Saugerties residents suspicious of master plan
Casinos, housing, the role of government, and whether a plan created by an unelected committee should shape town policy were among the concerns raised at a public hearing on the town and village Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan is particularly significant because the town’s laws, especially the zoning laws, are required to be in compliance...
Dragon Inn faces foreclosure
Owner Ching Ya Wu wants to tear it down. Historic preservationists want it saved. But the fate of the Dragon Inn may end up being decided by someone else altogether. According to local officials, Wu owes nearly $70,000 in back taxes to the village, town, school and county. Suzi Filak, Town of Saugerties tax collector...
Master Plan hearing tonight
Those who care about future development — including housing, industrial, commercial and historic development — in Saugerties should attend a public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan Tuesday, March 12 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Frank D. Greco Senior Center at 207 Market Street. This is an opportunity for the public to provide input...
The fight to keep Dragon Inn standing
The race is on. The village Historic Review Board decided today to redesignate Clovelea (the Dragon Inn) a historic landmark after the village attorney said the original 2007 designation would not hold up in court. At the same time, the owner of the property is requesting a demolition permit. In any event, the issue seems...
Dragon Inn demolition likely
A battle between the village’s Historic Review Board and the owner of a 19th-century mansion over a proposed demolition may have became a moot point last week. A review by a state official and the village attorney found the Dragon Inn’s historic designation wasn’t done properly, clearing the way for a demolition permit. According to...
Village Board will decide Dragon Inn’s fate
Mayor William Murphy is studying for a big history test. Sometime next month, he and the Village Board will be asked to decide the fate of the Dragon Inn, the fire-damaged building built by 19th century paper magnate William R. Sheffield on Route 9W near the S-curve. The Historic Review Board won’t officially rule on...
The anti-affordable housing crowd has spoken
The anti-affordable housing crowd spoke, and the Comprehensive Plan Committee listened. A second draft made numerous changes to the housing section of the document as a result of public input at the first public hearing on the draft in November. Many people, fresh from battles against affordable housing proposals in Glasco and the village, said...
Mayor says Dragon Inn property will never host affordable housing
“As long as I am mayor, there will be no low-income housing at the site of the Dragon Inn,” Mayor William Murphy declared at the Feb. 4 village trustees meeting. At the Jan. 30 Historic Review Board meeting held to hear a proposal regarding possible demolition of the structure from a representative of Ching Ya...
Affordable housing draws opposition
The village Planning Board officially approved Country Meadows, the 55-unit senior and affordable housing project proposed for North Street, at a Jan. 24 special meeting. Premier Development is seeking state funding for the project, and will find out the results of its application within a few months. Like all affordable housing projects, Country Meadows has...
Should Saugerties save a relic of its industrial past?
It was a grand old home, built by a paper baron. Then it was an elegant restaurant. But ever since a fire gutted it in the early 1990s, the Dragon Inn, located just south of the 9W S-curve, has been an eyesore. Its owner wants to demolish it, while many in the community still hope...
Are Saugerties rents too expensive?
Does Saugerties need 55 more units of affordable rental housing? Some local landlords say no and vow to fight the Country Meadows project on North St. approved by the Planning Board last month. But the Rural Ulster Preservation Company (RUPCO), a partner in the project, points to a study that says the current rental housing...
Music festival approved for Woodstock ’94 site
The plan for a regular summer concert series at the site of Woodstock ’94 moved another step closer to reality as rock entrepreneur Michael Lang received conditional approval from the Saugerties Town Board for the first of what he’s hoping will be three concerts this year at Winston Farm. The event is the CounterPoint Music...