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Monday headlines and audio

September 26, 2011 in Greenport, Red Hook, Washington by Tom Roe | No comments

Governors ask for federal disaster aid
Over the weekend the governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina issued a joint, bi-partisan statement pleading for representatives in Congress to put aside their political games and pass money to fund the emergency operations for recovery from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. Andrew Cuomo, of New York, Chris Christie of New Jersey, Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania, and Bev Perdue of North Carolina released this statement:

“Our states have been hit hard by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. While the flood waters have receded and the storms are passed, the damage to communities, businesses and infrastructure remains significant. Billions of dollars in loss and destruction pose a serious threat not only to local and regional economies, but to the nation’s economic recovery. Our states’ governments and our citizens are doing their part to restore and rebuild. The federal government must also do its part. Federal assistance for the victims of storms and floods should be beyond politics. Within 10 days of Hurricane Katrina, Congress passed and the President signed over $60 billion in aid for the Gulf Coast. It’s been 28 days since Irene and Lee started battering our states. We urge this Congress to move swiftly to ensure that disaster aid through FEMA and other federal programs is sufficient to start rebuilding now.”

Storm aid deadline nears for communities
William J. Kemble in The Daily Freeman reports that local governments face a deadline of this Friday, Sept. 30, to apply for federal funds for repairs to roads, bridges, and other public facilities damaged by Tropical Storm Irene. Tropical Storm Lee, which roared through our area a week after Irene, delayed the assessment process for many towns, and some are just overwhelmed with too much to assess, Kemble reports. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Hurricane grant program for nonprofits in Greene and Ulster counties
Julia Reischel in The Watershed Post reports that the Dutchess County-based Dyson Foundation has established two hurricane relief grant programs for nonprofit organizations in several affected counties, including Greene and Ulster. From their press release:

“Nonprofit organizations can apply for emergency funds to assist the organization to recover from Hurricane Irene incurred damages or losses with a one-page narrative describing the uninsured damages or losses and a budget and/or invoice of estimated recovery costs. Applicants are advised to submit these two documents to submissions@dyson.org. The Dyson Foundation will also make grants to nonprofit organizations providing direct services to residents of the Mid-Hudson Valley. These funds are to provide emergency financial assistance to support people impacted by Hurricane Irene. The Foundation will accept applications from organizations with well-established emergency financial assistance programs. These funds are available for qualified nonprofits to distribute to Mid-Hudson Valley residents to cover a broad range of needs resulting from Hurricane Irene. Nonprofit organizations wishing to apply for these funds can submit a one page narrative description of the expected use of the funds and a supporting budget to submissions@dyson.org. Please note that this funding is not being offered directly to individual residents.”

Read the full story in The Watershed Post.

Road reopened
The New York Department of Transportation reports that Route 145 in Greene County between Travis Hill Road and CR 352 in Preston Hollow, is once again fully open. The road had been closed since damage from the storms associated with Hurricane Irene.

Two announcements Monday
Two announcements are expected at local press conferences Monday, Sept. 26:
• An official from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will join Scenic Hudson, Dutchess Land Conservancy, state officials, Town of Red Hook officials, other public officials, and local farmers to announce a major initiative to preserve Hudson Valley farms—on highly scenic and prime agricultural acres in Dutchess County and Columbia County. “This initiative provides the farmers with funds they can invest in the viability of their agricultural business operations. The farms supply fresh, healthy produce and meats to consumers via local and New York City greenmarkets and direct sales to homes and restaurants,” according to Scenic Hudson. At 10:30 a.m. at Northwind Farms, 239 West Kerley Corners Rd., Red Hook.
• Columbia County Board of Supervisors, Columbia Economic Development Corporation, and USDA Rural Development host a groundbreaking ceremony of Greenport Crossings, a mixed use development on the site formerly occupied by V & O Press. “This groundbreaking is for Phase One of the larger project. The total project, which is redeveloping a brownfield site, will result in three new separate buildings totaling almost 80,000 square feet and result in the creation of 100 new jobs,” according to the Columbia Economic Development Corporation. With Rep. Chris Gibson, and others. At 12:30 p.m. at Greenport Commons, Fairview Ave., Greenport.

MONDAY AUDIO CLIPS
Click on title or “PLAY CLIP” to listen to mp3 audio recordings.

Photo from Boing Boing.

• Occupy Wall Street Protest News Report: 20110926
Produced by Kelly Benjamin for WGXC. 3:10. News report with interviews, live sound of the protests surrounding the lack of regulation on Wall Street, filed late Sunday, Sept. 25. PLAY CLIP

• A Very Incomplete Calendar: 20110926
Produced by Terry Doyle. 4:28 From Terry Doyle’s “Imprint” radio show Sunday nights at 11 p.m. on WGXC, here is Doyle’s roundup of regional music events this week. Doyle previews the “Concert for the Catskills” benefit concert this Sat. Oct. 1 and Sun. Oct. 2 at the Michael J. Quill Center in East Durham. All proceeds go to Community Action of Greene County for those impacted by the recent storms in our area. PLAY CLIP

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Wednesday headlines

August 10, 2011 in Cairo, Catskill, Columbia County, Greenport, Hudson by Tom Roe | No comments

Hudson’s other bay emerges
While the rest of Hudson has been fighting about how much parkland, or how much industry should make up Hudson’s South Bay, the Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC) has quietly been working on a proposal to transform Hudson’s North Bay into a massive public recreation area. The proposed trail network, announced Tue. Aug. 9, would stretch from the Hudson River to the City’s Charles Williams Park, through the 714-acre Greenport Conservation Area and northward on to Harrier Hill Park. And while this may ignite a whole new row of in-fighting and disputes among Hudson muckety-mucks, the CLC has a couple of key voices on board already. “I support CLC’s proposal for the North Bay Recreation and Natural Area,” said Hudson Mayor Richard Scalera in the CLC’s press release. “The Area will give the public better access to the North Bay, spectacular views of the Hudson River, and access to about 1,000 acres of conservation land, while creating important habitat.” Roy Brown, Chairman of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, agreed, saying, “This proposal spells out a wonderful vision and opportunity for the North Bay. It will provide a great amenity to the residents of the county, provide important ecological benefits and markedly enhance the City’s Hudson River waterfront.” A grant from the Hudson River Foundation’s Catskill-Olana Viewshed Mitigation Fund, which was established by the Athens Generating Company in conjunction with Scenic Hudson in the course of the regulatory approval process for the Athens Generating Plant, helped pay for a study that led to the proposal. The CLC proposal is in three phases over a nine-year period, and there are many regulatory and other hurdles sure to slow the process. Ownership of the property is divided among the County, the City and the City’s Industrial Development Agency, and the Hudson Fabrics Building property. The CLC mentions the idea was included in the 2002 City of Hudson Comprehensive Plan and the City’s draft Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan (LWRP) includes a similar plan. “It is now up to the City and the County to decide whether and how to act on the CLC proposal,” is how the group awkwardly closes their announcement. The CLC owns or manages 10 public conservation areas that are open year-round from dawn to dusk.

