Follow Up on the News
Three key members of the town’s ambulance squad had quit in disgust, a highly qualified member of the zoning board was sent packing, and some audience members were wounded by harsh insults fired from the board in the course of the meeting.
Perhaps the tone of the session had to do the fact that it is now 2007, an all important local election year when Supervisor Robert Cross Jr. and two board seats come up for grabs. At Tuesday’s meeting the power of the board’s majority was evident, even flaunted.
The zoner, Kathy Nolan, appeared to be in line for a reappointment to her post as a member of the quasi-judicial board. Nolan has held the seat for 5 years. The rest of the board asked the town board to reappoint her. She publicly informed the board of her desire to continue to serve. But no dice. Supervisor Robert Cross Jr. led the attack, saying that he felt Nolan, a frequent Cross antagonist, never “changed her mind” about issues and was therefore not a good board member. Town board members Joe Munster and Jane Todd voted against her as well, with no explanation, thus leaving an empty seat on the zoning board, effective immediately.
It appears that there may have been a replacement for Nolan waiting in the wings, but for whatever reason never showed.
Before Nolan’s demise, it was the ambulance squad that suffered.
Longstanding Squad Chief Jerry Pearlman was stripped of that title and Peggy Vitarius, a former Squad Chief, was given the job as Ambulance Department administrator at a salary of $15,000, which Cross said was already budgeted.
Pearlman and another squad staple, squad bookkeeper Lisa Benjamin, were appointed as rank and file paramedics instead. Neither accepted the positions, nor did Pearlman’s wife and EMT, Adele, who resigned saying “If you don’t want us then we’re outta here. “
Benjamin accused the town board of “letting politics take over the ambulance.” Jerry Pearlman said the town board had made decisions that he, as ambulance chief, did not support and that he was led to believe, until that afternoon, that the board was going to do something else.
“I’m very upset about the deception,” he said.
There were immediately complaints from the audience, with Nolan stating that the Board should have let the public know that the seemingly benign ambulance resolutions would lead to a near dismantling of the squad.
Regardless, the entire board was unified on the issue. Pete DiSclafani said it was time to “pull together what we have,” to make the squad effective. Councilman Robert Stanley said that the squad is strong now thanks to the hirings that took place that afternoon. The squad now has four part time paramedics, five ambulance drivers and nine EMT’s. Vitarius is not listed as anything other than Administrator. It remains unclear whether the board will try and replace Pearlman and Benjamin, who vowed to resign the following day.
As for Pearlman and Benjamin’s departure, Stanley said “That is their decision. Not ours.”
Cross said after the meeting that their resignations would not be that simple, and threatened to have them arrested if they didn’t do it properly. Cross said the two have in their possession lots of equipment and medication that needs to be inventoried.
“They’re not just gonna walk in and dump it on the table,” he warned.
In another display of power the board’s majority -- again Cross, Todd and Munster -- voted to appoint a highly political and controversial man, Gerry Setchko -- former president of the town’s Republican Club, a town board hopeful in the 2005 general election and an unsuccessful Republican nominee as the GOP candidate for Supervisor iagainst Cross--as chair of the towns planning board.
Audience members shouted slurs, with one woman yelling “You might as well appoint Dean Gitter,” in reference to Setchko’s pro-development track record.
Setchko, who last year cut his ties with the Republicans and has been recruiting for the small but influential Conservative party, stood silently in the back of the room as DiSclafani and Stanley complained that the planning board had not made a recommendation for who they would like to see as Chair. Both wanted the town board to table the decision until the planning board issued a recommendation. Todd, Cross and Munster defeated that effort and voted Setchko in as Stanley and DiSclafani dissented.
During the discussion Cross hurled an insult at Pine Hill resident Mary Herrmann, who was seated near audience members that were being called out of order by the Supervisor for talking about the issue. Cross singled her out, saying “Mary, you’re out of order all the time, but that doesn’t matter to you,” he said.
