Kingston Hospital Is Broadway Central

August 20th, 2010

Midtown Kingston would be a much quieter place if it weren’t for three key anchors—Kingston High School, City Hall, and Kingston Hospital. The hospital, now consolidated with Benedictine into one organization called Health Alliance, has 1,033 employees, a big chunk of the 2,400 employees that work for Health Alliance, which is the largest employer in Kingston. It’s also a 24/7 organization, a beehive of activity at all hours of the day and night.

The hospital has been an anchor of Midtown for more than a century, opening its doors on Broadway in November of 1894 (Benedictine followed in 1901). After a devastating fire, the reconstructed hospital reopened in 1926, with numerous renovations and expansions occurring in the 1950s and 60s. It’s now a 150-bed acute-care hospital—Benedictine has an equal number of beds—and home of a new, expanded emergency center (the merger plan called for the EDs at the two hospitals to be consolidated at Kingston). Approximately 50,000 people a year will visit the ED, which is 16,000 square feet and has 35 beds. Kingston Hospital also houses a maternity unit, with a brand new facility on the third floor, and a chest pain center. (Oncology, mental health, detox, the sleep center, and orthopedics are located at Benedictine. Both hospitals house women’s centers, and the executive offices are split between the two facilities. )

While Kingston Hospital has its own cafeteria, many employees patronize neighboring restaurants, such as Top Nosh, Stone Soup, and, if they’re on the graveyard shift, the Broadway Lights Diner. The hospital is a nexus of activity, accessible to walk-ins and with a bus drop. “The impact on the surrounding businesses is quite great. It’s a very active spot on Broadway,” said Greg Howard, vice president of human resources at Health Alliance. Being right smack in the city is an advantage: “You can walk to many Broadway businesses for lunch or a snack, and the high school, fire department and city offices are all nearby. Although it is an old facility, it has kept up with the changing times, making it a place for which our community can be proud.”

Both Kingston Hospital and Benedictine have foundations whose fund-raising events are mainstays in the community, including two golf tournaments—Kingston’s is in August, Benedictine’s in June. Kingston also will host a fashion show and dinner in October, while Benedictine will hold a September bike-a-thon. The funds raised from the events help pay for facilities improvement, new equipment, and other costs not covered by Medicare. The Kingston Hospital Foundation also sponsors free walks around the city that are designed to get people to exercise more and build appreciation of the city’s historic streetscape.

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Passport to Kingston’s Museums

August 17th, 2010

The same buildings and sites that served to influence Kingston’s past are now poised to influence the city’s future. Instead of housing governments, industry and businesses, these historic properties are boosting Kingston’s growing allure as a cultural destination. Kingston is home to numerous small museums whose diversity and accessibility offer exactly the sort of experiences sought by heritage tourists: places, artifacts and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present.

A recent partnership among several local historic sites and the Kingston Visitor Center has yielded a new tool for further enticing visitors into all of the city’s small museums. Called a “Heritage Passport,’ this new pass provides discounted admission to seven Kingston museums. Visitors simply purchase a passport for $14 at the Rondout visitor center and show it at each participating museum to gain entry. Use of this single fee pass yields a savings of $10 over the price of individual museum admission fees.

Kingston is a New York State Heritage Area, as well as part of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area (which funded the creation of the Heritage Passports) and also benefits from the promotion and marketing associated with those programs.

According to the National Park Service, studies have consistently shown that cultural heritage travelers stay longer and spend more money than other kinds of travelers. So, a healthy growth in attendance at local museums can be expected to translate into economic benefit for local businesses.

Senate House State Historic Site

Built in 1676 as the simple stone house for a merchant, the building was the site in 1777 of a meeting of rebellious New Yorkers who gathered to form the state’s first government. After meeting for only a month, the Senate and the rest of the newly formed State government fled Kingston to escape British troops, which then burned the Senate House and much of Kingston in retribution. Since the late 1800s, the building has served as a museum of New York’s early government, and life and art in the Hudson Valley 200 years ago.

The historic site comprises three buildings located on three acres in Kingston’s historic Stockade District The treasures housed in the museum include major art works by John Vanderlyn and other members of the Vanderlyn family of Kingston, dating from the 1720s through the 1870s, as well as paintings by other notable artists.

Friends of Historic Kingston Museum and Fred J. Johnston House Tour

Also located in the 1658 Stockade National Historic District, these museums give visitors a view into other chapters in Kingston’s history.

The Friends of Historic Kingston Museum features changing exhibits which focus on eras throughout Kingston’s entire history, and that highlight “the ordinary workings of daily life that give [the] city its soul and unique texture.” Displays include photographs, art works, artifacts and memorabilia. The museum also frequently mounts retrospectives of the work of major regional artists. The museum nurtures the continuity of Kingston’s story and promotes its relevance to the present by featuring presentations by contemporary artisans, and lectures and book-signings by local historians and authors,

The Fred J. Johnston House is an 1812 Federal style house on the corner of Wall and Main Streets. Home and showroom of a nationally known antiques dealer, the house is now open for public tours. Visitors view eight rooms of 18th and early 19th century furnishings and decorative arts.

