I have seen with my OWN EYES this person go through stop signs at 50-60 mph through these 30 mph streets.
It happens late at night and 3-4 oclock in the morning. This is a neighborhood where people feel safe walking their dogs or by themselfs late at night. I just pray no gets hurt!

Are you speaking of the grey house at the end near Lucas or up at the other side on the dead end?
I need the number of the house so I can help.

1) it is important to put down the exact address, include a picture, that sort of thing. The information is welcome but to be effective in creating change, you gotta put the data with it.
2) What really does it take to be a good neightbor? Just keep the place neat and keep the noise down... that's basic, that is essential, and nobody gets a walk on that one... after that, a smile and a greeting or two would really go a long way.
But neat and quiet? Gotta have that.
"this is a watchbird watching a good neighbor, this is a watchbird watching you: we're you a good neighbor today?"

Thank you for the comments,glad to know other good neighboors agree.The number is 47 Boulder I believe the land owners name is Ralph Freer.The kingston Police Dept. has been there numerous times,im sure they have blotters.Having these guests in our beautiful neighborhood is very helpful in raising my children on how NOT to act in life!!!!!!!!

As a neighbor, I have also witnessed the excessive car and foot traffic in and out at 47 Boulder Ave., the yelling and swearing at late hours as well as during the daytime when children are outside playing, the camp fires in their back yard, the 2 dogs (pitball mixes), 1 which seemed to have a skin problem. The constant police activity (they seem to be there at least once or twice a month) The overgrown lawn and run-down appearance of the property with at least 2 junk cars in the back yard. The arguing with neighbors as well as the police,,,,,the list goes on...

I used to enjoy this quiet neighborhood, keeping the windows open to let the warm summer breeze in. Now I lock my windows and doors and turn the a/c and fan on to muffle the outside noise.

I got this map for myself, to see where 47 Boulder is so I can choose to drive by and see for myself. Thought I'd share this.
Thanks for the address. Sorry for the grief.
Consider all taking a good neighbor pledge: I will keep my house and grounds neat. I will keep the sounds of my house and guests within my own property lines.
It's one thing to be a good neighbor. It might be another to actually make a pledge, where being a good neighbor becomes an obligation we take on for which we can be held responsible, for which we invite judgment when we fail.
As in "I owe you the right to have me act as a good neighbor. You have a say in the neatness and quietness of your neighbor. And if I fail, you have the right to let me know"
JUst a thought. Think it might work?

Both the Police and the Building Saftety Division have been notified. I am looking to see if we can find a way for the Nuisance Abatement Law to help the cause as well.
On another note, I have a meeting with Chief Keller later this week to discuss the increasing problems we seem to be having in these neighborhoods around the Park.
Please, if you have a problem, let me know about it.
Thank you.

Thank you, Andi. How can we help you? Are we doing enough? can we do more?

Mr. Berke, The problem is not whether the people occupying this rental property are "being good or bad neighbors" with their lack of "neatness and quietness",,the main issue is, with the increase of foot and car traffic and police activity at this property, the surrounding neighbors stongly beleive there is drug activity here and being only 2 blocks away from Edson Elementary and Bailey Middle School, there are many children in the area. I would much rather live next to a noisy hoarder than a drug dealer in constant trouble with police. Not to mention their lack of respect for the other neighbors with their nasty attitude.
If you want to drive by to take a look for yourself, try driving by around midnight or later for a better understanding of what we have been dealing with.

I too agree with this statement I have observed all of these terrible things first hand! Its sad to watch drug deals just outside your front window along with disrespectful language and disregard for children in the street. Running stop signs speeding up and down boulder ave. Constantly the police are there for domestic disputes but yet these nuisances are still running around doing the same nonsense for just about a year now. We owe all these problems to slum lord Bruce Freer who dosent even live in our neighborhood not even in our town. I am sick of watching all these things take place in what used to be a quiet trustful neighborhood and noone has takin any action to get rid of this slum. Yours Truly One Fed Up Neighbor!

