Radio Chatskill

Sullivan County residents are facing a property tax increase in 2026, as the county prepares to release a tentative budget that will exceed the 2% state tax cap, according to Dan Hust, Communications Director for Sullivan County Government. Falling sales tax revenue and rising costs for healthcare, equipment, and supplies are driving the increase.

County Manager Joshua Potosek will formally present the tentative budget to the legislature on Wednesday, Oct. 30, outlining recommendations to address a projected $5 million shortfall in sales tax revenue and inflationary cost pressures.

“This budget is going to be a little tricky for the legislators and residents this year,” said Hust. “There is going to be a tax increase. That is a certainty, and I will have more details to share next week when the tentative budget is released.”

Two public hearings are scheduled for residents to provide input at the Government Center in Monticello:

• Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 5:00 p.m.
• Thursday, Dec. 4 at 10:45 a.m.

Hust emphasized that public feedback is crucial. “Legislators will be making the decision ultimately. The tentative budget comes from the county manager saying, ‘This is how I recommend that you approach everything.’ But in the end, this budget is going to be owned by the legislature and the people who elected them,” he said.

He encouraged residents to go beyond simply opposing a tax hike. “If you want to be most effective, don’t come and just say, ‘I don’t want a tax hike.’ Explain why you don’t, say what you think shouldn’t be funded, and what you think should be funded. Legislators are listening.”

Supporting materials explaining the proposed tax increase and budget priorities will be released alongside the tentative budget. Residents unable to attend the hearings can submit feedback via email to the legislative clerk. 

Alison Roman, the bestselling cookbook author and food personality behind viral recipes like “The Stew,” “The Dip,” and “The Cookies,” has found a second home — and inspiration — in Delaware County.

Known for her candid cooking style and approachable yet elevated recipes, Roman has built a career through cookbooks like Dining In, Nothing Fancy, and Sweet Enough. Her fourth, Something from Nothing, will be released November 11. The new book — and her Bloomville store, First Bloom — are the focus of this week’s Eating Up State.

Roman first discovered Delaware County back in 2017 while working on Dining In. “We were introduced first by a friend of mine who has a house in Andes,” she recalled. “I asked him, ‘Do you know anyone where I could get fish up there?’ And he said, ‘You could ask Soheil, who owns Special Meeting House.’ He introduced us, and we just became friendly from there.”

Roman says her connection to the area grew from there. “I love them so much and I love their restaurant so much,” she said. “It’s such a wonderful place to have in the community. They’re so influential — people see them and think, ‘Maybe I can move up here and pursue my dream too.’”

Like many New Yorkers during the pandemic, Roman started looking for a home upstate — but soon discovered that housing prices were rising fast. “It mostly came down to what I could afford,” she said. “Buying property in New York City or Brooklyn felt impossible, and remains impossible. But I thought, okay, maybe I can buy this building and turn it into something.”

That building happened to be the former Table on Ten — a beloved Bloomville restaurant that had closed early in the pandemic. “I wasn’t looking to open a grocery store,” Roman said. “I was looking for a house. But when I saw Table on Ten was for sale, I thought, wow, that could be the exact solution. It just felt right.”

She bought the property in February 2021 and spent months figuring out what to do with it. “I’d never owned a business in this way before,” she said. “I needed to sit in the space, spend time in the area, and figure out what was realistic and attainable — and what would actually serve the community.”

The result was First Bloom, a modern country grocery that opened Labor Day weekend 2023 — the same week Roman got married. “It wasn’t the plan,” she said with a laugh. “I hoped to open in May, but we didn’t make it. Suddenly, it was either open now or push to October — and I was going on a honeymoon. It just felt like now or never. I wouldn’t recommend it, but we got through it.”

First Bloom carries pantry staples from small brands like Burlap & Barrel and locally sourced produce from farms in the 607 CSA. “Because it’s my store, it’s curated,” Roman said. “We have the best version of every ingredient, and sometimes we carry both the best and the most affordable. I want people to have options.”

