Snow is forecast to fall this Saturday 9 December; perhaps an inch.
Friday, December 8, 2017
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
A story from Hudson Valley One discusses development of the Ashokan hiking/biking trail.
The county legislature on Tuesday, Nov. 14 voted 14-7 to remove some 11 miles of county-owned Ulster and Delaware rails and ties to make way for the construction of a hiking/biking trail around the northern end of the Ashokan Reservoir.
Project costs for the trail are estimated at some $9.3 million with about half being funded by the New York City Department of Environmental Preservation, which owns the reservoir.
Rail supporters had hoped to retain an 1.1 mile stretch of rail ending at the Glenford Dike in order to extend Catskill Mountain Railroad scenic rides to view the reservoir.
The legislation approved Tuesday night fulfills a December 2016 compromise which allowed CMRR to operate its tourist trains from Kingston to West Hurley while the county moved forward with plans to establish the Ashokan hiking/biking trail.
The county legislature on Tuesday, Nov. 14 voted 14-7 to remove some 11 miles of county-owned Ulster and Delaware rails and ties to make way for the construction of a hiking/biking trail around the northern end of the Ashokan Reservoir.
Project costs for the trail are estimated at some $9.3 million with about half being funded by the New York City Department of Environmental Preservation, which owns the reservoir.
Rail supporters had hoped to retain an 1.1 mile stretch of rail ending at the Glenford Dike in order to extend Catskill Mountain Railroad scenic rides to view the reservoir.
The legislation approved Tuesday night fulfills a December 2016 compromise which allowed CMRR to operate its tourist trains from Kingston to West Hurley while the county moved forward with plans to establish the Ashokan hiking/biking trail.
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Phillipe Petit at Phoenicia Library benefit
On Saturday 11 November 2017 the Phoenicia Library held a fundraiser. First, appetizers and drinks were served in the Library; after, we all repaired to the Phoenicia Playhouse (formerly STS) to view the film Man on Wire, the story of Phillipe Petit walking on a cable between the Towers of the World Trade Center on the morning of August 7, 1974. After the film, Monsieur Petit answered questions for half an hour.
Saturday, October 14, 2017
Will wonders ever cease?
Two weeks go Stoney Cove Lane was paved with several inches of blacktop; since then, the shoulders of the lane have been filled in, and we now have a pretty, smooth road.
And the old Sachs house, the first on the left after one passed over the Stoney Clove Creek bridge, which was devastated by Hurricane Irene in 2011, was finally demolished.
from:
And the old Sachs house, the first on the left after one passed over the Stoney Clove Creek bridge, which was devastated by Hurricane Irene in 2011, was finally demolished.
from:
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Shandaken parks benefit from grant
A story in the Daily Freeman from 8 June 2017 Shandaken town parks to benefit from NY state grant
Town parks are getting $12,000 worth of upgrades this summer thanks to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The money is part of a $28,450 Smart Growth grant the state gave Shandaken last year. Besides park improvements, the money is being spent on solar-powered lighting, landscaping for town signs and maps in parks that show the locations and amenities of other parks in the town.
The $12,000 will be spread across all of the parks in Shandaken, according to town Supervisor Rob Stanley: Smith Park in the hamlet of Pine Hill will get a moon rock climber; Big Indian Park will get six new picnic tables, a park bench and a mini-disc golf set; Parish Field in Phoenicia will get a chipmunk spring jumper; and Glenbrook Park is to get a new gym climber.
Stanley said the new picnic tables and benches will be made of steel with a plastic coating.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Phoenicia top-rated tourism spot
If you’ve got plans this summer to vacation in the queenly Cape May, N.J., or some other resort community in the Northeast, consider scrapping them. An even better destination is right here in Ulster County, according to Curbed New York, a real-estate and travel blog. Editors recently ranked Phoenicia, a hamlet in the town of Shandaken, as the No. 1 destination outside of New York City. The bohemian mountain community not only beat out the internationally known Victorian seaside resort, but Mystic, Conn., a historic seafaring village known widely for its tourism appeal.
Bohemian?
Story from Hudson Valley News Network on 6 June 2017: Phoenicia Ranked No. 1 as Tourist Spot
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Shandaken pauses review of Catskill Mountain Railroad request
The town of Shandaken Planning Board has taken a step back from its review of the Catskill Mountain Railroad’s request for a permit to store equipment on the company’s property in Phoenicia, in part because such storage might not be allowed.
