The Kingston Common Council has overridden Mayor Steve Noble’s veto of a rent stabilization resolution. The council’s decision was unanimous, surpassing the two-thirds majority needed to override the mayoral action, according to reporting by the Times Union.
After the vote on Tuesday, which was met with a standing ovation from attendees, majority leader Michelle Hirsch stated: “Upholding rent stabilization is not just a sound policy choice; it is our responsibility as local lawmakers to ensure that families can remain in their homes.”
Mayor Noble attended the meeting but did not participate in the public comment period.
The debate over rent stabilization in Kingston centers on conflicting vacancy rates. A recent study found vacancy rates at 7.04 percent for buildings covered by the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA), exceeding the 5 percent threshold required to declare a “housing emergency” and maintain rent caps. However, the council based its decision on a lower citywide vacancy rate of 4.55 percent, as determined by an independent consultant commissioned by the city’s Office of Housing Initiatives.
Mayor Noble expressed concerns about this approach, stating: “The Common Council’s resolution, which cites the 4.55 percent vacancy rate determined by an independent consultant hired by the city’s Office of Housing Initiatives, misconstrues aspects of the 2025 vacancy study and contains several factual errors.” He also pointed out that no official citywide vacancy rate was calculated in the city report and that only nine properties were analyzed in the consultant’s study.
Kingston became New York’s first upstate municipality to adopt ETPA tenant protections, a move that has sparked ongoing debate. In August, New York’s Court of Appeals rejected a challenge from the Hudson Valley Property Owners Association regarding Kingston’s earlier vacancy study and supported a Rent Guidelines Board order allowing tenants refunds following a 15 percent rent rollback in stabilized buildings.
Initially covering 64 buildings and about 1,200 apartments under ETPA guidelines, exemptions and rehabilitation projects have since reduced coverage to fewer than 1,000 units—less than one-fifth of all rental units in Kingston. While council members have authority to adjust eligibility criteria—such as limiting coverage to buildings with more than 22 units—they cannot expand eligibility beyond state rules restricting ETPA coverage to pre-1974 buildings with at least six units.