Volunteer Fireman’s Hall & Museum of Kingston

The former 1857 home of the Wiltwyck Hose Company, this museum features antique firefighting artifacts and apparatus, including an 1898 steamer.

Ulster County Office Building, Clerks Gallery

Unusual exhibits in an unusual space, the Archives Gallery on the second floor of this unassuming office building is the place to go to see authentic records chronicling Ulster County history. Exhibits installed here can include birth, death and marriage records, land deeds and antique maps, as well as regionally unique records like reproductions of original hard-copy records written in Dutch from 1658 through 1709 and the English translations of same, and records that illustrate the formation of government from the Charter of the Dutch Court at Kingston dated 1661 through the current Ulster County Charter.

The current exhibit, open through the end of August. is called “Who Counts? We Do! The 1905 Census of Ulster County,” and features printed reports with the names, ages, relation and occupation of the over 86,600 residents counted in 1905. Samples of original 19th century Ulster County census records are also on display. The walls around the exhibit are covered with lists of the names, ages and occupations of 1905 Ulster County residents.

Hudson River Maritime Museum

The Hudson River Maritime Museum is the only museum in New York State exclusively preserving the maritime history of the Hudson River. The museum presents a new exhibit every year that focuses on different aspects of Hudson River history.  A permanent display of larger artifacts, such as ice yachts, shad boats and other small boats, a steam hoisting engine, various boat models and exhibits on Hudson River industry are housed in a former boat shop next to the museum gallery.

The museum also maintains an extensive collection of paintings, prints, photographs and ephemera, vessel blueprints, artifacts and a variety of ship models.

Other activities at the site include visiting vessels such as the sloop Clearwater, exhibitions, a lecture series, children’s workshops, waterfront programs and themed festivals. Boat rides on the Lark to Rondout II Lighthouse depart from the museum’s dock. School programs at the museum involve 2,000 school children a year.

Trolley Museum of New York

The real draw for this museum is the hour-long trolley ride along Rondout Creek out to the Hudson River. The journey takes visitors past ex-industrial sites in Rondout out to the still bucolic Kingston Point Park and provides views of Rondout II Lighthouse and the river from Turkey Point to the north and Esopus Lighthouse to the south. In the shed and yard at the Trolley Museum, visitors will find static displays of trolleys, subway and rapid transit cars from the United States and Europe. The gallery features photos and memorabilia from rail and trolley service in Kingston and other Hudson Valley towns.

The museum is on the original site of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad yards at Milepost 1. The main building is built on the foundation of an early 1900s engine house.

Old Dutch Church & Museum

The city’s oldest institution, the congregation was organized in 1659. The 1852 Renaissance Revival style church was designed by Minard LaFever The churchyard contains tombstones dating back to 1770, and the grave of New York’s first governor, George Clinton, an Ulster County native. The steeple bell is traditionally believed to have been cast in Amsterdam in 1794 from molten copper and silver items given by families at baptismal rites.

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Kingston, Fight Central

August 3rd, 2010

Learning a martial art is not just about getting fit and finding self protection; it’s also a way to build confidence and gain peace of mind. Kingston offers half a dozen schools and martial art classes that represent a variety of approaches and appeal to both genders and all ages, from six to sixty year olds. Whether you want to learn how to move like a cat by studying tai chi, or are itching to attack that punching bag, you’ll find a class in Kingston that suits your taste, pocket book, and schedule.

Keith Bennett, a Six Degree Black Belt Master instructor, has been running Keith Bennett Karate at 58 Albany Ave. for 20 years. His school teaches the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do, which provides the physical and mental tools to enable students to live fuller lives. Bennett has 34 years of experience in karate and is passionately involved with the community, donating his time and skills to 36 different agencies. He’s especially committed to aiding Family of Woodstock and the homeless shelter and said his number one concern is reducing domestic violence aimed at women and children. This month, he will be organizing a fundraiser for the Queens Galley. This month, he is offering an on-line special discount (for details go to his website).

Brian Demorest runs a boxing and fitness gym at 777 Broadway that attracts a variety of clients. A boxer himself in the early 1990s and a trainer of both pro and amateur fighters—including over 30 world champions; Demorest trained the real-life female boxer who knocked out the boxer portrayed by Hillary Swank in Million Dollar Baby—he gives private lessons that include shadow boxing in the ring and ten rounds of punchment (the student wears boxing gloves and Demorest a special mit) as well as workouts on the heavy bag, double end bag, and speed bag. Jumping rope and an ab workout are also included, helping clients whip into shape.

