Upstate New York and its urban neighbor to the south have always had a fraught relationship. The Catskills sends its water down to the city, the city sends its leaf peepers up to the mountains, and the Hudson River flows both ways. Now Is the Time. Now Is the Best Time.
New York State environmental officials have issued an emergency ban on fishing in the upper Esopus Creek, citing prolonged drought that has left water levels in the creek alarmingly low.
Fishing is prohibited in an 11.9-mile stretch of the creek, from the outflow of the Shandaken Tunnel -- which carries water into the creek from New York City's Schoharie Reservoir -- to the Ashokan Reservoir. The ban is in effect until January 31, 2017.
A New York State budget earmark of $500,000 to fund projects in the Catskill Park, announced earlier this year, may be a fraction of what Catskills regional advocates had originally hoped for. But it’s enough to get the ball rolling on more ambitious projects in the region, say local leaders, who plan to use the funds to develop a comprehensive plan for outdoor recreation in the Catskill Park.
It may be snowing in parts of the Catskills this morning, but the calendar says that it's Halloween weekend. It’s time to frolic where the goblins go; time to choose a fantasy to embody and dress up for a night. Or maybe two. Or more: With our five-county guide to this weekend’s Halloween highlights, you could spend Friday, Oct. 28 through Monday, Oct. 31 flitting around in your fearsome finery or just watching others frolic. Enjoy!
DELAWARE COUNTY
The Catskills are betting big on electric vehicles.
Public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations dot the region—close enough to keep an electric car driving for a whole day of leaf-peeping—and a Delaware County designer is building a prototype for a farm-friendly electric truck.
With only weeks left until election day, Democratic New York State Senate candidate Jermaine Bagnall-Graham is flying under the radar in his bid to unseat incumbent Republican State Senator James Seward in New York's 51st Senate District.
Seward is seeking his 15th term in office in a district that includes the Catskills counties of Delaware, Schoharie, and Ulster, just months after successfully battling bladder cancer.
A state judge has ordered the town of Shandaken to examine whether the most profitable part of the long-awaited Belleayre Resort, over 200 real estate “lodging units” that could be sold as condos or timeshares, are allowed under the town’s zoning laws.
The decision, which you can read at the bottom of this post, was issued by Ulster County Supreme Court Justice Richard Mott on Thursday, Oct. 6.
The idea of celebrating the discovery of an inhabited continent may have lost a good bit of its luster, but a three-day-weekend at autumn’s glorious peak is a gift nonetheless. It is boots and sweaters, pumpkins and cider, live music outdoors and lots of amazing food. It’s laughing with the neighbors before hibernation sets in. And we’ve got your five-county guide to Columbus Day in the Catskills.
DELAWARE COUNTY
Gabriel Espinosa took this shot of a hot air balloon rising into the sky at the first annual Jeffersonville Festival of Balloons, which was held in the Sullivan County village on Saturday, Oct. 1 and Sunday, Oct. 2.
Every October, right as the leaves begin to turn on the high peaks of the Catskills, outdoorsfolks of all stripes collaborate on a week-long celebration of the Catskill Park called the Lark in the Park.
The Lark, which began on Saturday, Oct. 1 and runs through Columbus Day (Monday, Oct. 10), is a series of outdoor events hosted by a smorgasbord of different groups and people across the five counties of the Catskills.
