The Kingston Tenants Union has released a study showing that evictions in Ulster County have increased 57 percent since 2013. Evictions in the city of Kingston in 2018, equaled the number reported at the height of the financial crisis. The number of tenants displaced in Ellenville tripled last year; and the rate doubled from previous years in New Paltz, Wallkill, Highland, Kerhonkson and Marlboro. The data used in the study was comes from a blacklisted tenant database maintained by landlords and property owners, containing the names of more than 6,200 Ulster County evictees since 2004. According to the report, "Renters are bearing the brunt of a booming real estate and luxury tourism market; median rents have increased by 50 percent in Ulster County since 2002, while the median wage has actually decreased slightly. In 2017, 6,251 Ulster County families gave the majority of their income to their landlords." Kingston Tenants Union spokesman Alex Panagiotopoulos said in an email to WGXC-FM, the union is only a few months old. The group of more than 100 tenants was formed after New York City developer E&M Associates purchased several apartment complexes in the county and began evicting renters. The tenants union has been lobbying city and county officials in favor of the Universal Rent Control bill package currently under consideration by state lawmakers. The Hudson Common Council March 19, approved a resolution in support of that legislation. Read the full report at Kingston Tenants Union [dot] org.