Explore Hudson Valley - A Wintry Mix 2019

Explore HudsonAValley wintry mix A thirst for color Wi ll 2 0 1 9 b e t h e y e a r o f th e veg an?

January 17, 2019 | Ulster Publishing | hudsonvalleyone.com DION OGUST

PLUS: WHAT'S BEING BUILT IN YOUR BACKYARD?

2019 2 | Winter Explore Hudson Valley

PHOTOS BY DION OGUST

A sample of the fare at Woodstock’s Garden Café.

Compassionate cuisine Veganism is on the rise

by Ann Hutton

W

ay back in the day — and I mean way back — we ran a natural-foods store. We were fanatical about what we stocked for our customers. Sugar and preserving chemicals were absolute anathema. We carried rather beat-up-looking organic veggies and locally grown rice and beans. We sold raw milk that had to be labeled “For animal consumption only.” Since we are all mammals, milk drinkers bought our milk by the

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At the time, a number of foodie philosophies had emerged. You had your raw-foods champions, your macrobiotics, your lacto-ovo vegetarians.

You also had your nothing-with-a-face vegetarians. That last category has become known as veganism. A practicing vegan will exclude from their diet any food derived from a creature — eggs, milk, cheese, honey, and of course all meat, poultry and fish. This may sound extreme, but these are extremely health-conscious times, with even more diverse dietary regimes being touted as guaranteed to fix what ails us.

Veganism aims to fix what ails the planet. Strictly speaking, a committed vegan will also not wear or buy anything made of leather or silk, won’t fre-

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quent zoos and circuses, and eschews any sort of racing or entertainment-training of horses, dogs, elephants, turtles etc. Any activity or use that causes the suffering of living creatures is a philosophical no-no. Vegans foresee the end of pet breeding and the meat and dairy industries as ultimately necessary to our well-being, and to the Earth’s as well.

The inclination to switch to a vegan diet is trending upward. According to The Economist, sales of vegan options — from veggie burgers to veganegg omelets to grilled nut cheese sandwiches — rose ten times faster in 2018 than general food sales as a whole. And they’re calling 2019 the Year of the Vegan.

People want to consume clean, healthy foods, ones that are cruelty-free and sustainably light on the carbon footprint. They want to heal their bodies and relieve disease, pain and strife for all sentient beings.

Vegan wannabes have their joyful work cut out for them. It’s recognized that to change lifelong eating habits one might choose to ease into a plant-based diet. Learning what and how to cook according to these parameters takes a bit of focused attention, but there are scads of vegan cookbooks on the market. And fortunately, restaurants are now offering vegan dishes on their menus, with many dedicating their kitchens to producing whole meals that are entirely plant-based.

In the Hudson Valley, restaurateurs have responded to the call for good vegan foods. Some prepare their dishes according to the strictest standards. Others include vegan options along with their vegetarian fare. The trick — if a menu item is not labeled “vegan” — is to watch out for

Winter 2019 Explore Hudson Valley hidden eggs and dairy products. Delicious substitutes abound: nut cheeses to die for (some even melt!), alternatives to milk and creamers made from almonds, cashews, coconuts and others (almond or coconut milk ice cream is fabulous!). And the addition of shredded beets and a high-quality vegetable oil can make a veggie burger eat like you-know-what.

Owen, a ten-year employee at Sunflower Natural Foods in Woodstock, has seen the increase in veganism over time. “It’s more than a trend; it’s foundational in our store,” he explains. “With the advancements in food science, ‘mock’ products such as Beyond Burgers have a texture and flavor profile that rivals the looks and feel of [traditional meat] products.”

This is more important for newbies to veganism who want food that imitates what they’re accustomed to eating, he says. “In our area now, people make-it-yourself from scratch. Plus we have great local providers who market their products on a small scale.”

He cites The Green Palate, a vegan food truck and kitchen run by Benedetta and Giovani Barbaro. The Woodstock couple boasts the first vegan food truck, which can be hired for local events.

They also stock prepared foods in local restaurants and stores like Sunflower. Catch them at their new location next to Woodstock Art Exchange on Route 28.

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he following is my list of vegan eateries, along with places that are not strictly vegan but include plant-based items on their menus.

All-vegetarian Outdated, An Antique Café in Kingston’s Stockade neighborhood (and Outdated Lite in Midtown) serves a mean vegan sandwich with tofu, tempeh, cashew cheese, almond mayo and sautéed greens. Karma Road Organic Café in the village of New Paltz is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, serving super-fresh veggie delights plus colorful smoothies and juices so healthful that you can justify a big hunk of something sweet afterwards.

Wildflower Café (Morgan’s Cat Café, shifted upstairs) in Red Hook specializes in burgers plus other meatless standards such as faux bratwurst, fish and chicken sandwiches, along with yummy sides and desserts. Also in Red Hook, the Enchanted Café — not strictly vegan — serves a veggie and hummus sandwich and avocado toast.

This may be typical. A restaurateur who leans towards fresh, organic, high-quality ingredients will add vegan options to their menus to satisfy the picky.

At Lagusta’s Luscious Commissary, you can get seitan stroganoff or sauerkraut soup. The Woodstock Pizza Theater advertises that “everything can be made vegan.” Think beyond the box.

Many ethnic eateries serve vegan dishes as they were traditionally made, although they might not advertise themselves as vegan or vegetarian.

Or call your favorite spot and ask about vegan options: Yum Yum Noodle Bar (Woodstock, Red

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Hook and Kingston), Sissy’s Café in Kingston on Wall Street. Coffee bars (think Carthaigh in Stone Ridge) and delis (Bistro to Go in Kingston; Earth, Wind & Fuego in Poughkeepsie) up and down the Hudson Valley offer vegan fare. The list could go on and on.

The runaway winner on my personal list is Woodstock’s Garden Café. Established in 2007, it is the epitome of organic, GMO-free, conscious, local, cruelty-free eating. With the intention to “bring to the table food that supports personal, community and global health,” the Garden Café offers an array of healthful, delicious dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Check it out.

