No dice
The town of Shandaken has set the tone for communities within the Catskill State park to say no to gambling. Unclear is whether other towns and villages will follow suit.
Shandaken residents have been afraid of gambling ever since talk began of the State allowing several casinos in the region. In December 2003, under the leadership of Supervisor Peter DiModica, the town board passed a resolution condemning gambling. Regardless, calls have continued for the town board to make a statement loud and clear that Shandaken does not welcome gambling and the associated troubles that come with it, so present Supervisor Robert Cross Jr. presented another, more detailed statement. While neither resolution carries any legal weight, both serve as a position statement to decision makers who are looking for possible casino locations.
But while the Cross measure passed, it was not passed unanimously and was not without controversy.
Cross presented what he called a memorializing resolution, said to have originated in New Paltz, in opposition to casino gambling in the town of Shandaken and the County of Ulster. It contained a six point list, including flat out opposition to the expansion of games of chance within the town and to any plan to establish ongoing casino gambling in the Town.
Cross was enthusiastically joined by board member Paul VanBlarcum, a Democrat who usually disagrees with the actions of the Republican majority, and several audience members lauded Cross for taking a stand on the issue.
But Republican Jane Todd didn’t like the resolution. Insisting she joined all others in opposition to gambling, Todd also thought the resolution to be too complex and wanted it tabled until an attorney could review it.
Town Republican Club President Gerry Setchko picked the resolution apart, saying he didn’t believe there was proof that gambling played a role in fostering drug and alcohol abuse, addictive behaviors and crime. He also had a problem, he said “with getting into County Business” because other communities might want casinos.
Robert Stanley, a Shandaken resident and former town board hopeful, felt the best approach would be to alter the wording. Eliminate “Ulster County” and add “within the Blue Line of the Catskill Park,” he suggested.
Cross made the change. No dice
The town of Shandaken has set the tone for Communities within the Catskill State park to say no to gambling. Unclear is whether other towns aand villages will follow suit.
“We haven’t had a word about it,” said Len Utter, Supervisor of the town of Middletown. On Monday Utter said his office has no information of Shandakens action, but noted that it would be considered if it is received. He added that so far gambling is not an issue for either Middletown or Delaware County.
In contrast, Shandaken residents have been afraid of gambling ever since talk began of the State allowing several casinos in the region. In December 2003 under the leadership of Supervisor Peter DiModica, the town board passed a resolution condemning gambling. Regardless, calls have continued for the town board to make a statement loud and clear that Shandaken does not welcome gambling and the associated troubles that come with it, so present Supervisor Robert Cross Jr. presented another, more detailed statement. While neither resolution carry’s any legal weight, both serve as a position statement to decision makers who are looking for possible casino locations.
While the Cross measure passed, it was not passed unanimously and was not without controversy.
Cross presented what he called a memorializing resolution, said to have originated in New Paltz, in opposition to casino gambling in the town of Shandaken and the County of Ulster. It contained a six point list, including flat out opposition to the expansion of games of chance within the town and to any plan to establish ongoing casino gambling in the Town.
Cross was enthusiastically joined by board member Paul VanBlarcum, a Democrat who usually disagrees with the actions of the Republican majority, and several audience members lauded Cross for taking a stand on the issue.
But Republican Jane Todd didn’t like the resolution. Insisting she joined all others in opposition to gambling, Todd also thought the resolution to be complex and wanted it tabled until an attorney could review it.
Town Republican Club President Gerry Setchko picked the resolution apart, saying he didn’t believe there was proof that gambling played a role in fostering drug and alcohol abuse, addictive behaviors and crime.
He also had a problem, he said “with into County Business” because other communities might want casinos.
Robert Stanley, a Shandaken resident and former town board hopeful, felt the best approach would be to alter the wording. Eliminate “Ulster County” and add “within the Blue Line of the Catskill Park,” he suggested. Cross made the change.
Ultimately, Cross and Vanblarcum were joined by board members Edna Hoyt and Joe Munster in passing the resolution. Todd voted against, saying that she did oppose gambling, but would not support the resolution until a lawyer reviewed it.

