Radio Chatskill

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced that the Skinners Falls Bridge, carrying Route 1002 over the Delaware River in Wayne County, will be dismantled before the end of the year.

The decision comes after a recent inspection revealed the bridge’s condition necessitates its removal for public safety, particularly for river traffic.

Appearing on Radio Chatskill, PennDOT Engineering District Executive Rich Roman explained that dismantling the bridge and storing its components for potential future use does not necessarily mean they will be used to rebuild the current structure. The materials could be repurposed for other projects, such as in a park or along a rail-to-trails route. 

He also mentioned that the option of constructing a new bridge is still being considered. However, the dismantling process is expected to take around five to six months. Afterward, there will be a significant delay before any new project can begin, as the team will need to navigate regulations in two states and secure funding.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a statewide burn ban through the end of the month due to increased fire risk. That word came today (November 12) as Hochul visited Greenwood Lake in Orange County, where first responders continue to battle wildfires.

The Democrat met with Orange County executive Steve Neuhaus and other local officials near a large wildfire still burning by the village of Greenwood Lake.

Neuhaus says the fire has burned more than 5000 acres between New York and New Jersey since starting near the border a few weeks ago.

An 18 year old park ranger was killed Saturday while helping to establish a fire line around the blaze.

Hochul says fire departments and park rangers from across the state have pitched in with controlled burns and bucket drops via helicopter.

Officials say the fire is currently about 20% contained.

Neuhaus expects efforts to fight the fire will continue for at least a few more weeks as there is little rain in the forecast. The Greenwood Lake fire is one of several fires to pop up in recent days as dry conditions and strong winds feed sparks across the northeast.

Much of the region is under a red flag warning and Hochul ordered a statewide burn ban in response to the fires.

Meantime, Ulster County executive, Jem Metzger says firefighters have now contained 95% of the White House fire in the town of Denning Metzger says as of nightfall Monday, it has burned 630 acres.

Image: A statewide burn ban is now in effect as wildfires consume thousands of acres of land in the Hudson River Valley.( Credit: WCBS)

The Trans Support Initiative is composed of people from all walks of life who are committed to address the need in Sullivan and Wayne Counties for gender-affirming safe spaces and support services for Trans+ community members, family, and friends. 

Paul and Miro from the Trans Support Initiative appeared on Radio Chatskill to discuss the group's mission to provide services, education, and advocacy for the local trans community.

She Moves in Search of Feeling is a short film exploring the close relationships people form with objects.  

Filmed in the Catskill Mountains, the film follows a woman as she moves through natural landscapes, encountering familiar treasures, and ultimately finds her way home.

Director John Sorensen-Jolink appeared on Radio Chatskill to discuss the intersection of art and objects.

President-elect Donald Trump has named former Long Island Congressman Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency in his upcoming administration.

New York environmental advocates and others are tempering their expectations as to how Zeldin’s leadership might affect the regional environment.
S
cenic Hudson Executive Director of Policy, Advocacy and Science Pete Lopez says the appointment of Zeldin to the EPA makes sense to him after working with him in the state legislature and when he was the EPA Region 2 administrator while Zeldin was in Congress.

“He understands New York. My sense is that he has awareness and sensitivity to the region from a very broad perspective,” Lopez said.

Protect The Adirondacks Executive Director Peter Bauer expects a very difficult time ahead.

“I expect Lee Zeldin to be very zealous in gutting the Environmental Protection Agency. I don’t think that since the EPA has been around over the last 50 years, I don’t think we have ever encountered a leader of that agency who will be so strongly at odds with its historic mission and wants to completely change its role in public policy and environmental policy,” opines Bauer. “I think the combination of Zeldin and Trump is very worrying on a lot of levels.”

At the Adirondack Council, spokesman John Sheehan says the nomination gives them some concerns but they want to keep an open mind.

“The fact that he is from New York makes us hopeful that he will understand some of the issues facing the Adirondacks. While we haven’t always agreed in the past in terms of policy issues, I think there is an opportunity for access and for conversation to take place that could benefit the Adirondacks long term,” Sheehan said. “But ultimately, I think we want to do everything we can to keep things from moving backwards in terms of environmental protection and public health. And we’re going to have some work to do in the years ahead.”

