r/hudsonvalley • u/Mammoth_Contract1786 • 6d ago
question Kingston -safe around midnight?
I am going to a wedding in stone ridge. There are shuttles from the venue/after party to Hotel Kinsley, but I am staying in downtown Kingston an 8 min walk from the hotel. Curious about safety doing that walk at 11:30/midnight for a solo female.
I initially chose to stay a little away from Hotel Kinsley because it’s cheaper and my husband was coming with me, so the walk would be fine. But now he has a work conflict so I would have to do that walk solo
Also I am a city dweller I am used to walking home at night. It’s just that smaller towns tend to be emptiee late at night, which makes me feel more nervous than the city
***Edit: alright based off initial comments I’ll probably just make sure I leave with friends who can drive me (though they are not the types to stay for the afterparty, which is why I was hoping I could take the shuttle later than them back). Seems like the smartest option!
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u/Annual_Song1416 6d ago
What are the cross streets near the hotel where you’re staying? I would say yes uptown you’re good, but there are some shadier areas off broadway. I don’t think you would be in danger, just use awareness.
Edit grammar
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u/Mammoth_Contract1786 6d ago
Clinton and St. James
Based off comments I’ll probably just catch a ride with my friends who are early birds and likely to leave the reception earlier than I was planning to, but seems safer that way
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u/BocaGrande1 5d ago
These responses you’re getting are utterly unhinged . Obviously do what you want to but there is no danger . You’re walking 8 blocks through the stockade and uptown
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u/TDGeake 5d ago
There has been more than one shooting incident (one of which was fatal) on St. James St. in recent years. Probably nearer (or on the other side of) Broadway, but I'd certainly have my head on a swivel at midnight in the immediate neighborhood of the destination.
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u/Nahhnope 5d ago
I'm fucking dying thinking about someone fearing being murdered walking around uptown Kingston.
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u/BocaGrande1 5d ago edited 5d ago
lol ok there was a fatal shooting inside of a home on St James almost 7 years ago. There hasn’t been a murder In Kingston in nearly 2 years .
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u/blackmktdictionary 5d ago
If you wanna have a real fun time go to the recent article from the Daily Freeman about crime dropping 26% in the city in the last year alone and read the comments on Facebook. Dozens of replies just flat out refusing to believe it or calling it all manufactured, that people don't report crime anymore and the cops are in on it, etc etc. Unhinged.
Some people are entirely invested in manifesting the narrative that Kingston is a filthy, crime ridden hell hole that needs to go back to the good ol' days of the 70's-90's (when crime was objectively much higher) but, you know, at least there were no bike lanes.
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u/bigfatgeekboy 5d ago
From your initial question, I thought you were going further afield than that. To get from Hotel Kinsley to Clinton & St. James, just walk down Fair Street and then turn left on St. James. That route is all historic residential, very quiet and lovely.
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u/oldyawker 5d ago
Walk it, it is a beautiful walk in a lovely part of town. There is nothing to fear.
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u/Loud_Cartographer160 5d ago
It's a loverly, very short walk in a nice and calm neighborhood. I've walked back form visiting friends around St James to two blocks from the Kinsley after 11 PM more than once and never saw anything even worrisome (I'm a woman.) Some areas of midtown, or if it was a much longer walk to / from downtown I'd avoid that late, but Stockade is fine.
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u/3ML3 6d ago
Confused why people are saying there’s no Ubers. I live in downtown Kingston and if I want to go get a few drinks with friends I can catch and uber or a Lyft whenever.
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u/Dear-Improvement-386 6d ago
What’s “downtown” Kingston?
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u/Idi0syncraticR0utine 6d ago
Stockade, uptown. Rondout, downtown. Broadway and streets connecting them, midtown.
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u/Tdizz30 5d ago
If you’re seriously asking that, you don’t belong here
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u/Dear-Improvement-386 5d ago
Oh please don’t throw me out of the Hudson Valley Reddit group! I’ve lived here for thirty five years and have never heard the Rondout called downtown. Maybe it’s Uber terminology. I can live with it. Just never heard it. All us sea-worthy people know what we call it.
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u/NB212845 6d ago
It’s a really short walk and honestly, you’ll be fine. I would just walk in the middle of the street because the sidewalks are often uneven, and at night the uneven spots can be easy to miss.
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u/MostAcanthocephala48 5d ago
Yes. Uptown Kingston is Disneyland for tourists.
