Fleischmanns

By Jay Braman Jr.
Uncertainty over the fate of the Bridge Street bridge in Fleischmanns remains, yet another bridge project in the village is underway just downstream.

Depot Street, the well-used entranceway on the western edge of the village that connects Route 28 to Main Street, remains closed just past the Wagner Avenue intersection as the Delaware County Department of Public Works make repairs to the bridge that sits right on the corner of Depot and Main streets.

By Brian Sweeney
A grand opening was held over the weekend at Shear Madness, a Fleischmanns-based hair salon.
Kathleen Rostad has 27 years’ experience as a licensed cosmetologist and is excited about the opening of her new venture.

“Hairdressing is my passion,” said Kathleen enthusiastically. “I love people coming in and helping them feel good about themselves. That makes me feel good.”

By Jay Braman Jr.
Fleschmanns Mayor Todd Pascarella continues to battle Delaware County government over bridge problems in the center of the village.

Pascarella said Tuesday that he made his case to the Public Works Committee of the Delaware County Board of Supervisors, and while it appears they are prepared to leave Bridge Street in the center of the village without, well, a bridge, at least there is not yet an official decision.

Fleischmanns — Want to protect your budget, your home and the environment? Then attend Fleischmanns First’s Fourth Forum on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 10 a.m., immediately following the Fleischmanns First abbreviated monthly meeting at La Cabana on Main Street, Fleischmanns. Admission is free

The environment and your budget need help. With gas heading towards $4.50 and $5 a gallon, NYSEG costs going up and solar panel costs slowly heading down, solar generation of electricity for homes and businesses is a tempting way to go and is readily available in our area. 

By Jay Braman Jr.
Fleischmanns Mayor Todd Pascarella has asked the Delaware County Department of Public Works to do an about face on its recent decision not to replace the Bridge Street bridge in the middle of his village, and he is also calling on the county board of supervisors to immediately support that position.

In a matter of fact letter to the board of supervisors, Pascarella laid out what he wants to see happen, and soon.

“I respectfully appeal to the County of Delaware to fully restore the vehicle bridge on Bridge Street that was destroyed in the flood,” he wrote. “

Fleischmanns — A photography exhibition entitled “After Irene” by photographer Elaine Mayes is currently hanging at The Painters Gallery at 1109 Main Street.

The work is being shown to commemorate the first anniversary of Hurricane Irene. Elaine Mayes has been a creative photographic artist for over 50 years. Known for her portraits of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury residents in 1967-’68 and for her iconic images of rock and roll performers in the late 1960s, she works on projects that involve specific subjects and locations.

By Jay Braman Jr.
As Fleischmanns residents continue to be told not to expect the Bridge Street bridge to be replaced, a special meeting concerning all of the village’s bridges will take place this Thursday in the Skene Memorial Library at 6 p.m.

And it is expected that many residents will not take things lying down.
The Bridge Street bridge site, located a stone’s throw from the old Roberts’ Auction Barn, has always been a convenient way to and from Main Street to Wagner Avenue and the village park. That all ended one year ago when tropical storm Irene destroyed the bridge.

By Fleischmanns Mayor Todd Pascarella
It’s been a hard year since Hurricane Irene blew through town. A long, tough year since Bill Birns stopped me while I was walking through the mud on Main Street in Fleischmanns the day after the flood and said, “This is way worse than ‘96, this is the worst thing ever here.”

I had no reason to doubt him as I discovered scene after scene of destruction, each one more indescribable than the next. “Where do we even begin...” I wondered.

By Jay Braman Jr.
If anyone reading this thinks that the repair work being done to restore the Fleischmanns Village Park has begun courtesy of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, they should read on.
The confusion is understandable. Village officials have been negotiating with FEMA ever since the Irene/Lee storms destroyed the park last August, telling anxious residents that the behemoth federal agency will soon help.

Now it turns out they won’t, but more on that later.

Fleischmanns — Congregation Bnai Israel begins it 94th year with an exciting weekend of services, an annual membership meeting and a klezmer concert in its historic building.  Rabbi Moshe Pomerantz will return for the opening Sabbath services on Friday, June 29 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, June 30 at 9 a.m.