Future of Station stage uncertain amid outdoor music talks

The future of live outdoor music in Woodstock is particularly uncertain at Station Bar & Curio. Opened in July 2016, the bar at 101 Tinker Street offers seating on an attached covered porch, which for many years has featured live bands.

On June 10, town building inspector Francis “Butch” Hoffman posted a bright red notice on the porch with the following words in all caps: “Please take notice that this structure is declared unlawful. It is the order of the building department that this structure not be occupied until further notice.”

The original approved site plan did not include the entire porch or all of its seating. During the Covid pandemic, an emergency edict from town supervisor Bill McKenna exempted venues — including Station — from site-plan review in order to allow outdoor dining and entertainment at a time when indoor crowds were unsafe.

Eventually, the emergency order expired. Businesses were told they had to get approval from the planning board if they wanted their outdoor areas to remain. For a multitude of reasons, Station did not seek that approval. The building department found the establishment in violation. But Station took the back burner to other priorities of the department — until recently.

After some negotiations, Station was allowed on June 14 to reopen its porch, but was not permitted to have live music on it.

A 2018 noise ordinance set out to stop problematic short-term rentals that had become party houses unintentionally ensnared outdoor-music venues. Music lovers delivered a petition with more than 800 Woodstock signatures and 2000 out-of-towners implored the town board to come up with an amicable solution.
A task force recommended allowing amplified music for a three-hour period between noon and 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Five special events by permit would be possible throughout the year. So-called incidental music can happen at any time, per the task-force recommendations.

Musicians and venues argued strenuously at a public hearing that the proposal curtailed their ability to make a living. 

The task force has been making tweaks, and no date is yet set for the adoption of a revised noise ordinance.

Meanwhile, Station owner Lily Korolkoff is attempting to get approval for an updated site plan that includes all seating and parking requirements and permits the return of music.

Korolkoff had been trying a series within the parameters of the proposed noise ordinance called Honky Tonk Happy Hour Fridays from 6 to 9 p.m. A few sessions took place before the building department shutdown.

“A lot of the things that are likely to come up in the public hearing don’t really have anything to do with what she’s asking for,” noted planning board vice-chair Judith Kerman at the board’s August 1 meeting. Some on the planning board believe the question of sound and decibel levels is not within their purview.

Planning secretary Melissa Grey suggested the board impose restrictions, such as specifying a time limit for the music outside. “You can say not after 10 p.m.,” she said. “You have a right to request what you think is reasonable for the town.”

A band recently booked at Station moved to the Colony beer garden, Korolkoff told the planning board, where they were allowed to play outdoors on a bigger stage.

“We are waiting on the town board to come up with a solution for the sound overall in the town, so I think for us to make a specific one is kind of out of place right now,” planning board chair Peter Cross said.

Kerman said that stipulations for one venue could end up setting a precedent.

If it approves the amended site plan, the planning board could specify that music performance is subject to enforcement by the building and police departments. Similar language was included in the Colony beer garden’s site-plan approval.

Station has had a history of noise complaints from a few people, including noise task force member Kristen Eberhardt, who wrote the planning board in opposition. Irwin Rosenthal, who lives across the street, wrote Station has not attempted to reduce the sound traveling from the venue or change the hours while other venues have.

Korolkoff told the planning board she has made attempts to keep the sound away from the neighbors, including reorienting the stage.

Members of the planning board will take an in-person tour of the Station porch area to get a sense of what is proposed. The next step is a public hearing.