Woodstock nation turned away from Yasgur Road

Crowd dispersed across the county

By FRITZ MAYER

BETHEL, NY — By the time they got to Woodstock, the authorities had blocked the entrances.

Thousands of would-be concert goers were turned away from the annual reunion party that has been held the past six years on land owned by Roy Howard and Jeryl Abramson on Route 17B at Yasgur Road. After a state judge ruled on Thursday, August 10 that the reunion party could not move forward, Howard and Abramson cancelled the event.

Bethel supervisor Harold Russell said Bethel constables, along with sheriff’s deputies and state police, assisted in making sure campers did not enter the property and asked those who had already arrived to leave.

By Friday afternoon, officials had already turned away as many as 70 cars, according to Bethel councilman Richard Crumley.

Abramson said thousands of people were expected to come to the event, which was to have featured dozens of bands. She said people planned their vacations around the event, and many had planned to attend the Crosby, Stills Nash and Young (CSNY) concert at Bethel Woods on Sunday night and then return to her property.

Instead, many camped at various locations around the county, including Landers Campground at Skinner’s Falls, and Swan Lake Campground. Roy Howard said others simply pulled off the road and into the woods on vacant lots on 17B.

About 100 campers spent the weekend in fields next to Hector’s Inn at Dr. Duggan Road and Route 17B.

Early Monday morning, partygoers could still be seen at Hector’s, sleeping in cars, talking, drinking coffee and preparing for the trip home. David Michaels of Monroe said spending the weekend near the inn was not quite as much fun as it would have been at Yasgur Road, “but it was still nice.”

For Pat Beatty of Woodridge, however, the change in venues meant the loss of $2,000 in income. Beatty, a food vendor, said he had been providing hamburgers, hot dogs and other food at the annual event for several years. His equipment had been delivered to the site Thursday before the judge made his ruling. He was not able to pick up the equipment until Monday morning.

Beatty said the gathering this year was expected to be the biggest ever because of the CSNY concert at Bethel Woods. Instead, some of the people, who were headed to Yasgur Road, turned around and went home. Beatty expressed frustration that international fascination with the Woodstock legacy was not being adequately exploited. He said, “If Niagara Falls was located in Sullivan County, we would find a way to turn off the water.”

Russell said Jerry Hector, the owner of Hector’s, was facing fines because he allowed illegal camping on his property.

Abramson said the issue of the reunion parties on her property has not yet been settled. She and Howard have filed a federal lawsuit against Bethel officials, claiming those officials violated the couple’s civil rights. She said a court date is scheduled for March 2007.