I didn't even know it was a word. That's a beautiful feature of our English language — especially the American vintage, I'd say: the invention of words. Some of those words still give me trouble (thru instead of through just does not work for me, although it is easier to figure out how to pronounce). But, there it is: rusticalia.
I found rusticalia in a story in Chronogram about funky clothing stores in the Hudson Valley: Vintage Clothing Stores in the Hudson Valley Your Guide to Rockin' Retro Threads Upstate.
Mystery Spot Antiques: 72 Main Street, Phoenicia, NY 12464.
Its Instagram page describes it as: The Catskills' shrine to clutter. Seven rms packed w/ vintage clothing, vinyl, oddities & Rusticalia.
Friday, July 27, 2018
Friday, May 4, 2018
Phoenix, NY?
In an article Tanneries hurt the environment in the 1800s, but the Catskills eventually benefited, published in the website Hudonvalleyone.com, Violet Snow discusses the work of Paul Misko, who researches and makes presentations on our corner of the Catskills. It makes for interesting reading, including this tidbit:
An avid hiker since childhood, Misko has researched the remnants of
human presence he often stumbles across in the woods. He explains how
Phoenicia received its name, based, as many town residents know, on the
Phoenix Tannery, once a mainstay of the local economy. Not all of us
have heard that the tannery’s name came from the rapid rebuilding of the
structure when it burned down in 1839, soon after it was first
constructed. The town was called Phoenix until the postal service was
getting established. Because there was already another Phoenix, New
York, local residents picked the new name, hearkening back to the
ancient Mediterranean culture.
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Onteora school officials working to trim budget
Story in Daily Freeman on 10 February 2018.
Onteora school district trustees are reviewing a draft $56.21 million 2018-19 budget that would increase spending by $1.92 million, or 3.53 percent.
At a Board of Education meeting Tuesday, officials said they would either have to reduce spending or find more revenue for the budget to meet the 3.63 percent state tax levy limit.
Above that limit, voters would have to approve the spending plan by a supermajority of 60 percent of ballots cast.
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Woodstock Brewing opens at Phoenicia Plaza
Story on Hudson Valley One from 14 January 2018.
Parabolic, Between Two Points, Permanent Midnight, Rhetoric, and Entropy are the heady names of the five beers, brewed on-site, that appeared on the taproom chalkboard at Woodstock Brewing on opening day, January 5. Despite its name, the microbrewery is located just east of Phoenicia on Route 28 at the Phoenicia Plaza, which is finally filled up after a fire damaged the stores two years ago.
website: Woodstock Brewing.
Facebook page: Woodstock Brewing
map location:
Parabolic, Between Two Points, Permanent Midnight, Rhetoric, and Entropy are the heady names of the five beers, brewed on-site, that appeared on the taproom chalkboard at Woodstock Brewing on opening day, January 5. Despite its name, the microbrewery is located just east of Phoenicia on Route 28 at the Phoenicia Plaza, which is finally filled up after a fire damaged the stores two years ago.
website: Woodstock Brewing.
Facebook page: Woodstock Brewing
map location:
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
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Grant money for new Shandaken Town Hall will allow payment of debt to NYC DEP
A story from the Daily Freeman.
The Catskill Watershed Corp. has awarded Shandaken a $114,000 grant to buy land for a new Town Hall.
The better news is the town already owns the land and can use part of the money to repay a debt to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.
The town applied for the grant over the summer. The watershed corporation’s board of directors voted in favor it earlier this month.
The town now can move ahead with securing the property, where the voter-rejected Phoenicia sewer system was to be created, and can use $70,000 of the grant to pay back the New York City department.
Before the sewer project was shot down by voters, the town used $70,000 from the department to buy the property. When the project was rejected, the department wanted its money back. The town hoped to sell the property and use the proceeds to repay the environmental department, but a buyer could not be found.
