The interviews below were conducted separately, with Sara Pasti on May 31 and Charlotte Lloyd on June 1. The interviews have been edited lightly for space and coherence.
Stony Run Tenants Union member, Charlotte Lloyd, 25, faces off with “sixty-something” ex-Beacon councilmember Sara Pasti in the June 27 Democratic primary for Ward 1 in the City of Kingston. Early voting begins June 17.
Rokosz Most: Why are you running?
Sarah Pasti: First of all, I love being on the council. People are thinking I’m out of my mind when I say I enjoy that stuff. But I enjoy it. And I enjoy helping people. I’ve always been involved in volunteer activities. So I am now on the board at the Midtown Arts District. And anyway, now that I’m retired I have time to meet with people. I have time to talk to constituents.
Charlotte Lloyd: I was asked by the Stony Run Tenants Union and For the Many. They were looking for someone who would really represent tenants. There’s no tenant representation on the council and we think it’s about time. You know, there’s a lot of tenants in Kingston.
RM: What do you think is the biggest issue in Kingston presently?
CL: Housing.
SP: I would say that’s the perennial issue. Always affordable housing. And it’s not just here in Kingston, which I know it’s a huge issue here in Kingston, but it’s a huge issue in Beacon, where I lived before I moved here. It’s a huge issue in the entirety of the Hudson Valley and let’s say across the entire country and the world.
RM: What’s your opinion of government-owned or -managed housing?
SP: I lived in New York City for a long time. And I saw the public housing projects there that were managed by the government. And frankly, I think government is not necessarily the best manager of housing.
CL: Housing should be stable and regulated, the same for everybody. Here, for instance [at Stony Run], some people are paying one price and other people are paying another price. So there does need to be regulation. I want everyone to have quality housing. Some people are saying that government housing wasn’t the best quality… I am in private housing, And I can’t turn on my air conditioner because of black mold.
RM: What’s your opinion on how or if short term rentals should be regulated?
CL: I understand people’s right to do what they want to do with their homes and buy what they want to buy. But there’s a housing crisis. And that, I think, is the main point. If there was a drought, you wouldn’t be allowed to use too much water. If there’s a housing crisis, I feel you shouldn’t have this housing that only the wealthy can afford, there needs to be somewhere for regular people to live. I’d love for those homes to be available to people who need somewhere to live and places that you rent that you could even own one day. Rent to Own is a wonderful idea,
SP: Regulate and limit. [And] a registry is a good idea, so we know who’s doing that. In fact, in Beacon when I was on the council, we set up a registry for landlords who live outside of 15-mile radius of the city who had to register because what we were seeing is landlords from other regions of the state and country who own properties who are not around and the property has fallen into disrepair. So we designated a registry.
RM: What’s your opinion on Payments In Lieu Of Taxes [Pilots]?
CL: I would rather these corporations pay the taxes. I mean, if they’re not paying these taxes with all this money they have that means everyone else has to give what little they have to the school system, which already doesn’t have enough as it is.
SP: You have to build the housing. So you have to find ways to incentivize it. And I think the challenge is in negotiating, what is the fair pilot, because it’s a payment in lieu of taxes, but then ultimately, after a certain time period, that expires, usually and then the property owner pays the full share of taxes. But to incentivize people to invest the millions that needed to build housing, you have to come up with some sort of incentive. And that’s part of the challenge right now.
RM: What do you think about the possibility of asylum seekers arriving in Kingston?
SP: My impetus would be to help them. And again, this is always the big question, what’s the best way to help them? It is difficult to help everybody. And I would say all you can do is the best that you can do to help the most people possible. And that’s sort of what I try to do is balance all of the various needs that are out there, all of which are valid,
CL: I feel like we can solve these problems if we really work together. Like if we work with the new people and the people that have been here our whole lives, I think we can solve these problems. We just need to listen to everyone around us find unique solutions.
RM: If a million dollars came across your desk that you can spend on anything you want in the council. Where do you think that money should go right now?
SP: At this point, it would be towards affordable housing. Because it’s a huge need
CL: I have actually daydreamed about what if I bought that closed restaurant where they’re trying to put The Kingstonian and put actual affordable housing with a little food pantry there.
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