Tom Rocco and Rebecca Rotzler win Village Board seats
Tom Rocco and Rebecca Rotzler were elected to the two open seats on the New Paltz Village Board tonight, with Rocco securing 335 votes and Rotzler — one of the three write-in candidates — with 252. Former New Paltz School Board president Don Kerr received 180 write-in votes, local business owner Jonathan Cohen — who...
New Paltz Village Board votes to make mayor’s position part-time; West threatens to resign
Routine budget talks in the Village of New Paltz quickly devolved into a heated conversation on April 17, when discussion turned to a potential $13,000 raise for the mayor. Mayor Jason West had proposed to raise the mayor’s salary to $48,000 a year, up from $35,000. Trustees instead voted to roll back their own raises...
New Paltz Village Board candidates unveil their platforms
There are four candidates vying for two positions and a four-year term on the New Paltz Village Board on May 7. Two of the current trustees, Stewart Glenn and Brian Kimbiz, have declined to run for another term, leaving two seats open. The four candidates include former deputy mayor Rebecca Rotzler, former School Board president...
Rosendale Energy Expo will showcase innovative and affordable Deep Energy Retrofit
On Saturday, April 13, the Rosendale Recreation Center will host the ninth annual Rosendale Energy Expo, with a special focus this year that should excite owners of older homes that aren’t as well-insulated or energy-efficient as one might wish. If you visualize this event as just a roomful of green-building materials vendors and contractors trying...
At 98, historian Carleton Mabee readies new book on Shawangunk land preservation controversies
There are not many people who can say that they authored a book — even fewer who can say that they’ve authored many. That puts the retired professor, longtime Gardiner town historian and award-winning author Carleton Mabee in an entirely different category: He’s about to publish his tenth book — Protecting Open Space in the...
Village of New Paltz seeks to make parking requirements more elastic
The New Paltz Village Board’s proposed amendment to its parking requirements for primarily the business districts raised concern from several residents at last week’s public hearing. The board, with recommendations and input from the village Planning Board, proposes to amend the code to allow the current parking requirements known as Schedule C to be used...
Less than $10,000 now needed to protect Hess Farm
Preparations are now moving ahead to purchase the development rights on Gardiner’s historic Hess Farm. Many local residents, businesses and farmers have already contributed. Now, with the March 31 deadline looming, $9,500 remains to be raised. “Thanks to many supporters, a federal farmland protection grant and generous support from Open Space Institute and several family...
New Paltz’s village building inspector resigns
Kathy Moniz, a longtime Village of New Paltz employee and the current building inspector, has resigned. Village Board members voted last week to accept the building inspector’s resignation. Mayor Jason West, who helped promote Moniz to inspector during his first administration, said that he was voting “with regrets” on the resignation, but noted that she...
Moxie Cupcake move stalled by New Paltz Village Planning Board pending payment of consultants’ fees
Despite enormous support from fellow business-owners, Family of New Paltz and members of the community at last Tuesday night’s Village Planning Board’s Public Hearing on Moxie Cupcake’s application to move to 184 Main Street, the Planning Board shut down any action on the pending application once again. Josie Eriole, owner of Moxie Cupcakes, a fair-trade,...
Joseph Rodriguez indicted for the bludgeoning death of a child
Following a nine-month-long investigation, Joseph Rodriguez, 44, was arrested in Newburgh on Sunday, March 17 at approximately 5:25 p.m. and charged with second-degree murder in the June 20, 2012 bludgeoning death of two-year-old Asia Perez-Medina. This case stems from the “grisly discovery of the child’s body at the rear of the home rented by Rodriguez,...
Gardiner to put former firehouse/library building on market
The Gardiner Town Board voted to put the abandoned old Fire Department station and lot on the market, after some dynamic debate. “We approved a motion to list this property as surplus property,” said Town Board member Warren Wiegand at last week’s board meeting. He went on to state that in his estimation, the abandoned...
Historic railroad trestle over Rondout Creek scheduled to reopen in June
If someone asked you to picture a single iconic image that captures the essence of Rosendale, the way the outline of Skytop with its tower symbolizes New Paltz, what would spring to mind? For many if not most, it would be the old Wallkill Valley Railroad trestle soaring high above the Rondout Creek and merging...