M

eanwhile, there’s shopping to do. I called five natural-food grocers to ask if their buyers could identify an uptick in customer requests and purchases of plant-based food options. Along with Owen at Sunflower, Elissa at Mother Earth’s Storehouse in Poughkeepsie said she’s definitely seen an increase in vegan choices. “Just in the last few weeks, we’ve noticed more customers are going for meat alternatives,” she said. “People are afraid for their health. We do have a healthy-eating educator who comes in occasionally to help people out with recipes and information about eating vegan.”

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Paltz agrees. She’s seen lots of new products using the buzzword “vegan” on their packaging. While Adams Fairacre Farm takes pride in its excellent meat and fish departments, Mike, the manager, said that they are all about the vegetables and fruits.

At the High Falls Coop in High Falls, Kenny says the demand for plant-based options has increased for sure. “There’s a growing interest, and we serve our members and the public a broad selection in a very small space.” The cooperative will special order almost anything you can’t find on its shelves.

They say that if everyone simply stopped consuming animals one day a week a significant shift could take place. There would be less animal abuse and pollution coming from factory farms.

You might save a little money and become healthier, and dare it be said lose weight. In the long run, it could put a dent in climate-change issues. And you may just love the food itself. Think about it.

2019 4 | Winter Explore Hudson Valley

Fireside snacks ’Tis the season for fondue, raclette and halloumi

by Frances Marion Platt

A

mong the delights of staying physically active in winter is the excuse that it provides for indulging in foods too rich for summertime.

Cheese, especially in its molten form, is a warming comfort food closely associated with après-ski relaxation. Let us give ourselves the benefit of the doubt and assume that we are going to earn some gooey treats this winter, like the cowherds of Switzerland who drove their four-footed charges up hill and down dale all day long. It was their ilk who invented such satisfying fireside snacks as fondue.

Artisanal cheeses served warm are on the rise, and fondue’s time has come around again. In fact, one of the trendiest dairy products these days, according to Chad “the Cheese Guy” Galer, is halloumi, a “grilling cheese” designed not to melt in a frying pan. Fondue’s Savoyard cousin raclette is becoming more widely available at cheese shops as well. A wheel of it is traditionally set next to a roaring fireplace so that the cut surface will soften and waves of cheese can be scraped from it onto hunks of baguette or wrapped around tiny steamed new potatoes.

In some places, such as Geneva, Gruyères and Zurich, fondue never went away, and an earthenware crock or copper pot set over a small flame

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(not an electric gadget) is still the preferred means of preparing it. The dish has deep European roots, with something very similar, made of goat’s cheese, wine and flour, mentioned by Homer in the Iliad.

Dishes mixing wine into cooking cheese go back at least to the 17th century in Swiss cookbooks.

Modern fondue is thought to have originated in the French Rhône-Alpes region in the late 1800s.

In the 1930s the Swiss Cheese Union declared fondue the country’s national dish.

In Geneva’s Old Town, fondue is prepared moitié-moitié: half gruyère – a cheese that dates back to Roman times – and half Fribourg-style vacherin, grated and melted together with a little garlic, white wine and kirsch. Diners gather to dip chunks of bread into the fondue using long forks.

Traditional side dishes may include an array of pickles, pearl onions and dried meats known as assiette Valasianne. Accompanying drinks should be hot tea or cold chasselas wine, called fendant.

Ready to give fondue another chance to win your heart? Here’s a classic recipe from Food and Wine (https://bit.ly/2CdI7XA) and a list of Hud-

son Valley specialty cheese purveyors/fromageries to get you started: • The Cheese Plate, Water Street Market, 10 Main St., Ste. 302, New Paltz, (845) 2552444 • Cheese Louise, 940 Rte. 28, Kingston, (845) 853-8207 • The Big Cheese, 402 Main St., Rosendale, (845) 658-7175 • Talbott & Arding, 323 Warren St., Hudson, (518) 828-3558 • Olde Hudson, 449 Warren St., Hudson, (518) 828-6923 • Bimi’s Cheese Shop, 21 Main St., Chatham, (518) 392-8811 • Old Chatham Sheepherding Company, 155 Shaker Museum Rd., Old Chatham, (888) 743-3760 • Sprout Creek Farm, 34 Lauer Rd., Poughkeepsie, (845) 485-8438 • Last Chance Tavern Antique & Cheese Café, 6009 Main St.. Tannersville, (518) 589-6424

Explore Hudson Valley

A Wintry Mix January 2019 An Ulster Publishing publication Editorial EDITOR: Geddy Sveikauskas LAYOUT BY Joe Morgan EDITORIAL COORDINATOR: Will Dendis

Ulster Publishing PUBLISHER: Geddy Sveikauskas ADVERTISING DIRECTOR: Genia Wickwire DISPLAY ADS: Lynn Coraza, Pam Courselle,

Elizabeth Jackson, Ralph Longendyke, Sue Rogers, Linda Saccoman PRODUCTION MANAGER: Joe Morgan PRODUCTION: Diane Congello-Brandes, Josh Gilligan, Rick Holland CLASSIFIED ADS: Amy Murphy, Tobi Watson CIRCULATION: Dominic Labate Ulster Publishing’s Holiday Gift Guide is distributed in the company’s five weekly newspapers and separately at select locations, reaching an estimated readership of over 50,000. Its website is www.hudsonvalleyone.com. For more info on upcoming special sections, including how to place an ad, call 845-334-8200, fax 845-334-8202 or email: info@ulsterpublishing.com.

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Castles in the sky, shovels in the ground A look at the major pending local developments and what to expect in 2019 New Paltz area Zero Place Where: Corner of Mulberry St. and Rt. 32N, village of New Paltz Developer: David Shepler What: A mixed-use development with 46 apartments and retail shops on the ground floor.

The project’s name comes from its net energy use which, thanks to 15 geothermal wells and 260 kilowatts of solar power, should be zero. At four floors and with a footprint of over 17,000 square feet, the building will be significantly larger than anything else in that part of the village. When it was first proposed in early 2016, the project attracted attention from residents concerned about its impact, such that developer David Shepler said at times he thought the project might not happen.

