Business Resources

Kingston is a city of small business. We have hundreds of independent businesses, selling products and services both locally and around the world.

However, small businesses everywhere are struggling to compete with Amazon and other giant retailers. To support our local shops, restaurants and specialty stores, the City is exploring ways in which we can help them be more resilient and prosperous.

Mayor Noble has appointed a Municipal Business Liaison, Stew Meyers, who will build and maintain relationships between local government departments, City/State agencies, business owners, and nonprofit organizations. As part of his role, he will foster communication and advocate for the needs of the local business community and identify opportunities for City government to strengthen its support for business owners.

An inventor, entrepreneur, daydreamer, and philanthropist originally from Brooklyn, NY, Stew has led two highly successful companies from inception through acquisition. In 2006, he co-founded Exago, creator of a business analytics, intelligence, and ad-hoc reporting platform, which was acquired in 2021 by Insight Software, a large, international software company. Exago’s development and product support were based right here in Kingston, NY. Prior to Exago, as CTO and Executive Vice President of Transcentive, which developed a stock option and incentive software platform and backed by major investors, he helped lead the company to a successful acquisition. Since Exago was acquired, Stew has helped found Ulster Strong, an organization to help with smart economic growth, worked with the City of Kingston to help build a potential new public park, and has helped support various non-profits through his philanthropic work. In his spare time, he loves to read, hike in our incredibly beautiful area, and ponder ways to help our amazing community.

City of Kingston economic development initiatives:

Kingston Standard Brewing Company– City secured a $550,000 grant to assist in a major reconstruction of a portion of the adjacent commercial building, adding more than 5,000 square feet of operational space and creating a cutting-edge zero fossil fuel facility. The project will incorporate CO2 recapture, electric stream generation, and an offsite community solar farm, to become a pioneering example of environmentally conscious craft beer manufacturing and will create eight new full-time jobs.

St. Joseph’s Lofts project– City secured a $1.15 million grant to assist in the adaptive reuse project renovating a former schoolhouse in Uptown Kingston into three floors of office space and an event center.

The Center for Photography at Woodstock– in 2022, City assisted CPW in an award of $1.5 million award to adaptively reuse and rehabilitate the 40,000 square feet former cigar factory in Midtown Kingston.

Barrel Factory Lofts Project– City supported the project, assisting in $840,000 grant for the adaptive reuse of a 120-year-old warehouse in Midtown into a mix of live-work spaces for artists, commercial flex spaces, and amenities spaces.

In 2017, the City won a grant for $500,000 for the demolition of the former Mid-City Lanes bowling alley to create RUPCO’s Energy Square, a mixed-use residential, commercial, and nonprofit space.

With the City of Kingston's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, over 150 businesses received up to $7,500 in Covid relief, and the three business district alliances received $16,500 for promotional materials and efforts supporting their businesses and related events.