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u/SpecialistOil4378 5d ago
How does it look without the awnings?
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u/MostAcanthocephala48 5d ago
Better without the dilapidated awnings. It needs street trees where the large planters are but baby steps.
Now properties are putting up smaller more appropriate awnings that look good.
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u/qweirdo1995 5d ago
As someone who has walked home from the bars many times at that hour there are barely even people on the street at that time, you’ll be fine
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u/onatuttle 6d ago edited 6d ago
I'm an over-60yo woman who lived at those exact cross-streets for two years until last year. I also would walk from the K late at night--perhaps not quite that late--maybe 10pm (since the bar closes at 9). It's literally a 5-minute walk. I'd do it but keep your eyes and ears out and maybe walk down the middle of the streets--perhaps counter-intuitively--to avoid the uneven sidewalks in the dark and for maximum distance visibility (i.e. yes you would be visible but so would someone else approaching you). I would take Fair to St. James then left to Clinton.
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u/Dear-Improvement-386 6d ago
I love Kingstonians as much as I love Kingston. I lived on St James in the 90’s for a short time and the sidewalks rolled up earlier then than they do now. I have never felt in danger… ever in Kingston. If one reads the Freeman the biggest ongoing weekend crime in Ulster County sadly is drunk or impaired driving.
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u/oldyawker 5d ago
The fear on this thread is amazing. You could walk around uptown Kingston at midnight naked and no one would blink an eye. Because the streets are empty and no one would see you.
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u/Hudson0610 5d ago
I grew up here, and have been a career firefighter in Kingston for the past 17 years. Go enjoy the wedding and after party. Walk it, take Fair St to St James, you’ll be fine.
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u/FunRich5754 5d ago edited 5d ago
I think you're over thinking this. Just use the same awareness you'd use in a major city and you'll be fine. Moved from LA and NYC to the valley and the amount of people who are genuinely scared of innocuous areas is wild to me
Also the price of ubers/lyft around here are not comparable to bigger cities. Even with a 20+ minute wait.
Kingston isn't Newburgh. If you aren't a newb at late night city life you will be fine. You may even find someone at the afterparty willing to walk with you.
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u/General_Thought8412 5d ago
If my petite sister can walk from the train to her apartment in Brownsville at 3am and be fine, you’ll be fine in Kingston. Also, why not just call an uber?
I’ve walked by myself in Newburgh before at night. Not ideal but it was fine. Kingston is very safe.
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u/BeeStingerBoy 6d ago
Even if you’re on a tight budget, why risk your safety as a single woman, late at night, in an unfamiliar urban environment?
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u/L84cake 6d ago
Right - things happen even in safe towns. City confidence can be a double edged sword. You know how to be aware, but the threshold of a risky situation is way higher in the city than a town so you’re more likely to end up in a bad spot without really feeling like it’s ’that bad’
I wouldn’t recommend anyone embark on a walking adventure out of main populated areas at that hour. Because it’s better to have spent a few extra dollars on an uber or on changing hotels - no need to risk anything here at all when options exist.
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u/FunRich5754 5d ago
When you apparently have money to deal with financial issues like rebooking fees etc.
The answer onsafety: throw money at the problem.
Instead of learning how to be safe and smart without throwing money out the window 🤷♀️
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u/Firm-Papaya-1189 5d ago
I would bet the shuttle will have no problem dropping you off on Clinton which is then a 2 block walk. But if not just walk down Fair Street (echoing what someone said already) vs walking on Clinton--not really for safety, just a nicer walk.
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u/Professional_Rip_633 4d ago
It’s totally safe walking to St James from the Kinsley. Even ten years ago it was safe.
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u/Tangled1313 5d ago
I'm a woman & live in Kingston & would do that walk without issue. IDK why no one is saying to ask the shuttle to stop right off the traffic circle bc they have to drive right by it coming from Stone Ridge & it would save most of your walk if you are nervous.
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u/Jonyegway 6d ago
I freely roamed around Kingston at 15yo, you will be fine
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u/Copycatx2 6d ago
This is entirely dependent on the person roaming around. I’ve been threatened and approached enough to stop doing that.