Demorest also sells $90 monthly memberships to the gym, which is open six days a week. Growing up in Kerhonksen, he started boxing as a teenager while working at a boxing training camp in the Catskills. He opened his facility because “I wanted to do something different and offer a fitness alternative.” (Call 845-389-6106

Miriam Cooper taught tai chi for 20 years in New York City and now is bringing her expertise to Kingston, with a series of five Monday night classes at the BEAHive space, 314 Wall St. The next series will begin in September, and she will present a free lecture and demonstration (call 810-2919 for more info). Affiliated with the tai chi foundation, Cooper said the martial art is a great exercise for health and vitality.

“It’s based on awareness and softness,” she said. “You relax, like a cat. You get better at it as you get older and wiser.” Another appeal is aesthetic. “It’s very beautiful,” said Cooper. “It’s a meditation you do while moving. The health aspect is crucial, leaving you more relaxed and alert.”

Chung-Ma’s Takwondo is a school teaching the classic Korean martial art. It’s been located at 478 Albany Ave. for the past eight years, four of them under the ownership of Mark Davin and Andy Guattery. The school is open enrollment, and when a student first comes in, an instructor will teach basic techniques over the course of two or three weeks for free before signing the person up and charging tuition, should he or she want to make the commitment. Davin said the teachings, which encompass ten belts, are more than learning a series of moves. “It becomes a lifestyle. One attains a level of discipline and self respect.” The attention to the spiritual as well as the physical aspect has enabled kids who get involved to improve their performance at school, Davin said. Currently, the school has 47 to 50 students.

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A Taste of East Asia

July 26th, 2010

Karl Kimm has been running Kimm’s Gifts at 316 Wall Street since 1975. The items in the capacious store windows might look a tad dusty, as if they’ve been there several decades, but don’t be fooled: Kimm’s is solidly up to date, earning a following for its superior selection of Asian foods. On the shelves in the back, you’ll find sushi rice, five brands of soy sauce (“some are sweeter than others,” notes Kimm), jars of ginger, fermented bean curd, tins of roasted eel and mackerel in fish sauce, fried fish paste, bean, dumpling, and Peking Kung-Pao sauces, rice vinegar, fresh chili paste, bags of dried shitake mushrooms, dried seaweed, Korean kimchee, Japanese vermicelli, plum sauce, sesame candy, and boxes of green and black teas. The prices are reasonable–$1.49 for a jar of white pepper powder, $2.88 for six and a half ounce tin of anchovies.

Kimm’s also sells rice cookers—premium and affordable, take your pick—wooden bowls, tea caddies, bamboo steamers, tea and sake sets, and wonderfully painted chopsticks, of course. Rummage around some more, and you’ll come up with other treasures, gifts from Asia that preclude taking a trip: kimonos ($20 each), flat cloth rubber-sold shoes, gorgeous blue glazed bowls from Japan and China, in all kinds of patterns; paper hanging light shades; bamboo place mats; aromatic oils and soaps; incense; and origami. Kimm, who was born in Korea, said he wished Wall Street traffic went both ways, or headed west instead of east, and the taxes were lower (he owns the building). He’s too busy stocking items and taking change to say much more, but I’ll definitely be back to pick up some duck sauce and ginseng tea.

If you like your East Asian food already prepared, you have a choice of five Chinese restaurants located along the corridor, bracketed, like book ends by Kyoto Sushi on Washington Avenue and Golden Ginza Japanese Restaurant, on lower Broadway, in the Rondout (both serve sushi, teriyaki, and other Japanese specialties). Everyone has their favorite for Chinese take-out, but sometimes it’s hard to decide where to order your sesame beef, bean curd with oyster sauce, and pork chow fun, it’s all so good and unbelievably affordable. For example, at No. 1 House, located at 598 Broadway, the lunch selections start at $3.25 (and that’s not for something ultra basic such as fried rice, but, say, chicken with garlic sauce). The plentiful portion is enough for two days, which means it’s much cheaper to order out than cook at home. The Chinese restaurants are also convenient: the earliest closing hour is 10 pm, and Sunshine Chinese Restaurant, located at 364 Broadway, near the hospital, is open until 11:30 on weekends.

Eng’s Chinese Restaurant, located at 726 Broadway, is a Kingston institution and as much as a sit-down place, with its dimly lit dining room, lined with comfy booths. When Jimmy Eng opened it in 1927, it was Kingston’s first Chinese restaurant. Today Eng’s owned by Tom and Faye Sit, having been in business since 1927. The restaurant expanded and moved to its current location in 1978. General Tsao’s chicken and Cantonese steak are among head chef Hong Chan’s more requested specialties, and the prices have remained very reasonable, with lunch starting at $4.50 and the all you can eat buffet, offered Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 5 to 9 pm and Sunday from 4 to 8 pm, for $9.50.

The other two places are Wing Shui, at 53 North Front and Hong Fu, at 694 Broadway. Wing Shui has an extensive selection of Szechuan specialties, including Kun Pao Shrimp with peanuts, fresh pork with scallion, Hunan Bean Curd, and Sesame Tofu. Wing Shui also has a separate dining room.

