News

The Woodstock Fire District is planning a building for its paid emergency medical staff and administrative offices behind the Company 1 firehouse at 242 Tinker St. An early estimate put the cost at $12 million to $17 million, according to the district’s Sept. 10 meeting minutes. That figure isn’t based on a formal quote, which […]

Woodstock building officials are planning a podcast to help residents tackle home maintenance concerns. The show, “High Anxiety,” will be hosted by Alan Harmon, the town’s fire inspector, and Donna LeMoine, a code enforcement officer. The town introduced the podcast in an Oct. 30 Facebook post. “What about your home gives you anxiety?” the post […]

The Onteora school district is investigating reports that a small group of students wore costumes resembling traditional Hasidic garb and waved oversized fake money at Woodstock’s Halloween parade on Oct. 31, Superintendent Victoria McLaren said. A photograph provided by a parade attendee and reviewed by The Overlook shows three young people walking away from the […]

The developers of Zena Homes pressed the Woodstock Planning Board to move toward a decision at an Oct. 22 public hearing, while more than 40 people spoke in opposition calling for additional scrutiny of the proposed subdivision’s sole access road. The 30 homes would be built in the town of Ulster, but the development would […]

Erin Garcia, 25, escaped the Oct. 16 fire on White Birch Lane with two cats and a work bag. Their apartment and car burned. Now staying with relatives in New Jersey, Garcia is trying to replace the basics. “My biggest current concern would be financial,” Garcia, who uses they/them pronouns, said in an email. “But […]

Amy Helm has sued to regain control of Levon Helm Studios, alleging that Brian Parillo illegally took over the company behind her father’s Woodstock concert venue and used its resources to pursue a campaign against her. The lawsuit, filed Oct. 16 in state Supreme Court in Ulster County, seeks to remove Parillo from management, invalidate […]

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, […]

The developers behind the proposed Zena Homes subdivision are challenging Woodstock Planning Board member Eugenie “Genie” Tartell’s continued participation in the project’s review, citing her ownership of nearby land and what they described as her prior opposition to the development. Tartell acknowledged owning a vacant, approximately three-acre parcel off Lauren Court, across the road from […]

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 […]

Water has leaked into the residential building at Woodstock’s Karma Triyana Dharmachakra monastery for more than a decade. Now, the Buddhist community is preparing for a nearly $300,000 copper roof project intended to stop the recurring water intrusion. The monastery has signed a contract with the Hudson Valley-based J&A Roofing and Siding Company and is […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Meira Blaustein is preparing to leave the Woodstock Film Festival after 26 years spent building it from a four-venue gathering into one of the Hudson Valley’s signature cultural events. “It feels to be the right time,” Blaustein said. “We had a great run and the festival is only going to continue to grow from here.” […]

Meira Blaustein, a co-founder of the Woodstock Film Festival, will step down as its executive director and head programmer at the end of the year, the organization said Wednesday. Blaustein intends to remain involved as an adviser. The festival’s board is searching for her successor and expects to announce its next executive director in the […]

The future of Levon Helm Studios is uncertain amid more than 15 concert cancellations, a calendar listing only three upcoming performances, and a cash shortfall that has left some ticket holders awaiting refunds. When Brian Parillo took control of the company in May, Levon Helm Studios had roughly $50,000 in its bank account despite having […]

The Woodstock Film Festival will begin its 27th edition with a screening of “American Zoo,” a documentary that examines the complicated history of the Catskill Game Farm. The Hudson Valley premiere will be held at 7 p.m. on Oct. 13 at the Community Theater, 373 Main St. in Catskill. A conversation with director Tim Travers […]

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, […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

Woodstock redesignated its Bear Task Force as a five-member BearWise Committee that will advise the town on bear awareness, public education, and conflict prevention. The town board named the committee’s members at a business meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 18. They are Woodstock Supervisor Anula Courtis, Rachel Jackson, John Milo, Hannah Birenz, and Iris Permenter. The […]

Susan Brown was working in an upstairs office overflowing with books, papers, and photographs on Aug. 9 when she heard her 8-pound dog, Blue, barking downstairs. Brown, 80, walked toward the living room and found an adult female black bear and one of her cubs inside. Blue was trying to confront them. “There is a […]