Being a good neighbor covers all the problems. That's the place to start.
Drugs apparently is a source of the problem but what I read is " disrespectful language and disregard for children in the street. "
Would a person know or even be able to care if a "good neighbor" had drugs? What is being objected to is the traffic, the low quality of the people, the noise, the rudeness, and the implicit danger. And if everything were the same except there were no drugs actually involved, it would still be a terrible problem.
Everybody, everyone of us, needs to be held up to be a good neighbor. Not doing drugs? that's not nearly enough. Cut the noise, keep the place clean. Don't run a business on a residential street, don't bring a bunch of strangers and customers and traffic.
Some people are driven to distraction by barking dogs, by loud music and noise, by garbage, by screaming and arguing and sounds of violence: you don't need drugs.
We need to be good neighbors all the time, and get called out for that well before there is any notion of drugs or illegal activity. The offense to the spirit and well being is the noise and mess. Drug dealing, however messy or neat and clean: that's an offense to the law.
Yes, indeed, I will drive by. Yes indeed, I want to see, I want to witness and support my neighbors, the people who make are concerned and are keeping up their part of the bargain. Helping my city. I want to be informed.
And a bad apple really does spoil the bunch. Totally.

CitizenK,You nailed it.I welcome your observation..dont forget to swing by Alcazar and near Edson.That seems to be the walking or bicycle riding destination,(maybe a drop off point) after numerous complaints about the traffic.

Here's an update from my meeting. I want to thank Chief Keller for taking action so quickly.
Most importantly, if you see something...CALL THE POLICE and get a license number if you can. I'm forwarding you the email I recieved today.

Andi,
In reference to our meeting of Wednesday afternoon I have taken the following actions; I have spoken to Lt. Gaston to have patrols write tickets as often as possible on the day shift at Lucas and Hurley Aves. I have directed Officer Marion to place the speed sign in those locations which will be done shortly. I have directed all shifts to monitor the Forsyth Park and issue summonses where possible. I have researched the possibility of evoking the nuisance Abatement Law against the owner of 47 Boulder ave., and have forwarded the results of my research to the Corp. Counsel's office for review and opinion. I have also spoken to detective Sergeant Robertson of URGENT to see if they can investigate 47. Please inform the residents of Boulder Ave. that it is important they call us with legitimate noise or other complaints so that we can document those complaints and use them against the owner. I will stay in touch on the issues.

ok. the police are obviously aware of the situation. you people must understand that a lot of 'catching drug dealers' has to do with 'patience' and 'surveillance.' you may NOT see the immediate results that you would like. just be patient. give it some time. let the police build their case. the police are NOT going to make case by breaking amendment rights by barnstorming a house!!! give them the time that they need. and, of course, if people actually sees suspicious activity, do not hesitate to call and report it.

Just a note on the use of the nuisance abatement law in general. It's effectivness is only as good as the neighbors involvement as far as following up on complaints and keeping accurate records of nuisance violations. All neighbors on Boulder that want somthing to be done about this property should be "armed" with a formatted peice of paper to document, date, time, type of offense, license plate numbers (if applicable) and any other pertinent information. The nuisance law relies more on straight evidence as it's teeth and without it you might as well get use to the status quo. Elizabeth Manor was up for a nuisance hearing, and as anyone who has lived in the City knows it's reputation as a nuisance is never questioned. However, in the hearing the "prosecution" was not amply prepared and therefore no decision was able to be made. Trust this, do your homework, come up with a standardized complaint form, hand it out to all your neighbors and make sure everyone hands them in once per week....because without that documentation nothing will happen.

Good idea. Too bad a form wasn't generated by the city prosecution, showing people what information was needed that they didn't have. But I suggest that was more a failing of the city government that brought the complaint up without having the information in hand, or getting it in hand: KIngston lawyers and such should know the requirements for evidence. Obviously the defense did.
There are some standard forms for vice and drugs up at the neighborhood watch site:
http://www.kingston-ny-neighborhood-watch.com/p/literature.html
This might be a good place to start, or a form to use until a better one "Nuisance Report Form" comes along.
I've done some looking for the definition of the law thinking maybe there are some forms already designed for that purpose. No luck, yet. Anyone else?

