Phoenicia man ticketed for killing black bear

Daily Freeman story.

By Jay Braman Jr., news@freemanonline.com

Posted: 10/18/16, 1:02 PM EDT | Updated: 7 mins ago

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.

Phoenicia man ticketed for killing black bear

Daily Freeman story.

By Jay Braman Jr., news@freemanonline.com

Posted: 10/18/16, 1:02 PM EDT | Updated: 7 mins ago

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.

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.

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.

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.

Summertime

A few photos from this summer.

Saturday July 30, after the rain:

Sunday August 14, 6.30 in the evening:

Averting danger at the detour

Story from Daily Freeman:

New stop sign in Big Indian helps reduce dangers caused by Route 28 bridge detour in Shandaken

The intersection of Creekside Drive and Firehouse Road in this town of Shandaken hamlet, once a sleepy fork in the road, turned into a dangerous place about a month ago when it became part of a detour for traffic to get around a bridge project on Route 28, according to town Police Chief Chad Storey.

Crossing Main Street in Phoenicia

Posted to Phoenicia Library Facebook page, photo of Momma & cub on Main St. in Phoenicia Wednesday night (6/8/16), by Burr Hubbell:

Cuomo Grants Hudson SkyWalk Life

Story  from Hudson Valley magazine.

Thanks to a new contribution from the State, pedestrians may yet be able to traverse the Hudson from Greene to Columbia Counties.

Photos courtesy of NYS Bridge Authority

A brand new pedestrian walkway connecting Greene County and Columbia County is in the works, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday. A feasibility study for the Hudson River SkyWalk, which would connect two of the Hudson River's popular tourist destinations—the Olana State Historic Site in Greenport and Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill—has been initiated thanks to a $124,000 grant awarded by the Department of State through the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program.

a visitor to Phoenicia

Photo by Liz Potter, Phoenicia Library Director

Stefania Skrabak takes readers to Phoenicia

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.

Sweet Sue’s has reopened

Daily Freeman article from 5/18/16:

Sue Taylor is shown inside her Phoenicia restaurant, Sweet Sue’s, on Monday. Photo by Jay Braman Jr.

Phoenicia Library becoming Main Street mecca

Daily Freeman article:

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.

Don’t be dumping it in Phoenicia

Story from Daily Freeman:
Phoenicia won’t be dumping ground for Catskill Mountain Railroad items from Kingston, group’s president says

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.

New Year's Day 2016

Tiso’s was Mount Tremper institution

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.

Cooper Lake

One of the great spots in our neighborhood:

Off season

Stoney Clove Lane, October 10, 2015

Frog Road hill leading to CPOA grounds:

North Lake, November 7, 2015

also:

and Wilson State Park, November 8, 2015

*

Labor Day 2015

Some pictures from the marshmallow roast.

Engineers recommend $10 million flood plan for Phoenicia

Story on DailyFreeman.com:

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?”

Bridge project in Shandaken will detour Route 28 traffic for six months in 2016

Article in Daily Freeman:

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.

Phoenicia 2015 Voice Festival

Hinchey Catskill Interpretive Center has its ribbon cut

Article from Woodstock Times:

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.

Marty Millman

Obituary appeared in Daily Freeman.

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

                   

Published in the Daily Freeman on July 26, 2015

Summer 2015

Down by the Stoney Clove Creek:

July 4th community cocktail hour

A new generation in training, under supervision, of course.

5 more things to do in Phoenicia

Story online in the Times Herald-Record:

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.

10-room hotel, with restaurant and bar, to open in Mount Tremper

Story from the Daily Freeman:

This building on Andrew Lane in the Shandaken hamlet of Mount Tremper will be home to the Foxfire Mountain House. From foxfiremountainhouse.com

 

MOUNT 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....”
 

Maverick opens its 100th season

Article from the Recordonline:

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.

Maverick website: http://www.maverickconcerts.org/