The crowd in Hemlock, a chic new cocktail bar on Main Street with down-to-earth prices and a simple menu of burgers and salads, is a microcosm of Catskill. There are longtime residents and new transplants, older couples and tables of 20-somethings, and a variety of races and backgrounds, all sharing the same space.
The bar, like the village itself, is a fulcrum between the ends of the see-saw of old and new. That's not to say Catskill hasn't had its share of ups and downs this year. There have been plenty amid the country's continued inflationary prices and a lack of affordable housing.
Adapt and Grow
It was happenstance that led to Hemlock's Catskill home. Adam Minegar, who has a background in bartending, had been wanting to open a bar and had considered Brooklyn the most likely location. Then he and his partner, Charlotte Daniel, moved from New York City to Catskill while helping friends launch The Grange, a farm and event business in Coxsackie. "Catskill kind of chose me, actually," Minegar says. "We just so happened to fall in love with Catskill." Minegar signed a lease for 394 Main Street and with the backing of friends, including Chad Arnholt who moved to Catskill to assist in launching the business. Daniel oversaw the renovation and design of the space, and Hemlock opened in June.
"The first few months here have been amazing," Minegar says. "I'm really enjoying watching Hemlock adapt and grow into the bar it will be for years to come." Minegar's new role as a small business owner has given a new respect for all that it takes. It seems to be paying off. "The community has absolutely embraced Hemlock," he says. "They are the reason we are doing well. Our clientele includes a large majority of local folks. Catskill is a really, really special place."
Hemlock isn't alone. Another new business, Gallery 495, located at 495 Main Street, opened in September, adding to the region's burgeoning contemporary arts scene. The space is owned and curated by Mike Mosby, who grew up in the Hudson Valley, and has the stated goal of making Catskill a "significant and meaningful arts destination." Mosby picked Catskill because it “emerged as the best choice in the region. It’s a beautiful town with many artists and creative minded individuals,” he says. “I believe Catskill definitely has the potential to be an art hub. A lot of artists are in the area,” he said. “Now we just need more artist’s spaces to match this growing appetite for the arts.”A show of assemblages by Jamel Robinson commenting on the Black American experience, "The Eagle Flies Free, But Why Not Me?" is on view through January 13.
Business in Catskill, and Greene County in general, has seen "steady growth" this year, according to Pam Geskie, the president of the Greene County Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber has added 77 new members so far in 2023. "I will say that the Main Street, Catskill business community is continually active in promoting Main Street Shopping," she says. Geskie points out events such as First Fridays Catskill and the Cultivate Catskill Winter Solstice Stroll on Main Street (December 21), help drive foot traffic downtown.
A Lack of Affordable Housing
For many in the area, finding affordable housing continues to be a problem as it is throughout the Hudson Valley. The "gentrification we saw during the pandemic displaced hundreds of families" in the Hudson Valley, says Elliott Matos, the chief operating officer for the Hudson/Catskill Housing Coalition (HCHC), a Black-led non-profit tenants' rights organization. "The commodification of housing is a serious epidemic in this country," he continues. "We have been seeing this even before 2020." And it hasn't stopped.
The latest report from Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, a nonprofit policy and research organization, found rents in the region have shot up, sometimes nearly doubling, since 2018. "Over the past five years, rents across our region have increased by anywhere between 25 to 45 percent," according to the report. In Greene County, the rent gap—the price the average worker can afford for a one-bedroom apartment compared to the fair-market rental rate—is more than $300, while homeownership is becoming harder to achieve as well. "The numbers validate that it is becoming increasingly difficult for low-, moderate-, and middle-income earners to afford life in the Hudson Valley," the report reads.
Beginning in late 2020, the Village of Catskill began taking steps towards curbing one area that's led to the loss of workforce housing: short-term rentals (STRs) popularized by Airbnb and similar companies. The short-term rental market has come under scrutiny across the country in the last few years for a variety of reasons beyond taking affordable housing off the market, from rising nuisance issues to a strain on infrastructure. According to Catskill Village Board Trustee Natasha Law, Catskill is "hoping to discourage property owners and push them towards long-term rentals" through increased STR fee schedules, annual inspections, and searching out unregistered STRs.
The village's strategy seems to be working for now, but the board may take further steps toward curbing short-term rentals in the future. Currently, there is no village tax for operating an STR. That may soon change. "STR's have remained somewhat neutral and have not increased by number since these implementations," Law says. "We have discussed a possible moratorium on STR's due to our lack of affordable workforce housing stock as well as several discussions around the four percent tax being implemented."
Law admitted it's a balancing act because of a lack of hotels in the area. "We need to continue to support tourism," she says. Once the planned Hampton Inn on Route 23B in Leeds is up and running, rules on STRs may tighten. "It is my goal to have the 4 percent tax implemented before the end of my term next March," Law says.
A Tenants' Rights Organization Loses Its Home
While the various pressures that have led to a shortage of affordable housing mount, the HCHC, which fights for housing justice in Greene and Columbia Counties, has also been displaced, "for the exact same reason: market prices," Matos says.
