Today on Go Design Go’s travel guide series, Stefania Skrabak of Art Home Garden
takes readers to the Catskills of New York. A small, artsy upstate
town, Phoenicia is Stefania’s favorite place to visit for its relaxing,
outdoorsy vibe. Read on for her go-to spots to sleep, eat and shop, as
well as some “hidden treasures.”
Despite some grammatical and spelling faux pas, it makes for interesting reading.
Phoenicia is more about a feeling then it is a subject or a “to do.”
That is what’s inspiring. It’s about being outside and taking
inspiration from nature, the river, campfires, cocktails and friends.
Phoenicia Library, Phoenicia, N.Y.
FILE PHOTO BY TONY ADAMIS Officials at the Phoenicia Library on Main Street have been expanding
its role into something much more than simply a depository for lending
books.
The building was destroyed by fire in 2011, and, when it reopened
in January 2015, the caretakers of the institution sought guidance on
its operation.
“The library believes the community should determine its future
direction,” said librarian Liz Potter. “We did a town-wide survey and
held three focus groups of library users and non-users. People strongly
indicated they love the programming and want more of it. In particular,
people felt very proud of all the local talent in these mountains and
wanted to see more programs celebrating our community, so we’ve added
programs that feature our local musicians, our writers, our anglers, our
local police, our seed experts and our crafts people.”
Across the country, libraries roles are changing and expanding,
increasingly offering a diverse programs for all ages and moving into a
more central role as community gathering place.
Railroad cars and equipment are shown at the Catskill Mountain Railroad site in Phoenicia.
Photo by Jay Braman Jr.
The head of the Catskill Mountain Railroad says most of the railroad’s belongings that have been ordered removed from the Kingston rail yard will not be relocated to Phoenicia.
“In Phoenicia, there’s no change in operation,” Ernie Hunt said this week. “It’s going to be no different than last year.”
But Anique Taylor, who lives on Lower High Street in Phoenicia, just a stone’s throw from the railroad’s property in the town of Shandaken hamlet, has doubts.
Taylor says she has seen equipment being trucked into the Phoenicia yard over the past couple weeks. She’s also concerned about the railroad’s effort to get town approval to build more infrastructure on the site. That matter is to be discussed by Shandaken Zoning Board of Appeals during a meeting at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17 in the Town Hall on Route 28 in Allaben.
Column written by Stan Fischler, renowned sports columnist.
Author-columnist-commentator Stan “The Maven” Fischler resides in Boiceville and New York City. His column appears each week in the Sunday Freeman.
The former Tiso’s Restaurant in Mount Tremper. Tania Barricklo — Daily Freeman
This one isn’t about sports — as in games — but it is about sports, as in good people, and a very special restaurant in Mount Tremper with a sporting background.
I am telling you all about this because that venerable trattoria called Tiso’s has closed its doors. That’s an awful shame for the people between here and the Isle of Capri who love this place.
Like myself, everyone wants Tisos to remain open forever.
Many of us Tiso-lovers remember the original Tiso of Tiso’s. That would be Joe’s father, Emilio, also referred to as Jack or Butch.
Engineers say replacing the Bridge Street Bridge and enhancing the
floodplain around Phoenicia is the best way to reduce flooding in the
hamlet.
The $10 million plan, however, would not eliminate flooding altogether and would not be painless.
Some buildings in Phoenicia, like the offices of Ruth Gale
Realty, some parts of the Black Bear Campground on Bridge Street and
some homes on Station Road, would have to go. In essence, the idea is to
lower the ground on both sides of the Esopus Creek to give floodwater a
place to go instead of up onto Main Street.
A fringe benefit would be there would also be new property
available for recreation use, perhaps even for the Phoenicia Riverwalk, a
plan discussed several years ago to energize the back side of the
hamlet’s Main Street structures alongside the creek.
When all is said and done, engineers calculate that flooding on
Main Street will drop by about a foot during major events like the one
seen when Hurricane Irene hit in 2011.
At an Aug. 10 session held at the Phoenicia Parish Hall, Engineer
Mark Carabetta walked those in attendance through his past 10 months of
work on evaluating options for Phoenicia.
Dredging the Esopus, according to Carabetta, would not reduce
flooding much at all. Nor would replacing the Woodland Valley Bridge
with a wider span or modifying the Stony Clove Bridge.
Widening the span of the Bridge Street Bridge, he added, would not help much unless the floodplain area was increased.
Carabetta’s work is part of a Town effort to identify a plausible
project that makes sense from a money standpoint. Federal level funding
is available for flood projects, but only if proven to have a strong
enough cost benefit.