Earlier in the meeting DiSclafani fought hard to get the rest of the board to agree that a clause should be added requiring the monthly resolutions be placed on the town’s website. He got support only after agreeing to do the work himself if the town’s webmaster could not get it done. Stanley had a similar victory when he asked that the procedure of town board meetings be changed to have committee reports be given prior to public comment period. This way, he said, the public would be better informed before having their chance to speak to the board about the decisions to come later in the sessions.
At one point Cross was called “The man of a thousand lies” by Phoenicia resident Carol Shalaew, who complained about the time of the meeting being quietly switched from 7pm to 1pm. Shalaew said doing so prevented many people from attending, as they had to work.
“You show absolutely no respect for the people of this town,” Shalaew said.
“Thank you for your comment,” Cross responded.
11th Hour Resort Ruling
The 98-page decision written by DEC Deputy Commissioner Carl Johnson served as a final ruling on an appeals process started by the developers after a DEC administrative law judge ruled in 2005 that 12 matters regarding the resort plan needed full, trial-like adjudication. Johnson – a specialist in air and waste management issues who has had several of his decisions reversed by state judges — was named final arbiter after the current commissioner, Denise Sheehan, recused herself from the review process because of previous involvement with the SEQRA process.
Both Johnson and Sheehan are expected to be up for replacement by new appointees from just-inaugurated Governor Eliot Spitzer sometime in the coming weeks.
Johnson’s decision removed six of the issues Administrative Law Judge Richard Wissler had originally directed to adjudication, while allowing six to remain, with qualifications. The six matters still requiring adjudication are the resort’s impact on water supply, aquatic habitats, stormwater and noise, as well as visual impact and its required presentation of possible alternatives to the proposed project. The issues removed from adjudication included possible impacts on wildlife, traffic, community character, secondary growth and the surrounding Catskill Forest Preserve, as well as the cumulative impact of the project.
The latter issue included discussion of long-discussed growth plans for the DEC-owned ski mountain whose presence drew the developers’ dreams in the first place, which Johnson said should not be included since they are only “conjecture.” He further declined to release any preliminary plans the DEC may be working on, as requested under state Freedom of Information laws.
The last-minute ruling came following six weeks of intensely private discussions held in Pataki’s New York offices where all parties, including representatives from Spitzer’s incoming administration, were sworn to secrecy.
Simultaneously, both the developer and a number of his supporters in the business communities of Delaware and Ulster counties, whose border the resort would straddle, had been meeting with the Regional Administrator for the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which has ultimate oversight over Clean Water issues throughout the nation, including the okay for New York City’s vast and complex watershed, within which Gitter’s designs are geographically centered.
Paul Rakov, spokesperson for Crossroads Ventures, the company started by Gitter and partners Emily Fischer and Kenneth Pasternak to develop the resort, said in a press release on New Year’s Eve that Johnson’s ruling, “Represents a significant step forward” and that “Residents and visitors of the Catskills should be comforted by the Commissioner’s clear ruling that traffic impacts of the proposed project will not be significant, nor will community character be compromised or secondary impacts prove onerous. In other words, the issues that have been consistently raised against the project locally have been found not to be environmentally significant by the Deputy Commissioner.”
Continuing, Rakov said that Crossroads was “encouraged by the Commissioner’s decision and will immediately prepare for next steps – both the adjudications called for, and the ongoing dialogue with those who are not yet convinced of the Project’s positive promise for this economically stricken region.”
By the next day, 2007’s first, the spokesman for the Catskill Preservation
Coalition was saying that his 11-group organization was “gratified” by what Johnson had ruled, noting that he had “upheld the CPC on six significant issues it had raised about the proposed development, the biggest in the history of the region, agreeing that the issues were ‘substantive and significant’ and required ‘further inquiry’ on behalf of the public and the environment.”
