Phoenicia Library receives grant

On anniversary of Hurricane Irene, Pitney Bowes Foundation provides $35,000 to help school and public libraries Thanks to a generous grant of $35,000 from Pitney Bowes Foundation, the American Library Association has distributed $3,500 in donations to 10 libraries. Last year, Hurricane Irene caused widespread destruction and major flooding in the Northeast during the last week of August 2011. Libraries were not spared, with many suffering extensive damage, forcing closings, lost materials and equipment. The local communities rallied in support of their libraries over the past year, making great progress to re-establish services, but recovery is a long process. These grants will help the following ten libraries continue rebuilding their collections and resources.

A story from the Woodstock Times: Work in Stony Clove Creek may help with flooding, turbidity.

 (L) Before — an eroding streambank in Chichester near Silver Hollow Road, before stream modification. Photo courtesy of Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program.
(R) After — the new streambank, redesigned to prevent flood damage to roads, properties, and Phoenicia’s Main Street. (photo by Violet Snow)
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Phoenicia Voice Festival

We attended two events of this year's edition of the Festival:


Puccini's Madama Butterfly
  and
Barbershop! ‘Round Midnight and Voices of Gotham

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Jury rules against Shandaken property owners in assessment fight

Story from The Daily Freeman:  A seven-year tax squabble between 18 landowners and the town of Shandaken has ended with a jury’s finding that the town had a “rational basis” for raising the assessments of properties with more than 20 acres of undeveloped land.

City that Drinks the Mountain Sky

Story from PostStarNews.com:

On Saturday July 14, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County’s Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program (AWSMP) hosted a production of the Arm-of-the-Sea theatrical troupe’s production of “City that Drinks the Mountain Sky.” This play uses masks and puppets to tell the story of the Catskill Mountains and the development of the NYC Watershed.

Fodor’s likes Phoenicia

Violet Snow's article appears in the Woodstock Times, and begins:

“Arts and the Great Outdoors” is the first of several suheadings in the July 3 blog post entitled “Long Weekend in Phoenicia, New York” on the Fodor’s Travel Intelligence website at www.fodors.com. With commercial development in the Town of Shandaken limited by watershed regulations protecting New York City’s drinking water, and many citizens committed to maintaining the rural character of the region by fighting big projects like the proposed megaresort at Belleayre, the arts have become a means of attracting people to Shandaken.

That blog post is one of many to be found on the Fodor's website.

More space for Woodstock Library

Story from MidHudson News

The crowded and busy Woodstock Library has some room for more activities. A vacant laundromat across Library Lane will serve as a Library Annex. Ulster County acquired the building for nonpayment of taxes.

We're back, or The bonfire that wasn't

On the weekend of June 30-July 1, a few intrepid and industrious Chichesterites/Silver Hollowites trekked down to the CPOA grounds, volunteering their services to clean up the community house and grounds. Much sweat was rendered as the clubhouse floor was mopped over and over and over, weeds whacked, and the grounds groomed. The remaining detritus was collected, in order to become a bonfire the following weekend. We were to sing, eat 'Chi-made' smores, and while the evening away beside our very own bonfire. Alas, due to the very-dry conditions and lack of rain, it was decided we should be prudent and safe.

It woulda been somethin' Yet a good time was had by all who did attend.

Lawmakers call for trash monopoly

A story in the TimesHerald Record:

Two Ulster legislators have recommended establishing a disposal monopoly for all trash and recyclables generated within the county. The 16-page proposal presented Thursday by Ken Wishnick, D-New Paltz, and Carl Belfiglio, R-Port Ewen, would also transfer garbage oversight to the county executive.

The county's trash agency has needed a $1.4 million annual subsidy since 2010. Ballooning payments on $21.7 million of debt will send the subsidy to $2.5 million starting in 2013. But "flow control" — a requirement that all waste generated in the county cross the public agency's scales — would enable the agency to operate without a subsidy by 2015. That's because monopoly power enables the agency to set disposal fees as high as necessary to meet yearly expenses.

Tipping fees are expected to rise from an average of $87 per ton to $102 per ton, the proposal said, meaning a typical household would pay $16.83 more annually for garbage disposal.

