Waterfront land deal on hold in Kingston

By Paul Kirby, Freeman staff Daily Freeman February 2, 2006

KINGSTON - The sale of a city-owned waterfront parcel to a Brooklyn developer has been called off because the city failed to first seek bids for the property, as required by law, Mayor James Sottile said on Wednesday.
Sottile said the city erred when it agreed to sell to Robert Iannucci a piece of land along the Rondout Creek for $60,000.
Under state law, Sottile said, the city, when looking to sell publicly owned waterfront property, must get the state Legislature's permission to seek bids for the land and, assuming that permission is granted, must solicit offers and then sell the land to the highest bidder.
The mayor said he was unaware of the law when he signed legislation on Dec. 8 that authorized the sale to Iannucci of 1.5 acres at 472 Abeel St. The sale was approved by the Common Council on Dec. 6, shortly after Iannucci bought the former Ulster Marine site at 440 Abeel St. He also has bought several other properties along Kingston's waterfront in recent months.
Sottile said he will ask state Sen. William Larkin, R-Cornwall, and Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, the two state legislators who represent the city of Kingston, to bring the proposed sale of 472 Abeel St. before the Legislature so that the city may proceed with the deal.
Newly elected Alderman Richard Cahill, R-Ward 6, said he wasn't surprised that the council, which comprised all Democrats at the time of the Dec. 6 vote, voted to sell the property without researching the matter first.
"They were told by the mayor and they did it," said Cahill, who took office Jan. 1 and serves as the council's minority leader.
The alderman said the Democratic mayor appears to making the same kind of mistake he made when he appointed the Rev. James Childs to the Kingston Housing Authority board even though Childs didn't live in the city.
Sottile responded that he is not "infallible."
"You know what? I do makes mistakes," the mayor said. "I have aggressive programs. and I am not perfect. ... To know every city ordinance, every city regulation and rule, and every state regulation, I just think is unreasonable."
Iannucci, a retired attorney, has bought up a considerable amount of Kingston's waterfront land in the past year, and he now is negotiating to buy the Hudson River Maritime Museum property. Among the land he already has purchased: the former Cornell steamboat boiler building on East Strand; the former William B. Fitch Bluestone Co. building at 532-574 Abeel St.; the former L&M junk yard; Island Dock, in the Rondout Creek; and the Ulster Marine property.
No development plan for any of the parcels has been submitted to the city, though Iannucci has said he wants to build a mix of townhouses and commercial space on Island Dock

.©Daily Freeman 2006

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