Supes to vote on Wal-Mart purchase
W. T. Eckert in the Register-Star reports that a resolution request for “Authorizing the Acquisition of the Wal-Mart Building” was made Mon., Aug. 8, at a Columbia County Public Works Committee meeting and that tonight, Wed., Aug. 10, the Finance Committee and Board of Supervisors will vote on that and two related proposals. Six of the seven Public Works committee members voted in favor of the request, all except Pat Grattan (R-Kinderhook). “I have concerns about the two percent tax cap,” Grattan said. “I think we are going to be well above it…. I can’t justify the taking of a building that’s attached to another building…. If Price Chopper and Fashion Bug move out, we’ll be attached to two more vacant buildings. Buildings aren’t maintained as well when they aren’t occupied.” The other two proposals, one authorizing a professional services agreement with Woodward Connor Gillis Seleman Architects; the other, a resolution requesting a negative declaration for purposes of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) in connection with the purchase, finance and repurposing of the former Wal-Mart building in Greenport. Hudson stands to lose many jobs if the Department of Social Services (DSS) leaves for Greenport, but both Bart Delaney, R-Hudson5, and John Musall D-Hudson1, supported the proposals. “We have to get DSS out of 25 Railroad Ave.,” Delaney said. “It doesn’t have to be all done now; we could look at a five-year plan or a six-year plan.” “This would also be a good opportunity to establish a transit system that the whole county could benefit from,” committee member John Musall D-Hudson1 said, “not just DSS.” All three resolutions will go before both the Finance Committee at 7 p.m. and the full Board of Supervisors at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, Eckert reports. Read the compete story in the Register-Star.

Cuomo helps out farmer’s markets
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Tue., Aug. 9 a “New York Fresh Connect Farmers’ Markets” program, to help farmer’s markets and also provide access to high-quality fruits and vegetables to folks with lower incomes. The program offers up to $15,000 in funding per new market and helps with marketing, and other administration. The state will also help each market redeeming Food Stamps and other nutrition incentives, such as Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Fruit & Vegetable Checks, Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program coupons, and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition coupons, providing markets $2 rebate checks for every $5 in food stamps spent at their market. “Farmers’ markets increase farm sales and revenue by bringing farm produce directly to the consumer,” Cuomo said in a press release. “These markets also help underserved communities by providing fresh produce, nutritional education, and local jobs.”

Big Brothers/Big Sisters shutting Catskill office
Doron Tyler Antrim in The Daily Mail reports that the Big Brothers/Big Sisters office on Main Street in Catskill, which serves Greene and Columbia counties, will close at the end of the month, because of budget cuts. “Due to a significant loss of funding, and the dire financial outlook for New York state and this area specifically, for the near future, we will no longer be able to maintain services in Greene and Columbia counties,” wrote Jennifer Osswald, the agency’s director of programs for the twin counties, in a letter to the Catskill Village Board of Trustees. Children from the twin counties will be served by staff in the agency’s Kingston office. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Cairo traffic report
There is no parking in the Cairo Town Hall parking lot through Labor Day due to construction of the new library, behind the Town Hall. Main Street in Cairo will be closed to parking and traffic from Wednesday, August 10 at 7 a.m. through Thursday, August 11 at 3:30 p.m. due to that construction.

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Coxsackie pegged for major housing developments

February 5, 2011 in Coxsackie by Paul Smart | No comments

Ken Kearney, Kearney Realty Group, cuts the ribbon on a similar "multigenerational" development he recently completed in nearby Red Hook.

The Greene County News has a story this week about a recently unveiled mixed use development being shepherded by the Greene County IDA that could bring a $50 million investment to the Town of Coxsackie, according to proponents. “IDA and town officials have been negotiating for a year with developer Kenneth Kearney to create the 100 acre development, known as Fountain Flats Park, located adjacent to State Route 9W and Bronck Mill Road, south of the 9W/81 intersection and behind the Martin Trailer Park in Coxsackie,” the story runs, noting how a focus of the development is will be 73 units of affordable housing, dubbed Lime Hill Homestead, including a 24 unit senior housing building, an additional 48 townhomes and one additional two-bedroom unit for a building superintendent. “We have been working a long time to bring affordable housing to Coxsackie,” IDA Executive Director Sandy Mathes said. Additionally, the 100 acre lot will eventually become home to a commercial development, which could include a distribution center, office buildings, commercial endeavors and possibly even retail stores. In addition to the 100 acres the IDA has owned for 18 months, the agency is in talks with the owners of adjacent properties to see if a deal can be struck that would increase the property’s size to 200 acres. The Kearney Group will build and manage both housing components, which are known as “intergenerational” housing.
Mathes said the permitting process will likely begin this summer, with construction anticipated for either the fall of 2011 or at the latest, spring of 2012.

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Venture capital opportunities trigger interest, belief that economy may finally be in turnaround

January 12, 2011 in Greene County by Paul Smart | No comments

Want a sense of how the economy’s doing, where people’s money fears lie, and just how prevalent the idea of “doing it oneself” is these days? Mid Hudson News Network reports today that some 100 people attended a venture capital forum held at Stewart Airport Tuesday night, January 11, to hear from authorities on how businesses can access capital in the Hudson Valley. Entrepreneurs learned what investors look for, what pitfalls to avoid and how to identify the best investors for their business, and all with a major storm threatening. The Accelerator, Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation and Upstate Venture Association of New York conducted the conference.

Orange County Business Accelerator Director Michael DiTullo said venture capitalists provide a specific service. “Venture capitalists actually make investments in companies. They become principals, they buy equity, startup, and as the company grows, maybe there is an exit strategy and they participate in whatever profit or windfall that could happen as a result of that,” he said. “They also provide management expertise. Very often, venture capitalists will serve on the boards of directors. Warren Buffet essentially is a venture capitalist. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, makes investments in companies and sometimes acquires them outright.”

On a much more localized level, former WGXC Radio Council member and Greene County Chamber of Commerce Vice President Kathleen Packard noted recently that several clients she’s been wooing for her design business have asked to green light projects, a first for the past two years of economic slowdown.

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Cairo amends proposed zoning law yet again

January 12, 2011 in Cairo by Paul Smart | No comments

The Daily Mail reports January 12 that the Cairo Zoning Commission is continuing to shift its first-ever zoning ordinance by now agreeing to expand the list of potential uses in its already-amended commercial/mixed-use district on Route 145 in the direction of neighboring Durham. And while the amended uses include new agricultural allowances for those looking to grow crops for commercial purposes, with no requirement for minimum acreage, Doron Tyler Antrim reports that the commission also decided to put uses such as bed and breakfast operations, day care centers, or nursery schools up for full site plan reviews. In addition, all proposed educational training facilities, wind towers, and hotels or motels must now apply for a special-use permit, too. A bar or tavern must apply a special-use permit to operate in the Mountaintop district, only. The commission plans to review at its next meeting regulations in the new Main Street commercial district, which runs from the intersection with Route 23 near the Bank of Greene County to Route 32. Following a public hearing by the zoning commission, the law will be handed to the town board. The board must then hold its own hearing. Read the rest of this entry »

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A new look for Hudson?

January 1, 2011 in Hudson by Tom Roe | 1 comment

Frederick's blog points out several blocks in Hudson that may be remade in the next few years.

Hudson-based architect and urban designer Matthew Frederick notes on his blog “Hudson Urbanism” that his city will radically change in a few years time if a number of projects currently planned or somewhere in the planning process get built: “a Hudson Senior Center

Proposal for Hudson Senior Center, from The Gossips of Rivertown blog.

(to be built as an addition to the Youth Center), a city police station, a city court, a consolidated headquarters for the Columbia County Department of Social Services (if the department stays in the city, as it should), a new parking garage (to serve social services and the general public), a new housing development to replace Bliss Tower, a new restaurant on the waterfront, and the restoration of Washington Hose.” He notes, “five of these projects–the police station, courthouse, social services, parking garage, and Bliss II–will be built within a several-block area between Columbia and State Sts., from around First St. to just above Fourth.” He advocates a coordinated approach to re-make the city instead of each project happening independently with a resulting hodge-podge look.