Modifications were made to the building height and other aspects of the plan in response to concerns and it was approved last year, with ground broken in December.

2019 forecast: Will be under construction throughout 2019 and open in early 2020.

for visitors who want closer proximity to nature.

2019 forecast: The planning board is scheduled to vote on the project later this month. If approval is granted, developers say construction could begin this year.

Williams Lake Resort Where: Williams Lake Road, Rosendale Developer: Hudson River Valley Resorts, LLC What: Resort hotel/spa and residential community on nearly 800 acres. Last year, the town approved phase two of the plan, which calls for 120 housing units consisting of 78 town homes and cottages, 34 detached homes and 8 workforce units.

2019 forecast: The hotel and spa are currently in the design process, with construction anticipated to begin late this year.

“Dollar General” project Where: Route 9W in Lloyd Developer: MCBS DG Highland, LLC What: The so-called Dollar General project is much larger and more complex than the nickname might suggest. Three parcels, totaling 21.7 acres, along Route 9W and including the existing Burger King, Trustco Bank, and a strip mall are included. A Dollar General would be constructed

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Wildberry Lodge & Spa Where: New Paltz, Rt. 299 and South Ohioville Rd. Developer: Steve and Shelley Turk, who also own and operate Rocking Horse Ranch in Highland and SplashDown Beach water park in Fishkill.

What: A 90-room hotel with conference center and restaurant; a multi-purpose space holding approximately 500 guests will be in a stand-alone 11,000-square-foot “modern barn” structure with “breakout” rooms that can host simultaneous meetings; Wildberry Botanical Spa & Wellness Center: a full-service spa with 12 to 16 therapy rooms, an open space studio for yoga and meditation, a fitness center, mineral springs and an indoor-to-outdoor swimming pool; tiered open-air outdoor amphitheater seating up to 500; a greenhouse adjacent to a 15,000-square-foot butterfly conservatory showcasing hundreds of butterfly species; a “treehouse and canopy adventure” is planned on the grounds, as well, along with zip lines, rope courses and adventure climbing. The site rendering also depicts artist studios and a sculpture garden in the mix, and a wetlands observation deck to overlook the eleven acres of bird sanctuary and wetlands on the 33 acres of the property to be left undeveloped.

2019 forecast: Developers want to break ground this summer, but the environmental impact statement is still not complete, the project has not been approved by the town and the Pilot (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement has not been finished. We’d be surprised if construction began this year.

on one of those lots, and a 72-unit apartment complex would be built behind those businesses, with the strip mall refurbished to match. One more lot created along Route 9W would not be developed as a part of this plan.

2019 forecast: The project was approved last fall. Final conditions included an agreement to clean up contamination found, though testing up to this point hasn’t turned up any.

Ferris Woods Where: Brouck Ferris Boulevard, off 299, New Paltz Developer: Panessa family What: Senior housing with 60 two-bedroom units.

2019 forecast: Last discussed in summer 2017, the project appears to be on hold at the moment.

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Best laid plans

Everything you see on this page is a plan for new construction in the Hudson Valley. Some will probably never see the light of day, while others have already broken ground. First row (l-r): The Inn at Bellefield; Irish Cultural Center of the Hudson Valley; new Patient Pavilion at Vassar Brothers Hospital (two rows tall); Second row: Wildacres, one of two hotels planned for Belleayre; new Woodstock Library; Zero Place; Third row: The Kingstonian; Wildberry Lodge; Williams Lake; Fourth row: Dassai Sake brewery; Wyldwyck River Camp, HealthAlliance hospital expansion.

a community hub which would include an Irish pub, 171-seat theater and classroom space for instruction in traditional Irish dance, music, sports and Gaelic. The center would also serve as office space for the group. First conceived in 2011, the project has faced opposition from neighbors concerned about noise, traffic and size.

2019 forecast: It received site-plan approval last spring, but developers missed a crucial deadline in applying for a permit and will need to start the process over again this year. Assuming it will be approved again, construction could begin later this year.

Lincoln Park grid support center power plant Where: Town of Ulster, at Miron Lane and Frank Sottile Blvd. (behind and to the northeast of the Hudson Valley Mall) Developer: Glidepath Power LLC., based in Chicago What: Natural gas-fired power plant with diesel backup and 20 MW lithium ion battery array for storage. The plant would operate on a small parcel of a 121-acre site off Frank Sottile Boulevard. The building housing the equipment would stand for between 30-40 feet in height; with a 7080-foot exhaust stack. The project drew criticism from neighbors and county executive Mike Hein, who said the plant would benefit downstate customers and investors while locals experienced the downsides of noise and air pollution. The company pointed to studies that concluded the entire region needs more power capacity, not just downstate.

2019 forecast: Glidepath previously had said it hoped to begin construction in 2019, but also planned on releasing the environmental impact statement for the project by the end of the year.

That was pushed back to early 2019.

The Kingstonian Where: Uptown Kingston, North Front St. and Fair Street Extension Developer: JM Development Group LLC, based in New Windsor, partnering with the Jordan family’s Herzog Supply Co. What: Two buildings straddling Fair Street Extension, one where the current brick warehouse structure used by Herzog’s now stands and the other where the city parking lot now sits. The plan calls for 129 “market-rate” rental units. The project is also projected to contain 8,000 square feet of commercial space, expected to include one or two restaurants — Elena’s Diner at the bottom of the hill will be demolished — small retail tenants and, possibly, a bank tenant. The brick warehouse, which began life as the first Kingstonian more than 100 years ago, will be rebuilt for a 32-room boutique hotel. Also, a 420-space parking lot, with 250 spots for public use.

2019 forecast: If all goes smoothly with the site plan and state environmental quality review, they hope to begin work in the fall of 2019 with a total construction time of 18 months. That’s an optimistic schedule. As of early January, nothing had been submitted to the city planning board. We don’t expect shovels to hit the ground this year.

