State Sen. Michelle Hinchey called on the Windham Planning Board to pause its review of the Windham Mountain Club’s proposed 26-room luxury hotel, questioning the need for more lodging and the board chair’s ties to the applicant. 

In an Oct. 15 letter to the Planning Board and Town Board, Hinchey requested a feasibility study and urged town officials to “stop this proposal from moving forward.” She said the Windham Mountain Club plays a role in turning the town into a “getaway for the ultra-wealthy.” 

“The Catskills have always been a place for everyone, not simply a playground for the 1%,” Hinchey said in the letter. “That’s what’s so beautiful about our region. What the Windham Mountain Club is attempting to do by prioritizing the Mountain for the most elite among us is affront, not just to those of us who live here today, but to generations of people who fought to make this place what it is.”

Club President Kristen Leach disputed Hinchey’s characterization. 

“We are not pushing anyone out,” Leach said. “We are expanding what we’re offering to that base of clientele that have been coming here for that long.”

Hinchey, a Democrat, represents the 41st Senate District, which includes all of Greene County. Her letter adds to calls from residents and business owners for the board to slow its review of the hotel. The proposal has prompted a broader conversation about how the club’s semiprivatization has affected tourism in Windham. 

The hotel and four-bedroom villa would replace eight townhouses included in the club’s master plan. Leach has said hotel rooms could cost $1,000 to $1,200 a night. The hotel would be open to the public and club members. 

The proposal has become a focus of a broader debate over the resort’s shift to a semiprivate model in 2023 when it transitioned to new ownership led by Sandy Beall, founder of restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday.

Windham hoteliers initially questioned the need for the hotel, citing low occupancy at their properties. Criticism has since expanded to questions about the review process and the Planning Board’s ties to the club.

After the board issued a negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act in September, a website called Our Windham emerged calling for a pause in the review. 

Wylder has hosted two “local stakeholder mixers” at its hotel on state Route 296 for residents and business owners to discuss the proposal and the board’s review. The most recent gathering, on Oct. 15, drew more than 40 people to the hotel’s ballroom.

“Windham’s future should not be determined, in my opinion, by a series of isolated land use decisions,” said Lori Torgersen, who co-owns Windham Mountain Outfitters and The Gas Hole. “That, I think, is what has happened thus far.” 

Torgersen, who is also co-chair of Greene County Democrats, said the issue is an “existential crisis for Windham.”

“We need transparency, accountability, and a genuine commitment to working together on solutions,” she said.

Hinchey, who lives in Saugerties, said she stood by the concerns expressed by area business owners. 

“Windham’s existing hotels report total occupancy rates of around 30%, and Windham Mountain Club itself has said that its Outpost Hotel on State Route 23 is experiencing a similar low occupancy rate,” she said in the letter. “Adding 26 more rooms will not create new demand for Windham—it will draw existing visitors away from the independent, locally owned hotels that have invested in this town, at the exact moment those businesses are already struggling to fill their rooms.”

Leach said the hotel would bring more visitors into the community throughout the year than the townhouses it would replace. She also has said the hotel would be a “step above” existing luxury lodging options in Windham like Wylder or Eastwind. 

Hinchey also questioned Planning Board Chair Lisa Jaeger’s role in reviewing the application. Jaeger chairs the Windham Chamber of Commerce, which lists the club as a top sponsor. Leach also serves on the chamber’s board.

Three people are eligible to vote on the club’s proposals: Jaeger, Planning Board member Nate Holdridge, and alternate John O’Neill. Three other members have conflicts requiring their recusal: Ray Curtis is a ski instructor at the mountain club, Michael Troccoli is a club member, and Claudia Lane’s employer is connected to the club.

“The fact that only two members of the five-member Planning Board, along with an alternate, are making such a consequential decision about the town’s future is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the legitimacy of the process and fair consideration,” Hinchey said in the letter. “These concerns are further heightened by the fact that one of the participating members also chairs the Chamber of Commerce, whose organization is financially tied to the applicant.”

Jaeger has said she will not recuse herself from the board’s review of the plan. At the Oct. 15 Planning Board meeting, she read a statement describing her chamber position as a volunteer role and her responsibilities to the two organizations as “separate and distinct.”