“The ruling confirms what we have been saying all along—that the resort as proposed would cause significant and pervasive adverse impacts that need to be aired and addressed publicly,” that spokesman, Catskill Center Director Tom Alworth, added. “The environmental review process is a requirement of the state government, and we look forward to working with the Spitzer administration to ensure that the public is heard on these important issues.”
The issues Johnson left standing bring the possible future of the resort proposal down to a series of scientifically quantifiable issues. Those he threw out tended to be situations where the Deputy Commissioner was standing by previous opinions rendered by his agency, or involving the state ski center.
Alworth noted the unfortunate circumstances under which the final ruling was released, just before 5 pm on the last day possible before a major political shift.
“Certainly, we are disappointed that in the final minutes of the Pataki administration, the Deputy Commissioner overturned the hearing officer’s rulings on such key issues as community character and secondary growth, issues that will result in significant impacts to the local community,” he wrote. “But overall, we are gratified.”
All DEC Commissioner decisions, even when rendered by Deputies, may be reviewed in State Supreme Court by proceedings brought under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules. These proceedings may be brought by the applicant, a party to the hearing, or other persons affected by the decision.
To date, none of the parties effected had said anything about such appeals… yet.
Then again, because of the holiday weekend, officials with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, as well as Spitzer’s own Watershed Inspector, could not be reached for comment.
“Those who raise questions deserve to be heard…I intend to devote my efforts to sustaining the work of teachers, classified staff, current and former administrators parents and Board members.”
At the December 12 school board meeting, Cavallaro voiced surprise at the board’s decision to hire Ford in a five-to-one vote, with trustee Mary Jane Bernholz as the only no vote. Cavallaro said in a separate interview, “She could be the greatest superintendent we ever had and I look forward to working with her, however it is going to be a very long educational process because now she needs to be educated on New York Ed law, special education law, she needs to pass a bond, a budget and negotiate three contracts in the next year and a half, she knows nothing of the curriculum and she needs to be educated on this and hopefully she will listen to the people who know.”
Ford empathized with his concerns, saying, “I can imagine that staff members both desire stability and are concerned that the next person may not fulfill their needs.”
Superintendent for two years Justine Winters resigned due to illness and passed away May 2006. An interim replacement spot was filled by Peter J. Ferrara who resigned in June once the board uncovered civil rights violations from his former school district in Ellenville. Currently the district is headed by interim superintendent Jack Jordan at $565 a day.
Ford continued: “For those staff members who have only had the opportunity to read the outline of professional experience that a resume provides, coupled with a brief group meeting, those same issues may persist. In addition, some of the examples I might provide in discussion could pertain to the circumstances of specific districts, and may not ever be applicable to our future decisions for Onteora. These are all things that can be resolved as we take the time to appreciate each others’ strengths and work together.”
She also noted that the most important common goal when decisions are made comes from what is best for the children. This is gained either through staff development, facilities or the school board and she has a great appreciation of people who work with children.
According to board president Marino D’Orazio, the procedures for hiring Ford were based on a nationwide search where the job description came from a shared decision-making process. Specific qualities in leadership skills, knowledge on curriculum education, cultural knowledge and communication skills were considered important.
Ford wrote, “It is my understanding that the Onteora Board strongly supports receiving input for decision making. This came up during my interview, and I was assured that we felt the same way about this.”
Ford will soon be ending her tenure as superintendent at Kings River-Hardwick Charter school district in Hanford, California. It holds about 600 kindergarten through grade eight students with a $4.2 million budget. The per-student cost is around $5,000, about half of what Onteora pays, which Ford explains leads to creative avenues to school funding, including corporate donations especially in the area of technology.
Ford said she was especially attracted to Onteora’s support for the arts, something she lost as a music teacher in California when the State revamped its’ tax laws. The State of California collects local property taxes and school budgets are not decided by voter referendum.
Ford has a Bachelor of Arts in vocal music, a Masters Degree in educational counseling, a second Master in Psychology with an emphasis in marriage, family and child counseling and a Doctorate of Education in organizational leadership. She has four children, three of whom are adopted, and has taken in twenty or so foster children.