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Kingston, Tattooed

July 12th, 2010

Once the province of sailors and ladies of the night, tattoos have gone mainstream. Yet there’s still something edgy about this inked-skin art and the piercings that often accompany it. Kingston’s four tattoo parlors comprise a kind of alternative community, one that’s mostly youth oriented, has its own kind of lingo and affixes its customized, often personalized message-art anywhere but on the customer’s sleeve. The attractive, clean premises of these businesses, whose ambience is a combination of hair saloon and 1960s head shop, is a testament to the success and hard work of the owners, who represent a unique mix of enterprise and outré creativity. Indeed, last Friday each was busy, graciously agreeing to answer some questions while working with their powered needles over the body of a customer

A tattoo the size of a silver dollar starts at $50. Most of the owners apprenticed with a tattoo artist to learn their craft, and all offer a free consultation and a preliminary drawing if it’s customized, as opposed to “flash” (taken from one of the “flats”—books of tattoo designs). By state law, clients have to be over age 18 (piercings are legal for those under 18 with a parent’s permission), but other than that requirement, anything goes.

Michael Francis, whose shop, Ink, Inc., has been a fixture at 327 Wall Street for the past 14 years, is a master tattoo artist,  judging from the complex imagery that covered the arm of client Greg Burhans, which included a portrait of his three-year-old son, his footprints at birth, depictions of a lotus and other “birth” flowers, a sinuous, waterfall-like landscape and several Japanese characters signifying family protection. Francis, who was working on Burhans’ other arm with his needle (“it’s dark and organic,” he said of the tattoo), has been a tattoo artist for 27 years. His air-conditioned, silver-colored shop has hundreds of flats laid out in books and provocative art—including skulls, crosses, and a reproduction of a detail from Michaelangelo–on the walls.

The most challenging body part is the rib or side. The client’s “pain threshold is challenging,” Francis said. “I have a heart.” He’s happy with his location Uptown: “I love the people, the shops, the relationships I built up with everybody. It’s changed for the better.” He is assisted by apprentice David Matthews and is open from 11 to 9 Monday through Saturday and Sunday by appointment.

Down in the Rondout, Paul O’Donnell, owner of The Body Shop, at 25 Broadway, was busy working on Bonnie Snyder, etching a dark swirl of flowers below her right collar bone. O’Donnell, a native of England who said he’d wanted to be a tattoo artist from the age of 10, having admired the decorated arms of his sailor-uncle, originally was a staff artist at the location and bought out the owner (who was Francis; the two remain close friends) five years ago. “Black and gray is my thing,” said O’Donnell, noting he prefers to do his own customized designs. “Anything big and scary I like.”

“I get to meet all kinds of awesome people,” he added. “I live in the dream. I love my job.” Business is mostly word of mouth, and in this unregulated industry O’Donnell cautions people to avoid “kitchen magicians” and get their tattoos in a proper shop. He also advises people to make sure the tattoo artist uses a new needle, which is taken out of a package and disposed of afterwards, so as to avoid harmful infections. The Body Shop is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday from one to 9 pm and on Sunday from one to six.

Brian Smith, owner of Body Graffix Tattoo, has been tattooing for 20 years, opening his job at 354 Broadway in 2006. One of his most expensive tattoos was a full back, which cost $3,500 and took months. Like his colleagues, he prefers customized work. His shop is elegant, with its pale wood floor, track lighting, hand-crafted cabinet–displaying cans of after-care spray– and high tin ceiling. Smith has an employee and an apprentice. He’s open Monday through Saturday from 12 to 8.

A little farther up Broadway, across from the high school, is Metamorphosis, located in a brick Gothic house. Tania Trowbridge, who owns the business with her husband Jorian, bought the building in 1997, after renting space in the Rondout. One room is dedicated to the sale of piercing jewelry, displayed under two glass counters, while the other three are occupied by tattooing stations. Trowbridge said she always loved to paint and draw and became a tattoo apprentice after she realized it offered her way to make a living off her art.

Working with her husband and Ed Dempsey, an independent contractor, she said that lettering and phrases are popular, along with rib tattoos. Most customers are in their early twenties, although people in their sixties have also gotten tattoos. She said the Midtown location has better parking than in the Rondout, and “it seems to be busier.” Metamorphosis is open Monday through Friday, from 1 to 9, on Saturday from 12 to 9 and Sunday from 12 to 5.

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Uptown’s Restaurant Renaissance

June 29th, 2010

The restaurant scene in Uptown is hopping, with two new places opening in the past month: Boitson’s, an American bistro, at 47 North Front St., and the Stockade Tavern, at 313 Fair Street, which specializes in artfully crafted cocktails. The area is definitely having a resurgence, notes Barbara Burns, who has run Stella’s Italian Restaurant, across the street from Boitson’s, with her husband Edward for 36 years. “It’s on an upswing.” The cluster of fine eateries, which serve a variety of cuisines and vary in ambience from friendly family places to elegant French bistro, benefit from a sizable lunch crowd as well as patronage by locals and tourists in the evening.

