TAKE ACTION
Attend Meetings*
Friday, September 25th at 7PM, Celebration Of Zena: a free event at Maverick Concert Hall
Join us for a celebration of our beloved Zena Highwoods through an evening of immersive sounds and sights from our local forest. Featuring the premiere of interdisciplinary sound artist Zaneta Sykes’ Invitations from the Land: the Zena Highwoods, an eco-ritual of reciprocity based on the artist’s Filipinx traditions of singing to land in offering. Community members will be immersed in a year of forest soundscapes recorded on the solstices and equinoxes in the Zena Highwoods, interwoven with projections of wildlife illustrations by Zoe Keller, documented during the same time period in the very same forest. Soundscapes and sightings will blend into the autumnal night chorus, as the community gathers under the full moon to sing back to the land in a full circle exchange of listening and sound between human and more-than-human kin.
Tuesday, October 13th at 7PM, Public Hearing before the Town of Ulster Planning Board
Attend and make a public comment! This is single most important thing that you can do to help save this 625+ acre forest. Public Hearings are our only opportunity to speak face-to-face to decision makers. Comments made at Public Hearings enter the official record and can help us win future lawsuits against the developers. Signs are not permitted at this event. The Public Hearing will be held at Town of Ulster Town Hall: 1 Town Hall Road, 12449. Always check here before leaving for a meeting in case there has been a schedule change.
*STOP ZENA DEVELOPMENT MEETING ATTENDANCE POLICY: Stop Zena Development requests that all meeting attendees be respectful of Town volunteers and fellow meeting attendees, even if we disagree. Threatening or intimidating behavior is not tolerated by SZD.
Attend a Public Hearing Training
Join Stop Zena Development to learn more about commenting at upcoming Public Hearings! We will start with a brief overview of Zena Development and the Public Hearings process. Then we will open up the conversation to answer your questions and workshop your comments, so you can be confident that you are ready to speak for our forest! RSVP required. Click here to learn more and RSVP
Join our Street Team!
Stop Zena Development needs your help getting the word out about public hearings! Join us in distributing flyers and door hangers in Woodstock and Ulster. Fill out the form below to join our Street Team!
Email Officials in Woodstock
Please write to the Woodstock Planning Planning Board and tell them to “Just Say NO to Zena Development!” Click here for our tutorial.
Write Letters to the Editor
Make sure the Town of Ulster, Town of Woodstock and our state officials know that we do not want this dangerous, environmentally destructive luxury subdivision. As our fight moves to Woodstock, we must respectfully request that the Woodstock Planning Board conducts a thorough review and honors their responsibilities to their constituents. You may find inspiration in our letter writing tutorial for the Woodstock Planning Board. Where to submit your letters:
HUDSON VALLEY ONE
Hudson Valley One welcomes letters from its readers. Letters should be fewer than 300 words and submitted by 9:00am on Monday. Click here to fill out their letter to the editor form, or email your letter directly to the editor at deb@hudsonvalleyone.com. Be sure to enter Letter to the editor in the subject field.
DAILY FREEMAN
You may send letters by e-mail (no attachments, please) to letters@freemanonline.com. Include your name, hometown and phone number for the purpose of verification. Letters longer than 250 words will be edited for brevity. All letters are subject to editing for clarity and taste.
TIMES UNION
Click here to fill out the Times Union Letter to the editor form.
Donate
Make a tax-deductible donation here.
Purchase a shirt from our Bonfire campaigns! Click here for Stop Zena Development logo shirts and click here for our raven shirts.
Get a Yard Sign!
Yard signs are available for pick up at Stop Zena Development events. Keep an eye on our website for updates about upcoming events.
If you are able, please help us cover our printing costs with a $10 donation when you pick up your sign! We can accept cash, check and credit card payments.
Call State Senator Michelle Hinchey
Not sure if Senator Hinchey is your NYS Senator? Click here to check.
Senator Michelle Hinchey’s District Office phone number: 845-331-3810
Suggested call script: “My name is [YOUR NAME], and I am calling from [YOUR TOWN]. I am very concerned about the subdivision proposed by Zena Development in the Town of Ulster. This subdivision would require access road construction through a Critical Environmental Area in the Town of Woodstock, would place undue burdens on local volunteer first responders, and would fail to provide the affordable housing our region needs. As lead agency in the SEQR environmental review of the ‘Zena Homes’ project, the Town of Ulster has repeatedly violated NYS Open Meetings Law and has denied the public the opportunity to speak. In August, Ulster issued a negative declaration that ignores the many significant negative impacts of this project on Woodstock. Please support your constituents in our effort to conserve this high quality 625+ acre forest.”