New York State Conservative Party Chair Jerry Kassar is delighted that Zeldin will lead the EPA, calling it a well-deserved appointment after Zeldin’s near miss in the 2022 gubernatorial race.

“He has a real background in environmental issues. Coming from eastern Long Island that should come as no surprise. But he has a balance. A balanced approach that respects the need for the economics of this country with the environmental needs,” Kassar said. “We believe the country is over-regulated particularly as it affects some of the oil industry and some of the auto industry as well as some of the just general business regulations that do not necessarily follow the science. And we think Lee understands that and he will be a perfect EPA administrator for the Conservative Party.”

Meanwhile, Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve Managing Partner David Gibson feels Zeldin is being appointed to the post due to loyalty and sees it as a signal that the White House will expect appointees to toe the line.

“Former Congressman Zeldin is a loyalist and I think that’s the criteria that’s prime top of mind on all of the nominees that Trump is making,” believes Gibson. “Now, Mr. Zeldin may prove to be an independent administrator as much as he can. That’s certainly possible. But I’m not expecting it.”

Lopez reminds anyone who is concerned about potential Trump Administration environmental policies that New York state has the ability to set more stringent standards.

“Whatever the federal regulatory and statutory framework looks like moving forward, that the state does have the ability to set its own standards that are more stringent than federal. So that is a power that New York state and other states have,” notes Lopez.

Zeldin was the second New Yorker to be nominated to a position in the incoming Trump administration. New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of the 21st district was tapped as UN ambassador.

Image: File photo of New York Congressman and 2022 Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin in Colonie, NY (Credit: WAMC/Ashley Hupfl)

The Hudson Valley and Catskills regions are experiencing moderate drought conditions and is under a Drought Watch, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

A "watch" is the first of four levels of state drought advisories ("watch," "warning," "emergency" and "disaster"). There are no statewide mandatory water use restrictions in place under a drought watch, but residents are strongly encouraged to voluntarily conserve water. Local public water suppliers may require conservation measures, depending upon local needs and conditions.

The region is currently running 6 to 8 inches below average in rainfall for the 60-day period, with an average rainfall of nearly 9 inches. 

The dry conditions are contributing to increased fire danger, prompting regular "Red Flag Warnings" across the region.

We spoke to Alex Marra, CEO and Founder of Hudson Valley Weather, about how long this dry pattern might last. 

New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a Republican, has been selected by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as UN ambassador in his upcoming administration. If she is confirmed, that would trigger a special election throughout 15 counties in the northern New York district.

Congresswoman Stefanik, the House Republican conference leader, was first elected in 2014 and easily won another term Tuesday. Trump announced Stefanik as his pick for UN ambassador Monday.

Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher is not surprised.

“She has been moving up in the House pretty fast and she’s in line, arguably, for the top spot at some point in the future. And so by leaving Congress she does take herself out of that mix. But Ambassador to the U.N. would be a particularly good role for her and I think it fits her well,” Reeher said. “Because you’re there to advocate for and represent the United States, particularly in a body that has become increasingly hostile to the United States. And so she would be in the advocate role and I think she’s already proven that she is a strong voice and could be a strong voice based on what she’s done in some of these Congressional hearings.”

If Stefanik leaves her seat, New York Governor Kathy Hochul must call a special election. SUNY Plattsburgh Professor of Political Science Harvey Schantz explains there would not be a primary.

“The special election would give the date. In the interim the Democrats from New York 21 and the Republicans from New York 21 would hold a meeting. The people who want to run for the seat would lobby the county chairs to get their support at the party meeting,” explained Schantz. “Now we have a big district, maybe 14, 15 counties. So there would be 14 or 15 county leaders for the Democrats and Republicans and they would vote towards who would be the nominee of the party.”

Stefanik, who was considered to be Trump’s running mate, said for months she would be honored to serve in a Trump administration, and there is already chatter about who might run in a special election. Schantz notes there is already considerable speculation as to who will run.