A proposal is being discussed to move many of Hudson's county services into the vacant Wal-Mart store on Fairview Ave. in Greenport. Photo by Tom Roe.


Washington Hose, in this photo from The Gossips of Rivertown, is being restored and will be offices for the Hudson Development Corporation and the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce.

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185 Columbia County acres protected

December 29, 2010 in Ancram, Claverack, Columbia County, Ghent by Tom Roe | No comments

Photo from CLC taken Nov. 30, 2010 at land being protected by William and Deborah Cohan in Ancram.

Four Columbia County property owners permanently protected 185 acres of their properties on Dec. 29, according to Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC). The non-profit group holds the conservation easements on the properties and now protects more than 21,000 acres of land in the county. Joe and Diane Haley donated the development rights on 110 acres in Ghent and Claverack in addition to the 98 acres they have already protected. In Ancram, William and Deborah Cohan protected their 75-acre property. “Growing up on Long Island in the 1950′s, my wife and I saw first hand the result of unplanned development and its impact on farming and the natural world,” says Joe Haley, in a CLC press release. “To preserve this land for future generations gives us a great sense of gratitude.” Both properties are working farms, and part of the Haley property is leased to Hawthorne Valley Farm. The United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) determined that the Cohan property has eleven acres of “prime soils” and fifteen acres of “soils of statewide importance” which grow hay and corn.

Photo from CLC taken Dec. 9, 2010 of Joe and Diane Haley's protected land.

“My wife and I decided to put our land into a conservation easement because we wanted to preserve its astonishing natural beauty forever. Its essential purpose is farmland and provides a means to enjoy the simpler things in life,” explains William Cohan. Read the rest of this entry »

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Large development inches forward in Stockport

December 28, 2010 in Columbia County, Stockport by Paul Smart | No comments

ccscoop includes a report up on what’s happening with The Ridge at Columbia Springs near Stottville, which it describes as “the largest housing development project in Columbia County in several years” in a report on its recent appearance before the Stockport Planning Board.

Specifically, Engineer Brandee Nelson detailed for the Planning Board plans for phase one of the development, a 36-town house development that would be located off State Route 9 south of the Stockport monument and north of the hamlet of Stottville. Phase two of the project would see the construction of 76 single family residences on smaller than half-acre lots, mostly along an extension of Sunset Avenue that will connect Chester Avenue to Route 9 near the new water tower on the southern end of the 122-acre development. As shown to planners Tuesday, December 21, the townhouses – which will be known as The Ridge at Columbia Springs – would be constructed in six separate buildings that would be built essentially in two rows. The rows would head east along a driveway constructed off of Route 9.

For the full story click here.

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‘Creative Economy’ workshop at Hudson Opera House explored business and culture

December 8, 2010 in Columbia County, Hudson by Tom Roe | No comments

GarySchiro_HelenFruscio_HOH_121010

Gary Schiro, Ex. Dir. of Hudson Opera House, and Helen Fruscio, Dir. of Berkshire Creative at Hudson Opera House 121010.

WGXC recorded audio of the “Creative Economy” workshop at Hudson Opera House at 6 p.m. Mon. Dec. 7 with Helena Fruscio, Dir. of Berkshire Creative. Fruscio spoke about her efforts in the Berkshires to support a thriving creative economy of artists and writers and musicians. She was introduced by Col. Cty. Chamber of Comm. Pres. David Colby, Hudson Opera House Exec. Dir. Gary Schiro, and Hudson Common Council Pres. Don Moore. Several other Hudson politicians attended and spoke, as well as other local businesspeople. Listen to an mp3 audio recording by clicking here or copy and pasting the following url into your computer’s media player:

http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/12/CreativeEconomyWorkshop_HudsonOperaHouse_WGXC_120710.mp3

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Columbia County wants to use old Greenport Wal-Mart building for almost everything

December 1, 2010 in Columbia County, Greenport, Hudson by Tom Roe | No comments

This Greenport Wal-Mart is empty since the new larger store opened down the street last year. Photo by Tom Roe.

Carole Osterink in The Gossips of Rivertown reports:
“This afternoon [Tuesday, Nov. 30], Columbia County Planning/Economic Development Commissioner Ken Flood, the CEO of CRC [Capital Resource Corporation], presented the proposal to the Board of Supervisors Space Utilization Subcommittee, and what’s being proposed is that all county offices — 300 county employees — be consolidated in the old Wal-mart building. Only the agencies and offices that are required by law to be located in the county seat would remain in Hudson, and those offices would be moved to 325 Columbia Street, putting 401 State, 610 State, as well as 25 Railroad Avenue ‘out of commission.’ The proposal also involves leasing the leftover space in the vast old Walmart building to not-for-profits and start-up companies that cannot afford to lease commercial space, to create a business incubator or, as Flood called it, a ‘job growth center.’ Flood talked about the ‘synergies’ created by having all county offices under one roof. Responding to this talk of synergy, Fourth Ward Supervisor Bill Hughes asked ‘Why not put DSS [Department of Social Services] with a homeless shelter?’ and made the point that this seemed to be an obvious synergy. When the meeting had been adjourned, Mayor Rick Scalera reiterated the idea that combining DSS with a homeless shelter in the building seemed obvious and would solve a lot of problems. Social Services Commissioner Paul Mossman responded, ‘You expect the county to own and operate that?’ Why not? It makes more sense than the way the concept of “congregate housing” is now being implemented. A meeting to solicit public comments about the proposal will be held next Wednesday, December 8, at 5 p.m. at the Elks Club. More details of the proposal are provided in the Register-Star article: ‘County mulls new home for DSS.’”

Read the entire item in The Gossips of Rivertown.

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Friday November 19 2010 headlines

November 19, 2010 in Copake, Hillsdale, New Lebanon by Tom Roe | 1 comment

CLC gets grant for trail linking Copake and Hillsdale
The Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC), in conjunction with the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association (HVRTA), are getting a $121,965 grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation to fund preliminary designs and final construction plans for a five-mile addition to the Harlem Valley Rail Trail from the current terminus in Copake Falls into the hamlet of Hillsdale, according to a CLC press release. The project will link Taconic State Park in Copake Falls, the Roeliff Jansen State Park, The Roeliff Jansen Community Library, the Hamlet of Hillsdale, the Hillsdale Community Wetland, and the Rheinstrom Hill Audubon Sanctuary on a trail corridor already owned by New York State. “Extending the trail would bring enormous economic, recreational and development opportunities to Hillsdale,” says Art Baer, Hillsdale Town Supervisor. “It is an important first step in the implementation of our recently completed Hamlet Design and Development Plan.” Named after the Harlem Line from New York City to the Village of Chatham on the New York Central Rail Road, the trains stopped running in 1976 and the tracks were removed, leaving a 46-mile corridor ideally suited for a rails-to-trails project. In 1989, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (NYS Parks) purchased 20.38 miles of the right-of-way in southern Columbia County and northern Dutchess County.

Voters pass bus proposition, elect Hafensteiner
Hilary Hawke in The Ravena News-Herald reports Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk voters passed by 82 votes a reworked bus proposition that previously failed in a May vote, and elected Sarah Hafensteiner to fill the Board of Education seat vacated when Rosemary Puckett resigned over the summer. Hafensteiner won by four votes over Rodney Krzykowski, 230 to 226, with Judith Sylvester (192) and Darcy Micelli (179), following. The bus proposal was $100,000 and one bus less that voters shot down in May.

