Shandaken

The Pines, the Mount Tremper restaurant, lodge, and music venue that has become a beloved local gathering place in Shandaken over the past decade, has been listed for sale for $1.3 million. Owner Jeremy Bernstein said the business, at 5327 state Route 212, will remain open while the property is on the market. “We’re here […]

Shandaken received an $18,420 donation from the former Shandaken Reform Church of Mount Tremper at the Town Board’s Monday, June 1, meeting, with money intended to support parks and recreation projects. The gift nearly matches the town’s Parks and Recreation Committee’s $22,000 annual budget and could help fund improvements at several town parks, said Samantha […]

Shandaken residents will have a chance next month to comment on Verizon’s proposal to install a 50-foot wireless pole near the Big Indian-Oliverea Fire Department. The Shandaken Zoning Board of Appeals set a public hearing for 6:45 p.m. June 17 on four variances Verizon needs before the project can move forward. Verizon has said the […]

Verizon is seeking approval to build a 50-foot cell tower near the Big Indian-Oliverea Fire Department, saying the pole would improve service for firefighters and strengthen wireless coverage on Fire House Road, in Big Indian Park and along Route 28. The proposal was presented Wednesday to the Shandaken Planning Board by Scott Olson, a representative […]

More than two decades after Shandaken adopted its first comprehensive plan, the town is considering recommendations that could shape how the community approaches housing, tourism, flooding, emergency services and local history. The town will hold a series of public forums May 30 on draft recommendations prepared after public input facilitated by Hudson Valley Pattern for […]

Shandaken conservationist Karen Lee said she remains hopeful that a long-stalled state effort to restrict plastic packaging is moving forward, even after lawmakers softened key sections of the proposal this week. “They’re softening the bill to get something on the books,” said Lee, 66, a member of the town’s Conservation Advisory Council who has lobbied […]

Town Tinker Tube Rental, shuttered and for sale since the pandemic, may have finally found a buyer. “I do have someone in the pipeline who has been talking to me since last October,” said  Town Tinker owner Harry Jameson, 72, who opened the business in 1980. “He has not responded for a couple weeks now, […]

An intensely quiet Scrabble match was underway on the first floor of the Phoenicia Library. Upstairs, Violet Snow led a writing class on discovering ancestors through photos, letters, and keepsakes. In another room, musician, author, and educator Robert Burke Warren worked on a new novel. For 30 years, the library has supported an eclectic mix […]

Shandaken took its first formal step Monday toward redeveloping the shuttered Phoenicia Elementary School into a mixed affordable and market-rate housing project that could include community space. The Town Board voted 4-0 to authorize Supervisor Barbara Mansfield to sign a memorandum of understanding with RUPCO, a Kingston-based nonprofit developer. The agreement allows RUPCO to begin […]

The Shandaken Town Board on Monday voted unanimously to appoint Frank Cuevas to the Zoning Board of Appeals, ending a month of contentious debate that included accusations from residents of “political overreach” and “hidden agendas.” Cuevas, who previously served as an alternate on the Zoning Board of Appeals, replaced Henry Williams, whose term expired in […]

Shandaken officials held what one Town Board member called an “unprecedented” meeting Wednesday night at which members of the Town Board and Zoning Board of Appeals jointly interviewed two candidates for a Zoning Board vacancy. “You are all part of history,” said Town Board Member Kevin VanBlarcum as he addressed dozens of residents who attended […]

The Pine Hill Arms and the Belleayre Lodge, two landmark hospitality properties central to Pine Hill’s identity, are under contract to be sold to Foster Supply Hospitality, the Sullivan County hotel and restaurant company founded by Sims Foster and Kirsten Harlow Foster. “We’re in contract on the Pine Hill Arms and the Belleayre Lodge,” Sims […]

New Shandaken Supervisor Barbara Mansfield was sworn in Monday and was quickly met with accusations of “political overreach” at the first Town Board meeting of the year, as she and the board moved to pass a resolution to replace Zoning Board of Appeals member Henry Williams. Williams, 81, whose term expired Dec. 31, clashed with […]

Inflation, rising rents, and stagnant wages have left municipalities across the country struggling to address a persistent shortage of affordable housing. Few places have felt that pressure more acutely than Shandaken, where limited buildable land, an aging population, and a lack of multifamily housing have left officials scrambling for solutions. Two prospective projects could help […]

The death last week of Phoenicia volunteer firefighter Michael Ryan while attempting to rescue an injured hiker has renewed calls from local officials and first responders for better education and outreach to visitors to the Catskills.  Ryan, 61, died from a heart attack on Saturday while trying to reach a hiker with an ankle injury […]

