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Testimony
At 7 p.m. last Friday night, March 22, I was driving in my 2003 Honda CRV on West Saugerties Road, when right before the old Woodstock dump, now a heavy equipment garage and fire training center, two deer darted out of the woods and in front of my car. I braked and swerved to the right trying not to hit them and slid up onto the top of a guard rail, causing my car to go airborne, flip sideways and roll down a steep treacherous ravine that looked to be about 70-80 feet to the bottom. On the way down, I was tumbling around with everything else in my car like in a clothes dryer. Suddenly, the rolling was abruptly stopped about three-quarters of the way down the ravine. My car landed upside down against a tree, that if missed would have allowed me to hit a rock cliff, which could have been the end of me. In a state of shock, I desperately tried all windows and doors, but the last one finally opened up. I had to hang from the car and drop 15 feet to the ground below. I was shaking like a leaf looking up at the car above me and hastily made my way back up the steep hill and called 911. In five to ten minutes there must have been 20 cars and trucks from the Woodstock Police Department, the fire department and emergency people that showed up to assist me, for which I am truly grateful and appreciative of their compassion and professionalism. I refused the ambulance ride and walked away with my wife, who came to help and drove me to Northern Dutchess Hospital. The attending physician couldn’t believe what the CAT scan verified — that at age 72, I had no broken bones, no cuts or bruises, but only a lump on the right side of my forehead, which disappeared the next day. Being a Christian, I can’t help but believe that the Lord preserved my life, protected me from serious harm and stayed true to his word of divine protection for those who trust and believe in him (https://assuredfaith.com/divine-protection-bibleverses/). Jesus saves!
Steve Romine
Woodstock
Lobby day in Albany
Direct support for local government is an incredibly impactful way for Albany to protect the state’s income and sales tax sources needed to run NYS. The NY Conference of Mayors and Association of Towns are again requesting that representatives in Albany and Governor Hochul make one of the wisest investment decisions they have at their disposal — support local government. We have requested:
1. Increase AIM. Formerly known as “revenue sharing,” AIM has been provided without restrictions to local governments, including all New York cities, towns and villages. (NYC is not included.) AIM funding was last increased in 2009. The Village of New Paltz has received $72,724 annually.
2. Increase local transportation funding. An estimated additional $1.7 billion annually is needed to maintain and repair roads and bridges outside NYC. Poor roads cost residents $28 billion annually in vehicle repairs, lost time and fuel from congestion-related delays. For the village’s general fund for fiscal year 24/25, we are budgeting at total of $333,452 via four state programs: Pave NY, Pave Our Potholes, State Touring Route and Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement (CHIPS). We anticipate using $120,000 of CHIPS to pay for the 920 linear foot sidewalk project on Prospect (south of Slate Street to Main Street) that we estimate will cost $250,000.
3. Create the Safe Water Infrastructure Action Program (SWAP). An annual funding stream, similar to CHIPS, SWAP could be used by municipalities to address both their water and sewer infrastructure preventive maintenance costs, as well as assist in the undertaking of capital projects. Like CHIPS’ apportionment process using street miles, every municipality would receive an allocation based on the amount of pipes owned and maintained by the municipality.
After last week’s news conference at the state Capitol where local elected officials highlighted these needs, I visited Senator Michelle Hinchey’s office. As usual, our senator understood and expressed her support. She is working on our behalf. I left feeling cautiously optimistic that our local government requests will be in Albany’s fiscal year 2025 final budget.
Mayor Tim Rogers
New Paltz
Hamas and housing crisis
There is a housing crisis worldwide. Some are due to war, as is the case with Ukraine and Gaza. In our area and surrounding towns and counties the current housing crisis has another cause. The conversion of what was once monthly rentals to short-term rentals is fueling the crisis. To say that the short-term rental business is “harmless” is just a lie. Our communities are losing housing for people who have lived and worked in our communities for years. Not regulating this business is the equivalent of saying that bringing in tourists to our towns is more important than our local citizens, the people who live here. The wealthy class who own property and residences are more interested in wealthy tourists than helping out folks who live here and are not doing as well. People who convert places to STR’s are doing well. They have created lucrative businesses. These are not people who rent out their places for three or four times, what you would call on occasion. They are in business to rent out their places as many times as possible and get the highest amount they can for their rental. These are businesses whose rentals bring in well more than $200 a night on average. These are not mostly people who are “just scraping by” with this extra income.
