County gets on board to extend Rail Trail

Renaissance talk covers past, present, future

By Art Steinhauer | Manor Ink Mentor

Livingston Manor, NY – Sullivan Renaissance fired up the engine for the new year on Wednesday, Jan. 19, with a dynamic Zoom presentation titled the “G2R Winter Symposium.” It highlighted the history of the Ontario & Western Railway, and discussed progress in the development of the Sullivan County Rail Trail.

Denise Frangipane, executive director of Sullivan Renaissance, released the brake to get the evening going by acknowledging the vision of Sandra Gerry, the organization’s founder, and the work of Sullivan Renaissance, now entering its twenty-second year, particularly in support of the Rail Trail initiative.

Frangipane also highlighted the formation of the Sullivan County Rail Trial Alliance, a partnership of Sullivan Renaissance, county officials, Cornell Cooperative Extension, town leaders and community members that will foster continued work on the trail and other projects abutting the it. Eventually the Rail Trail may span 35 miles, extending from Mamakating up to the Town of Rockland.

Railway and tourism

John Conway, Sullivan County historian, presented a history of the O&W, which began operations in the 1870s principally to bring milk and dairy products from the Catskills to New York City. For that reason, the developed section of the Rail Trail in Hurleyville has been given the moniker “The Milk Train Trail.”

Later, O&W advertising and promotions led to the development of the enormous tourism industry in the county. Conway noted that once again the railway is serving to promote tourism and support the economy just as did in the past. Hurleyville has already seen the opening of several new businesses because of the trail.

Freda Eisenberg and Heather Jacksy of the county’s Planning Office then spoke about the work that has been done to date on various sections of the trail. They explained that over the next few years efforts will concentrate on connecting the Ferndale-Hurleyville and Woodridge-Mamatking trails by constructing a new bridge over the Neversink River. This will create a continuous, nine-mile-long section.

Connecting to the Manor

Liberty Superintendent Frank DeMayo cited progress on the section of the trail within Liberty proper, as well as a planned extension of the existing trail in Parksville to Livingston Manor. “Work is being done to upgrade several small sections of the trail that will help attract new businesses and will highlight the progress being made in historic Liberty and the up-and-coming Main Street in Parksville,” DeMayo said. He noted the soon-to-open Bridge & Tunnel Brewery in Liberty is situated along the trail.

DeMayo also said that application has been made to obtain rights-of-way from New York State for two portions of the trail, and discussions are well underway with private landowners to obtain the necessary clearances for the Parksville-Manor leg.

The symposium concluded with a request for volunteers to assist with maintenance of the Rail Trail and other related duties. For more information, visit sullivanoandw.com.