Hannaford to open supermarket in New Lebanon
From The Business Review:

Hannaford supermarket chain signed a lease with the owner of the Valley Plaza Shopping Center in the Columbia County town. The full-service supermarket and pharmacy will be built on the site of the Capital District Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., next to the Route 20 plaza that contains the former New Lebanon Supermarket. OTB will move into the former New Lebanon Supermarket.

This weekend
Deer hunting season opens Nov. 20.
The Estate of Dominick Dunne at Auction Nov. 20 at Stair Auctioneers and Appraisers, Hudson.

Birthdays
Nov. 19 birthdays include Jeane Kirkpatrick, Allison Janney, and Jodie Foster.

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Greene Legislature hires County Administrator, from Michigan

November 18, 2010 in Coxsackie, Greene County by Paul Smart | No comments

The ever-busy Ariel Zangla-Girard of the Kingston Daily Freemanreported from Wednesday’s county legislature meeting in Catskill that Greene County has finally hired a new administrator who  says he will be involved in the community and economic development, with a focus on bringing jobs to the county.

The Greene County Legislature on Wednesday unanimously approved hiring of Shaun S. Groden, 53, as the new administrator, succeeding Dan Frank, who has served as interim administrator since January 2008, when Douglas Brewer retired. Groden’s three-year term as administrator begins Jan. 17, 2011, and he will be paid $132,000 per year.

Groden currently is the county administrator and controller of St. Clair County, Mich. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from SUNY Brockport and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Prior to becoming county administrator in St. Clair County, Groden was the owner of HSHI Inc, a privately held hospitality corporation in Rochester. His resume also lists work in economic development.

Reached by phone Wednesday, Groden said he and his wife, Catherine, had a list of attributes they were searching for when they decided to move. He said Greene County had a “quality of place” and was an area that afforded his wife, an accountant and controller, the opportunity to find independent employment.

“We absolutely love the area,” Groden said of Greene County.

Groden said he and his wife, who have three adult children, are looking for a home in the county and that they hope to move as soon as possible.

County Legislature Chairman Wayne Speenburgh, R-Coxsackie, said Groden was the unanimous choice of the 13 legislators who sat in on the final round of in-person interviews with the final three candidates for the administrator’s job.

“We’re excited,” Speenburgh said. “We’re optimistic he’s going to be a very good fit for Greene County.”

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Tuesday November 16 2010 headlines

November 16, 2010 in Hillsdale, Washington by Tom Roe | No comments

187 permanently protected acres in Hillsdale, NY. Photo from Columbia Land Conservancy.


Family protects 187 acres in Hillsdale
Mother and daughter Irene E. Gibson and Irene L. Gibson are permanently protecting 187 acres of their Hillsdale property, signing a deal with the Columbia Land Conservancy placing a conservation easement on their land. The property includes a prominent wooded hillside, highly scenic open farm fields, rocky ledges, and outcroppings, and stream corridors and 21 acres of wetlands near Taghkanic Creek Headwaters. The creek, a DEC-designated Class C Trout stream, runs through the protected property for 6,582 feet. The Gibsons donated the development rights of their property to CLC but retain title to their property, and can sell or pass the property on to heirs. They can still farm on the land, and are not required to allow public access. CLC holds 148 easements that protect 20,930 acres.

Schumer gets new job as Democrats’ messenger-in-chief
Jennifer Dlouhy New York on the Potomac reports Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced New York senior Senator Chuck Schumer is now in charge of coordinating the party’s communications and messaging for the next two years. “Reid described the change as part of a new mission ‘to strengthen our strategic operations’ and ‘better integrate our legislative- and message-crafting functions into a central, coordinated nucleus managing policy, press and politics,’” she reported. Read the entire story here.

Birthdays
Nov. 16 birthdays include W.C. Handy, Terence McKenna, and Dwight Gooden.

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T.J. Maxx opens Sunday in Greenport

October 20, 2010 in Greenport by Tom Roe | 1 comment

The new T.J. Maxx store opens in Greenport this Sunday, Oct. 24 at 8 a.m., and the Kohl’s store in the same Greenport Commons shopping center is under construction now too. Last spring, Marco Marzocchi, counsel for the owner of the plaza, Widewwaters, repeatedly said that Kohl’s would not come to Greenport Commons unless the Columbia County Industrial Development Agency granted a PILOT (payment in lieu of [property] taxes) to the national company. The IDA denied the PILOT, and Kohl’s and T.J. Maxx both came anyway.

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Cairo supermarket public hearing packs town hall

September 1, 2010 in Cairo by Tom Roe | No comments

Karen Johnson

Karen Johnson of Charter Realty & Development Corp. explains the proposed supermarket project.

The Town of Cairo Planning Board held a public hearing tonight about a proposed 40,000-square-foot supermarket on the site between the two banks at the intersection of Route 23 and 23B, and Route 32. This is where a previous supermarket proposal with other suburban-type national chain stores, and housing, called “Alden Terrace” was eventually abandoned after much public scrutiny and a lawsuit. Then, the issues were the town’s faulty sewer system, the housing part of the “Alden Terrace” proposal, and other issues. This time, public support in the packed town hall leaned more in favor of the project then against it, with many residents voicing a need for new economic opportunities in Cairo.

Dot Rosenthal spoke in favor of the proposed supermarket.


The only reason suggested by the public for the board to kill the entire project (from longtime Cairo resident Peter Ricci) was that it would suburbanize Cairo just like Catskill did by bringing in Home Depot, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart and other stores, taking business away from Main St., while not helping the tax base all that much. (These chain stores repeatedly threaten Catskill with lawsuits that the cash-strapped town cannot afford to defend. William Kemble in The Daily Freeman has written excellent stories about Home Depot and Wal-Mart skirting taxes with such threats.) In Cairo tonight, most town residents stated that any new project would be good for the town in the center of Greene County, and the tradition of Cairo saying no to new projects must end. Charter Realty & Development Corporation‘s Karen Johnson refused to say which supermarket chain wanted to move in to its building, and they are bringing the supermarket project first and then there will be further development, although of what sort is completely unknown on the rest of the surrounding land between Cairo’s two busiest roads. Ellsworth “Unk” Slater (photo below), who own’s Cairo’s only supermarket, Great American just up 23B, voiced several concerns about the project, as did his lawyer and engineer. A few nearby homeowners worried aloud about the planned five wells associated with the project. Slater pointed out that when he put in a gas station next to his grocery store a few years ago, they discovered the gasoline additive, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), and, since the ground slopes toward this project, it may affect those wells. Others supported the project, but voiced concerns about the speeding cars and exposed back of the supermarket at the Route 32 entrance, and the light poles in the proposed parking lot peaking into the magnificent view of the Catskill Mountains ridge line. The public hearing remained open and will resume at the board’s regular meeting at 7 p.m. Wed. Oct. 6.
Unk Slater
Listen for yourself to what the residents of Cairo thought about the project at the public hearing by clicking here or pasting the following url into your computer’s media player: http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/09/CairoPubHearing_supermarketPlanningBoard_WGXC_090110.mp3

OTHER STORIES ON SAME MEETING: The Daily Mail

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Labor group takes aim at New York State IDAs

August 26, 2010 in Greene County, Upstate New York by Tom Roe | No comments

Lissa Harris in Watershed Post reports:

Greene County legislators aren’t the only ones asking questions about IDAs lately. Just released: A damning report on state Industrial Development Agencies, a team effort by NY Jobs With Justice and Urban Agenda. The report, un-subtly titled “No Return On Our Investment,” blasts IDAs for playing shell games with taxpayer money, investing in businesses that cut jobs instead of creating them, and failing to deliver on promises of economic development. Naturally, IDA directors aren’t too happy about the report. The Poughkeepsie Journal reports:
“This is a very broad tarring of IDAs,” said Lance Matteson, CEO of the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency. “I think that it is objectively clear that this a skewed, distorted, one-sided but very slick report.”