"Flow control is a must," Wishnick said. "There's no other way to guarantee a profit."

The proposal would also ask the state for permission to enact flow control for recyclables. This would ensure Ulster has sufficient revenue to invest in equipment for "single stream," where all recyclable materials are collected together.

Most committee members wanted additional financial information before rendering a verdict on the proposal, but John Parete, D-Boiceville, was adamantly opposed. "The more the government sticks their hand in the pie, the worse it gets," Parete said. "You don't raise your prices to bring more businesses in." He wanted the county to sell its assets and get out of the trash disposal business.

Plumbing the depths of a sewer controversy

Story on Watershed Post website on Phoenicia sewer project. A local expresses a local's viewpoint.

Detail of a map showing the location of a proposed Phoenicia sewer district, the subject of negotiations between the town of Shandaken, the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection that broke down earlier this month. Source: Lamont Engineers's 2011 project report on the proposed Phoenicia sewer project.

A local's point of view.


This column had been on hold, waiting for another shoe to drop. Something was bound to change, and it did: New York City pulled a flawed sewers deal for Phoenicia off the table, while continuing to wave a big stick. By steadfastly ignoring all flies in the ointment it was offering, it readily assigns all blame for failing to seal a deal on Shandaken, and those ornery and ungrateful members of the proposed Phoenicia sewer district – all 200-odd potential members of it.

Of course I present a one-sided view, but this is mostly a one-sided conflict. The only power Phoenicia has is the power to say no, until we get something we can live with, not just now, but for well into the future. The CWC did what they could to develop the best plan New York City would agree to underwrite on its terms. Resistance would vanish immediately if New York City tangibly capped Phoenicia’s fears of unsustainable costs and liabilities arising now and/or down the road.

Shandaken Day 2012

Shandaken mulls sewer flush

Another story in the Woodstock Times about the (apparently) never-ending saga of the sewer, Shandaken, and NYC.

Photo © S. Weir

Shandaken supervisor Rob Stanley expressed disappointment with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), not only for pulling the remaining $15.8 million in funding for the proposed Phoenicia sewer but also for failing to respond to any of the concerns Stanley noted in his request for an extension on the timeframe for the project’s development.


The DEP’s letter of June 1, notifying Stanley that they were dropping the project after 15 years of trying to get a Phoenicia sewer system into the ground, caught the town board by surprise and caused widespread dismay.


Restaurant owner Mike Ricciardella, who has been a leader of the opposition to settling for the city’s offer, remarked, “The city wanted us to sign on to an open-ended agreement. The proposal didn’t have a concrete accounting of the costs, and the board said they needed more time to make it complete. It’s a shame the city backed out. The board did a good job. As a business person, you want to have all the costs made clear before you make a decision.”


Ironically, Ricciardella is having difficulty getting a loan to purchase Al’s Seafood Restaurant because of issues with the town’s septic systems. “I’m applying through the CWC,” he explained, “and they had concerns about the general conditions of septic systems in town,” such as the violation against Sweet Sue’s last year that resulted in the restaurant’s owner, Sue Taylor, having to install a new septic system after Main Street flooded in 2010.

Phoenicia realtor and water commissioner Rick Ricciardella commented, “The sewer system is a good idea, but if the city needs it to protect their waterways, they should pay for everything. We don’t need it — the systems we’ve had have worked for 200 years. We have good soil for filtration, sand and gravel. I have a septic system the city put in for me ten years ago, and it works fine.”

Phoenicia without a paddle

A story in the Woodstock Times (Without a paddle: City pulls the plug on Phoenicia sewer), details the fate of the funds NYC had set aside for Phoenicia.


The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has withdrawn its participation in the proposed Phoenicia sewer project, rejecting the Shandaken Town Board’s request for an extension of the deadline to establish a local sewer district. In a letter to Shandaken supervisor Rob Stanley, dated June 1, DEP commissioner Carter H. Strickland, Jr., stated that the $15.8 million block grant that has been reserved for the Phoenicia sewer for the past 15 years will be released to other towns, and that the Catskill Watershed Corporation (CWC) “intends to terminate its contract” with Shandaken.

