The New York Department of Transportation pushed back the start of a $25 million project to upgrade Woodstock’s Tinker Street by a year, to 2028, saying it needs more time for “additional necessary preliminary engineering,” according to Woodstock’s Complete Street Committee. The DOT sent a revised timeline, which also delays completion to 2031 from 2030, […]
Isabella Schoonover
Isabella Schoonover completed her master's degree at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. There, she specialized in solutions and community-based journalism, investigated multinational corporations in Puerto Rico, and reported on state legislative news for the Illinois State Capitol. For her work as a student journalist, Isabella received the 2026 Harrington Award for Social Justice and Solutions Journalism. She has a background in nonprofit policy research and communications, and holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology from North Carolina State University. For The Overlook, Isabella covers Saugerties, Woodstock, and Hurley, as well as surrounding Ulster County communities.
Posted inNews
Saugerties
Garlic Festival Vendors Report Losses After Nor’easter
A nor’easter’s high winds and rain wrecked tents and cut into sales at the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival in Saugerties last weekend, sending some vendors home early as organizers kept the event open. Much of the craft vendor row at the Cantine Field Complex sat empty on the second day of the annual two-day festival […]
Posted inCulture
Overlook
A Guide to Fall Festivities in the Catskills
As summer officially comes to a close and the maple trees start to drop their leaves, it’s time to indulge in all things Autumn. The Catskill’s uniquely beautiful landscapes will be highlighted this season with Hunter’s Colors in the Catskills at Hunter Mountain Resort and the deep appreciation for the warm, golden colors of fall […]
Posted inNews
Woodstock
Woodstock Supervisor Says She Encouraged Town Employee at Center of Hiring Controversy to Resign
In a video posted to Instagram on Monday, Sept. 21, Woodstock Supervisor Anula Courtis said she encouraged Michael Innello, the Level 3 registered sex offender hired by the town as a maintenance worker in 2025, to find another job and leave town employment. Innello resigned from the Custodial Department on Sept. 11 after obtaining a […]
Posted inCommunity
Olive
Ukrainian Community Day at Ashokan Center Celebrates Culture, Supports War Relief
In its third year, Ukrainian Community Day at The Ashokan Center wasn’t deterred by the rain. Huddled under the shelter of the Ashokan Center’s Killian Pavilion on Sunday, about 50 community members, musicians, dancers, singers, artists and craftspeople gathered to showcase Ukrainian culture and show solidarity with those impacted by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The […]
Posted inNews
Saugerties
Saugerties Animal Shelter Seeks Foster Homes as Ringworm Outbreak Persists
The Saugerties Animal Shelter is seeking foster homes for cats as its staff fights a ringworm outbreak that began in May. The shelter has paused some intake and most adoptions, though some kittens remain available through off-site events. The outbreak has been difficult to manage in the shelter’s current home: an old equipment garage next […]
Posted inPhoto Essays
Woodstock
On 9/11’s 25th Anniversary, Woodstock Firefighters Climbed Overlook Mountain
The Woodstock Fire Department held its eighth annual 2-mile hike up Overlook Mountain on Sept. 11, honoring first responders on the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The hike commemorated firefighters’ ascent through the World Trade Center towers during the rescue effort. The New York City Fire Department lost 343 firefighters that day. Woodstock Fire […]
Posted inNews
Woodstock
Zena Homes Returns to Woodstock Planning Board as Opponents Pack Meeting
The Woodstock Planning Board is reviewing Zena Homes’ application to extend and widen Eastwoods Drive in Woodstock, which would serve as the sole access road for a proposed 30-home subdivision in the Town of Ulster. Alec Gladd, an attorney with Cuddy & Feder representing Zena Homes, presented the developers’ latest sketch plan to the board […]
Posted inNews
Saugerties
Would Battery Storage Lower Electric Bills? Saugerties Residents Get No Clear Answer
Saugerties residents weighing the risks of a proposed battery storage facility are also asking what it would mean for their electric bills. About 35 people attended an information session at The Local on Sept. 14 organized by Sustainable Hudson Valley, a Rhinebeck-based climate nonprofit. Several pressed the presenter on whether adding battery storage to the […]
Posted inNews
Woodstock
Woodstock Requests 35 mph Speed Limit on Glasco Turnpike
The Woodstock Town Board has requested a 35 mph speed limit along Glasco Turnpike within town boundaries after residents raised concerns about speeding, pedestrian safety, and difficulty pulling out of their driveways. The board passed a resolution Sept. 8 requesting the limit, or a lower speed if evaluating agencies recommend it, from Route 212 in […]
Posted inNews
Overlook
Saugerties, Woodstock Voters Approve 2027 Library Budgets
Voters in Woodstock and Saugerties approved their public libraries’ 2027 budgets Tuesday, Sept. 15, supporting spending increases and electing six trustees. The Woodstock Public Library District budget passed 229–116, while Saugerties Public Library voters approved their budget 129–7. Saugerties’ budget totals $877,915, an increase of $40,911, or 4.89%, over 2026. Property taxes will provide $811,397, […]