Want to judge for yourself? Here’s the report:

No Return on Our Investment

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Legislature to discuss IDA bonus issue Monday

August 14, 2010 in Athens, Cairo, Catskill, New Baltimore by Tom Roe | No comments

There promises to be a lively discussion at the legislature’s meeting this Monday about the $175,000 bonuses for Greene County Industrial Development Agency Executive Director Sandy Mathes. This morning Ariel Zangla-Girard in The Daily Freeman has a story about the issue:

Legislator Karen Deyo, R-Catskill, said she planned to include an item on her committee’s agenda to address constituent concerns over the bonuses to… Mathes, and discuss what authority the Legislature has over the agency. “We need to address this recurring problem,” Deyo said. She said she plans to have the county attorney present at Monday’s meeting. Mathes received $175,000 in performance bonuses in 2009, on top of his regular salary of $131,325. The bonuses were made public after state Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Elmsford, made an inquiry into state authority employee bonuses. Paul Slutzky, chairman of the board of directors of the Greene County Industrial Development Agency, has said the bonuses for Mathes were performance-based. He said a compensation committee sets criteria at the beginning of each year for any incentive payments the staff receives. The bonuses come from business fees generated by the agency, according to a previous press release from the agency. Deyo said the issue of Mathes’ bonuses was most recently raised by lawmakers following committee meetings on Aug. 9, and led to a shouting match.

At that meeting, Colin DeVries in The Daily Mail reported that legislator Joseph Izzo, R-Catskill, shouted an expletive at James Van Slyke, D-New Baltimore, about the lack of development in Catskill. At that meeting Deyo wrote a letter to Brodsky, and asked her fellow legislators to sign it, with only Izzo, Chris Pfister, D-Athens, and William Lawrence, R-Cairo, joining in. Read the entire story in The Daily Freeman.

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Hudson Common Council meeting Monday sure to be interesting, and quickly uploaded on WGXC

August 8, 2010 in Hudson by Tom Roe | No comments

All five Hudson Common Council surpervisors surprised everyone in town Saturday morning with a letter to the editor in the Register-Star demanding that the Council immediately pass the Draft Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP). Predictably, the online public comment at this turn of events has created a buzz both on the internet (at The Gossips of Rivertown, Columbia County Common Sense, and eslewhere), and in word-of-mouth. We expect a packed 7 p.m. Common Council meeting Monday night, with reactions from all sides, and WGXC volunteer Victor Mendolia will make a recording that we hope to have online by 10 p.m.

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Kohl’s came to Greenport without PILOT

July 25, 2010 in Greenport by Tom Roe | No comments

Mike McCagg in ccScoop reports Greenport “Town Building Inspector John Florio and Planning Board Secretary Beth MacGiffert both told ccSCOOP this week that the lease contract has been signed and that Kohl’s will locate in the town.” Kohl’s officials had previously said they would not come to Greenport without the county Industrial Development Agency giving them a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) break. From McCagg’s story:

Initially, a twenty-year PILOT had been requested, which limited property taxes on the store to $22,500 annually. When that was rejected, a fifteen-year PILOT was proposed which increased the property tax by 1.5 percent. That proposal was also rejected by the IDA, despite support of the Board of Supervisors. The yearly property tax on the store, without a PILOT, is estimated at $81,600. Read the entire story in ccScoop.

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Catskill reduces Home Depot’s assessment

July 23, 2010 in Catskill by Tom Roe | No comments

From William J. Kemble in The Daily Freeman:

The [Catskill] Town Board on Wednesday agreed to a $2.7 million assessment reduction for Home Depot that will keep the company’s property on state Route 23B valued at $6.28 million through 2012. The settlement was adopted during a Town Board meeting at which Supervisor Peter Markou said the case was one of several involving large commercial properties, causing potential legal costs to mount. “We have a whole bunch of certiorari cases on the books,” he said. “We’re trying to settle them rather than go to court because it’s too expensive to go to court.” Town Assessor Nancy McCoy reported in May that Home Depot had sought to have its 2009 assessment reduced from about $9 million to about $4 million. “I don’t know whether I’d call it a relief,” Markou said of Wednesday’s reduction agreement. “It kills me to do it, but fair-market value changes. You go to court and argue it, you might lose. We’ve spent a lot of money doing, and it seems to me to be the path … of least expense.” The resolution adopted by the Town Board on Wednesday states that a “settlement proposal resolving pending tax certiorari litigation was recommended by (town lawyer) Daniel G. Vincelette … (as) an expeditious and economic alternative to further litigation.”… Town Board members in May agreed to set the assessment on the Wal-Mart property on state Route 23A at $13.5 million, a $1.67 million reduction, covering 2010 through 2012. Other cases involving large commercial holdings in Catskill include:
• Holcim Cement Co. on U.S. Route 9W, from $10.1 million to $1.65 million in a 2008 challenge.
• Lowe’s on state Route 23A, from $7.1 million to $3.48 million in a 2008 challenge.
• Rite Aid, on state Route 23A, from $1.8 million to $500,000 in a 2009 challenge.

Read the entire story in The Daily Freeman.

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Tivoli officials to crow about waterfront purchase

July 22, 2010 in Tivoli by Tom Roe | No comments

Assemblyman Marc Molinaro (R,C,I-Red Hook) will join Scenic Hudson’s Seth McKee, Tivoli Mayor Tom Cordier, and others at a press conference July 28 celebrating the Village of Tivoli’s purchase of Hudson Riverfront property. This land preservation effort will secure permanent public access to the Hudson River. The press conference will take place at the Tivoli waterfront at Broadway and Friendship St. on Wednesday, July 28 at 1:30 p.m.

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DEP issues road map for extending land acquisition through 2022

June 18, 2010 in Catskills, Hunter by Tom Roe | No comments


From Lissa Harris in the Watershed Post:

On the DEP’s website, as of June 1: A 400-plus page Draft Environmental Impact Statement outlining proposed plans to extend New York City’s program of land acquisition in its upstate watershed for another ten years. (Sorry we missed it. It might help if the DEP used their fancy online press-release system to alert us to these things.) The Catskill Daily Mail reports that town supervisors in the watershed, who helped draft the plans, are now slogging through them:
At Tuesday night’s Town of Hunter board meeting, Hunter Supervisor Dennis Lucas told those present that he is slowly working his way through the 410-page document. Lucas, who is chairman of the multi-county Coalition of Watershed Towns, is already very familiar with what he hopes to read in the document, having, along with his peers, helped shape its course during its development, so his reading is essentially to verify what did or did not make it in.

As the DEP’s website notes, the DEIS is available in hard copy at several municipal offices around the watershed as well as online. Public hearings to get input on its contents will be scheduled for next month. (Hopefully soon.) But if you want to speak up, you’d better read it quickly: Public comments will only be accepted until about 10 days after the hearings, says DEP. Apparently Daily Mail reporter Jim Planck was as aggrieved as we were that the DEP didn’t issue a press release. The City’s DEIS on its proposed extended Land Acquisition Program is available on line — in parts and as a whole unit — at www.nyc.gov, but was only locatable by searching the on-site terms “DEIS” and “acquisition.” Read the entire story in the Watershed Post.

