Who knew canopies could be so controversial? The litigious battle over whether or not to demolish Uptown Kingston’s famous (or infamous) sidewalk-covering overhead roofs took a dramatic turn recently, as it was revealed in a lawsuit that Kingston officials forged a fake letter from a fake agency in support of removing the canopies.
Records from litigation indicate that in March 2024, Kingston officials sent a falsified 2011 letter to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), urging the removal of the Pike Plan canopies on Wall and North Front streets, just weeks before Mayor Steve Noble announced plans to demolish them. The letter, sent by Planning Director Sue Cahill, was later flagged by SHPO as fake, with officials confirming the agency and author listed did not exist.
Cahill claimed the document was found in old city files, likely passed down from a prior administration. Mayor Noble stated the letter was irrelevant, as the Pike Plan was already reconstructed in 2011, and defended city staff for seeking SHPO verification.
Attorney William Hurst, representing multimillionaire real estate developer Neil Bender’s William Gottlieb Real Estate, which has filed multiple lawsuits against the city, accused Kingston of submitting false records and called for an independent investigation into potential misconduct and ethics violations. Noble rejected the accusations, criticizing Bender’s legal actions as attempts to undermine public servants and delay city projects.
The city maintains the Pike Plan is a non-historic feature that has caused issues for Uptown businesses. Legal disputes continue, with a court issuing an injunction halting demolition as Bender’s challenges proceed.
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