Donated desk will highlight rebuilt Phoenicia Library

The new circulation desk, custom built and donated by Ben Mack. (photo by Violet Snow)

Article appearing in the Woodstock Times

The Phoenicia Library’s move from temporary quarters on Ava Maria Drive to its renovated home on Main Street is tentatively scheduled for December, announced library director Elizabeth Potter, who hopes to open in the updated space by January 1. With the reconstruction nearing completion, the moving date will depend on when the new shelving is ready to be delivered, and the library will be closed for two to three weeks during the transition period.

An electrical fire gutted the Main Street building in March 2010. The $800,000 rebuild was financed through a mix of insurance money, state grants, personal donations, and fundraising initiatives. Energy-efficient and handicapped-accessible, the structure has been enlarged to accommodate a ramp, elevator, and community meeting room.

Employees will be getting used to the new technologies of the building, including lighting, the elevator, and the “passive house” heat-exchange system, which will require no heating fuel. Staff will also be getting up to speed on the new computers, provided through a grant from New York State.
Patrons will have to plan ahead once the moving date is firmed up, as it will not be possible to check out books in Phoenicia for a couple of weeks. When placing a hold, patrons can specify pick-up at nearby libraries, such as Olive, Pine Hill, or Woodstock.


When the moving and opening dates are set, they will be posted on the Phoenicia Library website, http://phoenicialibrary.org, or the library’s Facebook page.

No septic, no loan: Phoenicia Pharmacy sale falls through

Woodstock Times article, by Violet Snow on Sep 18, 2014 • 5:00 pm

(Photo by Dion Ogust)

Pharmacist and WellCare founder Ed Ullman’s plans to buy the Phoenicia Pharmacy have been scotched by the refusal of the Catskill Watershed Corporation (CWC) to grant him a low-interest loan for renovating the property. Ullman’s is the second application to the CWC since the Phoenicia town board’s failure to act on the sewer system proposal resulted in New York City’s withdrawal of funds from the project in 2012. Both Ullman and the previous applicant, Mike Ricciardella, who was seeking a loan to renovate the former Al’s Restaurant, were turned down by the CWC.

Ricciardella succeeded in obtaining private financing for his new restaurant, now renamed The Phoenician and scheduled to open this fall in its expanded building on Main Street. Ullman pointed out that Ricciardella, as owner of three other restaurants in town, has plenty of collateral, and The Phoenician is not in the floodplain. Ullman, doubtful about the prospects of getting a private loan for the pharmacy, has withdrawn his purchase offer.

Summer programs 2014

July 5 CPOA events:

• 10am: general meeting
• 6 pm: cocktails and barbecue

July  26:
     Progressive Dinner and desserts

30 July - 3 August:
     Phoenicia Festival of the Voice

August 16:
     CPOA DIY BBQ

August 23:
     Train ride: Arkville - Roxbury

August 30:
     Labor Day weekend cocktails and barbecue

• 10am: general meeting
• 6 pm: cocktails and barbecue

Phoenicia Voice Festival

Setting up for the Festival, Saturday 26 July 2014:

Monday 28 July 2014:

Opening night, Wednesday 30 July 2014:

Seen on Main Street on Saturday 2 August, before The Barber of Seville:

Phoenicia seeks to increase spring water flow to municipal system

A Daily Freeman article.

Due to booming business during a summer that has brought throngs of thirsty visitors, the Phoenicia Water District has started a project to reclaim precious spring water for the hamlet to make sure there’s enough to go around.
   Water Commissioner Rick Ricciardella said Monday work will soon begin on carving a road up the mountain across the street from the district filtration plant to grant access to the half dozen natural springs that have supplied water to the hamlet for the past 100 years.
   After a century of thunderstorms, spring thaws and summer droughts, erosion has gradually restricted the flow from those springs to reservoirs built to hold the supply, he said.

Ulster County lawmakers endorse plan for trail only on Kingston-to-Ashokan rail corridor

Daily Freeman story:

The Ulster County Legislature has made it county policy that the former Ulster and Delaware rail corridor that stretches from the city of Kingston to the Ashokan Reservoir be converted to trail use when the county’s lease with the Catskill Mountain Railroad ends in 2016.


Ulster County Legislators voted 18-4 on Tuesday to adopt a resolution that adopts the “segmented trail and rail” plan championed by Ulster County Executive Michael Hein. That plan calls for a walking trail only from Kingston to the western side of the Ashokan Reservoir and a tourist train between Mount Tremper and Phoenicia.