Boitson’s, whose casually elegant, dark blue and gray décor was the work of Kingston interior designer Brian Early, opened June 4. “It’s been great, really busy,” said owner Maria Philippis. She named the eatery after her Brooklyn landlord, who had always encouraged her to open her own place. Boitson’s has a raw bar, and it’s open for lunch and dinner Thursday through Monday. Burgers, fried chicken, steak, trout, and a beet risotto are served every night, along with five or six specials cooked up by chef Fred Duffus. The prices range from $10 for a burger to $25 for a New York strip steak. Bread pudding, chocolate pot de crème, and lemon tart are among the delectable desserts. There’s a full bar.

Be sure to check out the frescos in the bathrooms, which were inspired by sailor’s tattoos and are the work of New York artist Impala. There’s also a deck in back, with a view of the Catskills. Philippis said she is drawing customers not just from the neighborhood but also Rhinebeck, Stone Ridge, and High Falls—and that’s without advertising.

Giovanna Vis and her husband, Paul Maloney, describe the Stockade Tavern as a traditional American drinking establishment. The federal mantel behind the bar, built- in seating beneath the Tudor windows and vintage frosted glass lights certainly are the perfect setting for a classic cocktail, with a fresh squeeze of lime. Prohibition killed the art of the cocktail, and Vis and Maloney are restoring that tradition. They serve 13 cocktails, ranging in price from $7 to $10, plus have four beers on tap, 20 beers in the bottle, and nine wines. Their Citron Presse—sparkling lemonade—can be served straight or spiked and is a delectable antidote to the summer heat.

The Stockade also has a selection of 15 comestibles to accompany the drinks, including a pickle platter and tin of sardines. Located in the former Singer Sewing Machine retail store—the “S” logo still graces the door—the Stockade opened on Memorial Day weekend. “We’ve had a few big nights,” said Vis. She said the couple love “being on a back street in the heart of Uptown.” The Stockade opens at 4 pm Thursday through Sunday.

Jean-Jacques Carquillat made Kingston a destination for authentic French cuisine when he opened his traditional bistro, Le Canard-Enchaine, at 276 Fair in 1996. The restaurant is open seven days a week, and its prix fixe lunch–$14.95 for an appetizer and entrée—is one of the best values around. Le Canard also added a prix fixe dinner, which is $25 for a three-course meal ($30 with a glass of the house red or white). Specials are available every day. Le Canard is open Sunday through Thursday.

At the Hoffman House, located at 94 North Front in a landmark, 330-year-old stone building, you experience Kingston’s history while feasting on a delicious lunch or continental inspired dinner. “We have a wide variety of appetizers, salads and full course dinners,” said Pat Bradley, who opened the restaurant 33 years ago with his wife, Virginia. “Everything’s fresh, and the menu changes daily.” Dinner entrees are around $22, while lunch is $12.50. Hoffman House is pleasantly intimate, with four dining rooms plus an outside patio and bar.

Pat said the restaurant has a loyal business lunch and city clientele that it’s built up over the past three decades. It also attracts tourists, and word of mouth accounts for many new customers.  Hoffman House is open Monday through Saturday.

Stella’s Italian Restaurant, at 44 North Front, is a family owned and run business, with Barbara and Edward Burns’ five grown children all helping out. They started with Artie’s, the bar next door, eventually expanding to the restaurant, which was named after Barbara’s mother, who was a chef. Sitting down to a meal on its checked tablecloths is like being in the kitchen of an Italian grandmother. “It’s home cooking,” said Barbara. Perennial favorites are the chicken dishes—served sorrentino, marsala or francaise style—lasagna, and eggplant parmesan. Dinner entrees are priced from $11 up. Stella’s is open for lunch and dinner Wednesday through Saturday.

Ugly Gus Café and Bar, located at 11 Main St., across from the County Office Building, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this week, according to owner Chris Seche. The spacious eatery is open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday through Saturday. It specializes in American cuisine, serving homemade soup and specialty sandwiches for lunch and steaks, pasta, fish and chicken for dinner, with specials every night. Particularly popular are the Big Ugly burgers, said Seche.

On Saturday night, Ugly Gus serves prime rib. Tuesdays in the summer it features a lobster bake, and Wednesday is frozen margarita night. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday to midnight (1 pm on weekends). Seche said before opening Ugly Gus he owned another restaurant in Uptown and loves the area. “There’s a lot of business,” he said. “A lot of people who come for lunch are within walking distance.”

Stefan Sanzi opened Maxwell’s @ Community Gourmet at 32 North Front three years ago. The restaurant is offering outdoor seating on the site of the former parking garage, turning a former eyesore into a wonderful al fresco dining experience. It serves lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, with a great selection of salads, sandwiches, appetizers, and pizzas. Four kinds of pasta are served, and a roasted half chicken, pan seared scallops, and herb roasted salmon are among the regular entrees, which are priced from $15 to $21.