The Phoenicia community was sent reeling for the second time in a week after Michael Ryan, a firefighter and commissioner for the Phoenicia Fire District, died Saturday while attempting to rescue an injured hiker. Ryan, 61, suffered a heart attack about a half-mile into the woods near Panther Mountain in Shandaken, where multiple agencies were […]

One August afternoon 25 years ago, an unimaginable tragedy intruded on Pine Hill residents preoccupied by a long-running battle with a Catskills developer: A 10-year-old boy, Curtis Burnsworth, had died at home by suicide. Neighbors rushed into the street. Some collapsed in tears. Bernie Hamling, who was working that day inside the Main Street building […]

Highview Road is the kind of place where little changes and nothing ever seems to go wrong. The dead-end lane, tucked onto a small hill in the Woodland Valley neighborhood of Shandaken, is lined with six homes over a short stretch of pavement not much more than 500 feet long. It is a snapshot of […]

The Shandaken Zoning Board ruled Wednesday that The Leeway Motel was in violation of town code in its bid to become a wedding venue. The board heard an appeal from Leeway neighbor Jeanne Maloney, who challenged Zoning Enforcement Officer Grace Grant’s earlier determination that the motel’s plan to host weddings qualified as an acceptable “accessory […]

The historic Wellington Hotel project in Pine Hill—led by local residents and the nonprofit RUPCO—has been awarded $700,000 through Ulster County’s Housing Action Fund to support the creation of 10 affordable rental units within the 19th-century landmark. The funding, approved Oct. 21 by the Ulster County Legislature as part of a $3.15 million round for […]

Shandaken voted to seek safety help from the Department of Transportation after a three-car accident injured four people this month near the intersection of Route 212 and Route 28, the site of a crash that killed two Kingston High School students in January 2024. Two people were airlifted to Albany Medical Center for treatment and […]

The Leeway, a Mount Tremper boutique motel at the flashpoint of a debate of a battle between homeowners and venues seeking to profit from the Catskills wedding boom, took a step closer toward hosting events that critics say could disrupt the delicate balance between commercial entities operating in residential neighborhoods. Shandaken’s planning board voted 4-3 […]

In recent years, the Catskills have become a popular destination for weddings, with venues charging anywhere from $15,000 to $100,000 for events billed as “a world away” or having “rustic sophistication and welcoming warmth.” Now, some Shandaken residents say the growth of wedding venues has brought unsafe traffic and disruptive noise to their neighborhoods. A […]

Emotions ran high at two meetings this week in Shandaken as officials considered a Verizon proposal to construct a cell tower in the hamlet of Phoenicia. Close to 200 residents, public officials and emergency service workers attended separate public hearings at Town Board and Planning Board meetings. While most speakers acknowledged the need for better […]

A new minigolf course in Phoenicia and playground in Shandaken aim to widen recreational opportunities for children and families, taking some of the sting out of the closure of the Phoenicia Elementary School in 2024, town officials said.  “Updating our parks is a bittersweet win for our town, given the recent closing of Phoenicia Elementary […]

The Shandaken Town Board voted unanimously on Monday to pay a symbolic $1 for the former Phoenicia Elementary School and transform it into affordable housing, aiming to address surging home costs that have pushed out workers, young families, and retirees. Officials said the town would probably work with a developer—possibly the Kingston-based housing nonprofit RUPCO, […]

The dangers of lead pipes in municipal water systems is an issue the United States has been grappling with for nearly half a century. In 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency took steps, under the Safe Drinking Water Act, to require all towns and cities in New York State to conduct and submit an inventory of […]

Shandaken is working to educate residents about what to do if a town named for rising waters lives up to its moniker. Environmental groups invited by the town’s Conservation Advisory Council this week told people who live on Shandaken’s floodplain to sign up for emergency alerts, look into flood insurance and consider raising their homes […]

The Phoenicia Playhouse has been awarded $86,000 by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to fund major upgrades to its 138-year-old theater. The money will cover the full replacement of the building’s heating and cooling system, installation of five mini-split units to provide climate control in audience and backstage areas, a new […]

The Shandaken Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing June 18 at 7 p.m. to consider Verizon Wireless’ request for a zoning variance to build a new cell tower in Phoenicia. Verizon is seeking a variance to expand the site’s permitted area by an additional 55 feet to account for slope and topography. […]

The 1882 Catskills landmark is in danger of collapse without $1.5 million in additional funding. Residents hope national recognition will help save it—and revive Pine Hill in the process.