalCorridor.org, a group of volunteers seeking to lure young computer professionals to move their business to Kingston and set up shop in a city where a three-bedroom home might cost less to purchase than a studio apartment in the big city. Â
Paul Rakov, spokesman for the Kinston Digital Corridor, said his group of tech-savvy self-described “geeks” posted the article that same day on their web site. “On that date, we saw a 38 percent increase in traffic to our site and it has stayed at that level since then,” he said on July 15. “In fact, it has gone up 3 percent.”
He said the group can track in general terms the geographic origin of the hits and said that while some come from Westchester and other places most are coming from their target market, New York City. “It”™s been great,” Rakov said. “We”™re very excited to see Kingston get that kind of attention.”
Harris Safier, principle broker of Westwood Metes and Bounds Realty with five offices in the Hudson Valley, said the company web site also showed increased activity after the Times feature, “From people wanting to know more about Ulster County, people wanting to explore more.”
Safier said that the target audience for the Digital Corridor idea and the story in the Times meshed almost as if by design. “Absolutely, the Times spoke exactly to that market,” Safier said. “More people in their early 30s are exploring up here and they have a different vision of what their home in upstate should be. They”™re not looking for three acres in a rural environment, they need to have computers working as fast as possible. Clearly computers are drawing people who can now enjoy the lifestyle up here.”
He said such telecommuters are now seeking to minimize their work days in the city and be productive out of their home offices as much as possible. Additionally, he said, many seek a livable city environment akin to what is found in parts of Brooklyn, where he grew up. “Kingston has definite appeal for that population,” Safier said, citing new restaurants, and a resurgence of activity connected with the Hudson River.       Â
Despite the optimism engendered by the publicity, the city has problems that will be difficult to overcome, including a high tax rate and looming infrastructure problems. Â
“I”™m a number person,” said Jon Hoyt, an attorney, realtor and appraiser based in Kingston. “I”™m just looking at the numbers that are screaming in our ear and no one seems to be listening, especially the city government.”
He said that he suspects an article similar to the Times”™ piece could be written about many communities in the Hudson Valley and said the article glossed over a glut of commercial space available in Kingston, a problem he said is attributable to a bizarre “homestead” tax structure that levies property taxes on business at a far higher rate than on residents. He said that about 16 percent of Kingston property owners, the non-homestead category, pay 51 percent of city property taxes.
Thus, Hoyt said it is unlikely that any digital entrepreneur would move a business to Kingston if it cannot fit into “their spare bedroom.” He buttresses his observation with numbers. Since 2003, he said, 72 commercial properties have sold in Kingston, with a high of 15 in 2005, a number that fell to nine last year. And thus far in 2009, only one commercial property has sold in the city. Meanwhile there are 48 properties on the market, which he called a five- to 10-year supply.
He said the single-home market has been better, with a peak of 216 sales in 2005, down to 114 last year and only 45 sales so far this year.
He said overall the city has a per capita tax rate that is third-highest in the state, behind Rye and White Plains. Additionally he said the sewage treatment plant is exceeding capacity and that major upgrades will be needed soon, which will likely raise taxes, even as the city”™s mortgage tax receipts and sales tax receipts are declining.
“So if you are looking to put a business in your spare bedroom, OK,” said Hoyt. “But an actual firm that employees people ”¦ why would anyone locate in Kingston? The Digital Corridor is a wonderful concept but Kingston has a lot of problems to solve.”
