Days after Kingston mayor Steve Noble sharply criticized billionaire developer Neil Bender and his legal representation for an onslaught of litigation against the city, William Gottlieb Real Estate (WGRE) responded by sending a letter to several local news outlets including HV1.
The firm wrote that they were “compelled to respond to Mayor Noble’s recent open letter, which was riddled with inaccuracies.”
“First and foremost,” it reads, “we want to make plain our intentions for investing in the City of Kingston. WGRE is a family-owned business with an emphasis on the preservation and restoration of historic properties. WGRE has chosen to invest in Uptown Kingston because of its historic character and its economic potential. To that end, WGRE has invested in its properties in Uptown to attract new and exciting tenants and foster a healthy retail environment – from the Kingston Studios which has recently added a Cyclorama wall and is being used by local crews for filming and production and adding to the local economy to the creation of new retail storefronts along Wall Street to provide new opportunities for small businesses.”
The letter went on to address the ongoing Pike Plan drama over whether or not to demolish the iconic but crumbling canopies that line Uptown Kingston’s commercial district:
“Mayor Noble’s letter ignores these investments and demonstrates that the Mayor consistently resorts to fear mongering and alarmist tactics. The Mayor’s tone leads us to believe that his approach is an attempt to distract the public from the truth – that he is steamrolling a plan to destroy one of Kingston’s best assets, the Pike Plan Canopies. In his letter, the Mayor complains that we have filed Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests to provide the public with a full and accurate accounting of the City of Kingston’s actions related to the Pike Plan Canopies. FOIL exists for exactly this purpose and in fact the requests we have filed, have resulted in bringing to light the City’s reliance on a falsified document and premeditated plans to mislead the public about the impact of destroying the Pike Plan Canopies through the demolition of 300 Main Street.
“The Mayor also rings the financial alarm bell – claiming we are draining City resources by bringing ‘frivolous lawsuits’, when in fact none of the property owners’ lawsuits have been deemed frivolous by any court. Recent successes include the recent court order barring the City from removing the Pike Plan canopies until further court proceedings are conducted (expected in August) and in 2022, an appellate court held that the city adopted the zoning amendments unlawfully in violation of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (61 Crown LLC v. City of Kingston, 217 A.D.3d 1144 [2023]).”
The law firm’s letter concluded by alleging a “troubling tone” in the Mayor’s letter involving “highly inappropriate name calling and a mustering of a metaphoric ‘pitchfork and torch’ mob vitriol in making the seemingly unprecedented call for the public to ‘doxx’ a specific NYC address affiliated with WGRE.”
Noble’s letter called on the public to flood Bender’s mailbox with pleas to stop suing this city.
“We urge your readers to look at the facts and join us in advocating for the protection of the Pike Plan Canopies for the benefit, economic livelihood and the future of Kingston,” the letter concludes.
Join the family! 