Posted inHistory
Overlook
How the Catskills Remember 9/11
Ram Singal was writing an email in the World Trade Center’s North Tower at 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, when the building shook. At first, he thought an earthquake had struck. Then the building shook again. Singal, a Port Authority project manager who had developed a structural integrity inspection program for the complex, knew […]
Posted inNews
Overlook
Woodstock Activist Helps Lead 207-Mile March Against Animal Testing
Hundreds of animal rights activists are expected to participate in a 14-day, 207-mile March to Abolish Animal Testing beginning Sept. 12, according to organizers. The march will take participants from Albany to Marshall BioResources in North Rose, a Wayne County company that breeds beagles, cats, ferrets, and minipigs for medical, veterinary, and pharmaceutical research. Woodstock […]
Posted inNews
Saugerties
Saugerties Calls on State to Fund PFAS Treatment at Closed Landfills
Saugerties Town Supervisor Fred Costello has signed a letter calling on the state to regulate and help fund the treatment of PFAS in leachate from closed landfills. Leachate, sometimes called “garbage water,” is a toxic liquid created when rainwater filters through waste in landfills. It can carry PFAS and other contaminants into nearby streams, rivers, […]
Posted inNews
Woodstock
Woodstock Town Worker at Center of Hiring Controversy Resigns
The Woodstock Town Board has accepted the resignation of Custodial Department laborer Michael Innello, a convicted Level 3 sex offender who was hired last year and retained despite public outcry over his criminal history. His resignation takes effect Friday, Sept. 11. “This is a parting of ways,” Woodstock Supervisor Anula Courtis said. “He’s going to […]
Posted inQ&A
Overlook
Shrestha Makes Case for Statewide Universal Health Plan
Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, whose 103rd Assembly District includes Hurley, Olive, Saugerties, and Woodstock, is trying to build support for a decades-old proposal to create a state-run, single-payer health system in New York. Shrestha is a co-sponsor of the New York Health Act, which would provide universal coverage without premiums, deductibles, copays, or restricted provider networks. […]
Posted inNews
Saugerties
Saugerties Considers Allowing Indoor Cannabis Cultivation in More Districts
The Town of Saugerties is considering a new zoning amendment that would allow indoor agricultural operations, including cannabis cultivators, to seek special use permits in five districts. The town board held its first public hearing on the draft law Wednesday, Sept. 2. The proposal follows a dispute over whether a cannabis cultivation facility should be […]
Posted inCulture
Saugerties
Opus 40 Benefit Celebrates Mohawk Language and Culture
As the sky turned golden and crickets began to chirp at Opus 40 on Saturday, Theresa Bear Fox, a singer-songwriter from the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory in upstate New York, took the stage to hoots and cheers. “I am trying to learn my language that is so beautiful,” Fox sang. About 80 people sat on blankets […]
Posted inHistory
Woodstock
Revolutionary War Veterans Honored With New Footstones
The Woodstock Cemetery Committee and American Legion Post 1026 dedicated new grave markers to two Revolutionary War veterans during a ceremony Thursday, Sept. 3, at Woodstock Cemetery on Rock City Road. The committee, American Legion, and Historical Society of Woodstock honored John Yerry and William Longyear, who were buried in the cemetery in the 19th […]
Posted inNews
Woodstock
Tinker Street Overhaul Expected to Begin in Fall 2027
Construction on a multiyear, $25 million overhaul of Tinker Street and Route 212 is expected to begin in fall 2027, bringing new bridges, wider sidewalks, additional crosswalks, and curb extensions to the busy street. The Woodstock Complete Streets Committee outlined the timeline for the state Department of Transportation project during a committee meeting on Tuesday, […]
Posted inNews
Woodstock
Woodstock to Get New Emergency Alert System
Woodstock residents will soon be able to sign up for emergency and community alerts after the Town Board authorized a contract for a new notification system last week. “It’s not just a weather alert. It can be anything,” said board member Laurie Osmond, who spearheaded the initiative. Residents could receive alerts about road closures, downed […]
Posted inNews
Woodstock
Woodstock Drops Affordable Housing Design Contest
The Woodstock Town Board has dropped a proposal to spend $15,000 in federal pandemic relief money from the American Rescue Plan Act on an affordable housing design competition, leaving officials to decide how to use the town’s remaining $60,000 before the end of the year. The Housing Committee proposed the competition at the board’s Aug. […]
Posted inNews
Woodstock
Zena Homes Opponents Regroup as Project Advances in Ulster
Opponents of Zena Homes are weighing two potential court challenges and focusing on Eastwoods Drive, the development’s proposed access route through Woodstock, after the project cleared two hurdles in the Town of Ulster last week. The Woodstock Land Conservancy and Stop Zena Development, a community group, held a meeting for residents and supporters in Woodstock […]