Restaurants Uptown:

Ashley’s Cafe 243 Fair Street 845-331-2043

Gabriels Cafe 50 John Street 845-338-7161

Dallas Hot Wieners 51 N Front Street 845-338-6094

Deising’s Bakery & Restaurant 111 N Front Street 845-338-7505

Dietz Stadium Diner 127 N Front Street 845-331-5321

Dominick’s Café at Dream Weavers 34 North Front Street 845-338-4552

Ecce Terra 288 Fair Street 845-338-8734

Elena’s Diner 51 Schwenk Drive 845-331-2767

Elephant 310 Wall Street 845-339-9310

Gabriels Cafe 50 John Street 845-338-7161

Hoffman House 94 Front Street 845-338-2626

Hudson Coffee Traders Inc. 288 Wall Street 845-338-1300

Kingston Indian Restaurant & Grill 298 Wall St 845-331-3611 & 331-2661

Kyoto Sushi 37 Washington Avenue 845-339-1128

Le Canard-Enchaine 276 Fair Street 845-339-2003

Lucy’s Taco 38 John Street 845-338-2816

Market Basket Deli 308 Wall Street   845-338-2755

Maxwell’s Pizza 31 N Front Street 845-340-1004

Portobella 39 John Street 845-338-3000

Stellas N Front Street 845-331-2210

Ugly Gus 11 Main Street 845-331-5100

Wing Shui Chinese 53 N Front Street 845-339-3397

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The Cutting Edge of Kingston

June 22nd, 2010

With more than 28 hair salons, many of them clustered along the corridor, the city is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to hair. There’s a hair-cutting place for every taste and budget, plus a couple of specialty barber shops where gents are treated to hot towels. Here’s just a tiny sampling of proprietors, to give you an idea of how you’ll be pampered when you go for the instant makeover that’s the joy of a good hair cut.

Alicia Beisel, owner of Avante

Alicia Beisel, owner of Avante, just reopened her shop in an expanded space at 61 Broadway, adjacent to her old location. With twice as much space and a lovely renovation, Beisel has expanded her salon to include full spa service, both massage and facial wraps.  The two-floor space is stunning, reminiscent of the premises of a five-star hotel, with its shiny wood floors, high ceilings, and architectural details. There’s even a secluded, leafy patio in the back.

Avante

Downstairs, there’s two separate rooms, one for hair cutting, the other for manicures and pedicures. Three massage rooms, including a deluxe space with a marble mantel, are on the second floor, which is a great place to get away from it all without leaving the city. Avante also does body waxing, spray tanning, and makeup, with a brisk business in wedding parties.

Beisel has eight employees, including hair cutter—artist might be a better word–Willie Lennon, who trained under Vidal Sassoon. She just hired an extra receptionist and esthetician (skin care specialist) and hopes to hire a female masseuse soon. The business celebrates its 13th anniversary on July 15, by which time Beisel expects to be completely up to speed in the new location. She lived in the Rondout for many years and loves doing business in the area. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” she said. “It’s so quaint, with the river close by. It’s just a beautiful little area.”

Rage

Rage, located at 40 North Front Street, has three owners—Joe Perry, Susan Benincasa and Michael McGowan. They’ve been friends for many years and all worked at the same salon before deciding to open their own business 28 years ago. Rage also has three employees.

Besides hair cutting, hair highlighting and coloring is a big part of their business. Rage specializes in high-quality L’Oreal coloring products, and it is only one of two salons in Ulster County featuring the brand-new color line Inoa, according to Perry. He said that the Inoa line is ammonia free. “It doesn’t dry out the hair,” he said. “It’s an oil-based system and makes the hair healthier.” There also is no chemical smell. “We try to keep up in times,” said Perry. “Inoa is the newest thing in 40 years for color.”

The shop also offers Great Lengths, a service offering 100 percent human hair extensions. The natural extensions are bonded to the client’s hair, adding fullness and body to thin hair. Benincasa and McGowan are the two technicians who do the hair bonding.

Mark Ferraro

Next door, the eponymous owner of Mark Ferraro Hair Design, 56 North Front Street, has styled some famous hair: his clients include Chris Stein, the bass player of 1980s band Blondie, Robbie Dupree, and the CEO for Marc Jacobs, along with many other prominent musicians, including some of the members of Mercury Rev, which regularly tours the world. Ferraro, who trained with Paul Mitchell and worked in the city for some years, is sought out by hipsters everywhere for his creative way with hair. He said before it got popular he did the “upside down shag,” inspired by skater Dorothy Hamill. The sky’s the limit when it comes to hair styling, and Ferraro’s ahead of the game.

Ferraro, whose mom was a hairdresser, began cutting his friends’ hair when he was 12 years old, collecting payment in a coffee can. He said when the Dorothy Hamill wedge got popular—he calls it “the upside down shag”—the 17-year-old haircutter figured out how to do it and was booked solid for six months.