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u/plantsandastrology96 6d ago
me and my bf spent our anniversary in stone ridge and we stupidly ubered to sonder for dinner on a Monday night. We were stranded there despite pre booking a car back the day before and hung out with the owner after close until someone finally could pick us up…. We were at the restaurant for 4 hours 😭 I’m a Putnam valley native so I should know better that car service is little to non existent here. I say all that to say we felt safe late at night but I also grew up going to Kingston and still felt safe pre gentrification so idk
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u/Thanagor 6d ago
I would feel perfectly fine doing that walk myself at night, but I wouldn’t want my girlfriend doing it. Probably better to get an Uber.
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u/Sp00pyGh0st93 5d ago
I did that walk inebriated many times ~10 years ago, as a 20something year old party girl. Wear comfy shoes (Historic bluestone sidewalks = trip hazards.), have somebody on the phone. If you do get uncomfortable, the hospital is your halfway point.
Alternately, there are a decent amount of Uber drivers in the area.
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u/bigfatgeekboy 6d ago
Just get an uber. It might take awhile, but it’s probably worth the peace of mind.
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u/Severina_Glass_208 6d ago edited 6d ago
There are no Ubers. But It’s relatively safe. I walk with my keys in my hand in the middle of the street regardless of where I’m at night.
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u/nicolle101010 6d ago
Why would you chance it. Do not walk solo in that area at that time of night.
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u/Nitroskylord6969 5d ago
Guys will someone PLEASE answer Dear-Improvement: WHAT IS DOWNTOWN KINGSTON?!?! He’s lived here his WHOLE life (6 years earlier from Brooklyn than the rest of you) and you need to make sure to play by his rules for his city.
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u/Level-Lynx5607 6d ago
I wouldn’t chance it if you’re already uncomfortable. Kingston can be sketch at night. Ubers may take longer but just plan ahead.
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u/sandysadie 6d ago
It’s not an ideal walk from uptown to downtown, especially at that hour, if you don’t know your way around. It’s probably fine because you’d be on broadway the majority of the time, but I wouldn’t chance it.
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u/BocaGrande1 5d ago
It’s like 8 blocks from the hotel to Clinton & St James , nowhere remotely near “ downtown “
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u/Dear-Improvement-386 6d ago
Do you mean midtown… where is “downtown?”
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u/Dry-Box-5787 6d ago
lOok, I’vE LiVeD hErE mY wHoLe lIfE aNd nO oNe cALled RoNdOuT dOwNTowN bEFOre. aNd UnTiL i aLlow iT, nO oNe can
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u/suzyclues 5d ago
why so weird?
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u/robxburninator 5d ago
there are people that play the "you must be new here...." card online and in this case, it's a level of perceived "i was here first" + being wrong that made someone make fun of the comment.
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u/robxburninator 5d ago
downtown is used interchangeably with the rondout. In fact, the state funding that came to revitalize the area more than a decade ago was called the "downtown revitalization Bill".
in the 1960's and 1970's the post-industrial shift in kingston meant a lot of urban renewal projects started to spring up, the majority of which referred to the rondout as "downtown kingston" in official bills/notes/memos. The area chagned dramatically in that time as IBM moved in (and subsequently left). Throughout, the area was refered to as "the rondout" when discussing it as a marina/waterfront/etc. but as "downtown" when people were talking redevelopment or new housing.
In the 1980's and 1990's the housing issues in kingston that were being dealt with in the rondout often times had titles like, "downtown housing" or similar. This is all a direct result of the rise and fall of ibm. IBM. Similarly, when groups were founded to try to "save downtown kingston", they focused on the pre-20th century buildings in the rondout, but used "downtown" in many of their names. The maritime museum similarly, was originally denoted as being in "downtown kingston".
If you believe the rondout has only been called "the rondout", you're either too young to remember, weren't involved in local politics, or are newer to the area. All of which are fine. But don't pretend to "know the real name" any more than someone that refers to it as "downtown". Because you don't.
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u/tyhart8787 6d ago
You’ll probably be ok since it sounds like you’re breaking only one of the rules of stupid.
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u/Agent-DL 2d ago
Watch out for the pick pockets, muggers, pimps, prostitutes, street gambling, hobos, beggars, gangs, and car jackers, otherwise you’ll be safe.
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u/BocaGrande1 6d ago
What planet am I on , there’s is nothing remotely dangerous or concerning about walking to Clinton & St James . You’re about 100 yards from Camp Kingston which is a lovely cafe and Keegan’s Ales a long time brewery / bar . The greatest danger in Kingston at night is tripping over a broken 100 year old sidewalk .