This plan, Carabetta said, represents a $10.1 million benefit
over a 50 year period. Because the benefit outweighs the cost, he added,
this is a viable project.
“There’s a good chance it would be funded by a number of agencies,” he said.
Phoenicia resident Michelle Spark warned that, no matter what
plan is put in place, the Esopus Creek remains a wild card. All this
work could be done, she said, but then the creek could just shift to a
new location.
But, doing nothing is not an option, said Town Supervisor Rob Stanley.
“With flooding, there’s no magic bullet,” he said. “There’s nothing we can do to stop flooding.”
Ric Ricciardella told Carabetta time is of the essence and now that there is a plan, it is time to get it done.
“I don’t care if you get 10 engineers,” Ricciardella said. “We’re
waiting and waiting. This could have been done last fall and it would
have been over by now.
“How long are we going to wait for another flood?”
The Shandaken Town Hall on state Route 28 in Allaben
File photo by Tony Adamis
SHANDAKEN: Town Supervisor Rob Stanley says he has been talking with state Department of Transportation Officials about the projected traffic impact of a state Route 28 bridge project scheduled for 2016.
The bridge, just west of the intersection of Routes 28 and 42, is slated for complete replacement.
The original plan was to keep one lane open, with traffic signals controlling the flow of vehicles. Instead, the bridge will be shut down for six months next year, and traffic will be detoured to the 4-mile-long Creekside Drive, known locally as Old Route 28.
Stanley said the plan was changed to speed the project and not interfere with traffic to and from Belleayre Mountain during ski season.
“The concern was that the single-lane plan would make the project take three times as long,” the supervisor said.
County Executive Michael Hein with former Congressman Maurice Hinchey at the dedication. (photo by Alan Carey)
Several hundred people gathered for the dedication and opening of the
Maurice D. Hinchey Catskill Interpretive Center (CIC) in Mount Tremper
on July 1. Local officials spoke in celebration of the long-delayed
center, addressing an audience that included many Shandaken residents,
along with representatives of cultural and environmental organizations. Former Congressman Hinchey was present to receive the accolades of
his admirers, including Ulster County Executive Mike Hein, who praised
him as “someone who understood the issue of the environment when no one
else was talking about it, who understood what it meant to be stewards
of the environment and why it mattered.” Assemblyman Kevin Cahill said
he had worked for Hinchey in 1975, when the Congressman sponsored bills
such as one that banned new billboards from being erected in the
Catskills.
Martin
Millman OLIVEREA-Martin Millman, 78, of Oliverea, died Saturday, July
25, 2015 at HealthAlliance Hospital Broadway Campus. Born in Brooklyn,
he was a son of the late Louis and Eva Young Millman. With his wife,
Georganna, they owned the Phoenicia Pharmacy for 35 years. He served on
the town board for the Town of Shandaken for 10 years and on the Onteora
School Board for 10 years. He is survived by his wife Georganna Millman
of Oliverea, four children, Joshua Millman and his wife Sara of
Landsdale, Pa., Jacob Millman and his wife Michelle of Boiceville,
Deborah Millman of N.Y., N.Y., Lawrence Millman and his wife Jane of
Smithtown, N.Y., one sister, Harriet Parnes and her husband Emanuel of
Monsey, N.Y. One granddaughter, Isabella (Izzy) Millman and several
nieces and nephews also survive. A graveside service will be privately
held. Simpson-Gaus Funeral Home, 411 Albany Ave is honored to assist the
family with the arrangements. The family requests that memorial
donations be made to the Ulster County SPCA, 20 Wiedy Rd., Kingston,
N.Y. 12401
With mountains high, rushing waters and rapids low, the
folks in the cozy hamlet of Phoenicia are rightfully proud to live
amidst all that nature has provided. Situated as it is in the High Peaks
Region of the Catskills, it makes sense that there’s an emphasis on
play here.
Nearly 400 people call Phoenicia
home, according to the last Census, and they make the most of it.
Businesses range from the outdoors-focused to shops selling home
furnishings as well as eateries, art galleries, hotels and guest houses.
The
Phoenicia Business Association’s website – phoeniciany.com – makes it
easy to find out about what’s going on and it offers links to the area
shops and services.
This building on Andrew Lane in the Shandaken hamlet of Mount Tremper will be home to the Foxfire Mountain House.
From foxfiremountainhouse.comMOUNT TREMPER >> A combined hotel, restaurant and bar will operate on Andrew Lane in this town of Shandaken hamlet.
