A Bard College professor, a veteran realtor and property manager and an employee of the activist group that advocates for housing reform are among the nine members of the city’s new Rent Guidelines Board.

The members, appointed by Mayor Steve Noble with input from the Common Council, will be tasked with determining maximum annual rent increases for more than 1,200 apartments covered by the Emergency Tenant Protection Act.

Last month, the Kingston Common Council, at Noble’s request, voted to declare a housing emergency in Kingston under the terms of the 1974 state rent regulation law. The ETPA covers rental housing of six or more units built before 1974, a category which includes some of Kingston’s largest residential developments like Dutch Village and Stony Run. ETPA-regulated units are overseen by the state Department of Housing and Community Renewal.

The new rent guidelines board will first establish a “Fair Market Rent” for Kingston. Going forward, the board will meet annually to set a ceiling on rent increases contained in new one- and two-year leases signed in the coming year. The board may also work with DHCR to establish a “look back” period prior to the ETPA taking effect and roll back rent hikes above Fair Market Rent.

By law, the board must have two tenant representatives, two owner representatives and five “public” representatives. To qualify for a public representative spot, the applicant must have at least five years’ experience in finance, real estate or economics. The law also calls for one alternate member in each category. Applicants must reside in the City of Kingston.

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request from Kingston Wire, the city provided 27 applications received for the nine spots on the board below are the members chosen.

Tenant Representatives

Michael Tierney works in constituent services in the office of Assemblyman Kevin Cahill. In his application, Tierney listed the Ulster County Democratic Committee and the Democratic Socialists of America under a question about affiliations with “business groups, nonprofit organizations or advocacy groups.” Tierney touted his experience working on housing issues as part of his constituent services job, including serving as a liaison between tenants and DHCR.

“I have been a tenant since I was 18 years old,” Tierney wrote on the application. “I have experienced both great landlords and ones that actively seek to manipulate the law and take advantage of a tenant’s ignorance of their own rights, including here in the city of Kingston.”

Carol Soto described herself as a tenant and retiree. On her application she answered the question “Why do you want to join the Rent Guidelines Board?” with “Landlords have too much power and I would like to ensure that tenants have a way to balance that.”

Terry Colao-Gomez was chosen as the RGB’s alternate tenant representative. On her application she described herself as semi-retired and a resident of Dutch Village for the past 28 years.

“I have chosen to be a renter and treat my apartment as my home,” Colao-Gomez wrote. “It is not a stopover or a place to stay until something else comes along.”

Property Owner Representatives

Anthony Tampone is a Kingston resident and owner of Saugerties-based Specialty Motor Car Company. He owns five rental properties in Kingston. During public comments on the ETPA, he warned lawmakers that the legislation could harm small landlords. On his application he wrote, “I’m a longtime advocate for housing stability and solutions to a resilient community here in Kingston.”

Tara Perry manages the downtown affordable housing complex Springbrook Village on behalf of Winn Residential. On her application she describes herself as a licensed realtor with 25 years of property management experience, as well as a homeowner.

“I understand the rental market in the area as I have worked for many complexes in the City of Kingston over the past 25 years.”

Alternate owner representative Charles Lamb Jr. works for Sanzi Associates, a company that owns 125 rental units in the city and is a member of the Hudson Valley Property Owners Association. Lamb wrote that he believes there had been “misleading and misinformation” about the ETPA and, “I believe it is necessary to have a fair, honest and experienced board that represents all individuals/sides in regards to ETPA.”

Public Representatives

Charles O. Sanchis described himself as a self-employed resident of Dutch Village and an active member of “Live Well Kingston” a city-sponsored volunteer group that advises officials on ways to promote healthy lifestyle choices in the community. Sanchis wrote that he also has experience in housing and mortgage finance, and formerly managed properties for both institutional clients and individual owners.

“I want to join the Rent Guidelines Board because I have always maintained an interest in tenant’s rights and community stabilization while at the same time, I am able to see things from a property owner’s point of view,” Sanchis wrote in his application. “The interaction between tenants and property owners requires balance and having experience in this area I would like to give back which is why I would like a seat on this board.”

Diana Lopez-Martinez is employed by For the Many, a progressive advocacy group that was a major force behind the city’s recently adopted Good Cause Eviction Law and advocated for the ETPA housing emergency declaration. In answering a question about qualifications to be a representative, Lopez-Martinez described herself as a homeowner who has rented to two people over the past three and a half years. Lopez-Martinez application also touts her fluency in Spanish and work on behalf of the city’s Latino immigrant community.

In addition to her work with For the Many, Lopez-Martinez listed affiliations with Planned Parenthood, the Ulster Immigrant Defense Network and the Worker Justice Center.

“I want to be part of this board because I would like to represent the communities I work with,” Lopez-Martinez wrote on her application. “I also have seen the drastic changes over the years which are concerning and want to help out by giving meaningful input.”

Mie Inouye is a professor of political science at Bard College. She moved to Kingston in 2021. Inouye listed relevant experience including eight years of experience in economics and research into “political economy and labor history.” Inouye also described working as a paralegal on housing study on evictions in Somerville and Cambridge, Mass.

“I have … seen how limited housing stock and rising rents are affecting all Kingston residents and changing the character of the city,” Inouye wrote on her application.

Noah Kippley-Ogman has lived in Kingston since 2020. He is employed as a financial analyst by the National Domestic Workers Alliance and listed affiliations with the United Way and the Kingston Land Trust. Kippley-Ogman added that he has experience working in finance in the nonprofit sector, as well as developing and managing budgets.

“As a professional in the non-profit sector, I have come to understand deeply the way that stable housing unlocks people’s potentials and the damage that is done when families don’t have secure, stable, and affordable housing,” Kippley-Ogman wrote on his application. “As a finance professional, I understand the realities of constrained budgets and rising costs; I spend much of my workday explaining financial concepts to colleagues without financial expertise.”

Michael Brown is employed by Fairview Gardens Apartments and owns a property maintenance business. Asked why he wanted to serve on the board, Brown described “a moral obligation to my city and neighborhood to help those that are doing what they can and still not being able to pursue their lives, liberties and happiness of where they want. Obviously, this isn’t going to happen overnight but would love to be part of something much bigger than myself.”

Alternate public member Stefanie Sickler is a licensed real estate broker who works in leasing and sales in Kingston and Brooklyn. Sickler touted her work serving as a liaison between tenants and landlords.

“From the outside this relationship is always viewed as contentious (and for certain owners this is certainly the case),” Sickler wrote. “But in reality there are buildings where tenants and owners have respectful relationships and I work to sustain that.”

Among the applicants not selected for the board were architect and former Third Ward alderman Brad Will, who has been a fierce critic of the administration of Mayor Steve Noble, and incumbent Third Ward Alderman Rennie Scott-Childress. Officials also turned down an application from Matt Colangelo, a CPA who has been active in a neighborhood campaign critical of an affordable housing complex planned for the former site of the Ulster County Jail on Golden Hill.