Ulster Police want changes to Kingston Motel’s offering for children – Daily Freeman

The Kingston Motel is seen on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. (Tania Barricklo/Daily Freeman)

CITY OF ULSTER, N.Y. — Of the nearly 150 homeless people at the Kingston Motel, more than 70 are children. Police Chief Kyle Berardi wants to make sure they get a better impression of police officers—and life in general—than they do when they encounter emergency responders with an unfortunate ending.

Efforts are being made to change the dynamic after his agency received a spike in reports to the shelter, Berardi said during a City Council meeting Thursday.

“The calls for service range from simple medical calls to … psychiatric emergencies, violent domestic violence, fights in progress, to name a few,” he wrote in a memo released during the session. “During the month of June, there have been 33 calls for service … requiring a response from the Ulster Police Department, Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police, Ulster Hose Fire Company and/or Empress Ambulance Service. For the year 2024, there have been a total of 232 calls for service to the motel.”

According to Berardi, officers have noticed children walking around unsupervised and with no other activities.

“We try to organize activities on and off the premises,” Berardi said.

“Obviously, they’re limited in their ability to travel off-site because they don’t have the ability to travel,” he said. “So we’re going to organize trips, like to the local pool in the city of Kingston or the city of Rosendale, and take the kids swimming for a couple of hours — just to get them out, maybe a game of kickball with the local police, so there’s a positive interaction. The sheriff’s office is going to coordinate a trip to the (Ulster) County Fair, with the police being one of the chaperones.”

There will also be new play equipment suitable for the large number of children staying on the site, he said.

“The Bruderhof is working with the motel,” Berardi said. “They’re going to build a new and improved playground.”

You will also receive a swing set, purchased by the motel for $15,000.

“Hopefully that will be within three weeks of delivery,” he said. “The Bruderhof has agreed to prepare and install the site without any labor on their part.”

According to Berardi, additional assistance is also expected to be available through the province’s Social Services Department and other agencies.

“DSS offers regular office hours at the motel so residents can seek assistance without having to travel to the main office on Ulster Avenue,” Berardi said.

“Ulster County Youth Bureau is working on programs to engage youth in the short and long term, especially since summer camps usually end in about a month,” he said. “In the period between the end of summer camps and the start of school, they want to come up with long-term programs.”

Other needs that need to be met include partnering with nonprofits to help with food and meals, as there are no kitchen facilities at the motel, Berarid said.

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Ulster Police want changes to Kingston Motel’s offering for children – Daily Freeman

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