Barn complete, thanks to volunteers
Saturday, April 27 was a day that the Saugerties Historical Society was not sure would ever happen, but we had hoped and the day arrived and we were going to be able to rebuilt the old Dutch barn behind the Kiersted house where it would be safe and all would be able to enjoy it. Thank you to Jeanne Goldberg, Barbara Budik and the members of the board at that time for recognizing the potential importance of this project. Finally, after 10 long years of worry and countless volunteer hours, many, many fundraisers and answered appeals to the community.
The Saugerties Historical Society would like to say “thank-you” to the following individuals who came to our rescue and helped us build a barn.
Steve Fredericks, Gus Pederson, Jeff Schiller, Greg Helsmoortel both for working on the barn and supplying lunch for everyone,
Ron Leblanc for climbing those really tall ladders, Mike Harkavy, John Stafford, Alex Cicale, Herm Wilcox, Paul Andreassen, Ray Andreassen, Howard Post for being one of the bravest men we know and being project manager, David Post and Donathan Dedolph who have been working on this for over a year and putting up the last piece, Harry Block who not only worked for years on this but ate a lot of sandwiches for dinner, Howard Poliatier, Beth Murphy, Bart Friedman, Michael Nelson who kept everyone organized, Gary Bischoff, Congressman Chris Gibson who along with his aide Steve Bulger rolled up their sleeves to help us,
Assemblyman Pete Lopez who always supports us, Jeannine Mayer of the Village of Saugerties and Town Board member Fred Costello, Greg Chorvas who got me out of a big jam along with the great guys who work with him, Barry Kerr for getting it all on tape, Alex Wade who has been in this since the beginning, Moshe Katvan, Allen Bryan and Art Murphy for what we know will be great photographs, Anastasia Redman, Diana Buchan, Leeanne Thornton who cooked lunch, Dave Gordon, Martina Mercer the only woman brave enough to climb those ladders, Jerry Ryan, Steve Schnoll as well as Lox of Bagels, Hudson Valley Deserts, Brine Barrel Pickles, Jill Finger for her great cookies and everyone else who dropped off food donations. I apologize if I have accidentally left anyone out. Thank you to you all and with gratitude.
Marjorie Block
President, Saugerties Historical Society
Thanks, Richie
While remembering Richie Havens fondly this week, following his death, I’d like to remind everyone of his great generosity to our town. In 2005 Richie played a benefit at Bearsville Theater to raise funds for No Saugerties Casino. As a musician who had frequently performed on stages in casinos, he still believed in our town’s right to refuse a casino being built here. He played to a full house, charming everyone with his songs and stories. The benefit raised $9,000 to help keep a casino out of Saugerties.
Thank you again, Richie.
Carol Zaloom
Saugerties
Kingston mayor blocks railroad
As Alderman Tom Hoffay said Friday 4/26/13, “The Mayor has Gone Mad.”
It is indeed madness to get a temporary restraining order to stop the Catskill Mountain Railroad (CMRR) from moving historic cars off of Route 209 into Kingston. A phone call would have sufficed. By placing a dump truck blocking the CMRR’s tracks, nearly a mile east of the cars, Mayor Gallo committed a class D felony of NYS Railroad Law 53-e : NY Code – Section 53-E: Unlawful interference with a railroad train. As well as breaking the law this was clearly an attempt to shut down the CMRR.
This is what the CMRR has been up against for years, now everyone can see it. Because we make no political contributions to any politician in Kingston or Ulster County, and focus on our job, bringing visitors to Ulster County and Kingston to spend their dollars here, this is the reward we get.
Regardless of your position on rails or trails, this is no way to treat a small business in Kingston or Ulster County. The Ulster County Health Department, under the control of Mike Hein, provided material to assist the city in issuing the temporary restraining order. Rather than having a truly open and reasonable discussion on rail vs. trail, they instead decide to stifle the debate by putting the CMRR out of business. Is this what Ulster County has come to? No wonder businesses and jobs have been leaving the county in droves.
The CMRR has always complied with any requests made by the city and county. By resorting to legal action, it is clear that the goal of the city and county are to put the railroad out of business because we disagree with them and believe that rail and trail can coexist. Ulster County seems to be an outpost of Russia instead of a part of the United States of America.
It should be noted that of the two cars in question the “Lion Gardiner” a 1917 Pullman Dining Car is the last of its kind and is owned by the Empire State Railway Museum, not the CMRR. This car is soon to be taken out of the county for restoration by another group. The CMRR has never planned to bring this car into Kingston for restoration.
The other car is a former Erie Lackawanna coach that is a twin to the two that we have restored for our Scenic Train out of Mt. Tremper. The CMRR plans to restore this car and will follow all local laws in doing so as it did for the coaches in Mt. Tremper.