Their hysterics that these fees have gone up 370% is just that, hysterics. The fees have gone up to where someone with a three-bedroom STR will pay approximately $500. This is equivalent to renting their places out for two or three days. Nobody is converting their places to rent them out on occasion, two or three times. This fee is extremely low. Asking the town to tell them how and where the money will be spent is just ridiculous. These are businesses bringing more people to the area, needing more services such as police and other first responders.
Jonathan Grant
West Hurley
STR permit hikes: Look deeper
Depending on which day of the week you ask, you might be told that the reason for the 1,000 percent increase to renew your short-term rental permit in the Town of Woodstock is related to the affordable housing crisis. To help educate us all, here is a 47-minute interview in which civic engineer, Christine Epperly, offers her perspective on the housing crisis, what is fueling it and what the actual cost of affordable housing is. She also makes some excellent points about how communities develop organically.
The talk focuses on Sebastopol, a small town in California that is similar in size and median income to our beloved Woodstock. Whenever we hear about a lack or a need, it’s important to dig deeper to find out how to address that need (https://youtu.be/APKWn7-s8NY?si=We60_uNwGa_FGRYy).
Keeping in mind that “affordable” is defined as 30 percent of the median income in your county, the American Community Survey one-year data shows the median family income for Ulster County was $100,244 in 2021. By definition, a modest two-bedroom apartment priced at $2,500 per month is considered “affordable housing.”
Communities are ecosystems born out of human need. The current widespread affordability challenges for both homeowners and tenants are one facet of a larger, top-down agenda that makes owning a home (having assets/growing wealth) ever more difficult. The World Economic Forum’s mantra, “You will own nothing and be happy” pushes us all toward becoming renters, with big corporations like Vanguard and Blackrock as our landlords. There’s a lot of moving parts, but I think it’s a good idea to have a broader picture so that we will not be so easily fooled when “affordable housing” is given as a reason for an exorbitant permit fee increase.
Wendy Klein
Mt. Tremper
At a loss for words
I’ve been around the block, linguistically, a few times, but I’m amazed there are words I still run across that I haven’t seen before like the prefix peri- and the French word flaneur. I’ll have to ‘marinate’ on this and take down my Oxford English Dictionary once again to pour over.
Patrick Hammer
Saugerties
McKenna’s legacy
Let us start with the architectural disaster, which looks more like a double wide trailer, that was supposed to complement the Comeau Building. A disaster that could have been prevented if McKenna would have allowed our Commission for Civic Design to finish its review of the design. A disaster that took forever to complete and cost more than he initially stated. A disaster that tells, in part, the story of what has happened to Woodstock under his watch.
Howard Harris
Woodstock
Money woes
My trust fund is running out, so I must start robbing liquor stores.
Sparrow
Phoenicia
RFK Jr. needs protection
I think that RFK Jr. should get Secret Service protection. He asked for it and was denied. Those of us who were near adulthood when his uncle, father and then Martin Luther King were shot to death know that big names attract sickos.
If you agree, I am asking you to speak up. Vote for whoever you want … all the way with Gina Raimondo is my choice. She has proven skills. But Kennedy needs protection.
The Dems are going to have a brawl in Chicago … 60’s style!
Paul Raymond
New Paltz
Hurley highway garage location requires careful consideration
The newly proposed Hurley highway garage and possible new town hall locations require careful consideration and scrutiny.
As reported in last week’s HV1 article, it was a good first step for new town supervisor Mike Boms to recognize and acknowledge the Native American cultural resources already identified in the vicinity by archaeologist David Johnson in 2023, under the previous administration.
The next step would be to contact federally and state recognized Native American tribes, such as the Stockbridge-Munsee and Ramapough-Munsee, who consider lands in the Town of Hurley part of their ancestral homelands. They should be given full agency, consultation and consent on any plan that could potentially impact their ancestral lands and cultural heritage.
Having visited and helped document the fascinating stone features identified in the Hurley woods, it’s easy to see they fit a wider pattern of similar Native American pre-historic culture resource found in neighboring municipalities, such as Woodstock, and throughout Ulster County.
With any proposal that involves developing a highway department facility and/or office complex, where state and federal funds may and should be utilized, due diligence is required, including a SEQRA process that is mandatory, to identify and protect environmental and cultural resources of significance, that may be at threatened by the proposed project.