But legislators didn’t completely give up on the prospect of a future railroad operation in the corridor. Among the amendments made to the resolution is one that requires legislative approval to remove any railroad tracks.

Postal official tells Shandaken hamlets it may have to cut hours

Story from the Woodstock Times includes:

The postal service, which is not supported by taxes, faces a $10 billion deficit this year, due largely to the ubiquity of email. In order to reduce the annual shortfall, hours have been cut back at rural post offices over the past few years. In 2013, the Lake Hill and Mount Tremper post offices were cut to four hours per day of counter time, and Chichester is slated to make the same reduction. “I understand it’s a major change for some of us,” said Fitzpatrick. “We will do everything we can to make it seamless.”

Phoenicia Pharmacy on the block, hopes for independent takeover

Woodstock Times article.

(Photo by Dion Ogust)

A Phoenicia icon has been on the market since early April, with pharmacist Marty Millman contemplating retirement after 34 years in business at the Phoenicia Pharmacy. Millman, about to turn 78, is selling both the building, with an asking price of $395,000, and the business, also priced at $395,000, in the hope that he can find a buyer who will keep a pharmacy in operation at the site.

The Gordon Brothers Pharmacy operated for several years on the south side of Phoenicia’s Main Street, where Ruth Gale Realty is now located. Phillip and Joe Gordon built the present pharmacy building in 1950. When the Millmans arrived, they rented half of the building at first, then bought it from the Gordons in 1981. The Head-to-Toe Shop sold ladies’ clothing in the other half until that shop folded, when proprietor Dorothy Cutrone went to work for the pharmacy.

On a High Note

Story from the Chronogram on the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice.

• The Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice will be held on July 30-August 3

When the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice returns to the Catskills this July, it will have raised the bar—about two octaves higher.

Celebrating its fifth season this year, the festival welcomes countertenor Brian Asawa to its mainstage. Asawa is one of the world's foremost countertenors, having brought his powerful, flexible, and impressively high vocal range to such world-class venues as the Metropolitan Opera, the Palais Garnier in Paris, and Madrid's Teatro Real. Capable of singing within typically female vocal registers—contralto, mezzo-soprano, and sometimes even soprano—countertenors are today relatively rare. The festival will feature Asawa in this summer's edition of "Voices of Distinction," a program of some of the most exceptional vocal works of the Baroque period. The artist will also host a free lecture titled "The Art of I'castratti," in which he will discuss the historic, long-abandoned practice of castrating young singers as well as the vocal aesthetic of a modern countertenor.

Another high note of the festival, and an accent of this year's Spanish theme, will be a staging of Gioachino Rossini's "The Barber of Seville." Based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comic French play of the same name, the opera buffa is one of the most popular and widely performed operas in the world—few today can hear its overture without Bugs Bunny coming to mind. Festival Executive Director Maria Todaro and internationally acclaimed baritone and Phoenicia newcomer Lucas Meachem will top the bill, singing the principle roles of the beautiful Rosina and the clever Figaro.

Brazil v. Germany

Embattled Mount Tremper farm stand moves to Olive, changes name

Story from Daily Freeman:

A sign outside the former Hanover Farms stand on state Route 28 in Mount Tremper announces the business’ relocation. Photo by Jay Braman Jr.

The embattled Hanover Farms stand has left the town of Shandaken for neighboring Olive and has changed its name.

Closed since last year for violating Shandaken restrictions regarding its size, the farm stand is relocating to the Olive hamlet of Shokan.

“FARM STAND RE-OPENING AT OLD BANK IN SHOKAN!” states a sign at the business’ former location on state Route 28 in the hamlet of Mount Tremper.

The site to which Hanover is moving, also on Route 28, was occupied by a Bank of America branch until the spring of 2013. Hanover owners Al and Alfie Higley have been setting up their business in a tent in the bank’s paved parking lot, near the former drive-up window.

A sign at the new site proclaims the business’ new name: Greenheart Farmstand.

World Cup 2014

Hudson Valley Weather

Posted to Facebook today at 1.45pm:

The Mid Hudson Valley from New Paltz to Saugerties is taking a pretty good beating at the moment. Frequent lightning, heavy rain and hail are impacting this region, please post observations below.