HealthAlliance hospital expansion

Where: Kingston, St. Mary’s Campus (formerly Benedictine Hospital) What: A $92-million plan to centralize hospital services at the St. Mary’s Ave. campus. Plans call for the construction of a new two-story, 79,000-square-foot structure with 175 beds, most of which will be private. Plans also call for renovation of existing structure.

2019 forecast: Construction this year unlikely.

In early 2018, a completion date of late 2020 was given, though plans have been revised since then.

Formerly Supergarage Rondout project Where: Along the Rondout Creek, off Rondout landing, east of the Maritime Museum and lower Broadway Developer: Robert Iannucci What: A 12,500-square-foot boat restoration facility and museum to house Iannucci’s collection of four World War II-vintage PT boats. The plan also calls for 60 apartments, retail space, a rooftop swimming pool and skating rink and about 175 parking spaces.

2019 forecast: The project was first brought up at the end of 2018, so there’s very little chance of anything happening for a few years.

Three Rupco projects Where: Midtown Kingston What: The non-profit Rural Ulster Preservation Company will have another busy year, with three developments either under construction or pending before the city planning board. The total cost of all three is over $70 million.

Energy Square: A mixed-use development at the former Mid-City Lanes bowling alley on Cedar Street. The building will include 57 units of affordable housing in a building ranging from three to five stories, with commercial tenants on the ground floor. The building will be “net zero,” offsetting its energy use with geothermal and solar power. Now under construction, it’s expected to be complete this fall.

The Metro: A 70,000-sq-ft warehouse on Greenkill Ave. Plans call for $14 million in renovations, with the location hosting actress Mary Stuart Masterson’s non-profit film production company, Stockade Works, as well as additional space for film and other creative “makers” to set up shop. No new building construction is planned and the city has signed off on the plans. Work should be ongoing in 2019.

Landmark Place: The conversion of the for-

Winter 2019 Explore Hudson Valley mer Alms House on Flatbush Ave. into 66 units of affordable senior housing is the only one of the three that still needs city approval, and the most controversial. Plans call for about half the units in the Alms House building and the other half in a new building on the site. After the city rejected the plan last year, Rupco filed a lawsuit alleging the decision was the result of community prejudice against the project. As of January, the case hasn’t been decided.

Saugerties Wyldwyck River Camp Where: Saugerties. Liberty St., behind the Glasco Firehouse, down to the Hudson.

Developer: Agawam Hospitality Group, New York City.

What: 129-seat restaurant, 60 cabins, a large garden area for growing food for the restaurant, an artist’s studio and a horse-riding stable. Sits on 82 acres. Developer’s vision promises trails, a pond, farm and orchards. The pitch: “The charm of a small village; the intimacy of an old, fully staffed country house.”

2019 forecast: At the close of 2018, Saugerties planners were set to approve the project. The best-case scenario, according to the engineer, is for work to start in the fall with a possible Christmas opening.

in principle” was signed by most parties with then-governor Eliot Spitzer’s help in 2007. The size of the original project was halved, with Crossroads promising to sell some of its Catskill Park holdings to the state for Forever Wild protection, and the inclusion of the historic Highmount Ski Area in an expanded Belleayre Mountain Ski Center, which is state-owned.

The current configuration of the Belleayre Resort calls for two hotels on 740 acres that straddle the border of Ulster and Delaware counties.

The Highmount portion will be a ski-in and skiout 120-unit hotel with spa facilities, and nearly

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100 time-share units and detached lodging units, while Wildacres, proposed to be newly built on the site of a former resort, would have a 250-room hotel, 163 other lodging units and an 18-hole golf course.

2019 forecast: We’d be surprised to see anything happen this year. The legal challenges that held up the project for decades are over, but that doesn’t mean construction will begin any time soon. Ken Pasternak, one of the development’s principal investors at Crossroads Ventures, said last last year that before the project can move forContinued on Page 10

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Registration and payment for programs and activities takes place at the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center, 467 Broadway in Kingston; or online, www.kingstonparksandrec.org.

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Winter 2019 Explore Hudson Valley

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breakfast. Shop in Kingston or ice skate in Saugerties. See a show or peruse the galleries of Woodstock.

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2019 10 | Winter Explore Hudson Valley ward the sale of privately-owned lands that once housed the Highmount Ski Area must first be finalized with the state, per previous agreements, and a resort developer/operator has to be signed on to take the project from its current conceptual status to a “ten-set CAD” level of plans needed for building permits.

Business & taxes

Woodstock Library Where: 5 Library Lane, same as current library What: A new $4.8 million, 15,000-square-foot, two-story public library. Most of the current library will be razed. After weathering a referendum last fall that would have dissolved the library district, the library board chose a design for new library submitted by architect Stephen Tilly.

2019 forecast: The library board will be seeking

funding for the project. That is likely to include donations and fundraisers, and possibly putting a bond before voters.

Poughkeepsie & Hyde Park The Bellefield at Historic Hyde Park Where: Route 9 in Hyde Park, from W. Dorsey Lane to St. Andrew Road, across the street from the Culinary Institute of America Developer: Bellefield Development Partners What: One of the largest developments on our list, and it’s definitely happening. The $500-million project features over 550 residences “ranging in architecture from brownstone-style homes to detached cottages to artist-style lofts” as well as “two hotels, culinary shops, farm-to-table restaurants, a special event barn and an educational center.” Forty-eight of the 340 total acres will be farmed, and more than half will remain undeveloped. Although the project isn’t affiliated with the Culinary Institute, developers are promoting its proximity and seeking related businesses to take commercial space in the development. Expect the restaurants to be top notch; an epicurean destination.

2019 forecast: Ground was broken last fall. According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, the first phase will be the construction of a 133-unit hotel and creation of infrastructure for future development. It will be complete in late 2019 or early 2020. There aren’t firm deadlines for subsequent phases.

