Aki Ashe is a writer and author of a series of children’s books based on lessons learned from his late grandmother. He recently formed a partnership with Wall Street Pizzeria to promote his work and encourage children to read.

Kingston Wire: How did you or your family come to Kingston?

Aki Ashe: My family was in Poughkeepsie and then eventually moved up to Kingston. It’s kind of like you go where your family is.

KW: What do you like about Kingston?

AA: I love that it’s not as fast as New York City. I still go down to New York City and I stay there sometimes. But I love the water in Kingston, the beaches, the strand is nice. And it’s relaxing. There's not all the chaos like when you go to Manhattan and there’s people all over the place and it’s loud. When I’m here I actually have time to write. I can just find a peaceful place and just write and think of creative ideas, just be artistic.

KW: What would you change about Kingston?

AA: Nothing really, it seems pretty good here. Things have changed over the past 20-25 years though. I think they upgraded a lot of things like the roads and some of the neighborhoods, putting in bike lanes and stuff like that. But you know, you can always have some kind of improvement, like maybe lower taxes.

KW: How do you think Kingston will be different in 10 years?

AA: I don’t know. Maybe more people from New York City coming to the area and people who are here moving out to different places. I’m not sure what they’re turning [the Hudson Valley] mall into but I think there will be more stores, more tourism, museums, just things that attract people to the area.