In his letter to the town, Strickland noted that the city has spent $1.9 million over the past 15 years to study and design a wastewater treatment plant for Phoenicia, granting several timeframe extensions, as the community considered various options.

“However,” he wrote, “with many missed milestones for action by the Town of Shandaken, it has now become clear that the community is not prepared to take the concrete steps necessary to advance a project to completion…While we view this outcome as unfortunate, DEP can no longer justify reserving funds for a wastewater treament plant (WWTP) for Phoenicia.”
The letter concludes with an expression of willingness to continue working with the town on “stream restoration projects, our septic program, and enforcement of watershed regulations.”

As pointed out in the DEP letter, New York City has built similar systems at its expense in Hunter, Fleischmanns, Windham, Andes, Roxbury, Prattsville and Pine Hill. The latest one began operations last year in Boiceville.

Phoenicia bridge open

Items in MidHudson News (Bridge Street crossing reopens in Phoenicia) and Woodstock Times (Bridges to somewhere: Ribbons cut, Shandaken spans again taking on traffic) on the re-opening of the Main Street bridge in Phoenicia.

Shandaken Supervisor Robert Stanley (podium), County Executive Michael Hein, pleased the bridge has reopened


The whole neighborhood turned out Friday morning for Phoenicia’s long-awaited reopening of the Bridge Street crossing, devastated in late August by Hurricane Irene. It was the second infrastructure  ribbon cutting this week for county officials in Shandaken, just in time for the lucrative summer season, The new bridge along Route 47 in Olivera was unveiled on Monday.

Rob Stanley and Mike Hein cut the ribbon to open the bridge. (Violet Snow) 

About 200 people showed up to celebrate the reopening of Phoenicia’s Bridge Street bridge on Friday, May 25, as Ulster County Executive Mike Hein extolled the county highway department workers for restoring the bridge after Hurricane Irene ripped down most of its guardrails and shifted the roadbed by 18 inches.

The ‘community’ in theater

A Woodstock Times story about Phoenicia's Shandaken Theatrical Society. The first STS production: The Spitfire Grill By James Valcq and Fred Alley. Directed by Glenn Lazlo Weiss. Musical direction by Andrew Goodsight. Performance Dates: May 25, 26, 27 June 1, 2, 3 June 8, 9,10.


The theater will be hopping this summer. Although no in-house production has been planned, the space will be rented out for several performances. Lutenist and guitarist Carver Blanchard performs Renaissance and 19th century American music. Arm-of-the-Sea Theater, with its big, whimsical puppets, will give a free performance of The City that Drinks the Mountain Sky, about the Ashokan Reservoir, sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension. And Phoenicia’s own rock star, Robert Burke Warren, a.k.a. Uncle Rock, is planning a concert.

The remainder of the season will include STS productions of A Thousand Clowns, Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys, The Lady with all the Answers: The Ann Landers Play, and the musical Working based on the Studs Terkel book. Weekly showings of classic movies continue, have switched from the last Friday of the month to the last Saturday — with showings bumped back if there’s play on. Check the theater website at for details of shows and films.

Ribbon cutting held for new bridge

Story on YNN details reopening of bridge in Big Indian.

CDC to baby boomers: Get tested for hepatitis C

By Mike Stobee, Associated PressAtlanta (AP) — For the first time, health officials are proposing that all baby boomers get tested for hepatitis C. Anyone born from 1945 to 1965 should get a one-time blood test to see if they have the liver-destroying virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in draft recommendations issued Friday. Baby boomers account for 2 million of the 3.2 million Americans infected with the blood-borne virus. The virus can take decades to cause liver damage, and many people don't know they're infected. CDC officials believe the new measure could lead 800,000 more baby boomers to get treatment and could save more than 120,000 lives.

Phoenicia Library interim director

An article in the Woodstock Times reports the Interim Director is: hamlet resident Elizabeth Potter. Further, the library has two new board members and two new employees. Meanwhile, bids are being processed for the renovation of the Main Street library that was gutted by fire last March, but objections by neighbors will delay the building project.