Super Censor...
Against a backdrop of allegations that he is violating townspeople’s First Amendment right to free speech, Shandaken Supervisor Robert Cross Jr. is trying to defend himself for setting himself up as the one who decides what goes on the town’s website, and what does not.
The flap arose at the March 7 town board meeting, where Broadstreet Hollow resident Dave Channon complained that his business was removed from the town website by the town board. The site, www.shandaken.us, includes links to local businesses and has been advertised by the town as being open to anyone.
Channon’s business, Esopus Creek Multimedia, was listed until recently. When it disappeared he said he figured it was a simple mistake and contacted the web mistress and asked her to put it back up. “She replied, Dave, the link to your site was removed at the request of the Town Board," he said.
It turns out that some board members knew nothing about it. But Cross did. The Supervisor, a Republican, nervously admitted he removed the link because he claims Channon’s website included derogatory remarks about fellow Republican Board member, Jane Todd... A claim which Channon denied. On the site, Channon said, was a short video clip of Todd at a public meeting. Channon said the clip shows Todd admitting her involvement with Crossroads Ventures.
“When somebody turns around and attacks a town official…..I find it offensive,” Cross said.
Channon said the Todd clip was on yet another website of his, and that he was unaware that link existed to get to it from Esopuscreek.com. Now, he said, the link is removed and he wants esopuscreek back on the town’s site.
Chichester resident John Horn, another Republican, noted that Channon’s site also included information about a recent Democratic Party fundraising event. Horn also told reporters that he also found a link from Channon’s website to another Channon site that allegedly had pornographic videotapes for sale.
A visit to the site, volcanicvideo.com, showed a variety of pictures and drawings, some of nude woman wearing masks. All were of a variety of “edge” art similar to that on display each autumn at the Woodstock Tattoo and Body Art festival.
Channon, a professional video producer, says there is nothing pornographic on the site and maintains that the site is clean. He also notes that there is no link to volcanicvideo.com on esopuscreek.com
At the meeting Pine Hill resident Mary Herrmann was alarmed that it appeared that Cross was censoring the website.
Cross has said he will consider putting Channon’s link back on the website. At press time it was not listed.

Sewer Sale?
The attorney handling the proposed $11. 1 million Phoenicia Sewer project told the town board this week that the Phoenicia sewer committee thinks it would be better if an extra 2.4 acres of land is purchased for the sewer plant site, but that it wasn’t essential for the project. A public hearing on the matter has been set for Monday, March 28th.
Without explaining why the committee wants the land, attorney Kevin Young identified the parcel as being owned by a company controlled by Dean Gitter, the local developer whose company owns a large tract of land along Route 28 just east of the Phoenicia Diner. Gitter purchased the property in the late 1990’s and removed a trailer park from the site. At time of purchase Gitter discussed hopes of building a hotel on the property but to date no plans have been submitted to the town. Gitter is currently embroiled in controversy over the review of his other project, the 1900-acre golf resort proposed for the Highmount area
“It’s not absolutely necessary that we buy that site,” Young told the board.
Regardless, the board authorized Young to purchase a $1000 option on the land, which would be sold to the town for $50,000 should they choose too exercise the purchase option. That would hike the land acquisition cost for the project up to $225,000, Young said. In the works right now, he added, is a plan to exercise another option on a $175,000 property, which includes a house. That site is essential for the project, he said, telling the board they needed to complete the environmental review of the project swiftly, as the deadline for the option was set to run out on March 16th of this year.
Young also gave a detailed update on the overall project, saying he expects it to go out to bid about one year from now. In the meantime, the sewer committee will prepare the community planning aspects of the project, such as where all the pipes will go.
Still undetermined is whether the lines and mains will go under the roadways of the hamlet or travel though the backyards of the community under the gardens and fences that cover the terrain. Also, there is still no absolute amount that the businesses in the community should expect to pay for annual fees to hook up to the system, but those figures will be available by late spring. It has been decided, Young said, that Phoenicia will adhere to the original plan to charge residential users a flat annual rate of $100 a year. After three years however, that amount will be adjusted for inflation.
The residential rate comes as part of a 1997 agreement with the City of New York, which is footing the bill to construct the system as a way to help keep the city’s drinking water, which comes from the streams that surround the hamlet, running pure and clean. Business owners have feared outrageous annual costs because no cap was placed on commercial usage fees.
Meanwhile, Delaware Engineering, the firm hired to construct the system, is seeking grant dollars to help residents pay for the connection of the house to the systems mains. It could cost several hundred dollars per household and chief engineer John Brusk said there is not enough money in the project budget to cover everyone’s cost, so it is expected that grants will be used to pick up about 75% of the charge and have homeowners contribute the rest. Project begins next year.