To keep prices fair, some items are co-packed or sold in-house. “The spices we buy in bulk and jar ourselves because it makes it a lot cheaper for the customer,” she said. “I love the idea of a co-op grocery store with bulk bins — that’s the dream. For now, this is our version of that.”

Roman says her time upstate — and running First Bloom — deeply influenced Something from Nothing. The cookbook celebrates creativity in the kitchen when the pantry is sparse. “Being upstate really did force me to cook differently,” she said. “In New York, I could get any ingredient in ten minutes. Up here, I’d look in my fridge and see a can of beans, half a bunch of old kale, frozen chicken, and a lemon — and that’s it. You have to make something from that.”

This winter, Roman plans to bring a taste of the Catskills to Brooklyn with a First Bloom pop-up just before Thanksgiving. “It’ll be a smaller version,” she said, “just a nice thing to do for the holidays — to get some of the Catskills down to the city.”

As for what’s next, Roman says she’s focused on keeping First Bloom grounded. “I don’t feel the need to do anything flashy,” she said. “I just want it to be consistent and good — open when we say we’re open, with friendly people and good products. That’s what matters.”

Something from Nothing will be available November 11. For more information, visit alisoneroman.com. First Bloom is located at 52030 State Route 10 in Bloomville, Delaware County.

An Afghan refugee and Bard College student who fled the Taliban and resettled in Ulster County is now facing deportation after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, sparking outrage and community support across the Hudson Valley.

Ali Faqirzada, who came to the U.S. in 2022 with his family, was arrested by ICE on Long Island last week following what officials described as a “credible fear” interview—a standard step in the asylum process designed to determine whether an applicant faces persecution or torture if returned home.

Phillip Pantuso, Hudson Valley managing editor of the Times Union, told Radio Catskill, “Ali had done everything right. He had work authorization, was working as a security guard at Kingston Hospital, and was a full-time student at Bard College.”

According to Pantuso, Faqirzada’s family—eight in total—are all Shia Muslims who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover. Several had worked with or alongside U.S. agencies helping to rebuild the country. His sister, for example, was involved in a women’s entrepreneurship program. All of the family members successfully completed the asylum process—except for Ali.

“When he first arrived in California in early 2022, he was detained by Customs and Border Patrol, then released on parole pending an asylum interview,” Pantuso said. “That case had just been pending ever since.”

But recently, Faqirzada’s case appears to have shifted from a standard asylum track to what’s known as expedited removal, a process that allows for rapid deportation without a hearing before an immigration judge.

“For some reason, Ali was moved into expedited removal,” Pantuso explained. “That means he could be deported even though he has a hearing scheduled for November 13.”

ICE confirmed that Faqirzada was arrested under an administrative I-200 warrant, a civil—not criminal—violation. He is charged under Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act for entering the U.S. without valid documentation.

“His attorneys aren’t disputing that,” Pantuso said. “What they’re saying is that he entered the U.S. and declared himself a refugee, which is the legal process to apply for asylum. Every indication was that things were proceeding normally.”

Faqirzada remains detained at an ICE facility in New Jersey. His attorneys from Human Rights First, a nonprofit that provides pro bono legal aid, have filed two petitions in federal court: one for habeas corpus to block his deportation, and another seeking his release on parole.

“They’re arguing that he was already released on parole when he arrived three and a half years ago and that he’s done nothing wrong since,” Pantuso said. “He’s followed all the rules and has every incentive to continue doing so.”

While the courts await a federal response, community members are mobilizing. A vigil Monday night on Bard’s campus drew several hundred attendees, including family members and friends. One friend who visited Faqirzada in detention said he’s aware of the outpouring of support and that it’s “helping him keep his spirits up.”

A GoFundMe campaign launched this week to assist with family expenses has already raised more than $38,000. “He was the main breadwinner for his family,” Pantuso noted. “His attorneys are working pro bono, but this helps with other costs.”

Elected officials have also weighed in. Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger said she was “deeply concerned” about the case, while Congressman Pat Ryan sharply criticized ICE’s handling and said his office “has been in constant communication with the family” to push for Faqirzada’s release.

