FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2022
Stockade Business District Small Grants Program
Awardees Announced
KINGSTON, NY – Mayor Steven T. Noble and the Ulster County Department of Economic Development are pleased to announce the recipients of the Stockade Business District Micro-Enterprise Grant Program, a program funded by the City of Kingston’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant.
The Stockade Business District Micro-Enterprise Grant Program will provide up to $5,000 each to the following 12 small businesses to create, improve or expand their business:
Cacao Lab
Chic’s Restaurant and Sports Bar
Chops Grille
First Capital Poke Bar
Headstone Gallery
Hill Valley Candles
Kingston Bread + Bar
Maria Vera Skincare
Rough Draft Bar and Books
Utility Bicycle Works
World’s End Comics
Stockade Tavern
“We are so pleased to announce the award winners today, and to help these businesses in the Stockade District to make upgrades that will hopefully help to increase their overall economic performance,” said Mayor Noble. “We know that our local businesses have struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic, and now with rising energy costs and inflation. We hope that by helping these businesses with eligible improvement expenses, it will not only help the business itself, but the entire economic fabric of the Uptown area.”
“I congratulate Mayor Noble and our Department of Economic Development on today’s announcement. These DRI-funded micro-enterprise grants will help strengthen small businesses in one of the County’s most important business districts,” said Acting County Executive Johanna Contreras. “As the direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic continue to put significant stress on our local economy, we need to do all we can to support the small businesses that create jobs, attract visitor spending and invest in ways that strengthen our communities’ quality of life.”
Eligible uses of funds include purchase of permanent machinery and equipment, interior renovations, soft costs and purchase and installation of signage.
The City of Kingston was awarded the Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant in 2017. Funds for the Stockade Business District Small Grants Program come from the NYS Downtown Revitalization Initiative, headed by NYS Department of State and administered by NYS Homes & Community Renewal. This is the City of Kingston’s first project undertaken in partnership with the Ulster County Office of Economic Development under a new Shared Services Agreement.
Additional Stockade Business District Small Grants program initiatives will be announced for the Business Façade Improvement Grant Program and the Residential Rehabilitation Improvement Program.
More information about the program can be found at: https://engagekingston.com/uptownbusinessgrants
About the Downtown Revitalization Initiative:
The Downtown Revitalization Initiative launched in 2016 to accelerate and expand the revitalization of downtowns and neighborhoods to serve as centers of activity and catalysts for investment in all ten regions of the state. The initiative represents an unprecedented and innovative plan-to-act strategy that couples strategic planning with immediate implementation.
Participating communities are nominated by the state's 10 Regional Economic Development Councils based on the downtown's potential for transformation. Each community is awarded up to $10 million to develop a downtown strategic investment plan and implement key catalytic projects that advance the community's vision for revitalization.
The initiative is headed by New York Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez. Communities receive support from private sector experts and a team of state agency staff led by the Department of State in close partnership with Empire State Development, and state Homes and Community Renewal.