As for rebuilding: Neighbors on both sides of the Main Street library building have taken legal action against the Shandaken Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and the library, alleging technical errors in the ZBA’s approval of the renovation plans. After consulting with lawyers, the library board has decided to withdraw its application and reapply.

CWC pulls out of Phoenicia sewer project

An article in the Watershed Post announces:
Shandaken's latest bout of dithering over a proposed Phoenicia sewer plant may have cost the town $15.8 million in New York City grant money. After years of negotiation with a reluctant town board over the Phoenicia sewer project, the Catskill Watershed Corporation has finally decided enough is enough.

And: But it seems there is little hope that Phoenicia will be able to get that grant now. Alan Rosa, executive director of the CWC, told the Watershed Post on Tuesday that the nonprofit is washing its hands of Phoenicia's dirty water

Storm-damaged bridge in Phoenicia can be fixed after all

PHOENICIA, N.Y. — The Bridge Street bridge, badly damaged during Tropical Storms Irene and Lee last summer, can be fixed after all and could reopen by early July, Ulster County Executive Michael Hein announced on Friday.

The bridge, one of two entrances to Phoenicia from state Route 28, originally was thought to be damaged beyond repair.

Hein, in a press release, said the firm Peak Engineering made the determination that the bridge can be saved, and he said the work probably will be done by county crews.

Muddying of beloved creek last straw for city reservoir neighbors

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times - The Ashokan Reservoir in Ulster County is kept clear by emptying its muddy water into Lower Esopus Creek. Local residents fear it may never run clear again.

For years, the resentment simmered as residents of Ulster County endured development bans, flooded basements and ruined crops, all for the sake of protecting New York City’s water supply. But the last straw in a string of grievances was the browning of a cherished tributary that is vital to recreation and agriculture in this corner of the Catskills. Discontent has given way to full-throttle fury against the city, which has always called the shots on reservoir management in the region.


The browning of a cherished tributary link is to a document issued by the Ulster County Executive Hein that includes an announcement of Ulster's filing of a lawsuit against NYC's DEP for polluting the Lower Esopus.


The tipping point was a two-year-old decision by New York City environmental officials — with state support — to allow frequent releases of muddy water from one of the city’s major upstate reservoirs, the Ashokan, into the waterway, the 34-mile-long Lower Esopus Creek. The purpose of the discharges is to rid the reservoir of clay particles and other materials stirred up by rainfall, ensuring that the water supply for nine million people downstate remains pristine.

Declaring Pine Hill ‘historic’

The Italianate facade of the Colonial Inn, one of the few hotels still in operation in Pine Hill.

 The sleepy hamlet of Pine Hill, at the western end of Shandaken, is poised to capitalize on its past as a significant tourist destination by obtaining legal designation as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. Residents and businesspeople hope that signage and official listings — appearing on maps, Smartphone apps, brochures, and GPS units — will revive the hamlet by once again attracting tourists to view its many homes, hotels, library, former school building, churches, and stone bridges that were built between 1880 and 1925.

Winter in Chichester

Grants for flood debris clearing

Article in MidHudson News includes this paragraph:


A total of $212,345 has been awarded as of January 25 from the Stream Corridor Protection Debris Removal Program launched by the corporation in December.  Projects are in West Shokan, Shandaken, Chichester, Lanesville and Halcott, where the town was awarded $37,455 to hire a contractor to clear three sites on Vly Creek.

Bridge tolls going up Jan. 30

Story from today's Kingston Times: Tolls on the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge and four more spans across the Hudson will rise next month, a move officials at the New York State Bridge Authority say is necessary to pay for maintenance on the aging crossings. Starting at midnight on Jan. 30, tolls for the Kingston-Rhinecliff, Rip Van Winkle, Mid-Hudson, Newburgh-Beacon and Bear Mountain bridges will rise by 50 cents for cash customers and users of the E-Z Pass commuter discount program (currently cash customers pay $1 while users of the discount program pay 50 cents). Regular E-Z Pass users will see tolls rise by 25 cents to $1.25.