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Rural businesses: Cluster and prosper

June 8, 2010 in Upstate New York by Tom Roe | No comments

Julia Reischel in the Watershed Post:

National rural-issues website The Daily Yonder ran an article yesterday exhorting rural businesses to form “clusters” if they want to thrive. The thrust of the story is counter-intuitive — the author, Stuart Rosenfeld, argues that rather than competing for customers, similar small businesses operating near each other seem to attract more business for all. He cites Vermont’s booming sustainable agriculture economy as an example:
Though the second smallest state in population, Vermont stands head and shoulders above every other state based on its per capita concentrations of local farms, CSAs (community supported agriculture), organic farms, and farmers markets. This is important because groups of related businesses — clusters — are now thought to be essential for economic growth. Businesses are more efficient when they are clustered. Workers generally earn more. Related business clusters can feed off each other.

The last section of the article has tips for how to build a cluster. Food for thought for the Catskills, perhaps?

Agriculture is no longer just crops and animals in Vermont. Except for the largest dairy farms, economic survival and growth depend on rural families finding ways to supplement their income from the food they produce though other innovative market opportunities. They may offer weekend farm stays, start catering services, process their own foods, direct sales to local markets, create artisan products and brands or produce renewable energy by selling biomass, wind power, or operating methane digesters.

Read the entire story at Watershed Post.

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Greene gains, Columbia barely loses population

May 26, 2010 in Columbia County, Greene County by Tom Roe | No comments

Marist College’s Bureau of Economic Research just released an “Economic Report of the Hudson Valley.” Some interesting facts: “During the two-year period ending in 2008, total migration into and out of Columbia County resulted in a net loss of 31 households and a $27.12 million increase in adjusted gross income (AGI)” and during that same time, “total migration into and out of Greene County resulted in a net gain of 247 households and $15.50 million in adjusted gross income (AGI).” Ulster and Sullivan were the only other Mid-Hudson counties with population gains from 2006-2008. H/T The Daily Freeman.

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Taghkanic tales

May 6, 2010 in Taghkanic by Tom Roe | No comments

Sam Pratt‘s blog reprints a press release from Tivoli resident Ardith Truhan (a co-founder of the local community group Taghkanic Neighbors), and, as Pratt points out, it is a story so far unreported. An excerpt of the press release follows, take it for what it is worth:

A former Taghkanic resident has charged the town with arbitrarily and selectively penalizing her and her husband as a result of poor record keeping by the town’s previous building inspector and a politically motivated vendetta in connection with their outspoken opposition to the illegal motorcycle racetrack another resident has attempted to build in the town. Ardith Truhan read a letter at the town’s monthly board meeting Monday night accusing town officials of selectively enforcing a little-used building ordinance that requires all residents to have certificates of occupancy (C of Os) for residential buildings constructed on their property. She added that the town board was “fully apprised of all these events from the start,” and that it met in an improper and illegal executive session last fall—some 13 years after they completed construction on three buildings at their County Rte. 11 property—to determine what she and her husband John Markus owed the town, in “what amounts to an arbitrary $3,500.” Truhan said the board’s “complicity” in the attempt to penalize her and Markus “is quite evident.” At the core of the complaint against them, according to Truhan, was an investigation begun by unsuccessful 2009 town council candidate Erik Tyree, who is an employee of controversial racetrack builder Alan Wilzig. Truhan and Markus have been vocal opponents of Wilzig’s racetrack plan. Tyree, according to Truhan, investigated the paperwork associated with construction of their home, studio and garage apartment, and discovered that former building inspector Ed Waldron had not issued C of Os when the projects were completed in 1996. Tyree then set the town’s current building inspector and code enforcement officer Dennis Callahan on the trail with a formal letter of complaint in 2007, suggesting that Markus and Truhan owed the town $800,000 in fines because of the absence of the C of Os on the buildings. Acting on Tyree’s complaint, Callahan sent Truhan and Markus notices of violation. After consulting with Town Attorney Rob Fitzsimmons, however, Callahan then advised the couple that they could pay “fees” adding up to $10,800 to retroactively renew their building permits for each of the intervening years since construction was completed in order to qualify for the suddenly necessary C of Os. The couple challenged that ruling, and ultimately paid the town a settlement of $3,500 to resolve the matter. Read the entire press release and story at Sam Pratt.

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Speedway owner sues town over camping

May 1, 2010 in New Lebanon by Tom Roe | No comments

From From Gail Heinsohn in The Columbia Paper:

As he stated he would at the April 5 town board meeting, Lebanon Valley Speedway owner Howard Commander has filed suit against town officials, seeking a state Supreme Court determination as to whether the campers parked on his property trigger state requirements for a campground. The effect of the lawsuit, according to town Zoning Enforcement Officer Stan Koloski, is to stay the town’s efforts to enforce zoning restrictions that the Zoning Board of Appeals believes apply to camping at the racetrack. Read the entire story in The Columbia Paper.

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Cairo voters approve new library

April 27, 2010 in Cairo by Tom Roe | 1 comment

Cairo voters today approved a bond to finance a new library for the town, 53 to 47 percent. Totals: 283 yes, 248 no, 531 total voting. The vote at Resurrection Lutheran Church today determined Cairo will build a new library. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has offered the town a $3.07 million low-interest loan (4.25 percent) and a $200,000 grant with a local share match of about $100,000. The vote is for a bond for the loan. Cairo Library Executive Director Debra Kamecke is on the WGXC Radio Council.

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Cairo voting now on library bond

April 27, 2010 in Cairo by Tom Roe | No comments

Voters today deciding if Cairo gets a new library.

Voters in Cairo today are turning out to Resurrection Lutheran Church until 9 p.m. to determine whether Cairo will build a new library. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has offered the town a $3.07 million low-interest loan (4.25 percent) and, if the town accepts the loan, a $200,000 grant with a local share match of about $100,000. The vote is for a bond for the loan. Cairo Library Executive Director Debra Kamecke is on the WGXC Radio Council.

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Historic Hudson

April 26, 2010 in Hudson by Tom Roe | No comments

211 Union St., Hudson from The Gossips of Rivertown.

Carole Osterink continues her tour of properties in Hudson owned by Eric Galloway, whose group the Lantern Organization was proposing developing a building with “permanent supportive housing” for the mentally disabled, the homeless, and those with substance abuse problems on the corner of Warren and Fifth Sts. in Hudson. Read about the empty lot at the corner of Fourth and Columbia Sts., 345 Allen St., and 620-624 State St., but the post about 211 Union St. is the most interesting so far:
This is 211 Union Street, the birthplace of Hudson’s most illustrious native son: General William Jenkins Worth. (How many people have three cities, a lake, a village, and a county named after them?) It’s surprising that such a significant Hudson landmark is in private hands, but it is. It’s owned by the Galvan Group–named for Eric Galloway and his partner, Henry van Ameringen. William Jenkins Worth was born in this house on March 1, 1794–just a decade after Hudson was founded. His father was Thomas Worth, one of the original Proprietors, and his mother was Abigail Jenkins. Read the entire article in The Gossips of Rivertown.

