A Message from Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger

Dear Friends, For the last 10 days, our neighbors who depend on SNAP have gone without this essential food assistance because of the federal shutdown. In response, I directed $350,000 into our County's emergency food system and we have also partnered with the Community Foundation of the Hudson Valley to create a fund to support smaller local food pantries during this time of great need.  I have good news to report from the Governor's office, as of Sunday, Nov. 9: SNAP benefits have begun to flow to New Yorkers, and it should take less than a week for all EBT cards to be replenished statewide. In the meantime, please continue to support our neighbors in need if you can. You can contribute to our Food Access Fund here or donate directly to your local food pantry. Many pantries are running low on supplies due to the extraordinary demand since Nov. 1. There remains significant uncertainty at the time of writing about when the shutdown will end. Unless the shutdown ends by Nov. 17, the federal Home Heating Assistance Program, known as HEAP, will not open on that date as it was supposed to.  We are taking actions at the County level — see below for more information, and I will keep you posted on any new developments.  All my best,

Recent News & Events

Staying Warm Through the Federal Shutdown: What to Know About HEAP

While the impacts of the federal shutdown on SNAP have been in the news, less attention has been paid to another assistance program that some 14,700 Ulster County households depend on to stay warm in winter — the federal Home Energy Assistance Program, or HEAP. Last week, County Executive Metzger sent a letter to the Governor urging action to provide interim funding for HEAP and for the Public Service Commission (PSC) to ensure that residents are not dropped from utility Energy Affordability Programs — discount programs for electricity and gas service that are tied to HEAP enrollment. The PSC has paused de-enrollment in these essential programs through November 30, so those households that rely on gas and electric service for heat will continue to get bill assistance, and we will advocate for an extension if the shutdown continues beyond that date.

For our residents that rely on fuel oil, propane, or wood to heat your homes, if you were expecting HEAP assistance and now have less than a quarter tank of heating fuel (or are low on wood), please contact the Temporary Assistance Unit at our Department of Social Services during business hours at (845) 334-5440. Our staff are available to help income-eligible residents with immediate fuel assistance.

Children & Family Mental Health Clinic Opens at County Center for Well-Being!

We're excited to share that the Children’s Way Counseling Center — a new mental health clinic for youth (ages 5-21) and families — is now open on the third floor of the Ulster County Center for Well-Being at 368 Broadway in Kingston! The clinic provides diagnostic assessments, individual therapy, family therapy, medication management, crisis intervention, complex care management, and referrals, and works in collaboration with community providers, including school-based mental health support. 

Children’s Way is expected to serve up to 170-210 children and families in 2026, and 210-240 children and families in 2027. The County allocated $730,000 in federal ARPA funding to cover clinic startup costs for two years, with the expectation that the clinic will be self-sustaining after that.

We're planning to open an additional satellite clinic, based on the findings of a countywide Behavioral Health Needs Assessment that is currently wrapping up, so stay tuned!

Hearing the Positive Impact of SUNY Reconnect — Free Community College!

County Executive Metzger and Deputy County Executive Jamie Capuano joined SUNY Chancellor John King and SUNY Ulster President Alison Buckley to hear from students in SUNY Ulster’s Reconnect and New Start programs at the County-owned Kingston Center on Mary’s Avenue, which serves as a SUNY Ulster satellite campus. Through the Governor’s new Opportunity Promise Scholarship, the SUNY Reconnect program provides free associate degrees in high-demand fields for residents 25 to 55 with no college degree. For more information about this great opportunity and SUNY Ulster offerings, visit https://www.sunyulster.edu/apply-aid/tuition-fees/reconnect.php.

After meeting with students, they were joined by SUNY New Paltz President Darrell Wheeler to discuss exciting opportunities for partnerships with our two institutions of higher learning, as well as collaboration with SUNY Ulster on much-needed housing. Thank you to Chancellor King and team for coming to Ulster County and joining this important conversation!

Important Education at the 13th Annual Domestic Violence Forum

Last week, County Executive Metzger welcomed community participants at the 13th Annual Domestic Violence Information Forum, organized by the Ulster County Interagency Council on Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking and hosted by SUNY New Paltz. The theme of this year's forum was stalking and strangulation — hard subjects to hear about but so important for everyone to understand. According to keynote speaker David Ryan, Director of the Westchester County Domestic Violence High Risk Team, strangulation represents almost 60% of high-risk domestic violence behaviors. In his words, “It is THE power and control move favored by abusers.” Obstruction of breathing can cause physical harm, including brain injury, that may not be obvious and should be checked by a doctor as soon as possible. (50% of victims of strangulation have no outwardly visible signs.)