Porn Blockers
Pat Ellison has a good idea, according to Supervisor Robert Cross Jr. Cross and company just passed a 6-month moratorium on adult entertainment businesses in town while Shandaken gets serious about drafting laws to keep creepy peepers from finding strip clubs and other more seedy establishments within town borders. To keep such places out, Ellison recommended preparing an interior lighting ordinance that would require establishments to keep things bright. The assumption is that folks that frequent such places prefer not to be seen, and would avoid well-lit joints the way vampires avoid the light of day.
“I thank you for this Pat,” Cross said,” It is a very good idea.”

Coalition Stances
Asked whether the issue of New York City’s strong stance towards the controversial Belleayre Resort project being proposed by Shandaken developer Dean Gitter had been a point of contention at a recent meeting between the Coalition of Watershed Towns, New York City DEP and the state DEC, Coalition President Pat Meehan at first said that was something he didn’t want to “bring to the table yet.” But later, at the Coalition’s February 21 meeting in Margaretville, Meehan added that he would stick with the position that the Coalition “shouldn’t question the City’s right to state objections,” and not meddle in the process until a later date.
Coalition attorney Jeff Baker, however, raised his own objections, stated on behalf of the Coalition in a brief to the state DEC administrative law judge currently deciding what issues will be legally tried regarding the Belleayre Resort environmental review. Specifically, Baker questions the propriety of state Watershed Inspector General John Tierney’s recent application for Amicus status in the review process, which he felt was an “overstepping” of the Assistant Attorney General’s bounds.
Baker pointed out how the Coalition had been instrumental in setting up Tierney’s position as a watchdog over the city, but not an active element in watershed environmental reviews.
Later, he asked the Coalition board to okay his filing for party status in other ongoing litigation that has pitched New York City against the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which has asked for more stringent regulations regarding water turbidity and phosphorus levels traveling from the Schoharie Creek into the Esopus via the 83-year old “Shandaken Tunnel.” The issue arose in recent years following a lawsuit brought against the City DEP by Trout Unlimited and a number of other regional fishermen’s groups who charged that the Tunnel’s water releases were harming fish habitat in the Esopus.
Baker said that the main issue for the Coalition’s involvement in the case would be to support the City’s battle against increased regulations, and an expensive new intake system leading off the Schoharie Creek, because of possible repercussions should such regulatory changes become precedent for similar changes throughout the Schoharie Creek watershed. All approved.
When later asked if the Coalition wanted to weigh in on underlying issues involved in the case that is pitting fisherfolk against the Esopus’ Phoenicia-based “tubing” industry, from which Harry Jameson III’s Town Tinker Tube Rentals is applying for similar party status, the board members deferred for at least the time being.

Averting Tragedy
A pair of Ulster County politicians recently suggested that the sale of ammunition like that used in the Hudson Valley Mall shooting should be restricted. Bill Reynolds, majority leader of the Kingston Common Council noted that although he wouldn’t advocate strict gun control, stemming the availability of ammunition for semiautomatic assault rifles at Wal Mart, where authorities say 25-year-old Robert Bonelli Jr. of Glasco purchased three boxes before firing 50-60 shots inside the Hudson Valley Mall, wounding two people, might not be a bad idea.
Ulster County Legislator Brian Shapiro, who represents Woodstock and Shandaken, added that he may ask the county Legislature to approve a resolution in support of reinstating the Brady Bill, the federal ban on assault weapons that expired last September.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., also has called on Bush to reinstate the ban on assault weapons.
Eric Howard, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, praised local lawmakers for their efforts. “It’s definitely a good place to start,” he said. “We need comprehensive laws on this across the board, on the federal, state and county level.”

No Clean Up…
The Catskill Watershed Corporation will not coordinate a Watershed-wide stream clean-up this year, but will support groups and individuals who tackle litter on streambanks in their neighborhoods. Executive Director Alan Rosa explained that the organization’s mandated programs have become too cumbersome to coordinate volunteer activities. Yet he suggested that outside volunteer efforts might want to pitch in to clean up the banks of New York City’s reservoirs. The CWC will provide trash bags, gloves and tokens of appreciation for those who choose to serve their communities in this way. The NYC DEP is coordinating clean-ups at the Ashokan May 7 and 21; the Cannonsville June 11, the Rondout June 25; the Pepacton July 9 and the Schoharie July 23 and August 6. Call Amy Flavin at 845-340-7530, or aflavin@dep.nyc.gov for further information.

