High Spirited Investment on North Front Street

October 25th, 2011

The biggest reason why Carmelo DeCicco decided to reopen his family’s building  at 57 North Front Street as a wine and liquor store, was the spirit of investment that he sensed in the Stockade. The city was investing in renovation of the Pike Plan. New restaurants were repurposing historic old buildings and Back Stage Productions had returned their building to its historically theatrical roots, but with a cutting edge flavor.  After 5 hectic months of intensive renovation, what used to be a tailor shop reopened as a trending  potable emporium.

Long-time Kingston residents will remember DeCicco’s Taylor Shop, run by Carmine’s father, which kept Kingston looking sharp from 1968 to 1990.   The building stood empty for twenty years, before Carmelo DeCicco noticed the spirit of optimism and innovation in Uptown and decided to open Blue 57, an upscale wine and spirits store.

Getting the store ready would have been a daunting task, if Carmelo’s brother Sal had not been a master carpenter specializing in fine cabinetry.  Together the two brothers took their dream from the blueprint to the Blue 57, which had its soft opening the first week in October.  A grand opening celebration is scheduled for November 18 with the Chamber of Commerce cutting the ribbon.

One featured wine company will be Dreaming Tree Wines, by the Dave Matthews Band and made  by Steve Reeder.  Dreaming Tree offers wines from sustainably  farmed grapes, with the cheerful philosophy, “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with collecting wine, but wouldn’t you rather drink it instead.?”  Blue 57 will also be featuring 14 Hands Wines among their many selections of wines and spirits.

On October 27, shoppers will have an opportunity to sample the above as Blue57 hosts a wine tasting from 5 to 7 pm.   It may be rather unconventional.  Dave Matthews, discussing his first taste of Crush Red Wine said, “I swallowed it before I put the glass down.  There wasn’t any opportunity to spit.”  (At traditional wine tastings, the participants do not swallow the wine, but  merely experience its flavors and bouquet.)  Since Crush Red Wine is described as having “notes of smokey berry and a pop of raspberry jam”, tradition is probably not going to be followed.

Those who want to follow Carmelo DeCicco’s investment in Kingston’s retail future can do so on Facebook, and there is an intoxicating web page in development.   In the meantime, Carmine probably agrees with Dreaming Tree that “…the best vintage is pretty much right now.”  Wine also makes the perfect holiday gift, and if one over shops, one can always sip the extras!

 

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A SHINING EXAMPLE

September 12th, 2011

695 Broadway, 1954 and Now

Drivers traveling through midtown Kingston have been noticing a pleasant change to the building at 695 Broadway, at the corner of Broadway and Liberty Street.   Not since the 1950′s when it was an Atlantic gas station has the little cement block building looked so spiffy.  On August 6, with crisp new signage announcing its services, J’s Detailing and Car Wash, Inc. opened its two bays for business.

Jamar Ashe, the owner/operator has been in the detailing business in the Kingston area since 1990.  He  had been scouting for an ideal location, when he noticed that the former car repair shop on the corner had closed.  He bought the building from Honda of Kingston in June and spent two months retrofitting it for the requirements of a high-efficiency detailing business.

As his sign proclaims, J’s Detailing will give the showroom shine to “anything with a motor,” including boats, RV’s, busses, motorcycles, and jet skis.  The varied services offered range from $14.99 to  $159.99.   Express service is a specialty.   Perfectionists in a hurry can relax in the  tidy waiting room while their vehicle is returned to showroom condition.  Vehicle drop-off service is available 24/7.  In another option, Mr. Ashe can pick up the vehicle locally, detail it, and return it.

 This is far more than a “sweep and a shine” operation.  Got a vintage  vehicle that was stored for years in a leaky barn?   Mr. Ashe’s services include mold and mildew abatement, convertible window restoration, and leather and cloth seat restoration. 

Jamar Ashe

For vehicles with a few dings and dinks, Mr. Ashe can touch up damaged paint, restore tail lights and headlights, and restore chrome and alloy wheels.  He is quick to point out that these services are as important for the family SUV as they are for a performance car on its way to the car show.  Damage to the exterior of a car, even when minor, will get worse with time, and will negatively impact the value at trade-in time.

In addition to quick cleaning, Mr. Ashe has specialized for years in fleet cleaning, with special discounts for government and law enforcement vehicles.  He also offers discounts for car dealerships, senior citizens, and emergency vehicles.   He’s detailed everything from tour busses for rock groups through 3-wheel off-the-road vehicles.  When he says “No job too large or too small” he means it quite literally.