Patient pavilion, Vassar Brothers Medical Center Hospital site; Reade Place, Poughkeepsie; visible from Route 9 south of the Mid-Hudson Bridge Developer: Health Quest Medical Practice What: New $545-million,752,000-square-foot, eight-story patient pavilion. Touted by developers as the largest building project in Poughkeepie’s history. The new facility will allow Vassar Brothers to replace its outdated, obsolete medical/surgical units with a patient pavilion that will house 264 private medical/surgical patient rooms. Each room will be 330 square feet in size, compared to the 243 square feet found in the existing semiprivate rooms. Also included: a 66-bay emergency room/trauma center with approximately 58,000 square feet of space – almost twice the size of the current emergency room that treats 70,000 patients annually, 15 operating suites, a 72,000-square-foot, 30-bed Intensive Care Unit, visitors lounge, 240-seat cafeteria, outside seating areas, and a 300-seat community conference center for staff and visitors. Once open, the medical center will continue to have 365 total beds, the same number it has now. The difference will be those beds will be in all private rooms.

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Winter 2019 Explore Hudson Valley 2019 forecast: Construction will continue through 2019, opening in early 2020.

Poughkeepsie Landing Where: Poughkeepsie waterfront, adjacent to Shadows on the Hudson Developer: Bonura Hospitality Group, partnering with the city of Poughkeepsie What: Promenade along the Hudson, outdoor amphitheater, public pool, public dock, retail and dining concourse. The promenade will be a public walkway ranging from 12 feet to 25 feet wide and over 2,300 feet long, linking the Walkway Over the Hudson to an already constructed promenade at Shadows on the Hudson.

2019 forecast: Still needs planning board approval. If that happens, construction could begin this year.

Dassai Sake brewery Where: Corner of Route 9 and St. Andrew’s Road, Hyde Park Developer: Asahi Shuzo / Dassai Premium Sake What: $28-million, 55,000-square-foot sake brewery capable of producing 332,000 gallons of From

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2019 forecast: Ground was broken late last year. Brewery and tasting room expected to open to public in early 2020.

Fallkill Commons on Rose Where: Rose Street, Poughkeepsie Developer: Hudson River Housing, Inc. A non-profit organization dedicated to affordable housing; also did the Underwear Factory, a mixeduse commercial and residential development on Cherry St., Poughkeepsie What: A $22-million, 78-unit affordable housing project in two buildings. The units will consist of 41 studio apartments and 37 one-bedroom apartments starting at $500 a month. Thirty-nine apartments will be set aside for residents with mental illness.

2019 forecast: Construction now in progress; expected to be completed in 2020.

ment. The entire project will be 300 units when complete.

2019 forecast: The first three buildings will open this spring, with several more buildings to be constructed later. Developers are accepting deposits for early spring occupancy.

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One Dutchess Where: One Dutchess Avenue, Poughkeepsie, on the Hudson Developer: The O’Neill Group-Dutton LLC What: Four-story, luxury apartment develop-

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2019 12 | Winter Explore Hudson Valley

The knitting gene The secrets of Knitting 101 revealed

by Ann Huttton

I

t’s winter. Long hours of darkness bring on the urge to sit in front of the fire, turn on Netflix and listen to the sound of needles clicking between my fingers. My current project started out as a sweater, but by the time I realized my gage was way off — I was hooked by this rectangular mass of plump seed stitches. I switched gears, bought a few more skeins of Vanna White’s tweedy acrylic/ rayon blend, and I sped up. It’s now going to be a five-foot-long yoga nidra blanket, and unlike other abandoned projects — it’s almost done.

I learned to knit when I was nine years old. You’d think by now I could consider myself a master of the craft. Not quite.

One aspect I have mastered is being able to recognize when I’ve made a mistake. I can even “unknit” my way backwards in a pattern to correct an error when I see one. It’s tedious and disappointing, but therein lies the rub: It’s not the end of the world. In fact, the satisfaction I get from even this skill — unscrewing what I’ve screwed up — is worthwhile.

What’s that about? I think it has something to do with the manual labor itself: grasping the tools, fondling the soft yarn, repeating movements stitch by stitch until the volume of stitches actually turns into a garment or a blanket or a tea

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cozy. Last year I bought balls of ecru cotton and went crazy knitting washcloths.

I didn’t need more washcloths. I just needed to knit.

A knitting friend, Paul Leone (who once coowned with James Conrad a fabulous knit shop in Woodstock) reckons it’s like a talent embedded in our genetic makeup. This knowledge of knit/ purl/yarn-over/bind-off is tucked away in our old brains, vaguely remembered when the stimulus of holding knitting needles and yarn occurs. Leone and Conrad taught many of us how to knit.

“I was huge on beginner lessons and took a lot of time with people just starting out,” Leone says. “If someone had knitted in their past, I would have them show me how they knit. Usually it was either Continental, where you hold the yarn in your left hand and dig through the stitches with your right needle, or they learned American English, where you throw the yarn with your right hand. If they’d never knitted and had no idea what I was talking about, I would teach them Continental. The reason is that, later on when you master the method, you can go a little faster. And it’s easier on the wrist for people with arthritis.”

He tells me that knowing how to knit both ways is a good thing, because if you want to work with two different colors (holding one back at a time to create the color pattern), you can grasp one color of yarn in one hand and the other in the other hand.

“In Knitting 101, I would train people to practice whichever was most comfortable for them, and then work on plain old garter stitch until they got their tension even,” he said. “As for learning how to fix mistakes and go backwards to pull work out and get down to the wrong stitch, or learning how to bar-up a dropped stitch. Unknitting is a huge part of knitting. At some point, you’re going

to make a mistake and have to go back and fix it.”

You don’t have to be a knitting Nazi. If you don’t want to fix the mistake, and it’s not going to unravel because of it, just crochet a little flower and stick it over the mistake.

“You can be any kind of knitter you want to be,” Leone assures us all. “You can cover over mistakes in some creative way, if that’s what you want to do. I’ve had a lot of knitters like that. Like, ‘I just can’t deal with this. I don’t want to fix this mistake.’ So I’d grab a piece of yarn, crochet a little flower and say, ‘Here. Sew that on.’”