He has been cutting hair at his current location for 21 years and said he couldn’t be happier. “I feel like I’m in a village,” he said. “It’s like St. Mark’s Place upstate. I like that city vibe. I’ll do a homeless person off the street who doesn’t have five cents, then a person whose world famous for their art.”

Suzy Marello

Tangles Hair Salon, at 693 Broadway, is located in the only octagonal building in Kingston, so you can’t miss it. Owner Suzy Marello and an employee cut hair and do manicures and pedicures, earning a following for their reasonable prices. Marello opened the hair salon 11 years ago after she tired of running the Fountain Lounge, a bar owned by her family that had occupied the space for 30 years. (Before that, the building housed an appliance business.)

The building is one of a handful of octagonal structures in New York State, which were built in the 19th century and promoted by phrenologist Orson Fowler, who believed the octagon allowed for better air circulation than the standard quadrangle. “People come from all over the take pictures,” said Marello. She’s open Tuesday through Saturday.

List of Hair Salons along the Kingston Corridor:

Abeel Street Hair Studio     105 Abeel Street     338-2251

Albrecht’s Hair Design      22 Broadway                339-8272

A Razor’s Edge                               290 Fair St                    331-2806

Ashe                                                   688 Broadway             331-2297

Avante                                               61 Broadway               340-4786

Caterino’s Hairstyling                 209 Hurley Ave          331-4314

Class Act Hair Designers            1 Albany Ave               331-8955

Cutting Corner Hair Salon         223 Boices Lane          382-2400

Cutting Crew                                   Kingston Plaza               339-2981

The Cut Off Point                           349 E. Chester              331-9008

Danny Kay’s Unisex Salon         87 St. James St.           338-6853

Dream Weaver’s                             34 N. Front St.             338-4552

Fashinista                                         474 Broadway             340-0672

Finesse                                               388 Broadway             331-1718

Mark Ferraro Hair Design          56 North Front            331-4547

Greenberry Hair Inc.                   275 Fair St.                   338-2100

Hair Affair                                         460 Albany Ave.        339-1111

Leshag Beauty Salon                     276 Fair St.                   338-0191

Joseph Roberts Hairstylist        159 Green                      338-4175

Rage Hair Salon                               40 North Front           331-2211

Secrets Hair & Nail Salon             504 Delaware Ave     338-1339

Anna Sembar Hair Designer       197A Boices Ln          336-4795

Majorie Shorter                               38 McEntee                  338-2413

Stylorama Beauty Salon            62 Guyon St.                   331-1485

Tangles Hair Salon                    693 Broadway                  338-9481

Taylor’s Haircutting                 162 Foxhall                       338-7887

Trends Hair Design 29 West Strand                 340-9100

A Touch of Class                         474 Broadway                 331-5676

Uptown Elegance                       333 Wall Street                338-6595

Village Nails                                 49 N. Front                       339-6323

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Catskill Woodworking Delivers Old-World Craftsmanship

June 14th, 2010

Located in a handsome brick 1890s  building on Field Court, Catskill Woodworking builds crafted custom kitchen cabinets, coffered ceilings, grand staircases, high-end paneling and moldings fit for a robber baron, and even entire libraries, fitted into exclusive apartments and townhouses in New York City. The company works closely with its client architects almost exclusively on residential projects, according to Bob Allen, who owns the company with partner Chris Sell.  All projects are built in Kingston, shipped down to the city by truck, and installed on site by company workers.

The business, which occupies three of the four floors of the 25,000-square-foot building—it was formerly a shirt factory, and judging by an old photo, before that a dry goods store–has a staff of twenty, including draftsmen, cabinet makers, millworkers, estimators and project managers. It also sells, made to order, a finely crafted pool table—so far, 25 have been built—that’s guaranteed to improve your billards game: the piece is crafted of sturdy hardwoods  topped by a piece of premium Brazilian slate which is covered with a special cloth. The rails feature ebony sights and walnut burl corners, the billiard balls are crafted and imported from Belgium, and the cues are fashioned out of fiberglass-reinforced maple.

While Catskill Woodworking’s success is based on old-world artisanship that harks back to the workshops of the Middle Ages, it’s also a cutting edge business that utilizes the latest in green technology. Its roof is covered with 135 solar panels, the key components of a 28.6-KW solar energy system that went on line in January. The system is expected to meet a third of the company’s energy needs, Allen said. The company also has a wood-burning boiler that consumes the sawdust that’s perhaps its most plentiful byproduct.

Business was a little slow over the winter due to the economic downturn, but now things are picking up. Allen said he enjoys working out of a historic building on a quiet street that’s yet near restaurants and other conveniences. Kingston’s convenient access to New York City is another advantage. So if you’ve always dreamed of a having a specially paneled room—or maybe just a beautifully designed shelving unit and bench—where you can read, entertain and loaf but never knew anyone with the skills to build it, consider Catskill Woodworking, a local business that builds world-class products.