From 40,000-year-old microbes thawed from Arctic permafrost to distant “dark matter” stars billions of light-years away, Radio Catskill’s resident science expert Joe Johnson shares a snapshot of the latest discoveries reshaping our understanding of Earth and the universe.

Microbes Thaw After 40,000 Years
A recent study in the Journal of Geophysical Research shows that microbes—bacteria and fungi—from the late Pleistocene can survive tens of thousands of years in Arctic permafrost and spring back to life.

“These microbes started reproducing very slowly at first,” Johnson explained. “But after six months, they really took off—they’re now thriving like modern organisms.”

The research has major implications for climate change. As these ancient microbes metabolize organic matter, they release carbon dioxide and methane, potent greenhouse gases. “If this permafrost melts, it could create a feedback loop,” Johnson said. “Greenhouse gases warm the atmosphere, which melts more permafrost, which releases more gases. The permafrost actually contains more organic carbon than what’s already in the atmosphere.”

Dark Matter Stars Illuminate the Early Universe
On a cosmic scale, scientists are studying “supermassive dark stars”—hypothetical first-generation stars powered by dark matter. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers discovered four ultra-luminous objects whose light started traveling toward Earth more than 13 billion years ago.

“These stars are about a million times the mass of the sun and a billion times as luminous,” Johnson said. “They’re bright, diffuse, and puffy—the first stars in the universe. Discovering them helps explain very old galaxies and may show how supermassive black holes formed.”

While promising, Johnson cautioned, “We still don’t know exactly what dark matter is. This doesn’t solve the ultimate mystery, but it’s a step forward.”

Comets Lighting Up the Sky
Closer to home, two comets are visible this fall. Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon, discovered in January, appears in the northwest sky and will be brightest between October 21 and November 8. Comet C/2025 R2 Swan, spotted in SOHO spacecraft data, is visible in the south-southwest sky but is dimmer and requires binoculars.

“Pick a dark spot with a clear horizon, let your eyes adjust, and use stars or a sky app to find them,” Johnson advised. “The best viewing is shortly after sunset. Wait too long and they’ll already be gone.”

Whether it’s microbes that survived the ice age or stars that challenge our understanding of the cosmos, Johnson says science is about wonder. “Always cool stuff. Always cool science. That’s what science is.”

The Decrepit Ghouls are taking Halloween to strange new waters this weekend.

The hit immersive experience is back for its third year, this time with “The Decrepit Ghouls in a Cursed Catskills Cruise,” transforming a Parksville warehouse into a haunted ocean liner packed with live music, comedy, art, and total spooky chaos.

“You buy a ticket, go through a gangplank, and there are portholes,” laughed co-creator Todd Perlmutter. “The ghouls have taken over a cruise ship — and there’s going to be yacht rock. That’s the hook.”

Weird, Wild, and Wonderfully Local

Each fall, the Decrepit Ghouls turn a quiet Catskills town into a creative carnival — part concert, part performance art, all community-built.

“Every year, there are more creative people involved,” said Marcus Brooks, one of the Decrepit Ghouls’ ringmasters. “It’s become this big group of artists and performers donating their time and energy. The whole warehouse gets activated — you walk through rooms built by local artists, see sculptures, hear singers, dancers, everything. It’s part performance, part art piece.”

This year’s theme came together thanks to a stroke of luck — and a little nostalgia.

“I’d been trying to get Peter Moore from Boston since the first show,” Perlmutter said. “He and Adrian [Brooks] were both singers on the Blue Man Group Megastar tour. They also play in yacht rock bands, so it just clicked — we had to do a haunted cruise.”

Big Talent, Bigger Band

Expect a stacked lineup this year, including a few more Blue Man Group veterans.

“We’ve got Pete Simpson, Randall, and Michael Rayhall — who hosts Absinthe in Vegas — coming back,” said Perlmutter. “So yeah, this is a heavy Blue Man year.”

The live band is expanding, too. “We’ve got horn players, mandolin, piano — it’s a massive band,” Brooks said. “Everybody’s a total pro.”