Of the $114,000 awarded by the Catskill Watershed Corp., $105,000 is for the land and $9,000 is for legal and closing costs. The money was authorized under the corporation’s Flood Hazard Mitigation Implementation Program, which helps move to safer ground such “critical facilities” as firehouses, schools, town hall and water and wastewater systems.
The new Shandaken municipal complex is to house the town’s government offices and highway and ambulance departments
Part of the town’s current municipal complex, on state Route 28 in the hamlet of Allaben, was inundated by Esopus Creek floodwaters during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The town then was forced to use an alternate location for day-to-day government operations and to operate a command center for post-flood responses.
The 3.2-acre Allaben site has been designated a Special Flood Hazard Area, with the Highway Department garage actually located in the floodway.
A recently completed Local Flood Analysis for the Shandaken hamlets of Mount Tremper and Phoenicia recommended relocating the Town Hall and highway garage to the 4-acre parcel that was to house the Phoenicia sewer system.
As part of the state-funded NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program, the town engaged Latham-based engineering firm C.T. Male Associates to conduct a feasibility analysis about the planned relocation. The analysis is to be completed in 2017, and the Town Hall move, also financially aided by NY Rising, is anticipated by the end of 2018.
The Catskill Watershed Corp. has awarded Shandaken a $114,000 grant to buy land for a new Town Hall.
The better news is the town already owns the land and can use part of the money to repay a debt to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.
The town applied for the grant over the summer. The watershed corporation’s board of directors voted in favor it earlier this month.
The town now can move ahead with securing the property, where the voter-rejected Phoenicia sewer system was to be created, and can use $70,000 of the grant to pay back the New York City department.
Before the sewer project was shot down by voters, the town used $70,000 from the department to buy the property. When the project was rejected, the department wanted its money back. The town hoped to sell the property and use the proceeds to repay the environmental department, but a buyer could not be found.
Of the $114,000 awarded by the Catskill Watershed Corp., $105,000 is for the land and $9,000 is for legal and closing costs. The money was authorized under the corporation’s Flood Hazard Mitigation Implementation Program, which helps move to safer ground such “critical facilities” as firehouses, schools, town hall and water and wastewater systems.
The new Shandaken municipal complex is to house the town’s government offices and highway and ambulance departments
Part of the town’s current municipal complex, on state Route 28 in the hamlet of Allaben, was inundated by Esopus Creek floodwaters during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The town then was forced to use an alternate location for day-to-day government operations and to operate a command center for post-flood responses.
The 3.2-acre Allaben site has been designated a Special Flood Hazard Area, with the Highway Department garage actually located in the floodway.
A recently completed Local Flood Analysis for the Shandaken hamlets of Mount Tremper and Phoenicia recommended relocating the Town Hall and highway garage to the 4-acre parcel that was to house the Phoenicia sewer system.
As part of the state-funded NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program, the town engaged Latham-based engineering firm C.T. Male Associates to conduct a feasibility analysis about the planned relocation. The analysis is to be completed in 2017, and the Town Hall move, also financially aided by NY Rising, is anticipated by the end of 2018.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Phoenicia man ticketed for killing black bear
Daily Freeman story.
By Jay Braman Jr., news@freemanonline.com
By Jay Braman Jr., news@freemanonline.com
A man has been ticketed for illegally shooting a bear in this town of
Shandaken hamlet, according to the state Department of Environmental
Conservation.
The man, a Phoenicia resident whose name was not provided, was cited after the environmental department and Shandaken police were notified about 11 p.m. Oct. 11 about a firearm being discharged in a residential area.
The incident happened at 10 Main St., according to Shandaken Police Chef Chad Storey.
Officers from the town and state agencies found a black bear in a backyard that had been fatally shot. The man who shot the bear told officers he did so out of fear, but an investigation found no evidence to support that claim, the state agency said.
Environmental Conservation spokeswoman Wendy Rosenbach said there were no signs the bear had broken into the man’s home or tried to do so. The state officer did find trash strewn about the man’s backyard, Rosenbach said.