While Mr. Ashe is slowly building his clientele he is also looking to the future. He has applied for a used car dealer’s license, and he hopes to be able to offer a few select (and very clean!) used cars by next year.  Right now, the lot surrounding the store is cleaner and tidier than it has been in many decades.

Mr. Ashe feels that having one’s vehicle detailed is not a luxury, it is an investment in preserving one’s equipment.   His undercar cleaning removes the mud, road salt, and other substances that are responsible for irreparable rust damage of cars in the northern climes.  A clean car reflects pride in ownership and  self respect.   A car or RV that is spotless inside and out reflects (so as to speak) well on the owner and the neighborhood.

J’s Detailing and Car Wash Inc. is already a great reflection on the neighborhood–and a shining example of what a great neighborhood business can do for the neighborhood!

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It’s Fall, and Kingston Puts on Six Fantastic Festivals

August 23rd, 2011

Once upon a time, the City of Kingston was able to cover the extra costs of putting on festivals. Those days are gone, but fortunately, after a bit of a lull, volunteers, businesses and private donors have in many cases filled in the gap. “The organizers have really taken ownership of their own event,” noted Katie Cook, Kingston’s director of tourism. “They’ve managed to get more volunteers and raise the extra funds so that the event can happen.”  Here’s what’s on the festival schedule this fall:

The Wall Street Jazz Festival, scheduled September 2 and 3, is unique in that founders Peggy Stern and John Bilotti wanted to all the band leaders to be women, having noticed a dearth of female leaders at other jazz festivals. Friday evening’s concert, located at the BEAhive, starts at 8 pm and features a pair of duos, resulting in some very adventuresome improvisations. Vocalist Judi Silvano plays with pianist Marilyn Crispell, and vocalist Teri Roiger plays with bassist John Mengon. Admission is $12.

Saturday’s free concert, held on Wall Street from 6 to 10 pm, features Peggy Stern on piano and “Sweet” Sue Terry on saxophone; the Amy Shook Quartet (Amy Shook on acoustic bass, accompanied by Pat Shook on tenor saxophone, Frank Russo on drums and Tim Young on piano; and the Francesca Tanksley Trio (Tanksley on piano, Otto Gardner on bass, and Jeff Siegel on drums). At 9 pm dancing starts in the street when Estrella Salsam, featuring Sue Terry, Freddie Jacobs, Claire Daly, Amy Shook, Peggy Stern, Tomas Martin Lopez on timbales, and Renato on conga, take the stage. For more info visit www.wallstreetjazzfestival.com

The Hooley on the Hudson, Ulster County’s only Irish festival, is held at Gallo Park on the Kingston waterfront the next day, Sunday, September 4, from 11:30 am to 9 pm. Now in its ninth year, the festival is hosted by the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Three stages will be set up, two featuring music and the third dedicated to the spoken word. The line-up is too extensive to list in its entirety here, so here’s a brief sampling: the NY Showband with Tommy Flynn, the Ulster County AOH Division 1 Pipe, Drum and Honor Guard, the Andy Cooney Band, Vince Fisher and Tommy Kiernan, and spoken word artists Kate Dudding and Lorraine Hartin-Gelardi. Also taking the stage will be Irish dancers, from the Celtic Heels School of Irish Dance and the Michael Farrell School of Irish Dance. All concerts are free, and there will be food and craft vendors and children’s entertainment. For more info go to www.ulsteraoh.com

Two weekends later, on Saturday, September 17 (rain date September 18), the second Drum Boogie comes to Cornell Park, after a year’s hiatus. Executive producer Garry Kvistad, founder and owner of Woodstock Percussion, Inc., said the event is not  your usual rock drummers’ get-together. “It’s a very multicultural event, with men and woman of all cultures playing Caribbean, tap, ragtime, African, contemporary modern, and rock and roll,” he said. The headliners are Jerry Marrotta, whose group includes the lead guitar player from the David Letterman Show; Nexus, whose drummer played for Peter Gabriel and Orleans, among other top acts; Jack Dejohnette, “the biggest name in jazz”; Liam Teague, “arguably the best steel pan player in the world,” who will also perform with the NYU Steel Band; local percussionists extraordinaire POOK; and Native American Singers and Drummers.

Kvistad said the park, which is shaped like an amphitheater facing the Hudson River, has ideal natural acoustics. People should bring a blanket or chair; food vendors will be at the site. A portion of the proceeds raised from the numerous local businesses that support the event will be donated to Family of Woodstock’s cancer treatment program, in memory of the late Kathy Janeczek, Kingston’s beloved former town clerk. To make a donation, visit www.drumboogiefestival.com.