“The people who would have an inside track to run for New York 21 would be Republicans and also Democrats who are in the state legislature who would like to advance to the U.S. Congress. For the Democrats the presumption is that Paula Collins, because she just ran and plans to run again in 2026, would have some backing to be the party nominee,” predicted Schantz.

Plattsburgh Mayor Chris Rosenquest is leaving office and is among the more high-profile Democrats in the eastern portion of the district. He gave a very definitive answer when asked if he would consider running.

“No, no, no. I did my stint in politics. You know my job is to take care of my family and to focus on my family here, focus on my business. That’s why, that’s really why I’m not running for re-election and I’ll do that,” insisted Rosenquest. “And honestly the district itself, I’m no political analyst, but the district itself is probably not leaning towards blue. And I think that if anybody it would be somebody like Dan Stec who might step into that role or somebody else who might step into that role. It’s not me.”

Stec, the Republican state senator representing the 45th district, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Republican Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin could be another possible candidate.

New York Democrats came into the election working feverishly to flip several key House seats, and they largely succeeded. But that was a rare bright spot during a huge performance for Republicans and once and future president Donald Trump, who made gains in New York and nationwide as part of his decisive win.

From the New York Public News Network, WAMC's Ian Pickus spoke Thursday with Jay Jacobs, Chair of the New York State Democratic Committee.

What's your key takeaway from this election result? 

Well, I think on the local level in New York state, I think we did very well. You know, there was certainly a lot of disappointment two years ago when we lost four congressional seats that Joe Biden had won in the previous election. And we made it a major priority, of course, to win those seats back. And we won four seats back. We started that with Tom Suozzi’s special election after George Santos had to vacate his seat, and then we added to it on Tuesday with another congressional seat in Nassau County. So now both of Nassau County's seats went from red to blue, and then we've got Josh Riley, who is likely to be elected in the Hudson Valley, and you've got John Mannion in CD-22, so we did very well here. Of course, nationally, we're not too happy, and even in New York State, we see that Trump made some significant gains with voter blocs and for whatever reason, and we're analyzing it now, the voter turnout wasn't as strong as we had like would have liked.

Now in the 17th district, you were hoping to win that seat back from Mike Lawler, who was able to win a second term against Mondaire Jones. There's a lot of speculation that he might be ready to run for governor now. Do you agree with that? 

Well, I don't know. I mean, there's nothing for me to agree or disagree. I don't know what he's going to do. I would say to you from the start, when we looked at that district, we knew that was going to be a tough district for us, the toughest of them all. Again, holding Pat Ryan's seat was important to us, and that was a concern. We're glad we did that. But, yeah, you know what Congressman Lawler decides to do, that I can't predict. 

So you mentioned some of the gains that Trump made in places that were a little surprising, frankly, like New York City and some of the suburbs. How concerned are you about that dynamic? 

Well, look, you know, it has to go to the fact that he ran on a platform of really anger and fear. That's, the typical Republican playbook, and it happened to resonate with far too many voters who are angry and have good reason to be angry, whether it's economic issues that anger them or cultural, social issues that anger them. And you know, they're fed up, and so they voted for him. And as a party, we have to listen carefully and understand what it is that voters were trying to tell us and we've got to make some changes. 

I know part of your job is to project optimism for Democrats’ chances and performance and so on. But were you very surprised by what you saw Tuesday? 

Yes. Yes, I was. I'm not going to make any bones about it. I'm surprised about it in my own county. I'm surprised about it in New York state, and I was surprised about it in our country, I just…I listened to Donald Trump. I listened to some of those rallies. I saw what he had to say. Never mind what people around him were saying, you know, at Madison Square Garden. And for me, I listened to those things and to the threats he makes to have this mass deportation of non-citizens and sometimes citizens. And he talks about, you know, Haitians taking people's pets and eating them and all of that business. And I just could not imagine that a majority of American voters, certainly in our state and my county, in particular, and of course, across the country, would feel that’s someone they want to put back in the Oval Office, and yet they just did it. So for me, I have to, you know, recalibrate some of my thinking, not that I have to agree with what he has to say, but I have to understand that there are voters who are willing to discount things that are so important to me because they've got issues that are more important to them. 

