KINGSTON, N.Y. >> The Common Council voted 7-0 on Thursday, Sept. 4, to authorize a payment in lieu of taxes agreement with Mountco and the Kingston Housing Authority as the developer and the agency work to construct a new building containing 80 one-bedroom units for seniors at Colonial Gardens while renovating other units at the public housing complex on Flatbush Avenue.

Majority Leader Reynolds Scott-Childress recused himself from the vote because he serves on the Kingston Housing Authority board. Robert Dennison, D-Ward 6, was absent from the proceedings.

However, neither the developers nor the agency has disclosed how much the project would get in tax breaks. City Comptroller John Tuey referred an inquiry about the tax break cost to city assessor Dan Baker on Wednesday. The resolution at Thursday’s meeting did not contain a dollar amount for the PILOT.

Mountco, Executive Vice President John Madeo, told the Common Council’s Finance and Audit Committee at a special meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 2, that under the 32-year agreement, Mountco and the Housing Authority would start by paying $500 in taxes per unit across Colonial Gardens, Wiltwyck Gardens and the new senior housing project next to Colonial Gardens that will replace 32-outdated studio units at Penn Court Annex with 80-units in a completely new building. That amount will then increase by 5% each year throughout the course of the payment in lieu of taxes agreement, known as PILOT.

Mountco representatives noted that even at the start of the agreement, this will represent a significant increase over the $150 per unit that the Housing Authority and the firm presently pays.

Once the project is done, it will bring the number of units across the three complexes to 238 units from the current 190, an increase of 48 units, Madeo said.

Addressing questions about the affordability of the new units, Madeo said 30 of the units will be set aside for those making no more than 30% of the Area Median Income, with the other 50 set aside for those making no more than 50% of AMI.

Madeo and Kingston Housing Authority Director Harolda Wilcox cheered Thursday’s vote.

Michael Tierney, D-Ward 2, whose Ward includes Wiltwyck Gardens, admitted that at first he was on the fence about voting for the PILOT over concerns that it would accommodate tenants at higher income levels than he felt appropriate for a public housing authority.

But he said after speaking with Madeo and Wilcox, he changed his mind, and he said that it is important to have this level of investment in the long-neglected public housing complexes.

He slammed both Democratic and Republican administrations at the federal level for their lack of investment in public housing, often leaving housing authorities’ hands tied.

Michele Hirsch, D-Ward 9, said that while she was also on the fence at first over affordability levels, she came around to support the project after Wilcox and Madeo made themselves readily available to answer her questions.

“I’m in strong support of this project,” Teryl Mickens, D-Ward 5, said. “We’ll see the creation of 80 all-new units for seniors and the rehabilitation of 158 units. This will create long-term homes for people they can feel good about.”

Bryant Drew Andrews, D-Ward 7, also praised the project, noting that it could not come at a better time as residents in the city continue to struggle with affordable housing. He cited the dozens of tenants and residents who spoke out in favor of Emergency Tenant Protection Act protections for tenants during a 90-minute-plus public comment before the meeting.

Madeo has said plans call for moving residents out of Penn Court Annex by October, with construction starting as soon as December.

Wilcox said that anyone displaced by the demolition of Penn Court Annex and upgrades at Witlwyck will receive new placements within the Kingston Housing Authority.

Madeo said there are anywhere from 21 to 25 units open for displaced residents to move into.

Wilcox said the Penn Court Annex residents will move first to Rondout Gardens while the Wiltwyck Gardens residents will move later and will be able to remain within different units at the complex as extensive renovations to windows, siding are performed, roofs are replaced and the heating is upgraded from gas to electric. The new building will also be all-electric, Madeo said.

All residents will receive at least a 30-day notice before their moving day, Madeo added.

Displaced residents can ultimately decide to remain at Rondout Gardens or have first dibs on returning to the new building at Colonial Gardens, Wilcox said. The Authority will pay all moving expenses, including other fees such as utility hookups, she added.

A coordinator, employed by Mountco, will work with residents on the move, and most residents have expressed approval for the plan, Wilcox and Madeo said