Tim Trojian, owner of the property at 72 Andrew Lane, has been
given permission by the town to renovate an existing structure on the
site and turn it into a business called the Foxfire Mountain House. The
hotel will have 10 guest rooms. Trojian, speaking at a July 8 public hearing about his plan, said
the building was constructed more than a century ago, when such
facilities dotted the local hillsides and trains brought visitors up
from New York City. “Our goal is to restore the inn which was originally built around
1900 and known as the Mountain Breeze House,” he said. “We’ve taken the
time to do the best we can to restore the inn — not to historical
values, but to make sure it stays as a piece of the town’s heritage for
the next hundred years.” Several neighbors have voiced concerns about traffic flow on the half-mile road that leads to the inn. Trojian’s property sits at the end of the narrow, dead-end Andrew
Lane. Several houses are located along the way up the hill to the site,
and many are close to the road. The Shandaken Planning Board said it will ask the town highway
superintendent to take a look at the road. The board also plans to
recommend a lower speed limit. Concerns also have been voiced about noise from the new business
because Trojian said he plans to host weddings there as soon as next
month. The Foxfire Mountain House will be on hillside on the south side of Route 28, just west of the Emerson Resort and Spa. Trojian and his wife, Arden, have established an online journal at foxfiremountainhouse.com to tell the story of their adventure as the property’s new owners. They said they bought the site in 2013. The website feature old photos of the site’s former inn during
its glory days, as well as images showing how it fell into disrepair and
the restoration efforts. “Here’s the situation at its core: We are the proud new owners of
a property in sleepy, lovely Mouny Tremper which was once the famed
Mountain Breeze Guest House,” the Trojians say on the site. “In between
its previous life as a hotel and coming to us, the property has fallen
into overgrown, crumbling, love-needing disrepair. ... We’ve come a long
way, but we’ve got miles more to go.” We hope you’ll join us along the
way....”
NEXUS kicks off the official opening of Maverick's 100th season.
The traditional summer concert series kicks off this
weekend. Following the Actors & Writers workshop on June 26, which
features a reading from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer’s Night Dream,” is a
Young People’s Concert the next morning featuring the world-renowned
percussion group NEXUS. The Young People’s Concert is free for children;
their parents pay $5.
“Two of the four Young
People’s Concerts this year have the same artists in the morning working
with the children as are performing later in the evening for the
adults,” says Segal. “Garry (Kvistad of NEXUS) will bring instruments
for the children that even I haven’t seen before. …
“Then
that evening, there will be the world premiere of Peter Schickele’s
work,” says Segal of Percussion Sonata No. 3, “Maverick,” which was
commissioned for Maverick’s centenary by Garry and Diane Kvistad and the
Woodstock Chimes Foundation and will be performed by NEXUS.
ALLABEN >> The owners of the farm stand forced out of business
in Mount Tremper are going to try once again to gain town approval to
reopen.
At a Shandaken Planning Board meeting June 10, owner Al Higley asked the board to help him restart the approval process.
Higley’s representative, Don Brewer, who is also chairman of the
town Planning Board, said the proposed farm stand would require several
variances from town zoning law to be approved.
With a new application, Higley would be seeking a waiver from
laws that he says restrict the size of the business. A surveyor by
trade, Brewer said town law allows only 2,687 square feet of structure,
parking, septic field, and other activity.
“The size of the farm stand is bigger than what’s allowed,” he
told the board, adding that Higley is looking to use almost 7,000 square
feet instead.
On Nov. 27, 2013, state Supreme Court Justice Mary Work gave the
Hanover Farms owners 60 days to take down their farm stand, which is
located on state Route 28.
That gave Higley and his son, Alfie, until Jan. 25, 2014, to
remove the structure and end the legal battle between Hanover Farms and
the town of Shandaken that began in 2012 when the Higleys filed a
lawsuit against the town and former Shandaken code enforcement officer
Richard Stokes.
The removal of the part of the farm stand that was rule to have
been illegally constructed was tabled while the Higleys attempted to go
through a new application process last year with the town’s Zoning
Board. On Oct. 15, 2014, that application was denied “due to a lack of
response from the applicant and failure to submit the required
documentation from the Department of Transportation as requested by the
[Zoning Board].”
Shortly afterwards, the Higleys moved their operation out of
town, setting up shop in a former bank branch building in the town of
Olive and calling it Greenheart Farms.
As requested by Higley, the town Planning Board voted last week
to send the matter to the town Zoning Board of Appeals for review.
As was the case previously, the Zoning Board would need to grant
the zoning variances before the Higleys could move ahead with any
further review by the Planning Board.
The hamlet of Pine Hill is in the Ulster County town of Shandaken.
Photo by Tony Adamis
By Jay Braman Jr., Posted:
|
SHANDAKEN >> The town of has taken steps to get financial help from the MARK Project for two hamlets.