As for recommending a basic project to a beginner, like a scarf or something really simple, Leone says it depends on the personality of the learner. “There were people who couldn’t be bothered with purling, who didn’t want to even know about purling. And they wouldn’t want to go below a size 13 needle. They just wanted to sit in front of the TV and not think about it. So I’d work on getting their tension even by having them rip something out if they made a big mistake. Just rip it out and start over, and soon their tension would be even.”

Maybe half the time, Leone would find someone “I just knew would be a good knitter.” Could be someone who had encountered knots in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, DION OGUST or someone who was a hairdresser and knew how to braid and understood how strands and plaiting worked.

P

ersonality gets into knitting. With a nervous personality, stitches are going to be very tight, whereas with someone who doesn’t give a damn the stitches are going to be very loose. “Some people come to knitting almost like court-mandated rehab,” says Leone. “I had a lot of men who were sent in by their shrinks for anger management. We all had stories about guys who’d say, ‘I really need a project now, otherwise I’m going to start picking my face.’ You know, stuff like that.”

Frustration happens. Sometimes published knitting instructions don’t make sense or are actually translated and printed wrong, which is when you really want an experienced knitter to guide you through the confusion. A mentor can help you choose the correct yarn for what it is you want to make. You wouldn’t buy an expensive, fine wool or angora for a sweater you want to toss into the washing machine. Leone recommends an account on www.ravelry.com. Pick up a basic stitch book to refer to when there’s no one around to help you out. Don’t be afraid. You’re not totally alone.

Those of us who indulge in this ancient craft are known to go a little overboard when shopping for yarn. The possibilities for turning this humble material — a string of wool or soft acrylic — into something both practical and stunning at the same time are what dreams are made of. And let’s face it: Rich colors and textures can be titillating.

Many of us have hidden plastic bins full of hoarded yarn that was purchased long ago, just waiting for the right project to come along. For some of us, a copy of Vogue Knitting or Interweave is yarn porn. Be forewarned: It’s an addiction, albeit a useful one.

Winter 2019 Explore Hudson Valley

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Painting with wool The thirst for color is a meaningful activity for wayward angels trapped inside

by Elisabeth Henry

T

he solstice came. It was a promise. The earth was turning toward the sun.

True, as promised, the days are longer, the nights set in later. We experience this much as we experience those fabulous free vitamin purchases offered on the radio. They don’t tell us about the shipping and handling.

What we are experiencing now – the snow, the ice, the ever-grey skies, bare-black branches, the wind, the doldrums – is all occurring within the promise kept of longer days. This is the shipping and handling of the solstice.

If you are new to the area, you may be basking in the afterglow of the holidays as you leaf through your seed catalogs by firelight. Only 60-something days until springtime! Isn’t the snow pretty? Just wait.

When cabin fever gets you, when absolutely nothing tastes good but you can’t stop eating, when you drink to be merry but you cry, when you sleep too much and wake up with such low blood sugar that the cat intuitively senses as madness and scampers beneath the bed, when said cat encounters a wee mousey and attacks it and it makes horrible death squeaks and you can’t leave unless you shovel what looks like acres of loathsome white stuff -- well, you may just want to take up knitting.

“We notice an uptick in sales in late autumn,” Cecilia Tkaczyk of Cece’s Wool Farm Store in Esperance tells me. “In spring and summer and early autumn people have lots to do outside. But in winter we look for things to do inside.”

Cece is herself a knitter, farmer, entrepreneur, community activist, wife and mother. Her community (well, one of them) is comprised of sheep farmers. When she was in politics as a state senator, she met many in her district who were raising sheep. If the sheep were used for meat instead of wool, oftentimes the wool was merely discarded.

Our domestic sheep must be sheared annually for their own well-being, so it is not a matter of simply not shearing them. But fiber art has standards that some wool does to meet. So what to do with the wool?

“We collect it and make batting out of it. We stuff it and make dog beds and pillows and comforters,” says Cece. “And it’s all made in New York State, here in the USA.” Cece’s store also sells socks and scarves and sweaters and yarn, everything a knitter or a chilly person could want.

She attended a meeting of a local knitting group and was warmly welcomed in to the fold. She bought a wheel from a man who was upgrading.

When she was ready to upgrade she sold the wheel within the group for the price she paid.

The people in the group taught her about the different grades and types of wool, and they taught her to spin and to knit. “Spinning is painting with wool. As you spin, you get to watch the fibers and color interact,” says Cece.

“Knitting is a stress reliever. It provides focus, and it’s pleasurable. Who wouldn’t like to hold a great skein of beautiful yarn in front of a fireplace?

The act of knitting relieves anxiety, keeps it at bay, by providing something to do with the hands.”

T

his must be true. I remember meeting a petite, grey-haired woman at a horse show.

She was seated next to her husband, a large man smoking a large cigar. She was very small and was busy knitting. She said very little. Her face was as tranquil as a madonna. This was a portrait of traditional marriage.

Fast forward a few hours. I am standing at the rail, watching the park horses thunder into the ring. Horses like this, though well trained, have lots of wild left in ’em. Mounted on the biggest and most thundering one was that petite woman.

She deftly guided that sweating, 2000-pound animal as it vibrated with barely contained energy around a ring crowded with other like animals.

While she was in the center of the ring as the roses were draped over the neck of her horse, I asked her husband what he thought. “I don’t know how she does this,” he shrugged. “I couldn’t. Scares the crap outta me.”

Perhaps it was the knitting.

Recently Cece helped out a friend who needed a ride to a doctor’s appointment. In the waiting room, Cece took out her project bag. It’s a go-to bag kept packed in case the knitter gets stuck somewhere. “Every knitter has one,” Cece said.

DION OGUST

While knitting, she looked around the room.

People looked bored watching TV. Some read magazines but still looked bored. Some simply stared while bored. Cece felt bad that they did not have something to do. Then people began to ask questions about what she was doing.

Cece hopes that the conversation actually results in recruits. “Go in to any yarn shop,” she says.

“People there will teach you to knit or crochet. Or you can just go to look at all the beautiful fibers.”

“Knitting not only provides a peaceful activity, but you get to make cool things for people,” Cece adds.