I have no problem with gathering the information and handing it in, however, is it possible to stay anonymous? My concern is: a few months ago, the police were at this house looking for one of the tenants with a warrant (I think the tenant's name is Rafael). The neighbors heard that this warrant stemmed from this tenant stealing his girlfriend's car at knifepoint (red Honda EXX 7855,,yes I do already have a list of cars). But the girlfriend conveniently dropped the charges a few days later so no further police action was taken :(
This was just neighborhood gossip, so I don't know whether it's true or not, but as a women, I am scared to even look at this person, let alone have him know I am collecting information or calling the police on him.
I do appreciate everything the Alderman and police chief are doing.

Yes, you can just email it to the watch and we will hand it over. No need for you to put yout name on anything.

It is essential that complete anonymity be guaranteed. Air tight. Lets hear about this from the Nuisance Abatement enforcement team.
By the way, in some other states, you cannot just drop the charges. The state picks up the complaint on their own. They do some fact finding of their own. Yeah, the person can drop their charges, but the state does not have to drop theirs.

It is 1:45PM Sept 29. A gray VW Passat car was just dropped off in front of 47 Boulder Ave EVC 5624. Big argument outside involving this car with the tenant. Bad language and all. But the person who left this car left in a Gray Toyota ANK 5646.

Kids get out of school in a 1/2 hour.

Call the police. Posting here is not going to give you instant results...those who read this do not know the full details, you do.
CALL THE POLICE.

Agreed. CALL THE POLICE as well as report this here. It's good to have people be on the lookout for this car or cars, but you also need to call KPD whenever you see something like this happening.

On Sunday, Oct 10 at 7:40am, I was awakened by the tenants of 47 Boulder Ave. arguing, extremely loud (again). Heard a crashing sound and girl yelling that he hit her car and damaged it.
**I then witnessed with my own eyes, the tenant slam his girlfriend down to the ground, and then KICK her numorous times. This all happened right in their driveway. Yes, I did call the police at that point, they arrived at 8am. They talked to the girlfriend and her friend who also stood there watching him do this to her,, and the police let her leave, and I saw the huge dent in her car, but did not see this man arrested. The police just left. Why???
I just saw this loser walk up the street a few minutes ago. Still free.
This fight was bad,,I did not see it all,,only what I mentioned above,,but I heard this poor girl screaming,,she must have had marks on her, how can someone get away with this??
This has gone far beyond not being a nice neighbor or drug dealer. This man is a violent, ticking time bomb.

I was also awakened by the argument on Sunday, Oct 10th. It went on for over an hour, and my dogs went crazy. I have never heard anything like it. The argument was so loud that I could hear it from 2 streets away. The victim needs to press charges, but as is typical with domestic violence, the victim is too afraid. This is really a sad thing, no matter what neighborhood they are in. I certainly don't want it in my back yard, nobody does. Thank goodness I have 2 big, mean dogs.

How is this going, have things gotten better/worse?

Things are the same. On Nov 6 or 7 someone called 911. There was Kingston police and fire trucks at 47 Boulder. The "one bad egg" was actually arrested, but of course he's back. (Not sure what happened during this incident). But it never fails, the police are at that house at least once a month.
On Nov. 13, a neighbor talked to the Alderman at the Forsyth Park clean up about the issue and also complained about the number of disabled vehicles in their driveway (there's 4). Someone must have gone over there because they attempted to fix 1 of them last week, but they ended up pushing it back up the driveway, (leaking something all over the road and up their driveway) and there it still sits along with the others. They just took the tarps off and took the other off the jacks. The cars haven't moved since. These cars have been sitting there for at least 4 or 5 months.

We still have random cars in and out, and random people walking in and out. They go through the Fairview Apartment's parking lot as well, which is adjacent to the property, so this traffic is not just on Boulder.

Although less frequent, you will still hear some arguing and yelling and the occasional F word. Nothing to call the police over, but it's annoying, embarrassing when company is over and just affecting the quality of the neighborhood.

@A Neighbor
Can you let us know which alderman was told about the issue? We can attempt to follow up with the alderman to find out more on the issue. Also, beyond contacting the police, Does speaking with your Alderman (Andi Turco-Levin?) personally give you any more input on how you can handle the situation? Id recommend attempting to open up a line of contact about the situation to get a good idea on how to proceed. If you could also let us know how that goes, it would be awesome.

