In a fiery letter to the public, Kingston mayor Steve Noble decried the litany of legal action the city of Kingston has had to endure at the hands of law firms associated with billionaire developer Neil Bender, who Noble called an “oligarch infiltrating our community who is attempting to use his deep pockets to break the City of Kingston.”
“As most of you already know, the holding companies associated with the William Gottleib Real Estate Company’s properties have sued the City numerous times,” he wrote. “This litigation has successfully stalled the creation of much-needed housing units Uptown with the Kingstonian project, has stalled the removal of a deteriorating structure that presents a hazard for residents and visitors, and has cost the City of Kingston and its taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Noble then alleged the law firm of Stenger, Glass, Hagstrom, Lindars & Iuele had “adopted a new tactic of overwhelming the City of Kingston with Freedom of Information requests.”
“What this new representation is looking for, is anyone’s guess,” he wrote, “but my suspicion is that they are looking for other areas to frivolously litigate us into oblivion.”
“All the while, the many properties that Neil Bender owns in Uptown Kingston sit empty,” Noble wrote, calling out the owner of several buildings that had been historically important to the city’s economy and culture, such as what used to be the thriving, vibrant music and party hub that was BSP at 323 Wall Street.
“Unfortunately, it is not easy to stop frivolous lawsuits and in New York State, there are no repercussions against individuals or law firms who use our Freedom of Information Laws against communities,” Noble wrote, before making an appeal directly to the community, writing:
“I urge anyone who would like to let Neil Bender know that his tactics are not welcome in our community, to write him a postcard, c/o 353 W. 12th Street, NYC 10014 and tell him to STOP SUING THE CITY and invest his time and piles of money into making Uptown Kingston the destination it deserves to be.”
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