Photos of Maplecrest, Post-Irene

When I asked some of the guys working on clean-up in hard-hit Maplecrest if I could take photos, they bristled at first and then thanked me for “at least asking.” Apparently, lots of tourists have been driving by post-Irene, rolling down their windows to point and shoot, and then driving away. Once I explained that the pics would appear on an Upstate-focused blog to show what damage has been done and how clean-up is coming along,  I was readily welcomed.

Most of these pictures are of County Rd 40, which connects pretty Maplecrest to nearby Hensonville.  Maplecrest’s town center on Rd 56, some of which escaped the storm,  boasts lovely nineteenth-century churches and homes. While small and sleepy, Maplecrest has a growing artistic community and is currently in the middle of converting its formerly bustling, now abandoned Catskills vacation colonies into an arts center.

If you’re a local, let us know how you feel Maplecrest is doing or what you think of all the media coverage. Helping? Hurting? Do you want journalists to move on or do you think sustained attention is a good thing for the Catskills, even if it’s thanks to Irene?

Need Someone to Check on Your Greene County Country House?

Carol Shaw from Shaw Country Realty has very generously offered to check on the homes of second home owners post-Hurricane Irene. The number for Shaw Country Realty is 518-734-3500.

Part of the motivation here is the National Guard is only supposed to let residents through to closed roads. That said, I am not a full-time resident, but I was able to get through. The National Guard has been pretty reasonable about letting people pass, but if you can’t make the trip, don’t hesitate to ask for help.

One more thing: if you bought your home relatively recently, you might want to try your own broker for a similar check-in service. Many Greene County brokers have offered to do the same as Carol.

Where to Get Help and Give Help in Windham and Surrounding Area

Main Street, Windham, Volunteer efforts post Hurricane Irene

Hello from Tannersville! I’ve been listening to WRIP-FM pretty obsessively, and it’s been a great source of community information about Hurricane Irene relief in Greene County. They’ve been giving out key numbers all day, many of which can be found on their website. Here’s a quick round-up of their info for getting and giving help if you live in or near Windham.

If you’re in the Windham area and need food, medicine, or water delivered (or know someone who does), call the Windham Emergency Command Center: 518-734-4938. They have real, live people answering the phones! If you’re able to drive and need food, water, or company, you can head to Main Street in Windham and stop in front of the library. They’re set up on the lawn serving hot food and giving free water to all comers. If, like me, you’re still out of electricity, this is a great option for dinner. They’re serving spaghetti for dinner tonight and could also use extra hands. Just show up and they’ll put you to work!

If you’re a mountain resident and want to help deliver food, medicine and water to folks in need, call the command center volunteer hotline at 518-610-0380. Leave a message with your phone number, and they’ll get back to you to tell you what they need. Note that many mountain roads are open to residents only, so you’ll need to show proof of residency if you plan to help out with deliveries.

Albergo Allegria on Route 296 is organizing a clothing drive. They’re accepting donations tomorrow afternoon, Sept 1st, and will be distributing them on Friday, Sept 2nd. They’re looking for volunteers to help sort the donations. Call Iris Kaplan at 518-947-4995 if you’d like to help out. The Albergo Allegria is also offering free hot showers for folks still without running water. No need to call ahead. Just show up with your favorite bath gel.

Finally, note that Tannersville is up and running—-and they have electricity! I’m writing this from Maggie’s Krooked Cafe, where you can use wireless, charge up, etc—-and where they put whipped cream on your iced coffee just to be nice.

Fingers crossed that the rest of the mountain will get electricity by the weekend, as promised!

Map of Damaged and Washed-Out Roads in Upstate New York

Click here for a helpful, interactive crowd-sourced Google map of washouts and closures in Greene, Delaware, and Ulster Counties.

Hurricane Irene in Greene County, East Jewett Update

Update! Lisa reported much of this, but I just wanted to pass on that 23C in East Jewett/Tannersville/Onteora Park is passable and made it out of the storm in relatively good condition. (I know that’s a main drag for many of you, so y’all can rest assured.) Electricity is slowly coming back, too. Much of East Jewett and Jewett had their electricity restored yesterday. We just got ours restored twenty minutes ago. If you’ve emailed me about your house and wanted me to check on it, and I didn’t get back to you, just email me again: upstaterblog@gmail.com. I’ve had a lot of incoming to keep track of, with spotty email service.

Sort of. We plan to keep you as updated as possible about the effects of Hurricane Irene in Greene County, which has been very hard hit. I’m writing from NYC, where I’ve been trying to get on-the-ground reports from my East Jewett neighbors, but because of downed power lines and the cuts to electricity, Jewett and East Jewett remain unreachable.

We did speak to someone at Bottini Fuel, our oil servicer, who let us know that Route 23c, the main drag through Jewett and Onteora, is currently impassable and yes, electricity is still out. Much of the NY State Thruway south of Albany remains closed. For specifics on Thruway closures, click here. For details on other road closures, try here.

Let us know in the comment section if you have any on-the-ground reports of Irene damage in the Catskills. And if you have a second home Upstate that you can’t reach, what do you plan to do?