That Darn Jail
Ulster County’s new Law Enforcement Center, already a year behind schedule and $21 million over budget, has had its completion date pushed back again. The new target date for opening the facility is Sept. 21, six weeks later than the recently announced target date of Aug. 12 and 17 months later than the originally anticipated opening last April. Democratic Ulster County Legislator Richard Parete has said that the contractors and county officials have “totally lost control” of the Law Enforcement Center project. The jail was supposed to cost $71.8 million, but current estimates suggest a final price of around $93 million. Of the extra $21 million being spent, $4.7 million is to complete construction and the remainder is to settle claims related to the delays and pay consulting fees.

Gambling Rift?
A number of anti-casino activists and New York tribes are complaining that the State Senate is excluding them from ongoing hearings on a massive expansion of gambling in the state. The groups were denied to have speakers at Senate hearings that started last month on Gov. George Pataki’s bill to settle Indian land claims and allow five Native American casinos in the Catskills. And they question whether they’ll get to have their say at any follow-up hearings.
“This is a stacked hearing,” said Rev. Duane Motley, a casino opponent who asked to be on the speaker’s list but was turned down by Sen. John Bonacic, who is leading the Senate sessions. “They don’t want to hear anything that would make them wiser to the downside of gambling.”
“We’re disappointed the senator doesn’t want to solicit the views of all parties concerned,” said Eric Facer, a lawyer for the Oneida Nation of New York. He said the Oneidas, who oppose Pataki’s plans to allow out-of-state tribes to open casinos, sought to be invited but didn’t make the list.
Langdon Chapman, a spokesman for Bonacic, said the speaker’s list had to be narrowed to about 20 from a field of more then 100 who asked to make remarks during the three-hour hearing. He said three major pro-casino labor groups are invited to discuss job opportunities. Three other speakers are expected to be critical of Pataki’s plan, he said. Others will testify on tribal histories and the impacts of having up to five casinos in the Catskills.
Assembly Democrats plan three hearings on March 11 in Syracuse, March 30 in Albany, and April 7 at Monticello.
“There’s no one there whose going to be free to attack the governor’s plan,” said Joel Rose, chairman of the Coalition Against Gambling in New York, referring to the recent Senate sessions.
“We feel that the so-called hearings are just another example of the powers shoving through their agenda without any sort of realistic consultation with their constituents,” said Lee Karr, an opponent suing Pataki over his gambling expansion plans.

@ The Emerson
Two new execs have joined the marketing team at Mt. Tremper’s Emerson Place, Shandaken’s leading retail complex and largest private employer with over 140 staff. Now on board as the complex’s Director of Sales & Marketing is Greg Gibadlo, whose 25 years in the hotel & tourism business has included vice-president positions with the New York City, Washington, D.C., and Atlantic City, NJ Conventions Bureaus. Also recently hired as Director of Public Relations is Paul Rakov, a Woodstock native and 1986 Onteora grad. Rakov’s more than 10 years in the PR business most recently included stints working for the Amelia Island, FL Chamber of Commerce and Virginia Beach, VA Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“Welcoming Paul on board is another example of our commitment to finding qualified, experienced local people to fill critical roles in our organization.” said Ted Wright, Emerson Place President.

Rural Roads…
The good news is that fewer people are dying on America’s roads. The bad news is that mile-for-mile, you’re 2.73 times more likely to be killed driving a rural road than any other kind. And that’s despite the fact that fatality rates on rural roads went down 21% between 1990 and 2003. Those are among the conclusions of a study released last week by The Road Information Program (TRIP), a nonprofit group funded by insurance companies, unions and businesses involved in road construction and engineering. The report also found that 52% of the country’s 42,000 annual traffic deaths happened on rural roads, although travel on them only represented 28% of the miles Americans drove.