October kicks off with  a two month long Dream Festival.  The Dream Festival is an international celebration of dreams and dreamers curated by Kingston based author and dream facilitator Ione.  Going on its 16th year, this global community event includes artwork, performances and workshops by world-class artists, everyday dreamers and inspired beings.

Then the Italian Festival happens on Sunday, October 2.  Lower Broadway and the Strand will be festooned with colorful, light-strewn arches, in an echo of New York’s famous San Gennaro festival. Instead of the usual fried dough and cotton candy, however, the booths will be manned by staff from local restaurants, complementing the neighborhood eateries, offering a healthy and delicious “taste of the mid Hudson Valley,” according to Denis White, marketing director of the newly formed nonprofit organization, Kingston’s Waterfront Marketing Inc., which is hosting the event.

The musical performers include Bell’Accordio, a four-piece band playing traditional Italian music.  Local artists and craftspeople will display their work along the creekside walkway as well as submit a work of art inspired by Leonardo DaVinci’s Mona Lisa. A stage hosting a rally for the Queens Galley, broadcast on radio station WBPM, will be set up along Broadway. Activities for kids and adults include a pizza making lesson, spaghetti eating contest, and games of bocci. A Vespa scooter will be raffled off to a lucky winner.

On Columbus Day weekend, October 7,8 and 9, the second annual O+ Festival will transform Uptown Kingston into an arts extravaganza, with 30 bands, including Mike & Ruthy’s Folk City, Willy Mason, and TJ Kong & the Atomic Bomb, performing at various venues, a photographic exhibition, large-scale wheat pastes by various artists (it’ll be fun finding out exactly what those are), a seven-hour performance piece by Linda Montano, various installations (including historical plaques by Norm Magnusson, a 30-foot high interactive red jute wall by Lisa Lozano, and hand-knitted cigarettes by Melissa Halvorson), and a screening of Marwencol, a documentary about the amazing tiny World War II town and scenes created and photographed by an artist with disabilities on the grounds of his home in Eddyville. In exchange for their offering of art, the participating musicians and artists can use the services of a mobile clinic, where 40 doctors, dentists and other specialists will donate their services. Suggested price for a wristband providing access to all the events is $25.

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Complete Streets Would Mean a More Walkable, Vibrant Town

August 15th, 2011

In the past decade, there has been a movement afoot to transform America’s traffic-clogged streets into multi-use pathways that also accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians. While originally the movement, which resulted in the formation of the National Complete Streets Coalition in 2005, was closely tied to the notion of smart growth and more user-friendly downtowns, it has now expanded to embrace various other initiatives, such as preventative health, which has quickly become a national obsession.

Two hundred and forty-nine jurisdictions have adopted or plan to adopt a Complete Streets policy, and one of them is the City of Kingston (the jurisdictions include New York State). Last November the Common Council passed a Complete Streets resolution, which resulted in the formation of a Complete Streets Advisory Council. The council, whose 11 members include representatives of the city’s business community, non-profit organizations, and environmental groups, held a forum last June, designed to reach out to municipal officials involved in planning, engineering, and economic development as well as the public. A small portion of a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that’s funding the Healthy Kingston for Kids project was used to retain the services of certified planner David Gilmour, who owns a planning consultancy in New Paltz.

The concept of Complete Streets “means providing for all forms of transportation within the street network,” explained Gilmour. “In a city like Kingston, a lot of people walk, bike, and take public transit. If we’re not productively utilizing our streets, we’re not providing for the health and wellness of residents and workers, nor for the city’s full economic development, because a lot of business activity is associated with street activity,” he added.

In addition to hosting the forum to raise awareness about the value of Complete Streets, the council has conducted a codes audit and diagnosis, to see how the existing zoning law and other city policies, including subdivision regulation, could be improved. “We took at how the codes provide for walking and biking, through sidewalk maintenance, for example,” Gilmour said, noting that promoting safer streets is obvious key.

As it is, “Kingston doesn’t provide a lot of bike parking—not at the schools nor along Broadway or in the Rondout,” he said. The council plans to make recommendations that address this lack and others to the Common Council, which would hopefully then follow up by enacting policy changes. One Complete Streets advocate, Gerald Berke, has suggested low cost and easily deployable techniques to provide for pedestrians and bike safety, such as using paint to delineate crosswalks, Gilmour said.

