TRR photo by Charles Petersheim Oscar, bottom, poses with owner Scott de la Cruz of Elliot Park Home Supplies. (Click for larger image)

Setting up shop

By CHARLES PETERSHEIM

UPPER DELAWARE RIVER VALLEY, NY — It may be the florescent green of the newly budded leaves in springtime. Or maybe it’s the unexpected valleys and hills drivers discover when they round a bend in the road. Whatever it is, it isn’t Manhattan and it certainly isn’t the Hamptons.

What this area isn’t may explain the emerging trend of talented New Yorkers trying to find a way to give the country a go and leave the city behind.

These small business owners throw around words like escape, freedom, opportunity and balance. They use phrases like controlling one’s destiny, spreading one’s wings and the dogs seem happier.

“I was tired of the pace, tired of the cookie-cutter corporate thing,” said Scott de la Cruz of Eliot Park Home Supplies, an eclectic home supply store in Jeffersonville.

“The goal is to find a way,” said Darryl Brasseale, who with his wife, Cheri and Cheri’s mother, Sonya, opened White Barn Antiques and Collectibles in Cochecton. The businesses are diverse but the idea is the same: finding a way to relocate city lives to the country and trade urban chaos for country calm.

Because the area is so large, the trend seems subtle. Nonetheless, businesses are sprouting up in local hamlets, villages and country roads. In Jeffersonville during the last six months, five new businesses have opened.

“It’s fascinating how the new is bringing back the old,” de la Cruz said.

By the new, he means the new residents of western Sullivan County. By the old, he means the glorious Catskill Mountains of the ’20s, ’30s, ’40s, and the ’50s, where enthusiasm, prosperity, activity and excitement reigned.

The effort and energy in re-inventing the old Catskill Mountains landscape is remarkable. These residents intend to promote the area and assimilate into the county, country and community. They do not seem intent on changing the identity of the environment.

“The genius, the beauty of Sullivan County,” Randy Florke, a local realtor and restaurant owner said, “is that culturally this area tends to remain the same. It’s relaxing. It’s not trying to be a suburb of New York City.”

Basic economic development theory holds that communities and neighborhoods are born, revitalized and stabilized through increased homeownership and the establishment of small businesses. Because of the long-term nature of the commitment required, communities can be propelled forward by the collective results of individual actions.

	TRR photo by Charles Petersheim The Blue Victorian in Jeffersonville is another business that has recently set up shop in the Upper Delaware region. (Click for larger image)

A quick napkin calculation reveals that the individuals, couples and families interviewed for this article have injected over $2 million in economic stimulus into the local area.

Besides the financial contributions, this growing group of business owners is engaged in the art of self-promotion. In the city and the country, they are talking up the county, touting the area and its attributes.

But why are these city slickers betting their money and their financial well-being on sleepy Sullivan County? Why are a growing number of families and individuals leaving well paying jobs and the fabulous New York City lifestyle?

“I’ve always dreamed of having a store since I was a little girl,” said Katherine Kennedy of Good and Plenty, a home, garden and gourmet outlet opening soon in Kenoza Lake. “Playing store was my favorite game. I also dreamed of living here fulltime, and since the job opportunities are limited, I decided to take the gamble and try to create my dream.”

“Our dogs seem happier,” said Greg Brooks of the Blue Victorian in Jeffersonville. “Every time we would leave the country and head back to the city, our dogs would get depressed and eventually we realized we were depressed as well. We found our spiritual home in Callicoon. We also love the tranquility of the countryside, as well as the warmth of the community.”

These environmentally conscious and spiritually aware individuals also seem intent on giving back to the community. Kennedy hopes to support local arts with special exhibits that will funnel proceeds to arts education programs. Brooks hopes to supply local teachers with products they can use in the classroom.

Amy Miller of Golden Guernsey Bed and Breakfast near Lake Huntington hopes to provide healthy vegetarian dinners to the area’s psychologically and mentally handicapped residents. De la Cruz just wants to leave his door open so local kids can stop by and meet diverse people with startlingly unique backgrounds and accomplishments, providing the kids with dynamic ideas on how to mold their lives and their respective futures.

In the grand American tradition, Sullivan County is reinventing itself.  In a collaboration between long-time residents and those just discovering the area, an experiment is underway, an experiment whose intended goal is the preservation of the county’s natural wonders and the redevelopment of its economic base.  Time will only tell if the balance can be achieved.