As the demolition of the Pike Plan canopies in Uptown Kingston reaches its halfway point, Uptown business owners have reached out to Mayor Steve Noble with concerns about both the immediate impact of the project on business and the city’s plan to compensate property owners for damage left behind by the structure’s removal.

In a Feb. 4 letter to Noble, Kingston Uptown Business Association president and local attorney Alexander Mainetti wrote that at recent meeting of the business group, members expressed “urgent concern” about the project. Mainetti wrote that the most immediate issue was what Mainetti described as “a significant reduction in business sales” since the project got underway in mid-January. Among the issues impacting foot traffic in the neighborhood, Mainetti wrote, was the removal of a gutter system of the canopies in advance of the structure’s demolition that had caused water to drain directly from the canopy’s roof, creating ice accumulations on the sidewalk below.

Mainetti wrote that business owners are also concerned by the potential long-term impact of the demolition on the look of the historic district. Contractors have used black vinyl material and tape to cover parts of building façades where the canopies’ removal exposed damaged masonry where the structure had been bolted in. The work is intended to prevent water damage, but façade restoration will be up to individual owners of 40 properties with frontage on the canopies.

The city has offered property owners $1,000 per square foot of frontage on the Pike Plan in exchange for waiving any damage claims in court. So far, four owners have accepted the offer. In a communication to the Kingston Common Council’s finance committee, Mayor Steve Noble indicated that others have since accepted the deal, but he did not offer details.

But in his letter, Mainetti wrote that KUBA members weren’t happy about being put in a position of having to accept the settlement offer without a clear idea of how much the restoration would actually cost. Members also worried that some property owners would simply not restore their façades at all, leaving negatively impacting the look of the historic business district.

Mainetti’s letter included four requests, including a stipulation that property owners who accept the settlement offer use the money on restoration work. The letter also asks the city to extend the times businesses have to accept or reject the settlement to at least 30 days after their section of the canopy was removed and cut the grace period before the city building department begins levying fines for damaged façades from two years to one. Finally, the letter asks for a projected completion date for the demolition project.

Noble did not respond to an email from Kingston Wire seeking comment on the concerns expressed in the KUBA letter.