Do you think that there was any universe in which Joe Biden would have overperformed what Vice President Harris did in the election? 

Hard for me to predict that, honestly, and I've given that some thought and I can't come up with an answer to that. I can go both ways on that one. First of all, I think Joe Biden did a great job as president. I mean, I think that the economic condition he leaves the country in… after remember where we started off? You know, worrying about going into a deep recession, coming out of COVID, getting people vaccinated, and the CHIPS Act and American Rescue Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, all of those things, the infrastructure bill, $1.2 trillion going into building up our infrastructure across this country. I think these are fabulous things that he did. I think that perhaps where he could have done better, perhaps was in communicating. People didn't understand, you know, why there was inflation, and that we would get through inflation. You know, why that was happening to all of us. And I think that that lack of understanding gave an opening for Trump. Now, could he have engaged in the campaign to communicate that to voters? I don't know. It's really hard to predict, and again, one of the hits on him, unfortunately, is people who may agree with what I just said, would also agree that he just came across as being too old, and that that, I think, was a liability that was hard for him to overcome.

Do you think that Vice President Harris could run for the White House again? 

Well, you know, in this this country anything’s possible. I think is possible. I didn't think Donald Trump could run for the White House again, so I'm sure I'm going to say that she can't. You know, I like her an awful lot. I think she did a great job in this campaign. It was near flawless. And, you know, certainly that's an option for her. But I think as a party moving forward, as we must, we've got to take a look at really what it is that, you know, we feel defines us. And we need to articulate that in a way that is attractive to more voters and who the vehicle is to best deliver that message? You know, we've got a good period of time, at least two and a half to three years, to begin figuring that out. 

It's going to be, in all likelihood, a pretty grim time for your party in Washington. So here's a question for you: who's the leader of the national Democratic Party right now?
 
Well, I mean, once Joe Biden and Kamala Harris leave Washington, then I would say to you that you've got Leader Jeffries and Chuck Schumer are going to be the leaders of our party and have quite a lot to say about it. That doesn't mean they're the only voices. You're going to be hearing a lot of voices. You're going to be hearing a lot of opinions and a lot of ideas for how we can, you know, make our party once again the predominant party for a majority of voters in this country. And we got work to do, and we're working on it, and we'll get there. You know, look, politics is a cyclical business, and you never should assume, if you're on top, that you're going to stay there, because you never do, and you never should assume if you're on the short end of it that you're going to stay there either, because if you play your cards right and you’re smart about it, you're back on top before you know it, and I think that's what we'll see with the Democratic Party. But to get there, we better smarten up and better articulate a message that is about bringing back the American Dream for everyone and opportunity, making sure that people in in our working class think that they're getting a fair deal and that we're paying attention. And unfor...

One person is dead as firefighters continue to battle a wildfire near the Orange County village of Greenwood Lake. 

New York State Police say 18-year-old Dariel Vasquez — a park ranger with the state Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation — died Saturday while responding to the fire in the Sterling Forest. 

In Ulster County, firefighters continued working throughout the day yesterday to establish a control line around the perimeter of the Whitehouse Fire in the Town of Denning and achieved 90% containment by nightfall yesterday. The affected area, including the established control line, is approximately 600 acres. 

Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger said, "With help from last night's rain, we expect significant progress toward 100% containment today. We have 139 personnel from 18 fire departments deployed today to continue this work."

Metzger added, "We want to again extend our gratitude to NYS DEC Forest Rangers and the many local volunteer firefighters from Ulster, Sullivan, Delaware and Greene counties who have been working on the ground to suppress this fire, as well as the NYC Department of Environmental Protection and NYS Police Aviation for the bucket drops on Saturday and Sunday, and all of the agencies involved in this coordinated effort. We also want to thank the many people and local businesses that donated food for our firefighters.”

Image Credit: Ulster County Sheriff’s Office Drone Team

Since October 2023, members of the community have gathered on the Narrowsburg-Darbytown Bridge calling for peace in Gaza.  

Radio Catskill's Rosie Starr spoke with some of them and has this report.