They’re here, but not

By CHRIS CONROY

BETHEL — The official Woodstocker’s Reunion website says the event’s off. Common sense says something is going to happen somewhere. Same as always.

The chatter on the Muthatheresa.com message board acknowledges what many already know: people have started showing up in Bethel for the Woodstock weekend (August 17 to 19). The big question, as it always is this time of year, is “Where will they all go?”

Late last week, Jim Cutler and his company Five Star Productions and the Capelli family, who have been producing and promoting the Woodstocker’s Reunion since mid-July, were served with legal papers from the Town of Bethel, putting a halt to the reunion. Soon after, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) served the same parties, plus Wayne Scala, with similar papers. In Sullivan County Supreme Court on August 9, Cutler, Five Star and the Capelli’s were barred from holding any event on the 17B Capelli farm site until Judge Mark Meddaugh makes his decision on the legality of the event. Judge Meddaugh is expected to rule on the case by August 15, just two days before the event was originally scheduled to begin.

The case against the event is all about planning.

“The folks planning this event haven’t told the town much about it,” said Rob McEwen, the Town of Bethel’s attorney. McEwen said that media reports that town officials have seen point toward “potential violations of town code.”

“I wish they had come to us sooner,” said Bethel Supervisor Allan Scott. “The Bethel Local Development Corporation (BLDC) put out a call for proposals [of any kind] a while ago.”

The BLDC is a non-profit corporation that was set up to encourage productive ventures in the town. It was a key component in getting the 1998 and 1999 Day in the Garden concerts produced by Allan Gerry’s GF Entertainment group. According to Scott, anyone is always welcome to make an application for any venture. “If the proper planning is done,” he said, “everything should go fine [with an application].”

At the absolute least, McEwen said, events such as political rallies or concerts to be held in Bethel need to obtain a special use permit.

While the town’s case focuses on the planning in regards to zoning, the DOH is concerned about public health and safety.

“The state has a sanitary code that must be followed,” said Attorney General Nancy Groenwegen, the DOH’s attorney in the case. “This body of regulations ensures that sufficient planning goes on.” The DOH said that there is not enough evidence of proper planning.

No new location or event has been announced. According to the Muthatheresa.com, visitors have been asked to look for the “usual signs” of a reunion along 17B. A number of visitors have already showed up at the old Yasgur farmhouse on 17B, owned by Roy Howard and Jeryl Abramson, the location of last year’s reunion. Howard and Abramson maintain that no event is scheduled to take place on their property this year.

“If the town didn’t hassle us, there wouldn’t be any problem,” Cutler said. “People are coming. You can’t just shoo them away and tell them ‘you can’t come here.’”