The man was ticketed under the state’s Environmental Conservation Law for illegally shooting a bear and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of nearby houses, Rosenbach said.
The agency spokeswoman said it’s legal to kill a bear without a permit if the animal has attacked or tried to injure a person or pet; has broken into a house; or is destroying livestock or an apiary, but that authorities must be notified immediately after. Also, she said, the state can issued a permit for a landowner to kill a bear if there is proof the animal is causing property damage.
Asked why she would not provide the name of the Phoenicia man who was ticketed, Rosenbach said: “We don’t typically release that information.”
A person answering the phone at the Department of Environmental Conservation’s main office in Albany also would not provide the man’s name.
The man is to appear in Shandaken Town Court.
The man, a Phoenicia resident whose name was not provided, was cited after the environmental department and Shandaken police were notified about 11 p.m. Oct. 11 about a firearm being discharged in a residential area.
The incident happened at 10 Main St., according to Shandaken Police Chef Chad Storey.
Officers from the town and state agencies found a black bear in a backyard that had been fatally shot. The man who shot the bear told officers he did so out of fear, but an investigation found no evidence to support that claim, the state agency said.
Environmental Conservation spokeswoman Wendy Rosenbach said there were no signs the bear had broken into the man’s home or tried to do so. The state officer did find trash strewn about the man’s backyard, Rosenbach said.
The man was ticketed under the state’s Environmental Conservation Law for illegally shooting a bear and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of nearby houses, Rosenbach said.
The agency spokeswoman said it’s legal to kill a bear without a permit if the animal has attacked or tried to injure a person or pet; has broken into a house; or is destroying livestock or an apiary, but that authorities must be notified immediately after. Also, she said, the state can issued a permit for a landowner to kill a bear if there is proof the animal is causing property damage.
Asked why she would not provide the name of the Phoenicia man who was ticketed, Rosenbach said: “We don’t typically release that information.”
A person answering the phone at the Department of Environmental Conservation’s main office in Albany also would not provide the man’s name.
The man is to appear in Shandaken Town Court.
Phoenicia man ticketed for killing black bear
Daily Freeman story.
By Jay Braman Jr., news@freemanonline.com
By Jay Braman Jr., news@freemanonline.com
A man has been ticketed for illegally shooting a bear in this town of
Shandaken hamlet, according to the state Department of Environmental
Conservation.
The man, a Phoenicia resident whose name was not provided, was cited after the environmental department and Shandaken police were notified about 11 p.m. Oct. 11 about a firearm being discharged in a residential area.
The incident happened at 10 Main St., according to Shandaken Police Chef Chad Storey.
Officers from the town and state agencies found a black bear in a backyard that had been fatally shot. The man who shot the bear told officers he did so out of fear, but an investigation found no evidence to support that claim, the state agency said.
Environmental Conservation spokeswoman Wendy Rosenbach said there were no signs the bear had broken into the man’s home or tried to do so. The state officer did find trash strewn about the man’s backyard, Rosenbach said.
The man was ticketed under the state’s Environmental Conservation Law for illegally shooting a bear and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of nearby houses, Rosenbach said.
The agency spokeswoman said it’s legal to kill a bear without a permit if the animal has attacked or tried to injure a person or pet; has broken into a house; or is destroying livestock or an apiary, but that authorities must be notified immediately after. Also, she said, the state can issued a permit for a landowner to kill a bear if there is proof the animal is causing property damage.
Asked why she would not provide the name of the Phoenicia man who was ticketed, Rosenbach said: “We don’t typically release that information.”
A person answering the phone at the Department of Environmental Conservation’s main office in Albany also would not provide the man’s name.
The man is to appear in Shandaken Town Court.
The man, a Phoenicia resident whose name was not provided, was cited after the environmental department and Shandaken police were notified about 11 p.m. Oct. 11 about a firearm being discharged in a residential area.