Developing pristine forested lands and seeking NY State legislation to “alienate” or rescind New York State recognized parklands status, seems foolish and short sighted. Perhaps (if necessary), the land required for development could be subdivided from the larger parkland parcel, which should be kept forever wild, as currently designated by the state.
Lastly, it’s important for Hurley citizens to understand if any conflicts of interest exist with current town officials and the site location and development plan. Do any town officials or their relatives (or the lands they own) stand to benefit from the proposed site improvements associated with the newly proposed town highway facilities. In other words, will the new access road, electrical and other services extended to serve the new facility location, also benefit the potential future development of adjacent private parcels, that belong to current town officials, or their friends and relatives. Citizens of Hurley certainly deserve to know. This ain’t the good old days, with the good old boys mentality, and we don’t want to go back to that model.
Glenn Kreisberg
Town of Hurley
Gross incompetence in Georgia
For those of you following the case against Trump in Georgia led by DA Fani Willis, the findings by judge Scott McAfee are very weakly watered down. Let’s examine why this is.
Judge McAfee is only 34 years old, with the least amount of experience in the DA’s office, and yet is assigned the biggest case in Georgia’s court history. When promoted to the DA’s complex trial division, his department was headed by … wait for this … none other than Fani Willis! Even though he was randomly selected to be the judge in the Trump case, when this gross conflict of interest quickly manifested itself, why wasn’t he immediately removed and another judge assigned?
Being allowed to continue as the judge and as he listened to all the testimony, it should have been obvious to him that he was witnessing blatant perjury on the part of Willis and her boyfriend, Nathan Wade, Esq. These prevaricators pretended that their amorous relationship didn’t start until AFTER Wade was hired by Willis in 2021. However, a long time friend of Willis, Robin Yeartie, testified that the relationship clearly began in 2019. Another witness also confirmed that the relationship began well before Willis hired Wade. These are clear examples of anyone’s definition of perjury.
Now, if anyone of us was guilty of obvious perjury, we’d be looking at up to five years in prison plus fines according to federal felony statutes. At this point, the very least the judge would legally be obligated to carry out would have been to dismiss BOTH Wade AND Willis as well as her entire staff, and reassign the case to a more competent judge.
I guess the judge thought he’d appease Trump and his followers by dropping six flimsy racketeering charges against Trump and a few other defendants. As an “experienced” DA, Willis probably knew that these charges were ridiculous to begin with. I guess she was just following the lead of her mentor, AG Letitia James of New York, by throwing tons of spaghetti at the wall to see if any of it sticks. In both cases, these judges make sure they keep alive the toxic two-tiered system of political justice, favoring ANYONE trying to nail Trump to the wall.
John N. Butz
Modena
Onteora property tax exemptions
I would like to commend the Onteora School District for raising the income eligibility levels for the tax exemption for senior citizens and disabled individuals. The board and superintendent are forward thinking and recognize the struggles that many lower income individuals have paying their school and property taxes.
I volunteer with Tax Aide. I’ve come to know how difficult it is for many homeowners in Ulster County to pay their normal day to day expenses. This is a wonderful program from NYS Department of Taxation and Finance that is above and beyond the Star Exemption and I urge all county residents to encourage their local town board as well as their local school districts to raise the income eligibility levels for those in need.
Sue Gilmore
Highland
Good Cause Eviction is an extreme measure
Local officials are urging NYS Governor Kathy Hochul to support the ‘Good Cause Eviction’ bill. This legislation imposes sweeping state-wide rent control and applies to both old apartments and new construction. The bill will create a huge disincentive to build desperately needed housing, unless heavily subsidized by you, the taxpayers. The bill will restrict the already constricted housing supply, resulting in a terrible squeeze on anyone wishing to remain a NY state resident, especially on the middle class and the economy those residents support.
This bill will have the unintended consequence of harming those it was intended to protect. Property owners will set higher qualification standards to rent their apartments, reducing, rather than growing the number of units accessible to lower-income families. For example, renters might need a credit score of 800 or an income of three times the rent, all due to the bill’s requirements guaranteeing perpetual lease renewals.
Before we consider extreme measures, like statewide rent control and the ‘Good Cause Eviction’ law, we urge state and local governments to streamline new construction for workforce and middle-income housing, and ‘affordable’ housing. Statistically, housing construction permit rates in NYS are much slower than the rest of the nation and slowing down more. It’s time to look at housing solutions comprehensively rather than resorting to failed solutions of the past.
