It’s a year of anniversaries in and for Woodstock. It’s a special one for the Woodstock Film Festival as it celebrates its 20th anniversary with a year round flurry of activities in anticipation of its actual October 2-October 6 outing — from screenwriting classes and staged readings to a variety of screenings and the WFF’s annual Taste of Woodstock event.
What could be the community’s next big land use battle has emerged in the past week as news appeared that The Lodge at Woodstock, featured on TV as one of the nation’s worst hotels just five years ago, sold March 13 for $2.8 million to an international “Lifestyle, Travel and Hospitality Platform” that’s become one of the hottest international real estate ventures since being formed in Central America 11 years ago.
The Town of Olive is looking for big changes come November, albeit big in Olive’s small town way.
What happens if and when there’s a closing on the West Hurley School between the Onteora Central School District and Cedar Development East II, which has talked up plans for creating market-rate condominium apartments at the long-closed site in the midst of a quiet residential area?
A sculpture show organized by Jen Dragon will be on exhibit in former Saugerties antique space this April.
Following the Town of Hurley’s March 18 town hall meeting at the West Hurley Firehouse, where a standing-room-only crowd of local residents came out to express concerns and seek answers regarding the long-pending sale and development of the closed West Hurley School into condominiums, Hurley Supervisor John Perry sent a letter expressing his community’s concerns to Onteora School District Superintendent Victoria McLaren.
Concerns over development of the former West Hurley School drew a standing-room-only crowd to the West Hurley Firehouse Tuesday night, March 19, with local residents listing reports of slumlord charges against developer Kerry Danenberg from New York City tenants, citizen action groups, city building inspectors, and news publications while simultaneously asking town leaders to help them fight the proposed project.
Current ethical concerns came to the Town of Hurley in recent months as a town employee went to town officials charging highway superintendent Mike Shultis with making an anti-Semitic remark in their presence at work in the Hurley highway department.
Former West Hurley fire department chief David Gutierrez and current commissioner Michael “Bucky” VanValkenburgh, a former chairman for the West Hurley Fire District, each pleaded guilty in Hurley Town Court, Tuesday night, March 19, to official misconduct following their earlier arrests for using fire district resources to support Woodstock Landscaping & Excavating, a business belonging to Gutierrez’ wife.
The full lineup for this summer’s Woodstock 50 festival has been announced. Scheduled for August 16-18 in Watkins Glen, the festival is promoter Michael Lang’s anniversary event marking the original Aquarian Festival from 1969. The event will have three stages and three smaller “neighborhoods,” each with their own food and programming and “glamping” opportunities.