A Spacious Log Home in Chichester: Stony Clove Retreat

Chronogram article

"Aside from the terrific unspoiled wilderness feel of the area, and the wonderful neighbors, the best thing about owning a home in Chichester is the opportunity to belong to the Chichester Property Owners Association," says Marrazzo. "It's like a private club, with about 100 members, representing about 35 different families, mostly descended from people who owned summer places here in the 1940s."

Deborah DeGraffenreid

US vs. Germany in World Cup

New York City’s watershed land buyout program raises concerns among Shandaken town planners

The Shandaken Planning Board is expected to take a long, hard look at the details of a controversial plan to allow the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to buy homes and businesses in local hamlets and villages.

Ashokan Reservoir fountain in Olivebridge off until mid-August

The fountain at the Ashokan Reservoir in Olivebridge will be off until mid-August. NYCDEP photo

Stony Clove Creek

Memorial Day weekend, 2014

Shandaken resident seeks ethics probe over renovation plan

Story from the Daily Freeman:

This week’s meeting of the Shandaken Town Board ended with a heated discussion about the ethics of some town officials — some named and others not identified — after a Phoenicia resident complained about what he said was the uneven way town laws are enforced.

Chris Fisher, who lives on Main Street nearby the former Al’s Restaurant, came to the board asking how to request an ethics investigation, alleging that some building projects, like the one now underway at Al’s, are being done above the law, while others, like the controversial Hanover farm stand in Mount Tremper, fall victim to overwhelming scrutiny.

Fisher said that his problem was not with Mike Ricciardella, the eatery’s current owner, who is renovating the structure, but with town officials who authorized the renovation. He said the building is being expanded beyond what the law allows.

“Either enforce the law or don’t enforce the law,” he said. “It’s got to be equal across the board.”

Blaming the town’s Planning Board for granting permission for the project, Fisher asked how to go about requesting an ethics investigation. When he was told to bring the matter to Supervisor Rob Stanley, who was absent from the meeting, Fisher said Stanley is “part of the problem.”

It was noted by audience member Robert Kalb that Fisher attended the public hearing on Ricciardella’s renovation project and did not make any complaints.

At Monday night’s Town Board meeting, Fisher said new information about the project had come to light after the hearing.

Town Building Inspector Al Frisenda, who is responsible for issuing building permits, told the Town Board that if Fisher has a problem with any action of the Planning Board, his only recourse is to sue the town.

Fisher said he does not want to sue the town.

“My issue is the unethical behavior,” he said.

The following morning, Stanley said he had no involvement in any Planning Board or Building Department actions, nor did any other member of the Town Board.

He also said he had been made aware that, at the Monday night meeting, Fisher publicly described him as “crooked,” and that he will now look into taking legal action against Fisher for what he said is a slanderous remark.

Roadwork on Route 214

Slowly, but surely, the roadwork on Route 214 was completed in the Autumn of 2013. A culvert passing under the state road was completely rebuilt. Water now flows freely and, it is hoped, safely under the road. A stretch of a couple of hundred feet of blacktop was redone. Several yards of crushed stone were graded on the CPOA driveway leading to the Ostrander Bridge.

Herein, a pictorial narrative.

Ulster town's plowing policy draws scrutiny

St. Francis De Sales parishioners leave the church in Phoenicia after Sunday Mass. The Shandaken Highway Department plows the parking lots of local firehouses and four churches, including St. Francis De Sales. The highway department uses St. Francis De Sales' lot to dump snow into the Esopus Creek. Kelly Marsh/For the Times Herald-Record


The Town of Shandaken's decades-old practice of plowing snow from the parking lots of local firehouses and churches is under fire. Shandaken resident Lance Hoffman asked the town board Feb. 10 not to continue the practice. "I told them that municipal plowing of churches was unconstitutional, because it's a violation of church and state," Hoffman said last week. "It's a frivolous municipal largess; they're just throwing away taxpayer money, and the town could be held responsible for any damage." The board approved it anyway. Unanimously.

CPOA in Winter

Village of Red Hook to boost its fund balance

Followup to story on Red Hook, from Poughkeepsie Journal.