Mike Oats, President & CEO
Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp.
Meagan Bianco, Community Engagement Director
Ulster Strong
Man bites dog, dog bites man
Sometimes it’s man bites dog, sometimes it’s dog bites man. It’s all in a day’s news.
Dog bites man? It’s the former guy ranting about a bloodbath if he doesn’t get his way, as he did on Monday: “If I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the whole … It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That will be the least of it.” Ostensibly he was talking about the auto plants China is building in Mexico and tariffs on Chinese motor vehicles, but it’s really about is his repeated veiled and not-so-veiled threats of violence if he doesn’t regain the White House.
Consequently, he’s at the top of the headlines. Whether you love him or revile him, you know that the guy who orchestrated the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, watching it on a plasma screen for hours in a sort of self-dandling manspread, is capable of organizing a bloodbath for the whole country, the good guys from the other side with tiki torches and bear spray arrayed in squadron order behind him.
Man-bites-dog? On Primary Day March 19, Joe Biden flew to Nevada for official remarks and to Arizona for two campaign events, a full day of work as both president and presidential candidate that he completed without flagging. He spoke about a tax code that places unfair burdens on the working class and no burden on the wealthiest among us, about lowering housing costs for Americans, the importance of unions and union workers, and the strides his administration has made to deal with the environmental crisis (which the Republican Party has denied for years).
Robert Hubbell puts it this way: “President Biden managed to deliver three speeches without threatening a ‘blood bath’ if he loses the presidential election or calling immigrants ‘animals’ and ‘not human.’ Nor did Biden call convicted insurrectionists ‘hostages,’ promise to pardon felons who brutalized law enforcement officers, or salute traitors as they sang a bastardized version of our national anthem. As a result, Biden received almost no media coverage.”
Trump is going to lose the election. He sows chaos, and the American public is on to him. Hubbell notes that the Former Guy is underperforming among Republican voters. “In Florida and Ohio, Trump lost 20% of the primary vote to Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie and other Republican candidates who have suspended their campaigns [emphasis added].” NBC puts it this way: “Despite his having sewn up the nomination, 20% of Ohio GOP primary voters would be dissatisfied with Trump as the nominee, 22% say he lacks the temperament to serve effectively and 28% say he wouldn’t be fit for office if convicted of a crime … 18% say they wouldn’t support Trump in November.” The support of Trump’s own party is leaching away.
Trump is going to lose. Biden is going to win. As Joe Biden recently said, “One candidate is too old and mentally unfit to be president. The other one is me. Don’t tell [Trump]. He thinks he’s running against Barack Obama, that’s what he said.
Trump is a coward. Mano a mano, he’s all bark and no bite. I’m looking forward to the televised debate.
William Weinstein
New Paltz
Factual Error in Woodstock STR story
I am writing to correct a blatant error in Nick Henderson’s March 18 article, “STR owners protest as Woodstock drastically increases fees.” In the second-to-last paragraph, he states: “The new fee is partly based on a formula …” This is an unfounded statement. The Woodstock Town Board has never given any actual rationale for their exorbitant fee increase, despite being asked in meetings, letters and through FOIL requests. Their STR Task Force from last summer did not recommend this high increase. The new numbers simply appeared in a rushed-through resolution in January, without any background data. What is the actual financial justification? No answer. This appalling and possibly illegal lack of documentation and public input is at the core of the Woodstock FairBnb group’s objections to the fee increase.
Mr. Henderson is actually quoting Urana Kinlen, a resident who simply gave her own opinions in the public-be-heard part of the meeting. He must have gained the information from the YouTube recording, since he was not in attendance at the March 12 meeting he is reporting on. All of the last two paragraphs should have been attributed to Ms Kinlen as her opinion only. Or, if Mr. Henderson has evidence or original research to back up his statement of the basis of the new fees, he needs to provide it.
Brent Robison
Mt. Tremper
Worthless local ceasefire resolutions
The local Jewish Federation of Ulster County would like to call out the Saugerties, Gardiner, Beacon, Kingston and other local governments on this one: No local municipality’s “Ceasefire in Gaza” resolution has any standing whatsoever regarding American foreign policy. And they certainly have zero standing, weight or credibility in Israel. Such local resolutions are narcissistic publicity-seeking exercises by Hamas apologists, usually filled with anti-Semitic tropes and lies. They are intellectually lazy and give succor and support to actual terrorists. Did any local Resolution demand a ceasefire during the infamous Lebanese Civil War, 1975-1990, resulting in 150,000 fatalities? Or the Syrian Civil War, 2011-present, resulting in 470,000 – 610,000 deaths, making it the second deadliest conflict in the 21st century after the Second Congo War?