Kristen Wilson, project director of Healthy Kingston for Kids at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Ulster County, who has been attending council meetings, noted that recently a crosswalks was painted near the entrance to Dietz Stadium on Washington Avenue, a sign of progress. She knows well the benefits and challenges for bicyclists, given that she commutes by bike from her home in the Rondout to her office on Westbrook Lane. The ride takes 15 minutes and is shorter than driving, considering all the traffic and lights.

“Kingston is only three miles at its widest point so it has the potential for wonderful bikability,” she said. As it is, Broadway definitely “needs some sort of bicycle infrastructure and traffic calming. People are going 40 and 50 miles per hour. One of the options of Complete Streets is to look at a ‘road diet,’ which for example might reduce the corridor to three lanes, with a turning lane in the middle. That would create lots of spaces for bicyclists.”

Wilson said making the corridor more friendly to non-motorists fits in with the Business Alliance of Kingston’s campaign to implement a Business Improvement District. “Walkability and bikability will bring more businesses, because a Complete Streets model for Broadway would bring more people out on the street. Last night”—a Sunday—“I was on New Paltz’s main drag and it was such a vibrant place. All the shops and cafes were open, and I didn’t have to worry about my safety. Broadway could be like that.”

Gilmour said the council is also seeking ways to work with agencies overseeing existing or planned capital projects to stretch public dollars. Specific areas that might get special attention, due to their location and heavy foot traffic, are Forsyth Nature Center and Dietz Stadium and the intersection of Route 32 and Washington Avenue. (In the latter case, Gilmour said there’s a plan to improve the shoulder, which possibly could implement a Complete Streets policy.)

“There’s a variety of projects at different scales and types that can be used to improve mobility and accessibility,” he concluded. “If the community provides for sidewalk, landscaping and lighting improvements on Broadway as well as improved sidewalks, that would not only increase safety and mobility but also civic vitality.”  –Lynn Woods

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Academy Green Gets a Trim

August 8th, 2011

Many of us take Academy Green for granted, buzzing daily by the long triangle (or is it a trapezoid) of greenery on our way to or from Uptown. Yet we shouldn’t: this lush oasis has been kept up and beautified thanks to the efforts of volunteers at the Ulster Garden Club. Back in the 1980s, late club member Herb Cutler moved the fountain from the former St. Ursula’s Academy (now the Children’s Home) to the pocket park and kept the place watered and pruned. Recently the garden club resumed its activities in the green after late member Elizabeth Gross left a behest that enabled the club to hire an arborist and get the trees trimmed and the beds mulched.

Janice Ambrose, chair of the club’s Academy Green Committee and a Kingston resident for 45 years, said keeping Kingston green isn’t just a matter of aesthetics, but also helps purify the air, an essential, healthful counterpoint to all that car and truck exhaust. Before moving to the city upon marrying her husband, a native Kingstonian, Ambrose, who was born and raised in Kansas, said she loved visiting because of the lushness of the tree-lined streets—a quality that’s been somewhat diminished in recent years, she noted. A model of what Kingston could be, in terms of aesthetics, is Cooperstown. “Everything’s maintained beautifully and you want to visit,” she said, noting that there’s no reason Kingston couldn’t have the same appeal, and more, considering its vastly more interesting history. “If it’s pretty, they’ll visit.”

Fortunately the city has a Tree Commission that has continued to remain active despite the cutting of its annual budget from $7,500 three years to $5,000. The Tree Commission and the Ulster Garden Club, through its Memorial Tree Fund, work together; for example, the garden club paid for the planting of the city’s annual Arbor Day tree planting (this year, on the Kingston High School lawn). Tree Commission member Mark DeDea, who is caretaker of the Forsyth Nature Center, said the commission plants about 10 trees a year. Recent plantings have included Liberty elms on the Broadway corridor and a mix of species on Gage Street.

Trees planted on Broadway in particular take a beating, due to pollution from traffic exhaust, runoff from rock salt during the winter, vandals, snowplows, and the occasional colliding car. DeDea said business owners would be doing the city a great service by maintaining the trees in front of their properties, including watering on dry days and notifying the city’s Department of Public Works if a branch is broken (the DPW does tree pruning and removal of dead trees). They can also help by planting a tree, and thanks to matching funds from the Memorial Tree Fund, they get a discount: the $350 cost of planting a tree approximately 10 feet high would be half that, thanks to the match. The fund will subsidize the planting of five trees a year in the city.