The incident happened at 10 Main St., according to Shandaken Police Chef Chad Storey.
Officers from the town and state agencies found a black bear in a backyard that had been fatally shot. The man who shot the bear told officers he did so out of fear, but an investigation found no evidence to support that claim, the state agency said.
Environmental Conservation spokeswoman Wendy Rosenbach said there were no signs the bear had broken into the man’s home or tried to do so. The state officer did find trash strewn about the man’s backyard, Rosenbach said.
The man was ticketed under the state’s Environmental Conservation Law for illegally shooting a bear and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of nearby houses, Rosenbach said.
The agency spokeswoman said it’s legal to kill a bear without a permit if the animal has attacked or tried to injure a person or pet; has broken into a house; or is destroying livestock or an apiary, but that authorities must be notified immediately after. Also, she said, the state can issued a permit for a landowner to kill a bear if there is proof the animal is causing property damage.
Asked why she would not provide the name of the Phoenicia man who was ticketed, Rosenbach said: “We don’t typically release that information.”
A person answering the phone at the Department of Environmental Conservation’s main office in Albany also would not provide the man’s name.
The man is to appear in Shandaken Town Court.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Stony Clove Creek stabilization project
Daily Freeman story: Ashokan Watershed program completes Stony Clove Creek stabilization project
The Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program completed a project to stabilize 1.5 acres of slumping hillslope bordering the Stony Clove Creek along state Route 214 and Wright Road.
[Wright Road is in Lanesville]
The project cost $1,237,162 to complete. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection provided the town of Hunter with a 25 percent local cost-share to match federal dollars from the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Emergency Watershed Protection Program. The federal funding covered the remaining 75 percent of the cost.
Project Manager Adam Doan of the Ulster County Soil & Water Conservation District said there was a “surprising amount of groundwater moving through the hillslope. The stabilization was started after project managers saw the soggy slope moving over time toward the stream channel. Geotechnical engineers called to the site determined the problem would only get worse if not corrected.
Approximately 13 landowners benefitted from two years of work at the site to stabilize the channel and hillslope. The projects were designed to reduce the amount of fine sediment and coarse material eroding downstream where they might deposit and destabilize channels, or pollute New York City’s drinking water supply.
The Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program completed a project to stabilize 1.5 acres of slumping hillslope bordering the Stony Clove Creek along state Route 214 and Wright Road.
[Wright Road is in Lanesville]
The project cost $1,237,162 to complete. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection provided the town of Hunter with a 25 percent local cost-share to match federal dollars from the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Emergency Watershed Protection Program. The federal funding covered the remaining 75 percent of the cost.
Project Manager Adam Doan of the Ulster County Soil & Water Conservation District said there was a “surprising amount of groundwater moving through the hillslope. The stabilization was started after project managers saw the soggy slope moving over time toward the stream channel. Geotechnical engineers called to the site determined the problem would only get worse if not corrected.
Approximately 13 landowners benefitted from two years of work at the site to stabilize the channel and hillslope. The projects were designed to reduce the amount of fine sediment and coarse material eroding downstream where they might deposit and destabilize channels, or pollute New York City’s drinking water supply.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Reopening of Route 28 bridge in Shandaken pushed back to mid-November
An unexpected problem amid the replacement of a Route 28 bridge over the Esopus Creek in the town of Shandaken have moved the anticipated reopening of the span from Oct. 7 to sometime in mid-November, according to the town supervisor.
Rob Stanley said he was told of the new target date for completion by the state Department of Transportation.
The project began in April. So far, two of three new concrete abutments have been positioned, and steel has been laid over the top of them. But construction of the third abutment, on the west side of the creek, has been held up, Stanley said.
When excavators dug down, it was discovered a shelf of bedrock on which the abutment was to sit on wasn’t exactly where expected.
It was only a few feet away, but that meant that the abutment, under the original plan, would be sitting on soft ground instead of solid rock unless changes were made. So design engineers were called in to rethink the plan and devise a new one that takes into account the real location of the rock shelf.