Board members say they want to talk with their lawyer about an opinion he recently issued on the matter.
In a May 1 letter, attorney Richard Olson told the Planning Board it could not act on the railroad’s application because there is a notice of violation regarding the site that must be cleared up first. Olson also said the permit the railroad is seeking does not exist.
From a story in the Daily Freeman on 16 May 2017
Shandaken hits pause button in review of Catskill Mountain Railroad’s train storage requestWednesday, March 8, 2017
Catskill Mountain Railroad cited for keeping trains and related items on Phoenicia property
A story from The Daily Freeman.
The town of Shandaken has issued a Notice of Violation to the Catskill Mountain Railroad for placing trains and related equipment on the railroad’s property in the hamlet of Phoenicia
The town of Shandaken has issued a Notice of Violation to the Catskill Mountain Railroad for placing trains and related equipment on the railroad’s property in the hamlet of Phoenicia
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Woodstock stepping up enforcement of rules regarding short-term house rentals
Story about short-term rentals in the Town of Woodstock in the Daily Freeman.
The town plans to strictly enforce the local zoning code that equates Airbnb-type rentals to bed-and-breakfast businesses. Supervisor Bill McKenna said after a Town Board meeting Tuesday night that stepped-up enforcement is a response to complaints from neighbors of short-term rental sites. In the summertime, we were getting a couple calls a week,” he said. The Woodstock Town Board has been fielding complaints for about two years about disruptive short-term renters, but McKenna said most renters are respectful of neighbors.
“There’s probably ... 800 Airbnbs in Woodstock,” McKenna said. “The problem is there’s a couple of these big party houses, and ... if you live next to one, you’re miserable. A horde of people show up on a Friday night and start to party, and the party rolls through until they leave on Sunday.” Similar complaints have been lodged with officials in the nearby town of Shandaken.
Woodstock has a law that requires rentals lasting less than a week to have the same permits required of B&Bs and to operate only on owner-occupied properties.
"Our zoning law allows for bed-and-breakfasts anywhere in town,” McKenna said. But “they need to have an operating permit, which you can get from the building inspector’s office, and they need to be inspected by the fire inspector.”
McKenna said any short-term rental that does not have an on-site owner is considered a motel or a hotel, subject to geographic restrictions and separate approvals.
“Where they are permitted, they need to go through site plan review of the Planning Board,” he said.
McKenna said long-term house rentals, such as those lasting all summer, are not restricted by the town’s zoning code.
The town plans to strictly enforce the local zoning code that equates Airbnb-type rentals to bed-and-breakfast businesses. Supervisor Bill McKenna said after a Town Board meeting Tuesday night that stepped-up enforcement is a response to complaints from neighbors of short-term rental sites. In the summertime, we were getting a couple calls a week,” he said. The Woodstock Town Board has been fielding complaints for about two years about disruptive short-term renters, but McKenna said most renters are respectful of neighbors.
“There’s probably ... 800 Airbnbs in Woodstock,” McKenna said. “The problem is there’s a couple of these big party houses, and ... if you live next to one, you’re miserable. A horde of people show up on a Friday night and start to party, and the party rolls through until they leave on Sunday.” Similar complaints have been lodged with officials in the nearby town of Shandaken.
Woodstock has a law that requires rentals lasting less than a week to have the same permits required of B&Bs and to operate only on owner-occupied properties.
"Our zoning law allows for bed-and-breakfasts anywhere in town,” McKenna said. But “they need to have an operating permit, which you can get from the building inspector’s office, and they need to be inspected by the fire inspector.”
McKenna said any short-term rental that does not have an on-site owner is considered a motel or a hotel, subject to geographic restrictions and separate approvals.
“Where they are permitted, they need to go through site plan review of the Planning Board,” he said.
McKenna said long-term house rentals, such as those lasting all summer, are not restricted by the town’s zoning code.
Microbrewery in Phoenicia
A Daily Freeman story on 4 February 2017 reported Proposed micro-brewery at Phoenicia Plaza faces Shandaken Planning Board review. The location is in Phoenicia Plaza, on Route 28, near the Phoenicia Diner.