Local creatives like Zach Max, Mike Baker, and Catherine are adding fresh flair, including a mysterious nautical sculpture. “We haven’t even seen it yet,” Brooks said. “She just told us it’s ocean-themed and we said, ‘Perfect.’”

Come Weird, Stay Weird

Audience participation is part of the fun — and this year, it’s bigger than ever.

“It’s not like a parade where you just watch,” Brooks said. “Come in costume, get weird, be ready to be amazed. It’s a party. Totally interactive.”

“There’s even a part of the show that depends on the audience to make it happen,” Perlmutter added. “That’s all I can say — but come ready to get involved.”

The production is supported by the Sullivan County Arts & Heritage Grant, the DVA, and local volunteers who keep Parksville “delightfully weird.”

And that’s exactly how the Ghouls like it.

“The first time I saw video of people smiling — all ages, all types — just having a blast, I knew we were doing the right thing,” Perlmutter said. “Every year, it gets bigger, weirder, and more fun.”

Shows run Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. (doors at 6) and Sunday at 4 p.m. (doors at 3), with tickets at decrepitghouls.com. Sunday’s show is a more kid-friendly version, but Perlmutter says, “All the shows are fun for everyone.”

There are more than 930 towns across New York state. Many big and small towns have important elections coming up this Election Day, including in Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster counties. But what exactly do town supervisors do, and why does that matter to residents?

Radio Catskill’s Kimberly Izar spoke with Chris Koetzle, Executive Director of New York Association of Towns, about how local elections can make a big impact in the community.

Catskill Art Space (CAS) in Livingston Manor is offering new opportunities for adults to explore their creativity this fall, with six-week art classes in Drawing Foundations and Ceramics beginning October 28.

Executive Director Sally Wright says the new courses meet participants at any skill level, whether they’re first-time students or experienced artists looking to deepen their practice.

The Drawing Foundations class, led by instructor Christine Denman, runs Tuesdays from 5:30 to 7 p.m. October 28 through December 2. Participants will explore line, shape, observation, light, shadow, and composition using materials like pencil, chalk, and pastel — progressing from still life to expressive and abstract works.

The Ceramics Program features two tracks — Wheel-Thrown Pottery with Jenny Gill (currently at capacity) and Hand Building with Brian Cronk, which still has openings. Students will explore techniques like pinch pots, coiling, and soft slab construction.

Wright emphasized that CAS’ classes are designed to welcome all experience levels.

In addition to adult classes, CAS offers free CAS Kids art and theater programs on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., giving children and families more access to hands-on arts education.

Meanwhile, visitors can catch the final weekend of the current exhibition featuring artists Jeff Christensen, Bonnie Richlack, and Heidi Schlatter, on view through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A new exhibition featuring Mia Brownell, Kat Chamberlin, and Lexa Walsh opens November 1, with an artist talk from 3–4 p.m. and an opening reception from 4–5 p.m.

More information about classes, exhibitions, and registration is available at catskillartspace.org
.

More than seven million people participated in No Kings rallies on Oct. 18 across the country, according to national organizers. Thousands took to the streets in the Catskills and northeast Pennsylvania – including Honesdale, Monticello, Middletown, Goshen, and Newburgh – to push back against the Trump administration.

Radio Catskill’s Rosie Starr and Kimberly spoke to attendees at some of the rallies and sent us this audio postcard.

NYSEG filed rate proposals in June to increase delivery rates by more than 30 percent for some customers. If approved, NYSEG customers would see new rates take effect in May 2026.

Radio Catskill’s Kimberly Izar sat down with Assemblymember Paula Elaine Kay at her office in Monticello, who shared more about the NYSEG rate case and how residents can make their voices heard.

The New York State Department of Transportation has hit pause on its $1.4 billion plans to expand Route 17 from exits 113 in Wurtsboro to 131 in Monroe after significant community pushback. So what does this mean for the future of the highway?

The ReThink Route 17 Alliance is a coalition pushing the state to invest in more accessible and environmentally sustainable transit alternatives, not more highway lanes. Radio Catskill’s Kimberly Izar spoke with Taylor Jaffe, Program Manager at Catskill Mountainkeeper, about what the delay means and how residents can get involved.