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Vintage Kingston

June 8th, 2010

If you’re into vintage stuff and antiques, or just looking for that special item which will transform your house into your own private castle—be it beautifully crafted French doors, crocks for the kitchen, a century-old landscape painting or a sleek mid century coffee table—Kingston’s the place to be, with several outstanding antiques places attracting customers from miles away.

Zaborski Emporium is the king of the vintage/antiques stores, judging by the sheer epic variety and amount of items it stocks. Occupying four floors of a former shirt factory at 27 Hoffman Street, the Emporium attracts movie set people (the film industry represents 10 percent of its business), New Yorkers seeking to decorate their lofts and even celebrities with homes in the area. Restaurants and other businesses come to Stan’s for vintage lights and other fixtures, while the used radiators are a popular item among home owners. Roaming amid the dusty corridors stacked with stuff spanning a century of American material culture–tables, claw-footed bathtubs, mirrors, dressers, columns, signs, doors, Victorian bird cages, rugs, chairs, trunks, vending machines, door knobs—is a trip down Memory Lane. In the basement is an entire room filled with doors.

Stan Zaborski started the business in 1976 and bought the building 13 years ago. The company has four employees and will delivery almost everywhere, for a fee. His prices range from 50 cents to $25,000, for a suite of bedroom furniture that once belonged to Robin Williams and was shipped east in a chartered plane.

“I love Kingston,” said Zaborski, who gets help from his partner, Sandy Balla, who also works as a cruise boat tour guide. “I’ve seen it in its boom times and I’ve seen it depressed. I really enjoy it here.” He is going to put a few tables outside with “really cheap merchandise” for the yard sale. (Stan remembers the first book about yard sales, published in the 1960s, which featured his father, who was a “‘used item business” pioneer.)

Other Kingston businesses that sell antiques are Velsani Arts and Antiques, on Wall Street, and On the Hill Antiques at the Skillypot Antique Center, which features multiple vendors, Mezzanine Antiques Center, and At Home Antiques, all on lower Broadway in the Rondout. Larry Zalinsky, who owns Mezzanine with his wife, B.C. Gee, said his store specializes in “smalls”—vintage items that can at least fit into the back of a Subaru SUV. They include Victorian jewelry, a variety of paintings and prints, and mid-century furniture.

Just up the block, At Home Antiques is the latest entrant, opening six months ago in a capacious, warehouse-like space in a building owned by Judith and James Milne. The Milnes have been in the antiques business for 40 years—they operated a shop on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for many years—and they have an eye, stocking items you’ll see nowhere else, including a coffee table inset with a geometric pattern of linoleum, painted screens from a Parisian café, a deco-painted bedroom set, sturdy farm tables, and a wonderful selection of metal porch chairs, each like a character out of a Gorey cartoon.

Judith said the couple bought the building in 2004 and opened the store after they lost their tenant. “We love Kingston and didn’t want it to have another empty storefront,” she said. “We wanted to help the business community. Kingston needs to become more of a destination.”

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Farmers’ Market Largest in Area

May 25th, 2010

The Kingston Farmers’ Market was started 11 years ago as a way to bring people to Uptown on a day when not much was happening, and it has been a resounding success. As many as 2,000 people attend on a hot summer’s day. “It gives people a chance to discover Uptown, and retailers have an opportunity to tap into the market” by putting up a sign on the premises, said Joe Fitzgerald, a caterer and realtor who serves as the market’s president of the board of directors.

It’s the biggest farm market in the region. This year there will be 32 vendors, including several newcomers: Gadaleto’s Seafood Market, a wholesaler from New Paltz; Chef Ef, who will be serving paella; Keegan Ales; Julia and Isabella, serving prepared foods; Acorn Hill Farm, which sells goat cheese; and Chocolate Revolution, which makes sugar-less chocolate creations. (For traditional artisan chocolates, shoppers can go across the street to Neko’s.)

A booth costs $400 ($300 if the vendor prepays). The proceeds help pay for a publicist and advertisements in the local press. Chronogram is a partial sponsor, and this year, by taking advantage of funds from Pride of New York, a state program that matches funds from the federal government to promote local produce, the market will also be advertised on radio stations WKNY and WKZE.

An adjoining crafts market on John Street will also open on May 29 and be held every first and third Saturdays, strengthening the Farmers Market’s appeal as a destination. Ad hoc musicians liven up the street, and this year, through a program organized by Karen Pillsworth, eight story tellers will be featured. Operation Front Line, sponsored by the Queens Galley, is a six-week program in which small groups of middle school children come to the market to learn culinary skills and nutritional tips from participating farmers. And this season certified nutritionist Holly Anne Shelowitz and Jennifer McKinley, owner of Kingston Natural Foods, will do healthy food demos, alternating each Saturday.

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