Diane Pineiro-Zucker is reporting for the Daily Freeman Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa is working toward establishing an FBI field office in the county. Figueroa said a new field office would require legislative approval, but declined to say where the office might be located. He said the FBI does not want any potential location identified. But David Drimer of the Jewish Federation of Ulster County said a field office could be located at the Law Enforcement Center at 380 Boulevard in Kingston. Figueroa said the FBI has not had an Ulster County presence in more than 10 years. The FBI office in New Windsor serves New York's Southern District, which includes Dutchess County, but not Ulster. Figueroa said an FBI presence in Ulster “is going to benefit us for purposes of Safe Streets and in any investigations that we can work together.” Figueroa noted that the Bureau would bring “a lot of assets (and) personnel” and will help bring the county in compliance with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s creation of “threat assessment and management teams” throughout the state. The sheriff said negotiations are “very, very preliminary but we are going to do a resolution (to the county legislature) at some point early next year and the county exec’s office is involved.” The county legislature would only need to approve the office if it were to be located on county property. Janeen DiGuiseppi, special agent in charge of the Albany Field Office, did not address or confirm the ongoing negotiations, but Figueroa said she has been “pretty involved in reaching out” on the project. “We’re very lucky to have her,” he said. County Executive-elect Jen Metzger commented via text, “I fully support Sheriff Figueroa’s efforts to have the FBI create an office in Ulster County.” A field office, she said, “has the potential to bring significant resources to our county to continue to fight against the opioid epidemic and strengthen our partnerships across all levels of government to make our community safe.” Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.