Ford was married nearly a year ago to Fr. C. Allan Ford a retired Episcopal priest and New Yorker. After living many years in California her husband chose to return and remain active in the New York diocese. He currently has temporary housing and is working as an interim Rector of a church in Marbletown. They intend to find housing in the Onteora district.
Ford described where she lives and works in the San Joaquin Valley as an agricultural community with diverse cultures and a “dense tulle fog that does not lift for months.” She is ready for the cold weather (if New York ever gets any), only concerned about driving in snow... but said her husband will be her coach for adapting to harsh driving conditions. She is prepared for winter power outages with California having experienced it’s share of storms and power failures. She is accustomed to “wild critters” attempts at garbage, joking, “…I guess the occasional bear will be just one more freeloader.”
Depending on where they move to, a bear may be more than occasional.
Jay and Molly run a popular series of Fiddle and Dance events around the region for the past 15 years. Ungar who has been hosting similar events at the Ashokan Field Campus since 1980, became renowned in the early 1990s as composer of Ashokan Farewell, the signature song for Ken Burns’ epic Civil War series, and a best-selling Grammy winner. Together, he and Mason are hosts of WAMC-FMs popular Dancing On The Air radio program.
The Field Campus, made up of several historic buildings from the old Winchell Inn estate, as well as a number of newer reconstructions of structures endemic to the region, has been part of SUNY-New Paltz since 1957. It is owned and operated by that institution’s Campus Auxiliary Services, one of a system of separately run not-for-profit corporations created in the early 1950s to “insulate NYS from services with high liability exposure and because NYS agency requirements and systems for accounting, reporting, and budgeting can not effectively accommodate retail and consumer service enterprises.”
Early in December, CAS’ chief executive officer Steven Deutsch announced that his board of directors had finally approved a $2.1 million sale to New York-based Open Space Institute, who in turn had reached an agreement with Ungar and Mason’s recently formed Ashokan Foundation non-profit group and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, who will eventually purchase the property from OSI.
OSI has performed a similar buying/holding function with the Woodstock Land Conservancy and the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development. In the early 1990s it was instrumental in reserving the site for a proposed Catskills Interpretive Center just off Route 28 in Shandaken, which many hope will be revived under the new Eliot Spitzer governorship set to be inaugurated January 1.
A previous 2005 deal set up by Deutsch and the SUNY New Paltz CAS with the non-profit Circle of Life for an overnight camp for children with diabetes fell through last June when the New York City DEP reactivated a long-inactive waste channel from the nearby Ashokan Reservoir to drain that body of water so repair work could continue on their massive water system’s further-Upstate Schharie Reservoir Dam. Barriers designed to protect the campus in case of flooding were built at the time. The current hold-up in finalization of a new deal that would allow for Ungar’s own group to take over management of the Ashokan campus, according to spokespeople for both the Open Space Institute, Campus Auxiliary Services and the city, are awaiting the completion of legally intricate negotiations between New York and OSI to allow for future water releases designed to alleviate future flooding problems in the lower Esopus Valley.. Ungar has said that he plans to not only expand his music and dance camps but maintain the campus’ college-affiliated education programs, which have included a number of lost Catskills arts and crafts, and retain as much of its 12 full-time and 20 part-time employees. In December of last year, Deutsch released a letter to the SUNY-New Paltz college community addressed rumors of an impending Ashokan Field Campus sale by denying anything was finalized, but justifying the sales process. “The facilities at Ashokan, which include an administration building and a number of bunkhouses, are outdated and sorely in need of renovation - the cost of which is estimated to be between $1 and $2 million. Other camps that we compete with for similar outdoor educational programming have more modern facilities, which can make it difficult to attract business,” Deutsch said at that time. “Currently, only 5 percent of the programming at Ashokan is SUNY New Paltz related. In addition, SUNY Central Administration and the Office of the State Comptroller have both indicated a preference that all tangential real estate owned and operated by College Auxiliary Services Corporations either be sold or run by a subsidiary corporation.” Ungar and Mason, meanwhile, had been too busy with their Holiday schedule of concerts and dances and the final planning for their upcoming New Year’s bash to speak about the big new deal in the works. As a result, they feel they won’t be jinxing it, either. In addition to the recent weekend, they’ve already booked their popular Fiddle and Dance camps through the upcoming summer and Spring. For more information on Jay and Molly’s events, including a February Winter music weekend - as well as the upcoming plans for their new field campus - (given THIS hasn’t jinxed the process) call 845-246-2121 or visit www.ashokan.org.