“In a small community like Windham, it is not uncommon for residents and business owners to wear multiple hats, volunteering their time at organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary, local foundations, youth sports, and other community groups,” she said. “I’m deeply committed to fulfilling my responsibilities as Planning Board Chair with integrity, independence, and impartiality, ensuring that every application receives fair and objective consideration under the law.”

Jaeger’s decision was backed by Allyson Phillips, special counsel to the Planning Board, who, in a memo to the board, said there was no legal basis for Jaeger to recuse herself, citing Article 18 of New York General Municipal Law, which defines conflicts of interest of municipal officers and employees. 

Phillips said her analysis considered whether Jaeger stood to benefit financially from the proposed hotel. 

“The answer when all of those questions are looked at is ‘no,’” she said. 

Hinchey said the mere appearance of a conflict of interest—even if no such conflict exists—“erodes public trust” and is “cause for pause.”

Asked this week about the letter and whether a feasibility study was available, Jaeger said the board needed to review Hinchey’s comments together and discuss them with its attorneys before responding. 

“We’re meeting together to review it, because we haven’t done that yet,” she said. “Before we make any next moves, we owe it to ourselves to do that.”

She said the letter would receive the same consideration as other public comments.

“Her letter will be part of the record,” Jaeger said. “Just like all comments, everything will be considered.”

Hinchey also drew on her experience getting married to her now-husband, Jonathan Heppner, at a Windham hotel in 2025 to describe how visitors support businesses beyond the places where they stay. 

“Our friends were able to come and stay and experience the beauty of the Catskills,” Hinchey said. “They ate in your restaurants, walked the Windham Path, hired local babysitters, stayed extra days to explore, and many have made plans to come back and spend more time on the Mountain; some even attended last week’s Autumn Affair. The moment you allow someone to make the Mountain, and your town by extension, an exclusive playground for the mega-wealthy with members-only access, everyone loses, and that economic ripple effect from regular visitors that residents and businesses rely on will be impossible to get back.”

Leach said this week that she was not surprised to see Hinchey come out against the proposal, saying the state senator has “been against” the club since its rebrand in 2023. 

When asked to respond to Hinchey’s claim that the club was “prioritizing the Mountain for the most elite among us,” Leach said luxury tourism has existed in Windham for generations. 

“Second home-owners are not middle income folks,” she said. “Second home-owners come from a whole different tax base. They have been here for generations. We are not limiting or restructuring the tourism of Windham, the hospitality go-getter it has been for generations. We are not changing that. If anything, we’ve been tapping into it.”

Leach said she would be happy to take Hinchey on a tour. 

“I would rather she give us a call and actually have a conversation,” Leach said. 

In an interview this week, Hinchey denied being “against” the club as a whole. She did say, however, that she has been monitoring the resort since its sale in 2023.

“I have been concerned about the privatization of the mountain or the attempts to privatize the mountain, which were the first communications from the Windham Mountain Club when that first sale went through,” she said. “I think anyone would be concerned about that if you’re paying attention and care about the community.”

Hinchey said she met with Beall in 2024, but left with more questions than answers.

“The local construction jobs were wonderful and I’m sure continue to be great,” she said, “but the direction of the mountain seemed the same and I left still concerned about what could happen to the community.”

While Hinchey said she initially waited to weigh in, she was prompted to write the letter following outreach from the public and concern about how town government handles Windham Mountain Club matters.

“I felt like I couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore when my job is to advocate for the best interests of the community,” she said. “The Windham Mountain Club now owns the mountain. I hope that they will be a good partner to the community, but from where we sit and from the concerns that we’re hearing from people on the ground, small business owners and residents alike, things have changed in Windham.”

The Planning Board voted to close the public hearing at the Oct. 15 meeting, despite protests from members of the public who argued it should remain open for more comments. 

Phillips said the board will next determine if the plan meets the standards under Windham’s local laws. The proposal is grandfathered under the town’s new zoning law.

“That’s the town’s site plan review law and subdivision regulations, the same law that we’ve been reviewing the application under since 2023,” Phillips said.

Original photography by Roy Gumpel/The Overlook.

Connor Greco is a staff reporter for The Overlook covering Windham, Hunter, and surrounding Greene County communities. Send correspondence to connor@theoverlooknews.com.