County Taxes!
Ulster County officials recently noted that the final sales-tax figures for 2004 have revealed a $1.5-million shortfall from what had been anticipated, a problem compounded by a possible $1.5-million shortfall in the controversial restored hotel-motel tax budgeted for 2005, which has started drawing ever-louder complaints from local lodging industry owners, including many in the Belleayre area. And worsening the situation is the growing probability that the combined $3 million shortfall in anticipated revenues will be augmented by yet another large reduction in the county surplus likely to occur over the coming year. The estimate is the county will have had a roughly $18-million surplus for 2004, of which $14.9 million has already been pegged as revenue in the 2005 budget to hold down a tax levy that, without it, would have ballooned even larger than the double-digit increase that occurred, resulting in 90 percent hikes in the Town of Olive.
The emerging problem is that, with only $3.1 million in reserve, and revenues looming short, the county will be hard-pressed to come up with another $14.9 million to apply to the 2006 budget to hold down the tax levy. A surplus of some sort will likely be accumulated, and measures such as personnel freezes or program cuts can be taken during the year to hold down expenses, but they won’t easily add up to $18 million at the end of this year.
County Republicans currently hold a 17-16 advantage in the legislature and the 2006 budget is due to be released only a few days before all 33 county legislators face an election in November.
In the absence of new revenue streams, politicians have started saying that the county must seek to cut programs. It has thus far managed to navigate fiscal shoals without resorting to laying off county workers. But that option may be ending.
Democrats are seeking a “revamping of the budget process,” asking that the county’s tentative budget be delivered to legislators in mid-October instead of mid-November, to allow lawmakers more time to shape the spending plan.
The renewed hotel-motel tax, meanwhile — approved as a relatively painless way to raise revenue from the wallets of visitors instead of residents — called for a two-percent flat tax on the price paid for a room in local lodgings to be imposed from March 1 through June of this year before shifting, as of July 1, to a flat fee of $5 per night per room. But the tax plan appears in trouble. The county’s hotel industry has argued that from its perspective the $5-per-night room fee would be disastrous, particularly for smaller establishments such as those in the Belleayre area.
A concerted effort by local lodgers is expected to be underway over the coming weeks…

Deportees…
During the last year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported a record 157,281 immigrants, a reflection of the agency’s emphasis on booting anyone with even a whisper of a criminal record from the country. But while ICE agents have pursued criminals who are in the USA illegally, they have also swept up record numbers of illegal immigrants who have committed no crimes other than violations of visa limits and other immigration laws. That helped increase the total number of deportations by more than 45% from 2001 to 2004.
Most of those deported — more than 70% in 2004 — have been returned to Mexico. Most of the rest have been sent back to Central or South America or to the Dominican Republic.
ICE expects the number of deportations to increase again this year. In his 2006 budget, President Bush has requested an additional $170 million above the $1.4 billion that ICE’s Detention and Removal program will get in 2005.
Meanwhile, another new survey shows international interest in studying at American graduate schools declining for the second straight year, a sign of the continued impact of visa delays and growing competition from foreign universities… in addition to our nation’s new aggressive deportation policies. In a membership survey being released last month, the Council of Graduate Schools estimates foreign applications to U.S. graduate programs for the upcoming school year are down 5 percent. That compares with a 28-percent decline in applications last year, the CSG said. Following that drop, about 6 percent fewer international students wound up entering U.S. graduate schools for the 2004-05 year, the CSG estimated.
The survey’s authors said a streamlined visa process has helped stem the decline in applications. But the CGS said challenges remain. Applications from the two largest source countries, China and India, are down 13 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Students from those countries are increasingly being lured by stronger domestic programs or by programs in Europe and Australia that are recruiting aggressively.
Universities have argued the trend is a threat not only to America’s research standing but its public diplomacy.

Faith-Based?
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation on job training, despite Democratic objections, that would allow faith-based programs to use religion as a hiring criterion. The White House backs the bill and President Bush has spoken in favor of its faith-based language, which would permit groups to consider a potential employee’s religion. Most Democrats opposed the bill because of that language but a bid by Virginia Democrat Rep. Robert Scott to cut it out failed. Democrats said the measure was a step backward to an era of discrimination and was unnecessary as faith-based groups can receive federal funds for job training as long as they do not discriminate in hiring.
“Employment discrimination is ugly,” said Scott. “You can put lipstick on a pig but you can’t pass it off as a beauty queen and you can’t dress up ‘We don’t hire Catholics and Jews’ with poll-tested semantics and euphemisms and pass it off as anything other than ugly discrimination.”

