There are many fantastic things going on around town this summer and throughout the year. Join Andes Works! members on paddles, hikes on new trails in town, at musical performances and more. See what else is up in Andes.
Andes Works! own Michael Suchorsky is performing at the Andes Hotel June 1st from 6-9 pm. The terrific Battle of the Bands returns on July 13th. The Rail Trail has grown to 3.9 miles round trip and has gotten a fab new entryway.
Our public statement and letter to the DEC on the subject of the Belleayre Resort:
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Attn: Mr. Daniel Whitehead
21 South Putt Corner Road
New Paltz, NY 12561
May 2, 2013
Dear Mr. Whitehead:
Andes Works! is a collection of Andes residents, both long-timers and newcomers, who have joined together to foster a sustainable economy that benefits all of our residents. We are committed to supporting area businesses, farmers, entrepreneurs, and workforce by supporting projects that build an economy that entices young families to move to the area, even as we work to protect all that we hold dear here — our clean air, our water, our quiet rural landscape, and our small towns.
While some communities have fared better economically than others in the region, the area has been in an economic decline for decades for a variety of reasons. As just one example, with the downturn in the dairy industry, Delaware County has lost $35 million a year in annual economic impact due to reduced milk production. In spite of heroic efforts on the part of local small businesses and community members, it continues to struggle. The region has seen an enormous drain of people, revenues, and opportunities, leaving it increasingly vulnerable to becoming a forgotten, throw-away part of the state, useful only as a site to extract natural resources for other areas.
We believe that the proposed Belleayre Resort is critical in the ongoing health of our community and those around us. The region needs a project that is large enough that it can shift the economic momentum in the area, and we believe that the plans for the Resort are, at this point, sustainable, and appropriate in scale and use for the region. Andes will benefit from having more people, more amenities, and more resources down the road. From development to operations, the economic impacts of the Resort will be enormous on the region, and the influx of visitors to our area will be key in the ongoing health of our tourism-based economy.
We urge our neighbors and the State of New York to join us in support of the Belleayre Resort.
The Andes Works! Committee:
Larry Breakstone Bob Lidsky
Susan Dey Leigh Melander
Bill Feldman Mark Pezzatti
Marlene Feldman Michael Suchorsky
Upcoming Andes Events!
Saturday, May 25th
Paddle the Pepacton with the Catskill Mountain Club
Registration Required: Contact annroberti@yahoo.com
Join Andes Works! and Catskill Mountain Club Board Member Ann Roberti
to kick off this year’s reservoir paddling season by paddling the
beautiful Pepacton Reservoir.
Provide your own CANOE or KAYAK or rent from a local business.
We will launch promptly at 11AM at the Shavertown Bridge site on the Pepacton Reservoir. Life jackets required. All boats must be steam cleaned prior to arrival on site and have a valid DEP access sticker.
For more information on regulations click here to visit the NYCDEP website.
Sunday, June 1
National Trails Day hike with Andes Works!
On the Andes Rail Trail – contact annroberti@yahoo.com for more info.
Meet at the train depot on Cabin Hill Road at 11:00 for a walk on our
beautiful rail trail.
Saturday, July 13
2nd Annual Andes Battle of the Bands Broadcast
keeping the music live
Building on the success of last year’s event the Andes Battle of the Bands 2013 will broaden it’s scope by inviting musicians of all ages and experience to participate. First Round of competition is held from 2pm to 5pm. The 4 bands chosen from this round go on to battle in the Final Round - broadcast LIVE over WIOX Community Radio 91.3FM from 6pm to 8pm. The Grand Prize: Perform at RoxFest,NY + $500 Musical Gear + Your Own one hour Radio Show on WIOX! July 13th at the Andes Fire Department Pavilion – Free Admission
GOT BAND? Contact andesbobb@gmail.com for more info.
Annual Andes Trash Pick Up Was April 17th and 20th
Andes Works! and other Andes residents teamed up to pick up more than 80 bags of litter plus a few tires and other car parts and odds and ends.
A year and a half ago, Stanley Fish, who is a part-time resident of Andes, wrote a beautiful column about how the community had come together to question the wisdom of fracking in our magical little town. (You can read that article here…)
This morning, he’s offered another one. We won’t ruin the punchline for you, but it brought us to tears, but here’s a taste:
Now, I know that this pattern of insistent, circular, hammer-like, repetition is dictated by a legal concern to avoid the drafting pitfalls of “overinclusion” — crafting a regulation that can be interpreted as sweeping into its ambit more than it is intended to cover — and “underinclusion” — crafting a regulation that can be interpreted as omitting a significant aspect of what it is intended to cover. But I can’t help reading the document as an imitation in words of the physical act it is trying to prevent: fracking is being pummeled on all sides and from every direction; the assault on it is relentless; the target cannot escape; it will be overwhelmed and drowned; the intention, like the intention of the physical process, is to smash it into bits. Take that, fracking!
Indeed! Take that, fracking! He goes on to mention Andes Works! (thank you, Stanley Fish) and captures a sense of what all of us are so excited about with this ban, both here in our community and also as a reflection of our country.
The Andes Town Board cast a momentous vote to ban heavy industry, and therefore High Volume Hydraulic Fracture gas drilling (aka fracking). The Andes Town Board reviewed the issues and listened to the opinion of the residents of Andes and at their February meeting, passed a ban on heavy industry, making Andes the first town in Delaware County to ban this extreme form of resource extraction.
We are truly grateful to Andes Town Supervisor Marty Donnelly and all the members of the Town Board for being willing to learn about the dangers of fracking, for listening to their constituents, and for having the courage to stand up to protect our town.
Are you interested in getting a ban or moratorium passed in your town? While we recognize that each community is different, we’ve put together some thoughts about what we feel has been most helpful to our process here in Andes, in the hopes that it might be helpful to people who are working to protect their towns.
We have, now, less than thirty days to comment on the proposed draft fracking regulations from the DEC. Cuomo has pushed for this to move quickly, in spite of a woefully inadequate health review. This could allow fracking in New York State by March!!
These folks have set up a truly brilliant way to post daily on different regs — an “Advent Calendar” approach to commenting. Please visit and post daily — it’s very easy, and is, we’re finding, almost a guided meditation about what we want to protect in Andes and beyond.
Please Comment! Please pass the word! This may be our last chance to stop fracking in New York and say clearly to Albany that we want New York to lead the way on renewable energy!