Meanwhile, the trees along Wall Street, part of the Canopy rebuilding, had to be removed. The trees had become a problem, their roots invading the underlying infrastructure. New trees are planned which will be smaller and planted in containers—expect plants like redbuds and crab apples. The return of some greenery will be much welcome.  —-Lynn Woods

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Rondout Music Lounge Makes Broadway Swing

July 11th, 2011

Kingston’s burgeoning music scene just got a boost with the opening of the Rondout Music Lounge. It’s open from 5 to midnight every day except Monday and features live music most nights (definitely over the weekend). Located in a handsome, vintage storefront with high tin ceilings and wood floors, the venue brings back a tradition of music that once happened here when it was the Sturgeon Bar. The lounge specializes primarily in jazz and blues, taking advantage of the numerous world-class musicians who happen to live in Ulster County, such as Joey Eppard, Harvey Sorgen, of Hot Tuna, and Michael Bernier, who has toured the world numerous times with Tony Levin. Right now, there is no cover, and a Budweiser is only $3 ($2 during a special happy hour some nights).

Owners Jared Zwiefel and Michael McGrath hail from Dutchess County—they were classmates at Arlington High School–and have migrated across the river partly because of the area’s cultural vibrancy. Zwiefel, who works at Hudson Valley Auto Interiors, located in Gardiner, during the day, bought a house in Uptown Kingston, while McGrath commutes from Millbrook. The two said their model was a club in Millbrook run by a friend called Millbrook R&B. “It books lots of bands and gave us the experience,” said Zwiefel. They landed in the Rondout partly because their landlord offered a very reasonable rent. Plus, he had restored the space beautifully, finishing of the wood floor and putting in new heating and AC and the vintage wooden bar.

Besides beer and wine—there are plans to serve hard liquor and soda soon–Rondout Music Lounge also serves burgers, quesadillas and other bar food, so one can have a meal prior or while listening to the music. Andy Parker, a musician and native Kingstonian, is booking the acts, and the work of two local artists hangs on the walls. (The large exposed side brick wall is bare, which Zweiefel hopes to cover with art; local artists, take note.)

The lounge has a Facebook page, and so far it is relying on word of mouth and the musicians’ substantial network to attract customers. Zwiefel said the central location was also a boon, with many walk-ins. In two short weeks, the place has already attracted many tourists, including a couple from Long Island visiting the area on their boat. “They were thrilled,” Zwiefel said. “They said there was nothing like this where they live.”

He and McGrath are considering opening the lounge in the afternoon, when they’ve noticed a bustle of activity before people disappear for dinner. There’s always something interesting playing on the sound system—even if it isn’t live; Parker promised to “play my harmonica while slinging drinks” as part of the entertainment. Joking aside, the venue is aimed at the 28-plus crowd—music lovers who are into jazz and blues.

Among the coming attractions are a performance by blues-guitar wunderkind Connor Kennedy, who is only 16 years old, and Roy Bookbinder, a folk blues guitarist with a direct link to the geniuses who defined the Delta Blues.

“I love the foot traffic,” said Zwiefel. “It’s a beautiful location. And we’re near the bridge, so we’re getting a lot of people from Rhinebeck.”

 

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Team Spirit on Fair Street

June 28th, 2011

Anthony Vazquez had a job working at Panera Bread, but he had always wanted to own his own business, so last April 1 he opened Vezzy’s Sportswear, at 279 Fair Street. Each day, after his Panera shift ends at 11 am, he rushes over to his new store, which is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11:30 to 6 pm. The busy schedule doesn’t leave him much free time, but he’s thrilled to be selling merchandise related to a subject he’s passionate about—professional sports teams, be it in the NBA, NFL, or major league baseball. The colorful jerseys, T-shirts, pants, caps and other clothing he sells represents every major team—some 30 to 40 of them, from the Mets and Yankees to the Boston Red Sox and LA Dodgers. “If I don’t have it, I’ll order it,” Vazquez said. “I try to get the All Stars—stuff they don’t sell at normal stores.”

He stocks adult and kid sizes, with a man’s jersey priced at $60, a T-shirt for $15, and fitted cap going for $25 (the kids’ sized items sell for slightly less). He also sells sports watches for $25 and a watch-and-wallet for $50. He said his prices are less than what you’d find on the Internet, since there aren’t any shipping and handling charges.

So far, Vazquez said business has been a bit slow, but he’s hopeful it’ll pick up. His best day so far was the Saturday on which the Kingston Farmers’ Market opened for the season (on Saturdays he erects a sign on Wall Street to direct shoppers at the market to his shop). His customers aren’t just local, but include people from Boston, Connecticut and Poughkeepsie. “They’ve probably got family here and come to visit,” he speculates.