Storyteller!
He will be proving his talents in a rare series of area appearances coming up at the Center for Performing at Rhinebeck Arts Friday through Sunday, January 5, 6 and 7, as part of a major fundraiser for the Poughkeepsie Magic Club, the region’s leading branch of the Society of American Magicians.
For those performances – Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 2 pm – Alan will demonstrate for local audiences just what’s made him one of the nation’s top magicians in recent years… and made his retirement from shop life, and Woodstock, truly “magical.”
How famous is Alan in that world?
Just last month Genii, the conjurer’s trade magazine, ran a 20 page spread on him and his most revered “tricks,” chief among them his version of the classic “Sands of Time,” which Alan likes to refer to in terms of being a “signature tune” similar to Sinatra’s old chestnuts.
More importantly, Eisenson was invited, as Just Alan, to be one of 22 top magicians flown down to Austin, Texas for three days centered around a single evening of performances for a private party of 120 held in a local millionaire’s museum-like mansion.
“I did tarot readings, but what was best was hanging for three days with the best in the business, with all these people I knew by reputation alone,” Alan said of that journey this week. “Michael Weber, who did the tricks for The Illusionist, and Eric Mead, known for the amazing card trick in The Aristocrats, were both there. Bob Stencel did a three hour lecture, just for magicians, on card tricks. All the stops were pulled… it was a blast!”
In addition to his “Sands” trick, which he brings a stage perfectionist’s sensibility and presence to, Just Alan has become known for a long African storytelling piece in which he pierces his arm with a long needle and several other equally thrilling, well produced pieces.
“Magic is not about the trick, it’s about you. So my first advice is to forget about the trick and think about who you are. What are your interests? What do you like to do? What do you want to share with others? What really moves you,” he has written about his craft, and sense of magical high style. “Your magic begins when your trick is woven around you.”
Or, more specifically about his stagecraft and dedication to setting his tricks within narrative structures and imaginative sets, Alan speaks about how “Real magic requires a much more contemplative process” than many at first imagine.
“If you are genuine about who you are, and your magic has some connection to you, you’ll be halfway home. The next half requires committing yourself to a long, deliberate process,” he writes. “It is commonly thought that after spending an hour or so learning the method, practicing the moves, and making sure that all the angles are covered, then, like magic, the magician is ready to go out on stage. Wrong!”
The 20-page Genii article shows how Just Alan has built his craft from his youth on, and includes a classic photo of him releasing doves at the age of 16, top hat strategically placed on his head.
His own current experience, doing mostly private gigs around the world – many on a par with his recent Austin experience – have proved the benefits of his painstaking approach. And talent at all things magical.
“I spent 35 years running my shop… I served my time,” he says of the gusto with which he’s been chasing his new life as a top magician. “For me right now, it’s as good as it gets.”
Which is good for all planning to catch his act in the new year when he plays the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck Cavalcade of Magic, which sold out last year, at 8 pm Friday, January 5, 8 pm on Saturday, January 6, and 2 pm Sunday, January 7.
The Center is located on Route 308 east of Rhinebeck. For further information and reservations visit www.centerforperformingarts.org or call (845) 876-3080.
For more about Just Alan, visit his marvelous store, itself quite magical, on Route 28 weekends, call 657-6773, or visit www.justalan.com.