This simple set of words, complete in itself, is the germ of the cure. The natural world and the world of the refrigerator or the liquor or convenience store cannot provide us benefaction at this time. Knowing this will make us twitchy. Simply by putting the hands to work we discover the visual, sensual, physical pleasure of knit one, purl two (and variations) which results in making us the munificent ones, anointing the fiber with love, and gifting others with our efforts.

It’s all we can do when we are as wayward angels, trapped inside when the world is something like a jail.

Cece’s Wool Farm Store is in Esperance American Needle Works, 10 North Street, Middletown Blackberry Hill Farm, 156 Bells Pond Road, Hudson Clay Wood & Cotton, 133 Main St., Beacon Cornwall Yarn Shop, Ltd., 227 Main St., Cornwall, NY Countrywool, 59 Spring Road, Hudson Dashing Star Farm, 157 Indian Lake Rd, Millerton, NY. Midnight Merinos Wool Loft, 7578 North Broadway, Red Hook The Perfect Blend Yarn & Tea Shop, Saugerties Pinewoods Farm Wool Shop, 71 Phillips Road, Saugerties

H

ow does a person with a resume like hers become a spokesperson for this gentle craft?

Cece goes on to tell me about the soul of fiber art and how she came to it. She had been born on a farm, but met a suburban fellow at her alma mater, Rutgers. The young couple moved around as young professionals do, early in their marriage.

However, her beau always expressed an interest in living on a farm.

When they were transferred to upstate New York they bought an old farmstead. The house needed work. The fields were overgrown. To eat back the fields, they bought sheep, Jacobs sheep.

Sheep were new to Cece. Her childhood farm did not feature them. After caring for the critters for a while, Cece grew interested in them for more than just their lawn-mowing appeal.

“I wanted to know everything. I wanted to learn to shear, to clean the wool, to spin it.”

“In our home, you are on your own but never alone.”

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2019 14 | Winter Explore Hudson Valley

Frozen feats Why not climb some ice?

by Frances Marion Platt

I

tching to get outside and do something vigorous, but stymied by insufficient snow for skiing or snowshoeing? You can still take a vertical hike, if you’ve got the proper equipment and training.

Ice-climbing has a venerable history in Europe, being a necessary component of mountaineering at high altitudes. It’s rather terrifying to contemplate how primitive were the climbing tools and protective clothing available to the mid-19 -century pioneers of Alpine ascents. In our neck of the woods, rock climbers began staking out their claims to the soon-to-be-famous pitches of the Gunks circa 1935. At some point, those rock jocks started coping with their midwinter cabin fever by applying their skills to ice-covered surfaces. Among the Vulgarians – that legendary group of climbers who, in the 1950s and ’60s, rebelled against the strict protocols of the Appalachian Mountain Club by tackling Gunks pitches nude and/or under the influence of psychedelics – Joe Bridges, Jim McCarthy and Claude Suhl were recorded as having ice-climbed Awosting and Peterskill Falls.

Another Vulgarian, Dick Williams, founder of Rock and Snow in New Paltz, was exploring ice routes further afield, often accompanied by McCarthy, and became an enthusiast for Stony Clove in the Catskills as a winter climbing destination.

Hearing Williams’ stories inspired Rick Cronk, president of the SUNY-New Paltz Outing Club in the 1970s, to gather a group of friends to learn ice-climbing. Together they logged many “firsts” in the Catskills, after the waterfalls in the Gunks were declared off-limits for climbing. In the early ’80s, a group including Cronk, Mike Sawicky, Dave Chassin and Felix Modugno discovered a fertile new area now known as the Black Chasm, and in 1982 Cronk published the first pocket guide to ice-climbing in the Catskills.

Since they weren’t the only or the best place in the Northeast to ice-climb, and lacked a centralized gateway town that would serve as a social center the way New Paltz did for the Gunks, the Catskills never quite attained the cachet as an ice destination that their southerly neighbor did for rock pitches. And the climbing that went on there did so mostly without fanfare or much documentation, despite a flurry of interest in “mixed climbing” routes – alternating stretches of rock and ice th

– that took off in the early 2000s.

Among the most consistent explorers of the Catskills during the ice season in recent decades has been Marty Molitoris of Rosendale, who runs the guide service Alpine Endeavors. He took up rock-climbing in 1988 while living in his native Pennsylvania, first came to the Gunks in 1990, tried his hand at ice a year later and began climbing in the Catskills in 1992. By 1997 he had moved

Rich Gottlieb, Molitoris took on the task of writing a more contemporary follow-up to Cronk’s handbook. His An Ice Climber’s Guide to the Catskill Mountains came out in 2003 is now in its third edition, delving in depth into popular Catskills routes that were privately owned and off-limits to climbers back in 1982 – notably in the Platte Clove area. Molitoris and his climbing partner, Morris Sachs, so enjoyed the terrain at state-owned Lower Devil’s Kitchen that, when he heard circa 2013 that the private owner of Upper Devil’s Kitchen, Viera Bolcek, was putting the parcel up for sale, they arranged to purchase it and donate it to New York State to add to the adjacent parkland.

Located at the top of Country Route 18, Platte Clove Road in Elka Park, the property starts at Mossy Brook under the old stone arch bridge and extends down the gully into the gorge until it meets Lower Devil’s Kitchen. It became a contiguous part of the Catskill State Park in late 2015.

Among the most popular ice-climbing locations in the Catskills is Stony Clove Notch, in Hunter, offering both single- and multi-pitch climbs.

“Most of the ice is up around Hunter and Tannersville,” Molitoris says. “You need cold weather and a steep hillside or cliff. On an actual waterfall, the ice takes more time to form. The areas around Stony Clove, near 214, are where it usually comes in first. You need rock with seepage running down the mountain.” Choosing a spot to climb on a given day requires some experience in evaluating the temperature, the “elasticity” of the ice, the exposure to sunlight and other factors. “You can climb on the sunny sides early in the season, but later

Ice-climbers gauge the soundness of ice by its color and texture: Clear ice is brittle; opaque ice signifies water under the surface; white, cauliflowerlike ice is “rotten,” containing too much air. The sweet spot is the place where the ice has frozen so deeply that it is tinged blue or green, like a glacier. A bit of red or yellow indicates the presence of minerals, which may also affect the ice’s soundness. to Ulster County, gotten a job at Rock and Snow and begun pursuing certification as a Rock Guide.