Importantly, obstruction of breathing is a signal of escalating violence and a predicator of homicide. For those who have experienced it, they need a safety plan.

Fortunately, Ulster County has robust domestic violence services and support for those who need them:

• UC Crime Victims Assistance Crisis Hotline: (845) 340-3443 (M-F, 9 AM - 5 PM) and (845) 340-3442 (nights, weekends, holidays)
• UC District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau
• NYS DV Resources
• Family of Woodstock’s DV Services
• Family of Woodstock’s English hotline: (845) 679-2485 (24/7, call or text)
• Family of Woodstock’s Spanish hotline: (845) 679-5460 (9 AM - 8 PM)
• Grace Smith House
• National DV Hotline: (800) 799-7233 (24/7)

Thank you to DSS Commissioner Mike Iapoce and members of the Interagency Council on Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking for elevating awareness and understanding of these important subjects. 

New Rooftop Solar at the Ulster County Hall of Records!

The Ulster County Hall of Records in Kingston has a new rooftop solar array! The 120 Kw DC system will produce about 150,000 kwh of emissions-free electricity each year, reducing County utility bills for the long-term.

Our Hall of Records has some of the oldest county documents in New York, dating as far back as 1658!

Community Gives Feedback on Final Draft of UCAT Route Optimization Plan

Thank you to everyone who participated in the UCAT Route Optimization Plan public feedback sessions on Thursday. We are committed to building a better, more responsive transit system for Ulster County, and your input helps us do that. Thank you also to Transportation Planner Brian Slack and Foursquare ITP consultant Jarred Toups leading these sessions, and to RUPCO for hosting us. To learn more or ask questions about the ROP, visit the ROP Participate Ulster Page. Stay tuned to that page, UCAT and County social media, and the County website for updates on UCAT and ROP implementation.

Time to End Outdated Utility Gas Subsidy at Ratepayers' Expense

This year, the State Legislature passed a bill to amend an antiquated provision of Public Service Law (the law governing utility regulation) called the "100-foot rule." This rule adds millions of dollars in ratepayer costs to subsidize new utility gas hookups within 100 ft of any gas main. Last week, County Executive Metzger joined Assembly Member Sarahana Shrestha, Kingston Mayor Steve Noble, and community-based organizations at RUPCO's Energy Square in Kingston to urge Governor Hochul to sign this bill into law and end a subsidy that increases everyone's costs and dependence on fossil fuels.

County Spotlight: The Veterans Services Agency

Supporting Veterans Through Community

Welcome back to the County Spotlight, where we highlight a County Department or Initiative, helping you get to know the people behind County government and the terrific work they do. In honor of Veterans Day, we are highlighting the work our colleagues over at the Ulster County Veteran Services Agency (VSA) do to support our veterans.  

VSA Director Mark Cozzupoli leads a team of 13 staff, mostly veterans, that helps local veterans and their families with just about anything they need. They help them register for medical, disability, pension, and education benefits from the U.S. and N.Y. Departments of Veterans Affairs, and they support our vets with issues related to homelessness, employment, transportation, and burials. “We’re veterans serving other veterans,” says Director Cozzupoli. 

This lived experience of VSA staff helps them better connect with and support the veterans they serve. Veterans face many challenges: Beyond the potential physical and mental traumas of military service, the transition back to civilian life can be extremely difficult. As Director Cozzupoli shared: “You lose your sense of purpose. You got out of something that you were a part of, a team that you were important to, and then now you’re back home, and things have changed... Now you’re alone, and you lost that belonging.” These challenges contribute to the high rates of serious mental health issues, substance abuse disorders, and suicide among veterans, which the VSA works directly to address. 

This week, the VSA is hosting an event called “My Reasons for Living,” where they’re bringing vets together to customize their firearm lockboxes with reminders of things they love to help them in dark moments.  

The VSA has also been working for several years to establish a Veterans Treatment Court in Ulster County. In collaboration with the Hudson Valley Center for Veteran Reintegration and Ulster County Court Judge Bryan Rounds, they are opening a Court that will take certain cases involving veterans — namely substance abuse-related offenses — and seek rehabilitative paths rather than punitive convictions for offenders. They are holding a ribbon cutting for the Court on November 21 at the Ceremonial Courthouse in Kingston.   

The VSA also works to ensure that our veterans feel they are valued, meaningful members of the community. In September, the VSA partnered with other local organizations that support veterans, including the Dutchess County Office of Veterans Affairs, to put on the second annual Salute2Vets, a celebration honoring vets on both sides of the river. The VSA also hosts a monthly luncheon that bounces around the County where they honor the “Veteran of the Month,” a local veteran who gives back to the community. 