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PS/21 seeks to make tent permanent

February 7, 2010 in Chatham by Tom Roe | 2 comments


Fran Heaney of the Chatham Courier reports that PS/21 requested Special Use Permit for permanent use of their temporary tent at a Jan. 28 Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, as they do not have the $11 million needed to construct a sound proof structure. Located on Route 66, the cultural center has hosted classical music and other events since 2005 at a 50 decibel sound level at the property line, well below the town building code sound level of 90 decibels, and much quieter than the lawnmowers run by the neighbors who are complaining about the sound. Those neighbors filed an Article 78 lawsuit against Chatham after the town approved PS/21′s plans in 2005, and a judge dismissed it later that year. The ZBA meets next Thursday, Feb. 25 for another public hearing about PS/21′s Special Use Permit.

UPDATE: The comments now include two anonymous statements from people claiming to be neighbors of the facility that include information not in the Chatham Courier story, specifically: “When the ability to rent to third parties was granted in 2008 to aid the financially failing tent, the project completely changed in focus. There is nothing arts focused about the electric slide and chicken dance.”

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Taghkanic board votes for mine moratorium

February 2, 2010 in Taghkanic by Tom Roe | No comments

Molly Salisbury in The Register-Star reports the Taghkanic Town Board last night voted to set the process in motion to enact a six-month moratorium on any new gravel mine permit applications in areas zoned R-2 and R-3. The moratorium, which will only take effect after a public hearing March 1, comes largely because of the the Berry Pond LLC gravel mine application. The Taghkanic Zoning ordinance contains a discrepancy regarding the code’s stance on mining in Residential 2 and 3 acre zones, although Salisbury does cite it specifically. The Berry Pond mine application being reviewed by Taghkanic’s Zoning Board of Appeals is asking for a special permit to mine in an area zoned R-2, and, if the moratorium survives the public hearing, would be delayed six months. “The March 1 date [for the public hearing] is tentative, as the availability of the firehouse is in question, and the hearing will need the larger space,” Salisbury wrote, failing to name the firehouse in question.

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Maggio moves on from Cairo to Coxsackie, but Cairo has other plans

January 31, 2010 in Cairo, Coxsackie, Greenville by Tom Roe | No comments

Cairo’s old development suitor, Charles Maggio, has moved his plans up the road from Cairo to Coxsackie, The Daily Mail reports. But Cairo may now have a second supermarket on the site where Maggio’s Alden Terrace project would have been, according to The Greenville Press (no web site). Susan Campriello’s Daily Mail story outlines the timeline: In 2007, Maggio proposed a mixed use development, called Alden Terrace, to be built in Cairo but the town’s sewer system could not accommodate the project. An Article 78 lawsuit was filed by taxpayer and community groups in Cairo against Maggio and the town alleging failure to properly conduct state Environmental Quality Review and public hearing procedures, and other residents in Cairo opposed it for other reasons, and the project was widely reported as “controversial.” Greene County Judge George J. Pulver Jr. dismissed much of the lawsuit in March 2009, but recently allowed part of the suit, a position the town is currently challenging. In May 2009, Maggio withdrew his site plan from the Cairo Planning Board. Now Maggio proposes a $50-million mixed commercial use and residential development for Route 9W in Coxsackie called Woods Farm. “Senior units will be reserved for individuals older than 55, he said, and market between $750 to $850 per month for a one-bedroom home and $950 to $1,050 per month for a two-bedroom unit,” The Daily Mail reports. Meanwhile, back on the Alden Terrace site in Cairo, behind the two banks that can be seen as you enter Cairo from the east on Route 23, a new Hannaford or Price Chopper supermarket might soon stand, The Greenville Press is reporting. “Charter Realty and Development Corp… and Creighton Manning Engineering LLP have prepared a two-phase plan that is set to start with a 36,000-square-foot market,” The Greenville Press reports. The second phase would be a strip mall with chain restaurants and retail. Workforce housing and subsidized housing were part of Alden Terrace but are absent from both the Woods Farm and new Cairo development proposals. Maggio made the announcement at the Coxsackie Chamber of Commerce dinner at the Quarry Steak House, and the plan was immediately championed by the likes of Sandy Mathes, executive director of the Greene County Industrial Development Agency.

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Durham motocross may roll

January 25, 2010 in Durham by Tom Roe | No comments

We always complain that The Greenville Press lacks a web site, since the reporting is high-quality. In this week’s issue editor Linda L. Fenoff reports that Supreme Court Judge Joseph Teresi gave a declaratory judgment, saying that the Town of Durham board has discretion to apply its codes. A ruling is expected in “a few weeks” on whether a State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) review should be conducted for the Handel family’s Blackthorne Resort plan to reintroduce motorized racing to the site.

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Ghent planning board to unveil plans for Price Chopper store

January 19, 2010 in Chatham, Copake, Ghent by Tom Roe | No comments

The public can view the plans for a proposed Price Chopper store on Rt. 66 in the Town of Ghent at the Ghent Planning Board’s next regular meeting on February 3 at 7 p.m., according to an article in ccScoop by Mike McCagg. The 43,000 square-foot store, on land adjoining the existing Price Chopper Plaza, would be adjacent but separate from the existing plaza. The plans include many trees blocking the view of the store from the road, according to the story. The store would be next to a proposed extension of the Harlem Valley Trail from its current northern end in Copake to Chatham.

From the ccScoop story:

“[Planning Board Chair Jonathan] Walters said town planners are generally pleased with the proposal as it stands…the project still has some major hurdles to clear. Among them, developing a plan to deal with the wetlands in the area to satisfy the State Department of Environmental Conservation, traffic entrances and exists that meet with the Department of Transportation’s guidelines, and the extension of water and sewer lines from the Village of Chatham. The latter has been the subject of great debate among village leaders, some of whom are supportive of extending the lines for a fee and others who question the ability of the current system to handle a new demand.”

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Judge McGrath rules permanent injunction against Wilzig race track

January 8, 2010 in Taghkanic by Tom Roe | No comments

Sam Pratt is reporting Judge Patrick McGrath gave a ruling granting, “the Granger Group’s petition for a permanent injunction against the mile-long, 40-foot-wide racetrack which Alan Wilzig began bulldozing way back in the Summer of 2006.” McGrath wrote: “Petitioners request for a permanent injunction is granted enjoining the Town of Taghkanic, Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Taghkanic, Town of Taghkanic Planning Board, Dennis Callahan as Code Enforcement Officer and Building Inspector for the Town of Taghkanic or any other employee or agent of the Town of Taghkanic from issuing a Building Permit, Certificate of Compliance and/or Certificate of Occupancy or Site Plan approval for the sporting course or track located on the Wilzig property and Alan Wilzig and Karin Wilzig are permanently enjoined form using, constructing, or completing the sporting course or track in any way or manner as well as any agent, guest or invitee of Alan or Karin Wilzig.”

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Today's local headlines

July 22, 2009 in Albany, Catskill, Columbia County, Copake, Hillsdale, Hudson by Tom Roe | No comments

Proposal leaves DSS in Hudson
From The Register-Star

HUDSON – Columbia County Board of Supervisors Chairman Art Baer (R-Hillsdale) and Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera stood together at a press conference Tuesday and announced a new proposal that would keep the Department of Social Services in Hudson. The county would buy the One City Centre building on the corner of State and Green streets in Hudson; departments currently in the County Office Buildings at 401 and 610 State Street would move to City Centre. The total square footage of 401 and 610 State Street is 36,000 square feet, 24,000 at 401 and 12,000 at 610 State Street. DSS would stay in its current building on Railroad Avenue for the duration of its lease, which ends in 2011; and then move to One City Centre. Baer called the proposal “a great solution for a difficult problem” and said “I’m looking forward to implementing it.” “The logistics of the planning — there’s a lot to discuss,” said Scalera. “The commitment to keep DSS in the city of Hudson is what we’ve been working for.” Baer previously opposed such a plan, but switched positions because of falling real estate values. The Register-Star says One City Centre was going for $5 million last year, but now is selling for $2 million. “This is not a done deal,” Baer said. “We are only in discussion with the bank. There are still many pieces that have to be put together in the puzzle.”