The temporary restraining order is clearly designed to intimidate the CMRR into leaving Kingston and stifling an open debate on rail vs. trail. We hope that others can finally see what we have been battling for years from the City and County. Regardless of your position on rail or trail, Ulster County and Kingston will keep losing jobs and businesses if this un-American, anti-business behavior is allowed to continue.
Harry G. Jameson III
Chairman, Catskill Mountain Railroad Co., Inc
Editor’s note: the truck was removed the following week.
Stop the madness
While our so-called moratorium on fracking continues, the gas industry is already industrializing rural New York State. Forests are now being clear-cut to pave the way for hundreds of miles of enormous distribution pipelines that will carry fracked gas from the Marcellus Shale to market. The industry plans to export the gas from terminals proposed on the Atlantic coast.
The movement of gas requires football-field-sized compressor stations every 50 miles. These stations pressurize the gas using noisy, smelly diesel turbines that spew pollutants into the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Minisink Compressor Station is currently being built in Orange County. It will destroy the rural quality of life there. It is being resisted valiantly by the residents (see www.stopmcs.org). It would boost gas gathered there from Marcellus Shale gas wells to a pipeline connector that is proposed to run north through Orange County to Shawangunk in Ulster County, then northeast through Plattekill and Lloyd and under the Walkway Over the Hudson, into Dutchess County. The goal is to get the gas to Pleasant Valley, to a main pipeline that runs from NYC to Canada, and also to a gas-fired electrical power plant in Dover Plains. This plant has been approved by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the Public Service Commission (PSC), and the Town of Dover.
Pipelines mean federal eminent domain to seize private property. So much for home rule! This could affect you and your neighbors, your children and your grandchildren.
Pipelines equal fracking. The moratorium is an illusion. Please, let’s stop the fossil fuel madness and make the switch to renewable energy sources today. It’s 2013. It’s time to do the right thing. Thank you.
Susan Holland
Ulster Park
The modest alternative for Belleayre Sky Center
Last week the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released documents for review of the proposed Crossroads resort and plans for expansion at the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center.
The plans for the ski center include alternatives that do not tie it in to the proposed resort. These alternatives cost less and return greater benefits to the public than the full build out alternative, estimated to cost $74 million. The Catskill Heritage Alliance is petitioning the State of New York to save money for taxpayers by pursuing these better and less expensive alternatives rather than a full build out.
We oppose the full build out because it would invest scarce public funds in purchasing the Highmount Ski Center from private developer Crossroads Ventures and building lifts and cutting trails there and on the western slope of Belleayre to allow private guests of Dean Gitter’s resort to “ski in and ski out” of lodging units.
We also oppose the full build out because the best investment to accommodate more skiers and to retain Belleayre Ski Center’s beloved “family friendly” character is the expansion of lodges and other skier facilities and services rather than the construction of new lifts for trails built primarily for the private resort.
In addition, we oppose the full build out because it ignores widely agreed upon predictions about the effects of climate change on winter recreational tourism. Given a diminishing future for winter recreation in the Catskills, it is unwise public policy to invest heavily in the construction of trails that will require greater snowmaking and cost more to sustain for fewer and fewer days each year and for fewer and fewer skiers as the population turns to other activities.
In contrast, we endorse alternative proposals that expand the Ski Center at far less cost and with much greater benefit to the public. The east alternative offers new sustained expert terrain near Cathedral Glen on land already within the Forest Preserve, and the core alternative provides a renovated and expanded base area and satellite lodges up-mountain, upgraded and enhanced food services and retail spaces, a modernized and well-stocked rental department, a new learning center, new and safer high speed lifts, energy efficient snowmaking equipment, and green, LEED-certified construction with the use of solar energy when possible. These alternatives allow us as taxpayers to save money while greatly improving the satisfaction of the wide range of skiers who enjoy the Ski Center.
The Catskill Heritage Alliance also endorses continued investments to ensure that, as the warming trend associated with climate change shortens winters and makes winter recreation less sustainable, the Ski Center remains a destination and a driver of the local economy. Specifically, we endorse plans for the Ski Center to construct more trails that can be used for all-season sports (cross country skiing, mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding) and link to the trail network of the 1200-acre Big Indian Parcel adjacent to the Ski Center’s existing footprint, as well as the proposed regional rail trail along the Ulster & Delaware Rail Corridor. We strongly support the continued use of the Ski Center’s lodges and grounds for cultural events, festivals, educational courses and seminars, private events, and conferences.
Please visit our website (www.catskillheritage.org) for more information about the upcoming review and please sign our petition to prevent taxpayers from subsidizing the resort, while building a better Belleayre Mountain Ski Center (https://tinyurl.com/d4bj6k6).
Kathy Nolan
Chair, Catskill Heritage Alliance
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