Syria now has over 6.7 million refugees and 13 million internally displaced, but not one ceasefire resolution here. And nary a resolution for the ongoing Yemen three-way Civil War, 2014-present, led by Iran-backed Houthi terrorists, now attacking international shipping and Israel? According to the UN, over 200,000 people have been killed in Yemen, as well as estimates of more than 227,000 dead as a result of the ongoing famine and lack of healthcare facilities, courtesy of the Houthis. Did anyone ever ask for a “ceasefire” here after the Arab terror attacks of 9/11? But for some reason, some local municipalities now want a “ceasefire” in Gaza. Let us tell you: there will be a ceasefire in Gaza when every hostage is returned and terror attacks against Israel completely stop. Israel has the absolute right to self-defense after being attacked on October 7 and will decide when a “ceasefire” is appropriate on its own terms.
Harv Hilowitz
Stone Ridge
Local food banks and farms urge Governor Hochul to support Nourish New York funding
One in four New Yorkers is struggling to put food on their table. The New York State Department of Health released these figures in their January report on food insecurity.
They are our family members, friends, coworkers and our neighbors. Food insecurity is impacting kids, retirees, single moms and people working two, and even three, jobs. As food, gas prices and healthcare costs continue to rise, so does the demand for emergency food programs.
Simply put, New York State’s Nourish New York program is a lifeline for individuals and families. This critical program provides access to healthy, fresh food while expanding markets for local farmers to sell their products.
The funding provided allows New York’s emergency food providers, like the Regional Food Bank, to purchase surplus products from New York farmers and dairy manufacturers and deliver it to the communities we serve. It’s a win-win.
But the current state funding allocated for Nourish New York is not enough to meet the growing demand. Local food pantries are unable to keep their shelves stocked. Families are experiencing less access to fresh produce, meat and dairy — the foundations of a nutritious diet.
Food insecurity will continue to worsen if this funding isn’t addressed in this year’s state budget.
The Regional Food Bank supports the New York State Senate and Assembly one-house budget resolutions that would allocate up to $75 million for the Nourish New York program in the FY 2024-25 state budget.
This amount will help bring more New York agricultural products to people in need in communities across the state. More children will have access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
Families of all races and religions will be able to get the food that fits their needs. More people will be fed.
It will also provide much-needed support for local food producers and farmers. The program has already helped hundreds of family farms and local producers to remain in operation. The increased funding will ensure more farms have a place to sell their surplus products.
We urge Governor Kathy Hochul to approve additional funding for the Nourish New York program, along with other important hunger relief initiatives. In this, the Empire State, no New Yorker should be hungry.
Tom Nardacci, CEO
Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York
Let us not pussyfoot ’round the problem
In the heart of a nation once proud and free,
Lies a darkness veiled in democracy.
Where a leader rises, with a devil’s allure,
A fascist fiend, spreading fear and more.
Trump, the name that stirs up dread,
A vile would-be dictator in lies and what’s said.
His followers blind, to his evil schemes,
Caught in a web of twisted dreams.
With honeyed words and venomous tongue,
He speaks of greatness; his web is spun.
But amidst the darkness, a glimmer of light,
A warning to all, to stand and fight.
To rise against tyranny, to break free,
From the chains of fascism, let us be.
For in unity and truth, we hold the key,
To banish horror and set us free.
To reclaim our rights, our voices loud,
To silence the fascist, in his shroud.
So let us not pussyfoot, around the problem,
Let us rise together, and never succumb.
To the darkness that threatens, our democracy,
For in unity and courage, lies our victory.
But beneath the facade, a monster lurks,
Feeding on hate and chaos, yes, evil smirks.
“I only would be a dictator for day one” – Trump.
In Trump’s domain, a tragic scene, a carnival
of pettiness obscene.
Fake news and tweets, oh what a shitshow,
Failure disguised as a golden glow. The bottom?
Nowhere to be found, in this circus where chaos is crowned.
Pettiness knows no limit here, a land of tantrums,
loud and clear.
An identity crisis is on full display,
as we navigate through this god-awful dismay.
The F Word, not to be ignored,
Fascism unleashed as a wicked sword.