Vazquez said reasonable rent from his landlord and tips on doing business in Uptown Kingston gleaned from his sister, Linda Fusaro, proprietor of Full Circle, a gift and clothing store located on North Front Street specializing in rain gear, helped make his venture possible. His mom also helps out on occasion. Vazquez painted the walls of the rented space light blue and also spruced up the façade; he put up spiffy waterfall racks along the side walls and installed lights around the storefront windows.

The toughest part of running the business is marketing, Vazquez said. He has distributed flyers at the MAC Fitness gym and has a page on Facebook; he plans to launch a website soon. M&T Bank offers space for a free ad on the printed promotional material for its credit card, which he plans to take advantage of; customers who pay for merchandize in the shop with a M&T credit card would get a 10 percent discount. He also plans to sign up for a free service offered by Discount Blabber, which would send e-mails to people about his business for free.

After selecting a T-shirt with the logo of your favorite team, head next door to Uptown Twist for one of the most delicious ices you’ll ever have; proprietors Sean and Julie Griffin use real fruit, which they pulp and mix with sugar. Uptown Twist also serves homemade ice cream and crepes. Its booth at the Farmers’ Market was one of the busiest on Wall Street.

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Faircloth Fades Has a Haircut for Everyone

June 21st, 2011

As far as barbers go, Kay Faircloth, proprietor at Faircloth Fades Barber Shop, is as professional as they come: his father was a master barber in Hyde Park, where he grew up, as are his two brothers. Faircloth ran a deli and then a music store for a while, but didn’t really find his calling until he got back into barbering, first at a shop at Rondout Plaza and then, for the last four years, at 377 Broadway. (It’s actually part of a local chain, with his brother running a barber shop in Poughkeepsie and a friend overseeing a third location in Albany.)

Faircloth said he moved his shop to Broadway because of the diverse population and proximity to Kingston Hospital and students at Kingston High School. “Sometimes parents will give their kids money for a haircut and tell them to get one after school,” Faircloth said, noting that once a kid starts coming to him, he likely has a customer for life. He’s expert at cutting all kinds of hair and has served a variety of ethnicities—not just African American and Caucasian, butalso Indian, Mexican, Chinese, and Arab. A haircut costs from $10 to $15, depending on the amount of styling: Faircloth does fades, flat tops, spikes,
burr cuts—the variations for shaping short hair are apparently limitless. (In
case you weren’t aware, a “fade” is a popular style on the more conservative
end of the spectrum.)

Faircloth said he got his start cutting friends’ hair at hishouse growing up. Tired of all the traffic, at one point his mother offered to triple the amount of money he made cutting hair after period of three months, which funded the lease of his first shop, at age 17. (He later attended college, getting a business degree, which has been helpful in managing his cash flow.) The barber said he’s adept at “creating something that looks great on a particular face.” The customized cut often becomes the customer’s preferred look for life, Faircloth said, accounting for his loyal customer base.

But it’s not just haircuts—as well as the shaves, including one with a hot towel for $13—that brings people into his shop. Faircloth Fades is a family barber shop where people can unwind, chat, read a magazine, and not worry about bringing their kids, who delight in the chair shaped like a hand, the sports shows playing on the flat-screen TV, or the special kids’ room in the back (it’s served as a second home to Faircloth’s own three kids, who hang out there after school, until Faircloth’s wife gets home from her job as an administrator at Vassar Brothers Hospital). Another fun feature of the shop is the snazzy, custom-made rugs, with “Faircloth Fades” spelled out in red against a black background.

The shop is open Monday through Saturdays, opening at noon (10 am on Saturdays) and closing at 6 pm (7 pm on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday). After closing time, several days a week Faircloth works the night shift as a nurse, so he’s pretty busy. But he says he feels grateful to have his business, which his parents, both ministers, blessed when it opened. What would he change along his stretch of Broadway? “The sidewalks aren’t great,” Faircloth said. “Somebody could trip and fall. And everyone should have some type of awning, to make it look better.” He said he’s thrilled with the improvements to the streetscape in Port Ewen and thinks Kingston could benefit from a similar sprucing up.