At the June meeting of the Shandaken Town Board, MARK Executive
Director Peg Ellsworth asked for and received full support from the four
board members present. That support allows MARK to take a more regional
approach to fundraising for Main Street revitalization projects.
Ellsworth said that, in the past, such projects were isolated
efforts that benefited one town at a time. But now, MARK will prepare a
truly regional proposal for a territory that not only crosses town lines
but also the border of Ulster and Delaware counties.
MARK is preparing a grant application for costs associated with a
regional NY Main Street Façade Program. MARK will propose to assist at
least four mixed-use or commercial structures in Grand Gorge, Arkville,
Halcottsville, Margaretville, Fleischmanns, Andes, Pine Hill and
Roxbury. If successful, MARK will allocate up to $15,000 per façade and
up to $75,000 to help fund an “anchor activity.”
Also, Shandaken Supervisor Rob Stanley has asked MARK to prepare a
grant application for the Phoenicia Water District to secure funds for
four separate projects: the connection of a water main on upper High
Street, relocating a pump station out of the Esopus Creek floodway,
reclaiming an infiltration gallery and installing a third filtration
pump for Phoenicia’s water system.
Ellsworth said MARK would prepare the grant application at a cost of $3,500. It must be submitted by July 31.
A look at the Chichester-Silver Hollow neighborhoods across the months, from road work on Route 214 near the entrance to the CPOA grounds, across early 2014, the Phoenicia Voice Festival, autumn, the reopening of the Phoenicia Library, into 2015.
This summer, there will be only one production, Our Country’s Good, based
on a Thomas Keneally novel about a play performed by prisoners in one
of the first penal colonies in Australia. The show opens in July.
Committed, as ever, to educational outreach, Kanter is setting up
scene-based workshops in local schools to address the problem of
bullying.
By chance, found this item on the Web. Poor grammar and spelling and a plethora of apostrophes aside, it makes for (somewhat) interesting reading.
Phoenicia, New York Phoenicia is a beautiful and sleepy little town in the heart of the
Catskill Mountains. Between it’s scenery (it’s in the middle of a
state park) and close proximity to NYC, it can get touristy in the
summer. But with only a handful of hotels with small capacities,
Phoenicia holds it’s own with awesome, friendly locals and weirdo
townies.
It's an its and an it's.
Where to stay: As far as hotels go, the go-to for New Yorkers is The Graham & Co. The
structure is an old-school motel that’s been totally renovated by a
team of designers based in NYC. Rooms are designed to be simple, but
beautiful; think “Donald Judd meets outdoorsy.”
Upon check-in, expect stellar treatment from the impossibly cool staff, and a can of Budweiser with your room key.
I thought one was given PBR.
Shopping: After you get off I-87, you’ll drive into
Phoenicia on NY-28 which is practically lined with barn sales, antique
shacks, thrift stores and the like. One of our very favorite places is
the antique barn somewhere between Kingston and Phoenicia, pictured
above.. It’s on the right side of the road coming into town about 10
miles outside of Phoenicia.
Somewhere.
Eating & drinking: There aren’t many options in
Phoenicia, but fortunately the few options are all good options.
Probably the best meal in Phoenicia is breakfast because you can have
your pick. First up, Sweet Sue’s is an impossibly cute breakfast and lunch joint with pancakes that will blow your mind. The Phoenicia Diner is also awesome; the design feels straight out of Brooklyn but has a great mix of locals and vacationers at all times.
Straight outta Brooklyn. (And, remember, Sweet Sue's is now closed.)
On Sunday thirty of us got together for a brunch at the CPOA house, opening up the 2015 season in great style. The table was laden with good food brought in by community members.
On Monday the hamlet of Phoenicia put on its annual Memorial Day parade. It was a beautiful, warm morning, and the community turned out to salute its veterans and Onteora School majorettes and marching band, Boy Scouts, and the Phoenicia and Shandaken-Allaben Fire Departments and Ambulance Corps.
The department has expressed interest in a 4-acre parcel between the
Phoenicia Diner and the Phoenicia Plaza on the south side of state Route
28.
The town bought the land several years ago as a location for a
planned Phoenicia wastewater treatment plant. But buying the land is as
far as things got. The town ultimately dropped the construction plan
amid community opposition, and the land remains vacant.
“After the project was closed, the town had the property
appraised and placed on the market for sale,” said Shandaken Supervisor
Rob Stanley. “There have been no takers ... and now the DEP would like
to know how the town wishes to proceed.”
The city department is interested in the parcel, now appraised at
$107,000, because it can be developed. It also abuts parcels owned by
the city department and the state.
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.
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.
also:
NEXUS kicks off the official opening of Maverick's 100th season.
(Photo by Dion Ogust)