In the name of God, a deal is sealed,
With the Devil’s touch, freedom is repealed.
His cultish followers, lost in a trance,
Marching to his tune, in a twisted dance.
Blinded by rage, they fail to see,
The destruction he brings to you and me.
A hell with a devil, incarnate in flesh,
A horror story, a nation afresh.
The Trump & MAGAt strategy reigns supreme,
eroding trust like a silent scream…
Leaders who uck you, with a grin,
Their souls tainted, yes, tainted with sin…
Neil Jarmel
West Hurley
The eternal spiral: Love
Love emerges as the central protagonist in the theater of existence, where each act unfolds with the meticulous choreography of destiny and chance. This love is pure, akin to a river that nurtures the verdant meadows and the arid lands it traverses. It is a universal caregiver, imparting care, kindness and compassion to all entities, living and non-living. In this unadulterated form, love becomes a transparent veil through which the inevitability of death is perceived, not as an evil specter, but as an integral dancer in cosmic ballet.
“Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it,” Haruki Murakami wisely observed. As love in its simplest form embraces every aspect of existence, the cycle of life and death reveals itself not as a series of abrupt endings but as continuous loops in the eternal spiral of being.
However, when we infuse love with the intoxicating potions of romance, attraction and sexual desire, its clarity becomes clouded. Like an ancient mirror tarnished by time, love’s ability to reflect the true beauty of existence diminishes. In this state, living and non-living entities are not in their rightful place within the grand tapestry of existence. Instead, they become mere objects of desire or indifference, losing their intrinsic value in the shadow of our personal needs and fears.
In this complicated form, love breeds a heightened fear of death. For now, death is seen not as a natural counterpart to life but as a robber of potential pleasures and connections. This fear multiplies, casting long shadows over our lives, like clouds darkening the landscape on an otherwise bright day. Once so clear, the beauty and continuity of existence become obscured by these clouds of apprehension and desire.
There lies a profound equilibrium in the grand symphony of existence, where each note resonates with the echoes of love and fear, hope and despair. In this balance, we find the final act of our narrative, one that sings of hope and whispers of the endless opportunities that lay strewn across our path, like stars scattered in the night sky.
Larry Winters
New Paltz
Special interests would undermine the Housing Action Fund
In a county legislative hearing on March 19, representatives for the “mega, all-inclusive” hotels and resorts in the area pled their case for a tax reduction on an already reduced tax (bit.ly/3TxpUvH). The base rate for defining the cost of their rooms alone is currently 40% of all charges, not including meals, activities and other amenities. To this room cost, the new county occupancy tax of 4% would be applied. In order for it to be “fair,” the speakers said the base rate should be reduced to 20%. They referred to data that outlined their operational costs, and they noted that they dutifully pay other property and sales taxes.
Their arguments were fundamentally misleading. Crucially, the businesses themselves are not subject to the occupancy tax; it is their customers, who are largely out-of-area visitors, who are taxed. Repeat: customers pay the tax. These large hotels would argue that competitive pressures would force them to raise their prices and deter customers from booking. In fact, they are successful businesses highly experienced in setting up cost and price structures. They will continue to be successful when they make adjustments to pricing. Their customers — often corporate or international — who can afford their high prices to begin with, will not likely flee, especially when the occupancy tax in neighboring counties is higher than Ulster’s.
Regarding fairness, if the mega hotels win their tax break, their customers would be paying close to the same dollars for their “rooms” as average folks pay for average hotels and motels, which also offer amenities and activities like swimming pools, fitness rooms and breakfasts. (These establishments get base rates for rooms at 60-85% of full cost.) With the proposed reduction, a guest with a luxury room charge of $600 at the mega hotel could pay less of an occupancy tax fee than Frank and Eva Average booking for $150 at a smaller hotel/motel. A familiar tale of breaks for the wealthier.
Importantly, the new occupancy tax is intended to funnel money into the Ulster County legislature’s recently enacted Housing Action Fund. This fund, resoundingly supported by legislators last year, is intended to seed projects aimed at easing the county’s glaring housing crisis. A victory for the mega hotels would pull a million dollars of the anticipated revenue from the occupancy tax, crippling the program at its start. C’mon big guys, suck it up, adjust your balance sheets, serve your customers, and do your part to ease the housing crisis that even you have acknowledged hinders your ability to hire and keep your workers.
Tom Denton
New Paltz
Join the family! 