Today he’s one of the region’s most active outing leaders, with accreditations up the wazoo: AMGA Certified Rock Guide, AMGA Certified Alpine Guide, New York State Licensed Guide, Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, AIARE (avalanche training) Level I, II and III, Leave No Trace Master Educator and General Class Amateur Radio Operator – KC2IZD. At the behest of Rock and Snow’s current owner,

21 annual Catskill Ice Festival January 25-28 st

R

eady to give ice climbing a try? Or have you done some already, and now it’s time to hone your skills with some expert guidance? The Catskill Ice Festival returns from Friday, January 25 to Monday, January 28, offering an array of workshops for all levels of expertise – even beginners.

Base camp for Ice Festival activities is Rock and Snow, located at 44 Main Street in New Paltz.

Participants will suit up there and check out demo gear including the latest in harnesses, ice tools, boots, crampons and clothing from companies such as Black Diamond, DMM, La Sportiva, Outdoor Research and Petzl. Then the guides will take groups outdoors to good ice-climbing sites for the clinics. Here’s the clinic schedule:

Friday, January 25

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Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue: Looking to climb Mount Rainier, the Cascades, Denali or in other glaciated areas? Brush up on your glacier travel skills. This clinic has a 6:1 climber-to-guide ratio and covers methods for tying-in, crampons and ice axe skills, and hauling systems and crevasse rescue skills. Limited technical equipment will be provided.

Saturday, January 26 Basic Ice Movement: Never ice-climbed before? This clinic, with a 4:1 climber-to-guide ratio, will introduce you to the techniques needed to ice-climb. All equipment will be provided.

Steep Ice Techniques: Ice is always steeper than it looks. Learn handy skills and techniques to help keep you calm and cool and fight off the “screaming barfies.” 4:1 climber-to-guide ratio; all equipment provided.

Sunday, January 27 Intermediate Ice Movement: For those who have climbed some ice, but are not ready to move on to Grade Fives, this is your introduction to techniques needed to climb effortlessly and efficiently. 4:1 climberto-guide ratio; all equipment provided.

Mixed Climbs & Dry Tooling: What to do when the ice runs out. Learn many different ways to climb rock with your ice gear. 4:1 climber-to-guide ratio; all equipment provided.

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Backcountry Day in the Ravines: Climb at one of the backcountry areas in the Catskills. Bushwhack in, climb, rappel and bushwhack out for a full day of activity and adventure. 2:1 climber-to-guide ratio; all equipment provided.

The fee for each clinic is $150 per person. Registrants should dress appropriately for 20-degree weather, in layers of wool and/or synthetic clothing, including gloves, and bring a trail lunch and drinking water in a container that won’t freeze. Festival staff will supply boots, helmets, harnesses and ropes for most clinics.

To register for any and all workshops, visit https://alpineendeavors.com/catskill-ice-festival-2019.

The festival will also include an indoor Bouldering Clinic on Friday evening at BC’s Climbing Gym at 234 Main Street in New Paltz ($12 entry pass per person). Saturday evening will feature a free slideshow at Rock and Snow, followed by a social mixer at Huckleberry (festival registrants get their first beer free). Rock and Snow will offer 25 percent discounts on apparel and 15 percent on ice gear for all icefest registrants.

Winter 2019 Explore Hudson Valley

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ledge.” Novices can practice on the stepped section while more confident ice-climbers can tackle the big drop.

At the upcoming Catskill Ice Festival, a joint venture by Alpine Endeavors and Rock and Snow, would-be climbers of any skill level can find a clinic to suit them. For 2019, Marty Molitoris will be serving as one of the two guides for Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue on Friday, Steep Ice Techniques on Saturday and Mixed Climbs & Dry Tooling on Sunday. But Basic Ice Movement, for rank beginners, is also an option. “It’s definitely something to do in the off-season,” Molitoris says.

“Winter’s beautiful. It’s great to be out.”

To learn more, visit https://alpineendeavors. com and https://catskilliceclimbing.com.

you might not want to.” Conditions vary from day to day, so the search for that perfect spot that’s “fat and full of ice” can be a challenge – and another good reason to hire a guide service.

Molitoris explains that, much as skiers learn to read different types of snow cover, ice-climbers gauge the soundness of ice by its color and texture: Clear ice is brittle; opaque ice signifies water under the surface; white, cauliflowerlike ice is “rotten,” containing too much air.

The sweet spot is the place where the ice has frozen so deeply that it is tinged blue or green, like a glacier. A bit of red or yellow indicates the presence of minerals, which may also affect the ice’s soundness.

Clearly, there’s a lot to learn, even if you already have rock-climbing experience. “Not all rock-climbers ice-climb, but most ice-climbers

started out as rock-climbers,” said Molitoris. Some different technology is required – “leashless” ice tools are all the rage the past decade or so, we’re told – and techniques need to be adapted. “The rope work is all the same, but the movement’s a little different. You still need to swing and kick, but it’s not as graceful – not so much a dance; more like boxing. It takes more force to swing your tool. In rock-climbing, you’re moving fluently from one hold to the next. Here, you have to make your own holds.”

Nevertheless, Molitoris encourages newbies to give it a try. “We take on total beginners. Just like skiing, there’s bunny slopes and there’s double diamonds.

An accredited guide will try to match the site with the person’s fitness and experience.” The Platte Clove Ravine contains an area PHOTOS BY MARTY MOLITORIS where Alpine Endeavors likes to take groups of climbers of mixed abilities: Bridal Veil Falls. “It’s stepped on the right and dead vertical on the left,” he explains, offering different levels of challenge. “Some waterfalls come in steps, going up maybe eight or ten feet to a little

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