For Village of Red Hook officials, the threat of fiscal stress isn’t news, Mayor Ed Blundell said. Red Hook is one of 15 villages in the state undergoing some fiscal stress, according to state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. DiNapoli used financial indicators such as year-end fund balance, cash position and patterns of operating deficits for an overall fiscal stress score. Red Hook landed on the lowest level — “susceptible to stress” — with a score of 49.2 percent. A score of 45 to 55 percent would get a village on the list. Red Hook is on the list largely because of a low fund balance — about $168,000, Blundell said. Raising the fiscal reserves is something village officials have been addressing.

Village of Red Hook ‘susceptible to fiscal stress,’ NY Comptroller’s Office says

Story in The Kingston Daily Freeman.

Fifteen villages in New York state, including Red Hook in Northern Dutchess, are under some level of fiscal stress, according to the state Comptroller’s Office. The 15 villages were separated into three categories — “significant stress,” “moderate stress” and “susceptible to fiscal stress.” Red Hook is in the “susceptible” group, the least serious of the three, as is the Orange County village of Goshen.

The four “significant stress” villages were given scores ranging from 65.4 to 86.7 percent, with the higher numbers being worse; the “moderate stress” villages were scored from 57.5 to 64.2 percent; and the “susceptible to fiscal stress” villages had scores ranging from 47.9 to 53.3 percent. Red Hook scored 49.2 percent. Among other villages in the Mid-Hudson, Tivoli scored 36.3 percent. Ellenville scored 24.2, Saugerties scored 15.8, New Paltz scored 14.6, Hunter scored 11.3 and Rhinebeck scored 8.3. None had a score high enough to be included in any of the stress categories.

Online resources:
• The list of New York villages designated as being under some level of fiscal stress can be found at bit.ly/1f1tPVe.

• A complete list of village scores can be viewed at bit.ly/1jkj0Vq.

• A copy of the comptroller’s report on fiscally stressed villages is at bit.ly/1bCLvJd.

• To search for as specific local government’s fiscal stress score, go to bit.ly/1mbt6aM.


• For an overview of DiNapoli’s Fiscal Monitoring System, go to bit.ly/1dtGkMc.

On The Rocks: Two Glaciers Crash

Phoenicia Water District residents under boil water advisory

Story from Kingston Daily Freeman:


Posted: 01/26/14, 2:33 PM EST 

Phoenicia Water District residents are urged to boil their water after bitter cold temperatures resulted in a water shortage that forced the district to turn to a back-up pump system on the Esopus Creek, Water Commissioner Rick Ricciardella said.

He said the system was compromised during Hurricane’s Irene and Lee, prompting the advisory.

“We are chlorinating the water,” he said. “The Ulster County Board of Health just ordered the advisory as a precaution.”

He said approximately 950 residents, along with a senior residence and Phoenicia Elementary School, are impacted.

Ricciardella said he could not offer an estimate of when the boil water advisory would be lifted, but he said a water test would be performed tomorrow.

He added the cold is the worst he’s seen in 50 years.

“The temperatures haven’t been above 30 degrees,” he said. “We’re losing water, and we’re not getting enough water because the springs are freezing up.”

He said the cold causes conditions worse than a summer drought.

“It’s the worst it’s been since 1976, when it froze five or six feet down and the mains froze,” he said.

Black bear hunting may expand in Catskills, part of Hudson Valley

Daily Freeman story: Concerned about the growing number of black bears in New York, the state Department of Environmental Conservation has drawn up a plan that includes enhanced hunting opportunities in the Catskills and part of the Hudson Valley to manage the population. The department’s draft plan for bear management can be viewed online at bit.ly/LxbsAt. The public can comment on the plan until Feb. 21. Comments can be mailed to NYSDEC Bureau of Wildlife, Bear Management Plan, 625 Broadway, Albany, N.Y., 12233-4754 or emailed to fwwildlife@gw.dec.state.ny.us with “Bear Plan” in the subject line.

Catskill Mountain News from June 1967.

On its Facebook page, the Phoenicia Library has posted a link to the June 1967 edition of the Catskill Mountain News. It makes for interesting reading.

Holiday hotspots: where to go in 2014

Guardian.co.uk article: Start planning your 2014 travels with the help of our top 40 destination round-up. Some are hosting major events, others are under-the-radar places only just starting to attract tourists, but all of them are inspiring or exciting right now.

1. Cape Town, South Africa

2. Uzès, France

3. Austin, Texas, US

4. Carmarthenshire, UK

23. Catskills, US

Phoenicia Diner, Phoenicia