OPENING THE FLOODGATES OF RENEWAL IN CATSKILL
The Village of Catskill, located at the mouth of Catskill Creek, was one of the earliest and busiest commercial centers on the Hudson River. It started as a commercial port for the first Dutch settlers at Old Katskill (now Leeds), four miles to the west. Catskill's Main Street existed as early as 1741 and later, in 1800, became part of the Susquehanna Turnpike connecting Connecticut with Unadilla on the Susquehanna River via the ferry at Catskill Point.
Throughout the 19th century Catskill served as a "multi-modal" transportation center to stagecoach and mail routes between New York and Albany, and was a port of call for Hudson River Day Liners. Disembarking from steamboats at "The Point," visitors would travel by stagecoach, and later on the Catskill Mountain Railway, to The Catskill Mountain House, America's first "mountain resort," which was located high upon the escarpment.
Catskill's boom and bust economy, based on shipbuilding, tanning, brick making, ice harvesting, flour milling, beef slaughtering, furniture, textiles, and quarrying, rose and fell with innovations in transportation technology, such as canals, railroads, steamboats, and later highways. As the economic stagnation intensified throughout the later part of the 20th century, most of Main Street's historic buildings had fallen into disrepair.
Today however, thanks to the efforts of Bob and Sheryl Jacobson and their neighbors, Catskill residents are embracing their history and heritage as they look forward to new opportunity in the 21st century.
Bob and Sheryl Jacobson arrived in Catskill in 1997 through a circuitous path that has always been characterized by their love of nature, the cultural landscape and an innate belief in people to come together to protect the fabric of community, that "sense of place" that gives invaluable meaning to our lives. Although never seeking the spotlight, they have not been shy about speaking out to protect their values.
From their days fighting a pumping station on the Delaware River to the battle to save historic structures on Catskill's Main Street from the wrecking ball, Bob and Sheryl have been involved in community and environmental issues. As Ms. Jacobson quietly mentioned, "there are causes that have come along that have just activated us."
Mr. Jacobson echoed, "We have done what we had to do…when we lived in Staten Island, Sheryl was one of the prime movers and shakers in mental health care. We're not really out to be activists, but when we have a call."
In Catskill, they had such a call when in 2000 Greene County proposed to demolish 10 historic Main Street buildings to make way for a new county office building and parking lots. They joined with other dedicated citizens to protest the plan, forming the "Save Our Main Street Buildings Committee" and ultimately filing a lawsuit against the county, with Scenic Hudson, the Preservation League of New York State and the National Trust filed filing supporting motions.
As Ms. Jacobson recalled, "I drove up to the office, taking in Main Street and I looked up at those buildings, knowing they were going to be torn down. I came home and told Bob about it. So we went to a meeting - you put your money in and you put your mouth where your money is and do something." They went to several meetings, momentum began to build and the Jacobson's began to feel that what was happening was important. |
 |
 |
|
Ms. Jacobson dutifully checked the local paper for legal notices. "We were terrified that they were going to go ahead and knock the buildings down while we were asleep, so we had to monitor in that way," she said. Mr. Jacobson added, "We got this long, driving feeling that we had to do it, the right thing, that we had to save these buildings. And it was an up and down roller coaster for two years."
During those two years, the Save Our Main Street Buildings Committee was denied standing in the County Court but took its case to the appellate division, where they were similarly rebuffed. Alarm sounded across the state at the disarray in the courts on the issue of citizens standing, and ultimately the group, accompanied by an expanded number of "friends of the court" including the office of Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, took its cause to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals. News stories, feature articles and editorials from the Albany Times Union, The New York Times, the national Preservation Magazine and throughout the Hudson Valley favored the citizens suit.
Despite the strong support and publicity, the citizens did not prevail in the legal case and the confusion on citizens' rights to legally challenge decisions of government affecting their environment remains. Bob and Sheryl Jacobson, however, are very clear about where they stand - ready to fight again to correct the problem, exclaiming they "would jump at any opportunity to fight that battle!"
"For a long time we dreamt about saving those buildings, and we lost in the courts," said Mr. Jacobson. "Then we realized that what we were really fighting for in the courts was not the buildings, that it was the people, the system, that people can go to court." |
|
 |
|
And although the legal system did not afford the citizens the opportunity to make their case, the Jacobsons moved on. Even while the court battle raged, the Jacobsons and their neighbors sought a dialogue with county government. Mr. Jacobson led his group into the Legislative Chambers to seek alternatives to tearing all the buildings down, and with the Heart of Catskill Association (HOCA) searched for a buyer for three of the buildings.
Scenic Hudson's planning staff worked with the citizens to develop alternative site plans and improvements to the county office building design that would preserve the streetscape and character of Main Street. Community Preservation Corporation, introduced to HOCA and the county leadership by Scenic Hudson, has since purchased the three buildings from the county.
The county has just implemented a new Main Street program to support the restoration and revitalization of downtowns throughout the county and Catskill is a beneficiary of that program. Plans are in the works to connect Catskill's downtown along the Catskill Creek to recently revitalized Catskill Point on the Hudson.
Through the collaborative efforts of the Jacobsons, HOCA, Scenic Hudson, the Preservation League of New York State and others, three buildings were saved, Greene County will have an office building on its historic main street that will complement and strengthen the character of downtown, and citizens are inspired to take action. |
|
|
|
|
Page:
1
2
3
4
5
Timeline
|
|
|
|
| notes |
|
|
|