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An Emporium for Fido, Right on Wall Street

June 13th, 2011

Pity the poor pet whose owner doesn’t shop at Pawprints & Whiskers, located at 292 Wall Street, which for the last nine years has been proffering healthy treats, kibble, and canned food to dogs and cats. Even before you step inside, you know this is a place where you can bring your dog (leashed, of course); a sign reading “all you can eat buffet” is positioned above a bowl of kibble and a water dish at the entrance. The counters just inside the door are the equivalent to a dog bakery, with various goodies from professional pet bakeries arranged on metal plates: monster pretzels, Boston cream pies, biscotti, éclairs, mini cream treats—in bacon and beef versions, of course, as befits a healthy canine.  Articles on the detriments of second-hand smoke to pets are pinned to the wall, and a flea collar box is affixed to the
counter top, with a handwritten “caution/toxic” sign pasted onto it.

Pawprints & Whiskers not only strives to raise the pet owner’s conscience, but also inspire delight: there are bowls in the shape of a bone, adorable beds with cloth pet legs and ears sewn on, innovative litter boxes and carry-alls, and cute dog and cat cards; even the plastic bags are attractive, covered as they are in black pawprints.

On a recent lunch hour owner Neil Schneider was behind the counter, describing the store’s special pet-food niche: “it’s not your standard fare but specialty food, which is natural and uses good, USDA premium quality ingredients.” While the food costs a bit more than the stuff you’ll buy at a big box store or supermarket, Schneider said in the end you’ll save on vet bills and have a longer-lived pet.

He stopped to serve customer Andy Belock, who works two doors down at the Board of Elections and had two cans of pet food on the counter. “On top of the great food selection, I like to shop locally because I get the best service and the best products,” Belock volunteered.

Schneider said he and his wife used to run a small advertising agency and graphic design firm on Broadway but started to burn out after 15 years. They finally sold the business and started selling gift baskets of pet products by mail. After they had a booth at a pet industry fair and got a great response to their products, they opened Pawprints & Whiskers in 2001, renting the space from landlord Schneider’s Jewelers next door. Schneider minds the store, since his wife has a full-time job as an administrator at the Fischer Center at Bard College.

The food product brands suggest the pet equivalent to a health food store, with names like Holistic Select, Cowboy Cookout, Wellness, Deli Fresh, Nature’s Animals, Feline Greenies, and Evo (“the ancestral diet meets modern nutrition,” the label notes, adding that Evo is “grain free” and has the “lowest carbs”). Pawprints & Whiskers also stocks “Dogtoids” to freshen a dog’s breath, along with a canine toothbrush and toothpaste.

The “emporium for cats and dogs,” as he describes it, also sells toys, leashes, collars, coats, litter boxes (with better quality litter), beds, blankets, grooming tools, and rawhide bones.

Schneider said the Kingston Farmers’ Market has helped his business tremendously on Saturdays. He participates by handing out free samples
of high-quality pet food, which helps get customers into the store. He said
since 2008, the business has “had its ups and downs. As a single independent
proprietor trying to get a niche in the pet industry, it’s a tough call,”
especially when people are having to spend their extra cash on gas.

He said that parking is a problem in Uptown—mainly perceptual, given that people resist parking around the corner even though it’s closer to the store than the parking space in the lot at the mall from the mall entrance. He’d also like to see landlords lower their rents a bit to reduce the number of empty storefronts. What would really turn Uptown around is putting in an anchor store, such as a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, at the former Woolworth’s, he said.

On the plus side, “we have a lot of customers who won’t shop at the big box stores. They want to support the little independents. I have a great nucleus of customers who come on a regular basis. The one thing I offer that the big box stores don’t is personalized attention to detail. I can say this product would be better and why. I meet and greet.” Schneider also offers a 10 percent discount for every purchase of 12 cans of food.

Pawprints & Whiskers is open from 10 am to 5 pm Monday through Saturday (to 5:30 on Friday). Oh, and by the way, Schneider and his wife are pet owners themselves, in case you’re wondering. They have a dog and are looking for a cat, following the recent death of their beloved feline.              –Lynn Woods

 

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Uptown’s Double Dose of Attractions

May 31st, 2011

The high season kicked off in Uptown with the opening of the Kingston Farmers’ Market at 9 am on May 28. The major role the market plays in promoting local agriculture, bringing people together, and establishing Kingston as a great city to visit or live in was underlined by the cutting of the ceremonial vine by Congressman Maurice Hinchey, Ulster County Clerk Nina Postupack, and a host of other officials that morning.

This year’s market features 33 vendors, with five newcomers: Super Food Citizen, a gluten-free bakery based in Tivoli; Twisted Foods, a pretzel maker out of New Paltz; Luigi’s Infused olive Oils, from Highland; Reginato’s, a restaurant based in Lake Katrine, which offers packaged foods to go; and South Pine Street Farm, Kingston’s own green quarter acre, which also supplies The Queen’s Galley.