Yes, we spoke last week at the Forsyth Park clean up.
I have notified both Chief Keller & Chief Salzmann asking about the cars parked there as well as if we can get any traction with the nuisance abatment law that is currently on the books. FYI, the Council is working on modifiying and expanding the issues that can be considered a nuisance.

@ Alderman Andi
Thanks so far!
After notifying the Chiefs, and waiting for the refresh on the abatement laws, is there anything else that can be done, or is this just "wait and see" from here on till the law is passed.

If we are in a "wait and see" phase, where can we find updates about the modification and expansion of the abatement law?

Otherwise, how do we close this issue?

Dec 9th

Wonder if anyone saw the paper today about our wonderful neighbor's friend here at 47 Boulder Ave? These are the kind of people we have walking up and down Boulder Ave everyday. The "foot traffic" that we keep mentioning. I mean really, a member of the CRIPS STREET GANG on my street???? And you expect us not to be worried, bothered or now scared for our lives???? I have no idea how may people now reside at this address, but I see NUMOROUS people along with the original "bag egg". How many other gang members are there?

It's getting to the point that I want to put my house on the market and leave.

*****Daily Freeman***** • Burglary: Manuel F. Ortiz, 23, of 42 Wrentham St., Kingston, was arrested on a felony burglary warrant by members of the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team (URGENT) at 5:35 p.m. on Saturday at 47 Boulder Ave. in the city of Kingston. Oritz, a member of the CRIPS criminal street gang, was wanted by the Town of Shandaken Police Department on the burglary charge, along with felony assault and misdemeanor menacing charges. Police said Ortiz was wanted in connection with the June burglary to a dwelling during which he injured the owner of the residence. He was turned over to Shandaken Police, arraigned in Shandaken Town Court and sent to Ulster County Jail on $10,000 cash bail.

Update:
The City was able to bring the owner in under the Nusciance Abatement Law. This past week there was a meeting at City Hall with the onwer for a Hearing. City attorneys settled with the owner and the current tenant will be told to move out within a short period of time. The tenant was also issued notice to remove the junked cars in the back yard within 72 hours.
Thank you to everyone who kept me posted and did your part in keeping the neighborhood safe.
It takes teamwork. Let's hope the property owner excersizes better judgement when selecting his next tenant.

Thank you. Your communication is really appreciated!
The city seems very reluctant to assess fines, penalties. 34 Franklin Street is another example. Money talks. The Other Stuff Walks.

Thank you Alderman Andi Turco-Levin!!! As a resident of Boulder Ave in very close proximity to 47 Boulder, I truly appreciate what you have done to help us. 2 of the 3 junk cars have been removed and after yet another altercation with the tenant after one of their “friends” squealed out of the dead end at nearly 11PM, after receiving a ticket on their car from “Kingston’s finest,” we did learn that the tenants will be moving out by the end of the month. It may be a rough few weeks ahead, but knowing that they are soon leaving brings a big sigh of relief.

So again, and I know all other residents on Boulder Ave would say this too, thank you Alderman Andi Turco-Levin!!!

Did I hear correctly that they have been evicted?? I know the traffic in and out has stopped. Hoping they are GONE!

This sounds like the issue may be resolved. Are there any ongoing problems? Unless we get an update, I will close the issue.

Its still terrible

The owner was put on notice when the City took him on Nusance Abatement violations. Don't be afraid to let Chief Tinte know about the past problems at this home and also notify the building & safety dept. if the property is not being kept up.

Although the original “bad egg” has moved out, the landlord, Bruce Freer has moved in yet another not so pleasing tenant. It amazes me that Mr. Freer had the nerve to write a letter to the Editor in May, (Make tenants accountable in Kingston), complaining about cleaning up after his tenants when he is the one who picks the people he rents his properties to. You would think he would do a better job at doing background checks on people, call for references or something.
Police and the building & safety department have already been to 47 Boulder Avenue a few times with the new tenants.

Bruce is right up there with Paulette Naccarato - who owns numerous properties in Kingston and puts crappy tenents in them - including two on my street.

Keep up the pressure - keep the police notified about problems. And make sure your neighbors do the same!! Keep posting updates here.

Thanks for caring about our city!

House has been empty for over a year now with no problems. Will reopen if another bad tenant moves in.