In May, HCHC staff learned the office space the organization rented in Foreland, the renovated arts complex on Water Street, which encompasses three buildings in downtown Catskill, would be seeing a rent increase of 137.7 percent, from $400 to $950, when their lease was up in August. Stef Halmos, the founder and executive director of Foreland, gave them an extension until the end of December but stated in an email that the "rent must come up to market value, period. If that's not possible for HCHC, we will try to find a smaller space within your budget, though I cannot make any guarantees."
All communication broke down and Halmos asked the organization to vacate the space by the end of the year. HCHC is continuing its search for a new home in Catskill. "We need to have a space that people who are facing evictions can come to and feel comfortable and safe," Matos says.
"Our displacement means there will be no one to speak up at village and town meetings; no one to remind our elected officials that we must keep talking about subsidized and workforce housing; no one to help tenants who are having issues with slumlord landlords who are taking advantage of holding the roof over their heads," Matos says.
"We are not going out quietly. [Halmos's] presence in our village should be one where she works with the community, not against it and definitely not just for her elite art community that she was trying to create," says Matos.
Foreland provided a list of some of its community engagement activities over the last year. Among these, Foreland donated funds to a sprayground project in Elliot Park; donated event space to the HCHC's fundraising event this past April and to a Thomas Cole House event in July that was free and open to the public; and hosted a free event for "LGBTQAI+ families and all allies, and the opening reception for all the new Foreland Presents public art projects," among other collaborations.
"We're very disappointed by HCHC's actions in the past months, but we remain unshaken in our commitment to learning about and supporting dozens of local organizations and fostering community relationships" the statement from Foreland reads.
Looking Toward the Future
The Catskill Village Board has spent this year laying the groundwork for future infrastructure and community enrichment projects. The village earned Bronze Certification through New York State's Climate Smart Communities Program, which allows the village to more easily receive certain state grants, according to Law, calling the move a "huge accomplishment."
The Village Board has applied for the NY FORWARD grant. This state program is aimed at helping to revitalize smaller communities' downtowns and is administered through 10 Regional Economic Development Councils. The Capital Region REDC, which covers Greene County, can allocate between $2.5 million and $4.5 million for up to three communities per funding round. "This is something I spearheaded because we have done so much as a village on our own and it's time we get some assistance for Catskill and keep pushing forward," Law said.
Proposed projects that could be covered by the NY Forward grant include updating the properties and playground for the Hop-O-Nose public housing complex, replacing lead water lines from residents' homes on Main Street to new water lines scheduled to be put in next year; building a community center at Elliott Park, helping downtown restaurants and the Community Theatre with needed renovations, and the possibility of a public gym, among other projects, according to Law.
The village will be breaking ground for a sprayground at Elliot Park, which includes a 30-foot-by-30-foot splash pad and cooling station, Law says. Cultivate Catskill, a nonprofit focused on the beautification of the village, led the initiative that raised $175,000 in donations.
While Catskill's residents will soon enjoy new features at Elliot Park, just on the other side of Catskill Creek the area's dogs are already enjoying a new park where they can socialize in safety.
Dog Day Afternoon
On any given afternoon, dogs of all shapes and sizes with names like Ruby, Cooper, Toby, Arlo, Apollo, Koa, and Frankie, among others, run, wrestle, and chase balls at the village's new dog park, Paws on the Point. (Full disclosure: my dog Dashiell is typically there for a morning and afternoon romp.)
"We love the dog park," Bob Winans says as his dog Cyrus runs around with his playmates. "Our dog loves coming here. It's great for dogs to get socialized and play and have fun. And great for exercise. It's one of the best things the village ever did." Craig Rhatigan, agrees. "Paws on the Point saved my dog Yaffa's life," he says, as Yaffa cheerfully rolls around on his back. "It's made him thin and happy."
The driving force behind Paws on the Point, located near the entrance to Dutchman's Landing Park, is Village Trustee Jamie Hyer-Mitchell. After being elected in the spring of 2022, she began working toward this goal. She's the founder of animal advocacy nonprofit Hyer Ground Rescue and notes the need for dogs to socialize and exercise in a safe environment, which helps lessen negative behaviors.
Hyer-Mitchell secured unused village-owned space for the park and locked down funding. "The fence was fully funded by the Village Parks and Recreation Fund without further burden on taxpayers," she says. Hyer-Mitchell's rescue provided the two waste stations, and bench signs. The Catskill Village Department of Public Works installed two water fountains.
Author and illustrator Hudson Talbott and Jay Lesenger, a renowned opera stage director, also contributed to the park. Talbott created the rendering for the park's design and they sponsored a bench and book exchange and one of the water fountains in honor of their goldendoodle Morgan.
"After much collaboration with like-minded village residents as well as support from the Village Board, the dog park was completed April 19," Hyer-Mitchell says. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony took place in June. Residents, she says, have expressed their gratitude for a place their dogs can socialize and play. And for their owners, Paws on the Point has been "fostering friendships that otherwise may not have been there," she says.
Catskill may be less than three-square miles and made up of about 4,000 residents, it's a multifaceted and boundless place. Despite the shifting sands of the economy, it has begun to find its footing through mutual cooperation as well as individual effort.