 

Kingston City Farmer - Jesica Clark

“Right now we’re at capacity,” said Joe Fitzgerald, president of the Kingston Farmers’ Market Board, which presides over the nonprofit organization. “We try to offer enough variety to the customers. While there’s some competition among the vendors, we don’t need ten vendors with tomatoes, corn and zucchini. That’s what’s made this market viable: we’ve protected the vendors so they can make some money.”

The fee for a booth is $360 in advance (otherwise $400). Fitzgerald said last year the market attracted between 1,500 to 2,000 people a week. This season the Healthy Eating series will continue, with special cooking demonstrations by Lysa Ingalsbe, RN, and Noel Conklin focusing on berries, corn, tomatoes and other foods held the second and fourth Saturday of each month. Also returning is the Storytelling Series on every third Saturday, which is organized by City of Kingston Story Laureate Karen Pillsworth. Crafts on John Street, located around the corner, will be held the first and third Saturdays.

Sean Griffin making crepes

The Kingston Farmers’ Market also brings customers to neighboring stores and restaurants. One vendor, Uptown Twist, with a booth will be directing customers to the ice cream kiosk on Fair Street, opposite Le Canard Enchaine. Proprietor Sean Griffin and his wife, Julie, will be doing crepes and shaved ice, in addition to soft ice cream.

“A lot of our initial p.r. was devoted to making the public aware of the value of our local produce and local farms,” said Fitzgerald. “Now it’s in the public domain. It’s a narrative we don’t have to enforce so much anymore.” The Kingston Farmers’ Market is open from 9 am to 2 pm through November 19.

Working in tandem with the Farmers’ Market is the county-owned Matthewis Persen House, located a block away (it’s part of the famous crossroads that has a stone house on every corner).  This is its fourth year, and the house is open, free of charge, through Labor Day. Once inside the dark, surprisingly large interior, which was built in five stages over three centuries, visitors can get a tour by one of the docents. The house offers a fascinating lesson in local history and building techniques and easily merits an hour. One can get a glimpse of a fragment of original 18th-century roof, as well as a reconstructed brick Dutch-style fireplace, a post hole from the original stockade, and exhibits of artifacts dug up from the site, including Native American arrowheads, fragments of Dutch clay pipes, and an early 19th-century shoe.

The Mattewis Persen House

As it turns out, this is just the kind of attraction that brings well-heeled travelers to the area. In Ulster County in particular, cultural tourism is becoming a significant part of the economy, according to the Dyson Foundation’s Community Profiles report. The report notes that Ulster County earns more on tourism per capita than any other in the region–$2,320 per resident in 2009, compared to $1,490 in Dutchess and $975 in Orange. Historic sites and local culture are sited by 61 percent of all visitors surveyed as the main reason for their trip, according to the study.

That means the Persen House is a true economic asset, according to Jennifer Schwartz-Berky, deputy director at the Ulster County Planning Department. She noted that “the much untapped heritage tourism market…represents the highest income segment and largest portion of travelers, especially from New York City.” Schwartz-Berky cited The Cultural & Heritage Traveler Study, issued by Mandala Research in 2009, which found that heritage tourists represent 78 percent of all leisure travelers (a market of 118 million out of 152 million people). They spend an average of $994 per trip, versus $611 for other tourists. “There is great potential in cross-promoting heritage and agro-tourism/farmer’s markets,” she said.

The Persen House got a boost with the recent awarding of a Museum Assessment Program grant from the American Association of Museums, which will enable the County Clerk’s Office, which administers the site, to further develop the attraction as a Cultural Heritage Center. “It gives us a museum designation, which will allow us grant funding from other sources,” noted Ulster County Clerk Nina Postupack.

Postupack said the grant will include a peer review, in which a museum expert will visit the site later in the summer. “She’ll meet with us to discuss the museum evolution and challenges and help us manage our expectations and how we can market ourselves in the community,” said Postupack.

The Persen House will also continue to collaborate with numerous local historical societies this summer, as it did last year. Each participating organization is based at the Persen House for a Saturday, hosting various activities open to the public. Last year there were ten partner organizations, most memorably the British Brigade/16th Queen’s Light Dragoons, whose red-coated re-enactors, glittering swords hanging at their sides, were a handsome addition to the stone house—and provided a premonition of Uptown’s Williamsburg-like potential.     -Lynn Woods

 

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