Woodstock resident Rick Shobin has his eye on the largest space available at the Phoenicia Plaza on state Route 28 just east of the Phoenicia Diner. Shobin has been talking to planners, most recently as early January, when he laid out his plans. A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, at the Town Hall on Route 28 in Allaben.
A story on 15 February 2017 reports Final approval of micro brewery in Shandaken waits on input from NYC environmental department.
The town Planning Board has given conditional approval for a micro brewery to operate in the Phoenicia Plaza on state Route 28, but the board’s chairman says he cannot certify the approval until the board receives input from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.
The property is in the city’s Catskills watershed, and because the business is to produce a significant amount of wastewater that will need to be hauled away, the department’s opinion is necessary.
The proposal appears to be noncontroversial at the town level. No opposition to it was voiced at a Feb. 8 public hearing, and Planning Board Chairman Don Brewer said last week that the site plan appears to be in order.
But Brewer noted the lack of New York City’s input, and he asked project architect John Wasylyk, of North Engineers and Design Associates, when it can be expected.
Woodstock resident Rick Shobin has his eye on the largest space available at the Phoenicia Plaza on state Route 28 just east of the Phoenicia Diner. Shobin has been talking to planners, most recently as early January, when he laid out his plans. A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, at the Town Hall on Route 28 in Allaben.
A story on 15 February 2017 reports Final approval of micro brewery in Shandaken waits on input from NYC environmental department.
The town Planning Board has given conditional approval for a micro brewery to operate in the Phoenicia Plaza on state Route 28, but the board’s chairman says he cannot certify the approval until the board receives input from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.
The property is in the city’s Catskills watershed, and because the business is to produce a significant amount of wastewater that will need to be hauled away, the department’s opinion is necessary.
The proposal appears to be noncontroversial at the town level. No opposition to it was voiced at a Feb. 8 public hearing, and Planning Board Chairman Don Brewer said last week that the site plan appears to be in order.
But Brewer noted the lack of New York City’s input, and he asked project architect John Wasylyk, of North Engineers and Design Associates, when it can be expected.
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Improvements to Phoenicia water system in 2017 expected to total $415,000
Story in Daily Freeman on 1/11/17.
Shandaken Supervisor Rob Stanley says the Phoenicia Water District will finally get some much needed improvement in 2017.
Speaking at the annual Town Board reorganization meeting earlier this month, Stanley said the state has accepted the town’s environmental review of a plan to install a new way to deliver water to the High Street area of the hamlet of Phoenicia.
Shandaken Supervisor Rob Stanley says the Phoenicia Water District will finally get some much needed improvement in 2017.
Speaking at the annual Town Board reorganization meeting earlier this month, Stanley said the state has accepted the town’s environmental review of a plan to install a new way to deliver water to the High Street area of the hamlet of Phoenicia.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Catskill Mountain Railroad says it topped $1M in business in 2016
Article in the Daily Freeman.
The Catskill Mountain Railroad did more than $1 million in business in 2016 operating tourist trains on tracks in Shandaken, N.Y., and Kingston, N.Y., a company official says.
In fact, according to railroad President Ernie Hunt, the company has been doing over $1 million in annual business every year since 2014, a big jump from what he said had been annual revenue of about $150,000 a year through 2013.
Hunt said the railroad spent $700,000 over three years in litigation with Ulster County, the owner of the tracks on which the railroad operates, when the county tried to evict the company.
In a letter to volunteers and supporters, Hunt called 2016 the toughest year ever for the railroad, which offers scenic and themed train rides, but said he looks forward to 2017, which he expects will be better
The Catskill Mountain Railroad did more than $1 million in business in 2016 operating tourist trains on tracks in Shandaken, N.Y., and Kingston, N.Y., a company official says.
In fact, according to railroad President Ernie Hunt, the company has been doing over $1 million in annual business every year since 2014, a big jump from what he said had been annual revenue of about $150,000 a year through 2013.
Hunt said the railroad spent $700,000 over three years in litigation with Ulster County, the owner of the tracks on which the railroad operates, when the county tried to evict the company.
In a letter to volunteers and supporters, Hunt called 2016 the toughest year ever for the railroad, which offers scenic and themed train rides, but said he looks forward to 2017, which he expects will be better
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)