The result was a delay of several weeks.
When completed, the new bridge on Route 28, near the intersection with Route 42, will be longer, wider and higher than the old one and will eliminate a rail crossing where development of a recreational trail is planned.
The old bridge was 233 feet long and 33 feet wide. The new span will be 293 feet long and 40 feet wide, and the road will be 8 feet higher above the creek than the old bridge.
The anticipated traffic volume is 2,600 vehicles per day.
The posted detour for Route 28 drivers includes Route 42, Creekside Drive and Firehouse Road.
Shandaken Town Hall move could help settle debt to NYC environmental department
Daily Freeman story dated September 14, 2016:
Plans for a new town office complex are taking shape, and a fringe benefit of the project is the town could be off the hook for $70,000 it owes to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.
The complex, which is to be on land set aside for a Phoenicia sewer project that voters rejected, would house the town’s government offices and highway and ambulance departments.
Before voters rejected the sewer project, the town used more than $70,000 of Department of Environmental Protection money to buy the property. The department asked for its money back after the project failed at the polls.
Shandaken Supervisor Rob Stanley said the town has tried to sell the land but has been unsuccessful, and now the city department is demanding payment, sale or no sale.
But thanks to the Catskill Watershed Corp., which provides funding to relocate municipal buildings out of floodways, the town could be able to both keep the land — which is on Route 28 in the hamlet of Phoenicia, just east of the Phoenicia Plaza — and pay back the New York City department.
The current town office complex is on Route 28 in the hamlet of Allaben, on land within the Esopus Creek floodway.
The Town Board on Monday agreed to file a funding application with the Catskill Watershed Corp. If the application is approved, the town will use the money to pay back the Department of Environmental Protection.
Asked what would happen if the funding is approved but the town office move fails to materialize, Stanley said it would be better to owe money to the Catskill Watershed Corp. than the Department of Environmental Protection.
Plans for a new town office complex are taking shape, and a fringe benefit of the project is the town could be off the hook for $70,000 it owes to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.
The complex, which is to be on land set aside for a Phoenicia sewer project that voters rejected, would house the town’s government offices and highway and ambulance departments.
Before voters rejected the sewer project, the town used more than $70,000 of Department of Environmental Protection money to buy the property. The department asked for its money back after the project failed at the polls.
Shandaken Supervisor Rob Stanley said the town has tried to sell the land but has been unsuccessful, and now the city department is demanding payment, sale or no sale.
But thanks to the Catskill Watershed Corp., which provides funding to relocate municipal buildings out of floodways, the town could be able to both keep the land — which is on Route 28 in the hamlet of Phoenicia, just east of the Phoenicia Plaza — and pay back the New York City department.
The current town office complex is on Route 28 in the hamlet of Allaben, on land within the Esopus Creek floodway.
The Town Board on Monday agreed to file a funding application with the Catskill Watershed Corp. If the application is approved, the town will use the money to pay back the Department of Environmental Protection.
Asked what would happen if the funding is approved but the town office move fails to materialize, Stanley said it would be better to owe money to the Catskill Watershed Corp. than the Department of Environmental Protection.
Friday, September 9, 2016
New dividing weir gates in place at Ashokan Reservoir
Story in Daily Freeman
OLIVEBRIDGE >> The Ashokan Reservoir’s dividing weir has been restored to full functionality with the replacement of four large cast-iron gates that control the flow of water between the reservoir’s two basins, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection said Friday.
OLIVEBRIDGE >> The Ashokan Reservoir’s dividing weir has been restored to full functionality with the replacement of four large cast-iron gates that control the flow of water between the reservoir’s two basins, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection said Friday.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Summertime
A few photos from this summer.
Saturday July 30, after the rain:
Sunday August 14, 6.30 in the evening:
Saturday July 30, after the rain:
Sunday August 14, 6.30 in the evening:
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