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Last
week, the Woodstock Town Board voted to settle four years
of tax certiorari claims with Realtor Andrew Peck. . .
Peck had challenged the town over some 112-property assessments
dating back to 1995, claiming the town grossly over assessed
his clients. After a [failed] attempt to get his cases
dismissed on procedural grounds the town settled with
all 112 property owners represented by Peck. . . The cumulative
reduction in assessments to the taxpayers represented
by Peck amounts to some $1,800,000.00.
Peck says this is a vindication
of his contention that until last year's revaluation,
many Woodstock properties were over assessed. . . The
fact that the town elected to settle once its objections
had been thrown out of court indicates his claims are
valid.
Peck spent thousands of dollars
out of pocket to carefully document his claims over the
years, only to be turned down by the grievance board in
every case. Finally, he says, he decided to save his money
and let the court decide. . . He adds that he has never
lost in court. One thing is certain: Litigating tax certiorari
cases costs a lot of money. Town Supervisor Tracy Kellogg
says Woodstock has spent $15,000. litigating Peck's cases
alone. Peck has spent $15,000. to $20,000. out of pocket
in legal and appraisal fees, which he will now recoup
from the town.
Peck says he started challenging
assessments in 1986, when he bought a property in Woodstock
for $20,000, which was assessed for $71,000. After receiving
little satisfaction from the grievance board, Peck went
to court; the town fought his claim for four years. Finally,
says Peck, the judge ordered both sides to hire an appraiser
and have the property appraised. Peck's appraiser came
in at $20,000; the town's appraiser came in at $21,500.
A settlement quickly followed. He currently represents
clients in Woodstock, Hurley, Cairo, Saugerties and the
City of Kingston.
Peck says Woodstock's assessments
are more fair than they have been for years. Peck gives
the new Woodstock assessor Seth Plawsky credit for this,
and says it's one reason he doesn't expect to end up in
court with Woodstock again. "I want the towns to
put me out of business in this niche of my business,"
says Peck, "And I think they're going to do it in
Woodstock."
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Let
it be known that on April 7th, Chloe D., a whimsical longtime
Woodstock resident, established the authentic Woodstock
holiday: Forsythia Day. From now on, this will be the
day (on or about, give or take a week or two) when the
bright yellow sprigs pop like petalled sunshine. Chloe’s
working on developing special celebration rites, customs
and traditional foods and garments for the day. For starters,
she envisions people of both sexes wearing yellow polka
dot bikinis, and waving forsythia bows, chanting “Mellow
Yellow”, followed by “Yellow is the Color
of my True Love’s Hair” and ending the day
with a rousing chorus of “We All Live in a Yellow
Submarine.”
In honor of this new holiday,
we asked several locals for forsythia poetry and mythology
and for their input on the perfect protocol for Forsythia
Day.
Donna, owner Glorious Health : “Plant forsythias
and eat yellow- do a spring cleansing with lemon juice.”
She adds that besides being cheerful, yellow is an intellectual
color and students could benefit by painting their study
rooms yellow.
Jamie, 13, eighth-grader:
“I think that all the Woodstock families should
go to the Comeau property and have a picnic of banana
smoothies and banana bread and wear forsythia sprigs in
their hair. They should play games and tell round-robin
stories and the only person who can talk will have a forsythia
sprig in their hand.”
Jean, author of Woodstock
Gatherings:” I’m renting a wonderful barn
for the summer and it has a waterfall and a large rock
for a table and I went up today...and it looked like the
rock and the waterfall and the bright blue chair were
in a room of sunshine--it was the bursting light from
that forsythia. I sat right down in the chair and leaning
just a bit to the left, told myself one hundred times
how wonderful, this place and day...we say it every year:
surely this is the most beautiful year of the forsythia.”
Emily: singer/songwriter:
There are too many issues involved with this topic for
me to talk about it. Because of the controversial nature
of forsythia it’s best for me to not comment. I
don’t want to alienate any other flowers, that would
be forsythiasm”.
Fred , nurse: “Unbeknownst to Chloe, there is a
historical basis, based on an Ulster County legend for
Forsythia Day. Angelique Forsythe, the eldest daughter
of the French Huguenot patentees, based in New Paltz,
had secretly conceived a passionate love for the chief
of the neighboring Esopus Indians. During a clash between
the patentees and the Indians in 1699, Angelique Forsythe
betrothed herself to the chief and he was subsequently
outcast. Despondent and depressed the two fled to nearby
Woodstock, and during an unexpected April ice storm fell
off the Overlook. The next day the snow melted and forsythia
bloomed where they had fallen.”
Peggy, landscape artist:
“Cut some long shoots of forsythia and walk around
town with them tucked in to the back of your belt, fanned
out like a peacock tail. Give the to everyone you meet.”
Richard, dad: “We have a big one in our front yard
that swooped down so much it created a room. You should
meditate in a house of forsythia on Forsythia Day. In
fact, I’m going to do it right now as soon as I
get off the phone.”
Finally, here’s an
excerpt from a performance piece by poet Nancy Rullo:
“The snow continues to cover the forsythia branches
I had intended to pick yesterday to bring in to the house,
to force their yellow to brighten my room. Yet it feels
like spring. The forsythia branches are bent to the ground
like old ladies who have lost their bone mass...bending
to the ground under the weight of the snow and the beauty
of their flowering...”
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Woodstock,
NY 12498