Culture Club!
Brazil. Nepal. Italy. India. Ecuador. Slovakia. Nine foreign exchange students from those countries stayed with several local families since August via Rotary Club Chapter 7210, which covers five counties in the Hudson Valley. In late February, the students were hosted by members of the Phoenicia chapter of the Rotary Club.
Each year, the Rotary Club organizes a foreign exchange program in which students from the region trade places with counterparts from other nations. While no one from the Phoenicia area was involved in the latest round - the closest student was from Catskill - starting this August, 16-year-old Phoenicia resident Michaela MacNutt plans to spend her high school senior year in Siberia as a part of the program.
Anyone interested in participating next year should contact Rotary member Mark Wilsey at (845) 688-5500. The local Rotary will interview potential candidates, and those with the highest chance of success will be submitted for consideration by the district.
Activities over the weekend included dinner at Al’s Restaurant, rappelling with local judge Tom Crucet at the Sundance Tower, lunch at the Woodland Valley Inn and a party that included presentations by each of the exchange students about their respective homelands. There was also a full day of skiing at Belleayre Mountain Ski Center on Saturday, which was Rotary International Ski Day at the mountain. More than 200 Rotary families participated.
For more information about the exchange program, visit the Web site www.rotary.org.

Deep Footings…
A letter opposing an adjudicatory hearing on the $300 million Belleayre Resort project proposed for the town of Shandaken by developer Dean Gitter’s Crossroads Ventures was presented to the Ulster County Development Corporation last month, in hopes that the UCDC would agree to sign on and forward the letter to Governor Pataki as its official position. The draft argues against a stringent environmental adjudication.
The letter was written by Ward Todd, president of the county Chamber of Commerce and was presented by UCDC president Chester Straub, acting in Todd’s stead. But after some discussion the letter was set aside and a resolution passed to draft the UCDC’s own letter on the subject, re-worked to not reflect what Democrats on the committee have called Todd’s “strong bias” in support of the controversial project.
County legislator Michael Berardi said he “spoke up and said it’s not in the mission statement of the UCDC to make a determination on how stringent an environmental review should be. I thought it [the letter] was really beyond where we should be going with this stuff.”
Todd said that he “respectfully disagrees” with Democrats who say that the UCDC should not be intervening in the matter… Whether it’s UCDC or the Chamber board, both organizations are pro-business, pro growth, and favor improving the economy of Ulster County so UCDC should be involved in all this. All we seem to hear is, where are the jobs? How are we growing our economy? And this is the way we have to improve our economy.”
Todd added that he did not recall whether the board of directors of the county Chamber of Commerce had authorized him to write and promulgate the letter, but said that “general discussion” of the issue convinced him he should proceed.
Berardi, however, said the UCDC should not simply adopt Todd’s opinion on the matter. “We feel the UCDC board should hear the other side of the coin on this, they should not just take Ward’s point of view on this, they should make a decision based on both perspectives,” said Berardi.
Todd countered that the value and benefits the project would bring to the county have been under-reported.
But Tom Alworth, executive director of the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, disputed the range of benefits outlined by Todd. He said the construction jobs would not be filled by local workers, but by union members brought in from around the state. Neither would materials for the buildings be purchased locally. And he said the project sponsors have said they would import management staff from outside the region, because there is no local expertise in running large resorts.
Alworth said that opposition to the project is widespread and well organized and observed, “I think to ask UCDC to take a stand on this [adjudication] strikes me as desperation.”

Bad Gorilla
A third woman has filed a lawsuit claiming a caretaker for Koko, the world-famous sign-language-speaking gorilla, pressured the woman to expose her breasts as a way to bond with the animal. Iris Rivera, 39 and an administrative assistant at the Gorilla Foundation until she quit last month, claims both the gorilla and its trainer told her last year that Koko was signing that “she wants to see your nipples.”
Two other former employees of the foundation, Nancy Alperin and Kendra Keller, filed similar claims in recent weeks. While Alperin and Keller refused to expose themselves to Koko, Rivera acquiesced, the lawsuit states.
An attorney for the foundation said the lawsuits had “no merit.”
The Gorilla Foundation was founded in 1976 to promote the preservation and study of gorillas. It’s best known for Koko, a 136-kilo (300-pound) simian who has mastered a vocabulary of more than 1,000 signs.