A challenge VSAs face today is reaching younger veterans — in Director Cozzupoli's words, "the ones that end up lost or think there’s nobody out there that can help them.” He says it’s often these veterans, newly out of the military, who need help, but they don’t know about the resources available to them, or “just want to be left alone.” 

That's why Director Cozzupoli says the most helpful thing the public can do for the VSA is spread awareness about all the ways it can help veterans. “There’s so much we can do,” he says, “so help us reach any veterans you know.”   

Thank you to Director Cozzupoli and the VSA team for their compassionate, honorable work, and thank you now and always to our veterans for their service.

Here are some upcoming events and ways to keep up with the VSA (for you or any vets you know!)

• My Reasons for Living Lockbox Workshop – Saturday, Nov 15, 11 AM – 2 PM at 5 Development Ct, Kingston. RSVP to Mark Cozzupoli at mcoz@ulstercountyny.gov or (845) 340-3195.
• Ulster County Veterans Court Opening Ceremony – Friday, Nov. 21, 11 AM at the Ceremonial Courthouse, 285 Wall St, Kingston.  
• Join the Ulster County Veteran News, Resources and Events Facebook Page 
• Get on VSA Director Mark Cozzupoli’s email list – just reach out to mcoz@ulstercountyny.gov. 

Upcoming Events & Happenings

Support the Food Access Fund

As many New Yorkers wait for SNAP benefits to return, Ulster County is providing additional support for local food pantries. In addition to the $350,000 the County Executive directed to major local food pantries, the County has also partnered with the Community Foundation of the Hudson Valley to launch an Emergency Food Fund to support smaller pantries. We encourage residents and local businesses to contribute here.

The Work Documentary Screening

Join the Ulster County Department of Mental Health and the Integrated Ulster Trauma-Informed Care Collaborative for 'The Work': a documentary film following three civilians on a 4-day group therapy retreat with men who are incarcerated at Folsom State Prison. A panel discussion will follow the movie, and pizza will be provided by Catskill Mountain Pizza. 

📅 Thursday, Nov. 13
🕕 5:30 - 7:30 PM 
📍 Kingston Library, 61 Crown St, Kingston

For more info, call Katrina Williams at (845) 340-4143 or e-mail kawi@co.ulster.ny.us.

Affordable Housing for Seniors in New Paltz!

🏡 Applications are now open for Harmony Hall — affordable housing for seniors 55+ in New Paltz! Ulster County is very proud to have provided grant support for this project of the Affordable Housing Conservancy through our Housing Action Fund.  

Located at 52 South Manheim Blvd., Harmony Hall offers 51 thoughtfully designed units — 48 one-bedrooms and 3 two-bedrooms — including 8 mobility-accessible units, and 3 units that can accommodate individuals with hearing or visual disabilities. Built to Enterprise Green Communities standards, the development features energy-efficient appliances and a 151kW solar roof system.

Eligible households can earn no more than 50–60% of area median income. 

📅 Application Deadline: November 21, 2025 
🎟️ Lottery Date: December 5, 2025 at 10 AM 
🔎 Apply at: www.ahconservancy.org/harmonyhall/apply

Don't Forget to Get Your Flu Shot and COVID Vaccine!

Protect yourself and your community this season.  You can get your flu shot and COVID vaccine at any pharmacy in New York State — no prescription needed. Most insurances cover the cost, but you may want to confirm first. For more info, contact the Ulster County Department of Health at (845) 340-3070.

Participate Ulster: We Want to Hear From You!

Help shape the future of Midtown Linear Park!

Join us on Wednesday, Nov. 12 for a community workshop to preview the preferred design for the new Community Space — built from your ideas and feedback!

📍 12:30 – 2:30 PM at the Project Site (Cornell St., behind Red Owl Collective)
📍 4:30 – 6:30 PM at Red Owl Collective (25 Cornell St., Kingston)

• Explore the design
• Talk with the Project Team
• Share your thoughts before final plans are set

Can’t make it? A digital version and feedback form is live on Participate Ulster. Let’s build a space that reflects Midtown Kingston’s creativity, values, and vision!

Connect, Engage & Serve: Opportunities and Resources

Job Openings in Ulster County

Ulster County is Hiring!  Consider a career in public service and earn a living by making a difference. Visit the civil service portal and apply today to join our team.

• Assistant Public Defender – $58.30/hour
• Social Welfare Examiner Trainee – $23.18/hour
• Veteran Services Driver – $21.81/hour

The Ulster County Government strictly adheres to the principles of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and Americans with Disability Act.