Copake Green project set to sprout again
From CCScoop

COPAKE – Large developers bring big projects to small towns in this area, and often get special treatment. Like in Copake last week, where Housing Resources Executive Director Kevin O’Neill got to re-introduce his 139-unit Copake Green project to a Copake Planning Board meeting even though he was not on the agenda. From the CCscoop story:
“Although O’Neill did not request to be put on the agenda ten days in advance of the meeting — the Planning Board requirement — [Planning Board Chairman Marcia] Becker explained that, because there was a light agenda in July and because Housing Resources owns land in the town, she believed allowing O’Neill to make his twenty-minute presentation was the right thing to do.’It caused an uproar that we let him speak. . . . So from now on we are adhering to the ten-day rule,’ Becker said.”

Medical center, bank storage get green light
From The Daily Mail

CATSKILL – The Catskill Planning Board approved site plans for the 3,000 square-foot Urgent Care facility proposed for Grandview Avenue and for a Bank of Greene County storage facility on Windsor Street after hearing brief presentations on each proposal. The medical facility used Architect Josh Pulver, a relative of planning board member Michelle Pulver. She recused herself when it came to the vote, but as an anonymous reader commented on the story, “Nothing assures the approval of a project better than hiring the relative of a judge and town planner as your architect, and paying him astronomical fees.”

Copake opts for outside budget review
From The Columbia Paper

COPAKE–The Copake Town Board hired a second accountant to make sure the first accountant’s figures of a estimated $175,000 budget shortfall are correct. “We all agree that our first course of action should be an independent audit to verify the numbers or find out if they are not correct. We have to know where we are,” Town Supervisor Reggie Crowley told the audience at the Town Board’s regular monthly meeting July 9.

Court Sides With GOP On Ravitch, Paterson Vows To Appeal
From The Daily News’ The Daily Politics

ALBANY – State Supreme Court Justice William R. LaMarca granted the Republican Party’s motion for a preliminary injunction that prevents just-appointed Lt. Govenor Richard Ravitch from “exercising any of the powers” of the LG’s office, pending a final judgment, noting there is no provision in the Constitution that allows the governor to appoint a replacement LG when a vacancy occurs in that office.

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Today's local headlines

July 19, 2009 in Catskill, Hudson, Hunter, Taghkanic by Tom Roe | No comments

Local housing groups get $650,000 in grants
From The Daily Mail

The Hunter Foundation, in Tannersville, and the Catskill Mountain Housing Development Corporation, in Catskill, were notified Thursday that they are each a recipient of grants — $300,000 and $350,000, respectively — from NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), the administrator agency for federal U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds. The money is part of a statewide package of $31.4 million in housing grants announced by Gov. David A. Paterson Thursday.

Wilzig track foes win latest round in court
From The Columbia Paper

State Supreme Court Judge Patrick J. McGrath handed down an interim decision last week denying Alan Wilzig’s petition for dismissal of a complaint filed by the Granger Group in regard to his private motorcycle track. Mr. Wilzig received site plan approval and designation as a permissible recreational use from the Town of Taghkanic’s Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board earlier this year. But he was unable to proceed with paving the track because of an injunction against further construction on the facility. The injunction was obtained by the Granger Group, an association of citizens opposed to the track and concerned about enforcement of town zoning law, and by neighbors to the Wilzig property who believe that the track is not allowed under the zoning laws.

Hudson antique dealers struggling
From The Register-Star

Antique sales in Hudson are down around 20 to 30 percent, according to Hudson Antiques Dealers Association president Frank Rosa. Jennifer Arensksjold, co-owner of Arenskjold Antiques Art and Modern Design says sales actually fell more after the recession associated with the World Trade Center attack, which also coincided with a change in buyers’ tastes.

Falling dairy prices strain farmers
From The Daily Mail

A top official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture defended his agency’s response to tumbling milk prices as “extremely aggressive” but showed little appetite Tuesday for immediate and far-reaching measures that some lawmakers say would keep thousands of dairy farmers in business. The Daily Mail story does not mention New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s work on this issue:
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is introducing legislation that would increase the amount farmers get through the Milk Income Loss Contract — or MILC –program. MILC pays dairy farmers cash when milk prices fall below certain levels. When demand is up, prices tend to be up as well. The program is aimed at helping small and midsize dairy farmers weather low prices. But Gillibrand says that under the current pricing structure, farmers aren’t receiving enough income to cover the costs of staying in business. She’s introducing a bill this week that would double the amount of money farmers get from the MILC program retroactive to the low point of the pricing crisis in March. Another bill would increase the MILC rate to account for inflation.

Outbreak of Fungus Threatens Tomato Crop
From The New York Times

A highly contagious fungus that destroys tomato plants has quickly spread to nearly every state in the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic, and the weather over the next week may determine whether the outbreak abates or whether tomato crops are ruined, according to federal and state agriculture officials.

Trippi’s weird “apology”
From The Albany Project

“Joe Trippi, who has been working secretly for Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY-14) in her primary challenge to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand for more than a month, posted an odd “apology” for his deception (which occurred at Daily Kos, Huffington Post and with several reporters) on his website yesterday.” This comes after PolitickerNY found Maloney’s second quarter FEC filing and found a $10,500 check to Trippi dated June 5, well before he stopped writing about Maloney as if he was an unpaid observer.

LIVE TONIGHT:
Mark Eitzel will perform at 8 p.m. Jason’s Upstairs Bar, 521 Warren St. in Hudson.

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Today's local headlines

June 27, 2009 in Albany, Austerlitz, Spencertown by Tom Roe | No comments

New Congressman Scott Murphy (D-NY20) voted for H.R.2454 (the American Clean Energy and Security Act) Friday, which passed the House 219 to 212. It was the first time Murphy’s vote mattered, as 44 Democrats voted against the measure that works to slow the pace of global warming. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth also opposed the measure, saying it didn’t begin to solve the earth’s problems. The bill sets a limit on emissions of heat-trapping gases while allowing emitters to trade pollution permits, or allowances, among themselves….The New York State Senate again failed Thursday to act on any items important to the people of New York. Senate democrats, however, did manage to hold a moment of silence for Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett….Austerlitz adopted zoning regulations, according to ccScoop. Anyone who would like to serve a five-year term on the town’s new Zoning Board of Appeals, should send applications to the Town of Austerlitz, P.O. Box 238, Spencertown, NY 12165 by July 9.

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Hudson weather.com

Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page

When the computer is turned on, the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page reports weather information in Harlemville. Check dates and times to see whether reports are live or from when the computer was turned off.

Last Earthquake in New York

NY Flash Flood Guidance

Greene County webcams:

Catskill webcam: Thomas Cole House Claude Mirror

Hunter Mountain webcams.

Windham Mountain webcam.

Nearby webcams:

I-87, I-90 webcams around Albany.

Delhi Courthouse Square.

Hawley’s webcam, Shandaken.

Moon Phase

CURRENT MOON

WGXC Twitter feed

Nearby Twitters

Local events


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