Mayor Steve Noble has called off a meeting with members of the Stony Run Tenants Union, Monday evening, citing the impending snowstorm. The decision comes after union organizers rejected the call for a sit down to discuss a proposed regulatory agreement that would cap rents at the 267 unit complex, because they said they had not had time to have an attorney review the document or to discuss it with union membership.

Noble called for the meeting in an open letter published last week after the Common Council — citing tenants’ concerns about the proposed deal between the city and complex owner Aker Holdings — voted to hold off on a resolution authorizing the agreement. Under the terms of the proposed 40 year regulatory agreement, ownership of the complex would be transferred to a specially created nonprofit housing trust. Rents at the complex would be capped at no more than 30 percent of total income for residents making 120 percent of the Area Median Income for the life of the agreement. The deal would also require Aker to create a dedicated fund to pay for upkeep and maintenance. Current residents of the complex, meanwhile, would retain rights guaranteed under the Emergency Tenant Protection Act which applies to all rental housing with six or more units built before 1974.

In exchange for capping rents, the complex would be officially designated as “workforce affordable” housing. That would give Aker access to low interest federal loans. Company officials have said that they need those loans to complete a multi-million dollar renovation project at the complex which has stalled due to rising interest rates. At a March 7 meeting of the Kingston Common Council, tenant union organizing committee member Teresa Greene told lawmakers that Aker representatives had told the committee that the company was in default on some of the construction loans and the complex was in danger of foreclosure. In his letter to the tenants union, Noble said that the complex faced a “serious threat” that required swift action.

“The proposed regulatory agreement safeguards ETPA rights for all current tenants, prevents high-income earners from displacing families at Stony Run, and requires the owners to make timely improvements,” Noble wrote. “This is not a perfect deal, but it’s a very good one.”

Noble directed Aker officials to share a copy of the proposed regulatory agreement with the tenants union. He also added a provision to the deal that would ban any units at the complex from being used as short stay rentals. Tenant’s union representatives meanwhile said that they are not necessarily opposed to the deal, but that they need time to have an attorney review. In a response to Noble’s letter, tenant’s union representatives rejected the call for a March 13 meeting at the Rondout Neighborhood Center calling the invitation “pressurized” and “premature.” They said that the union’s attorney had only received a copy of the agreement on Friday and that the next meeting of union membership would not take place until March 22.

“In order for there to be full disclosure from the Organizing Committee to the Tenants Union as a whole, we have to consider any additional questions from the Tenants Union to ensure that all of our questions and concerns are submitted and addressed by our attorney,” the statement reads. “Giving us such short notice for such a meeting with you, the council and the press; is premature, and simply not a fair enough timeframe for us to be prepared.”

On Monday, Noble referred questions about the time sensitivity of the deal to Aker. But he said it was the city’s normal practice to move quickly to protect and expand affordable housing options in the city. Noble added that the agreement would be back before the council next month which should give the city time to address tenants’ concerns. The mayor then proposed a new date for a meeting on Monday, March 27 at 6 p.m. at City Hall, in an email to the tenants union on Monday.

UPDATE: In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, the Tenants Union and For the Many opposed the housing proposal as it is currently written, asking the the Laws and Rules Committee not to vote on the matter during Wednesday's meeting. "We request that the Laws and Rules Committee table any vote on the plan until after the mayor has met with the Stony Run Tenants Union and their lawyer to address their concerns. Otherwise, aldermen risk authorizing the mayor to enter into an illegal regulatory agreement that prioritizes Wall Street landlords over working-class tenants.”